“Oh wow, I can’t wait to fill up on the steamed Brussels sprouts this Easter,” said no vegan ever. Don’t neglect your plant-based guests on March 31. These vegan Easter recipes prove that you don’t need copious amounts of butter, cream and cheese to craft a holiday-worthy spring menu. From creamy carrot-fennel soup to vegan ham (really), there’s a side dish, entrée or dessert worthy of your holiday celebration.
23 Vegan Easter Recipes That Are Plant-Based and Totally Delicious
From salads to dessert
•
Published Feb 29, 2024
Minimalist Baker
1. Carrot, Fennel and Miso Soup
- Time Commitment: 50 minutes
- Why I Love It: vegan, dairy free, under 500 calories
Carrots for spring? Groundbreaking. Seriously—when roasted and blitzed together with fennel and miso, you won’t believe the depth of flavor of this soup.
2. Creamy Vegan Lentil and Roasted Vegetable Bake
- Time Commitment: 1 hour, 25 minutes
- Why I Love It: vegan, one pan, crowd-pleaser
Yep, it’s plant-based, but it still tastes super indulgent thanks to a homemade cashew cream sauce. If you also want to make this gluten-free, omit the breadcrumbs in the topping and garnish the casserole with simply toasted pine nuts.
3. Radicchio, Lentil and Apple Salad with Vegan Cashew Dressing
- Time Commitment: 35 minutes
- Why I Love It: vegan, gluten free, special occasion–worthy
The cashew cream dressing is completely dairy free, but no one would know just by tasting it. Here, combined with bitter radicchio, lentils and apples, it serves as the ultimate foil to a crunchy, crispy salad.
4. Kale and Brussels Sprout Caesar Slaw
- Time Commitment: 25 minutes
- Why I Love It: ready in <30 minutes, no cook, dairy free
This slaw is surprisingly versatile: You can use pretty much any winter greens or cabbage as long as you shred them thinly. To make it vegan, just leave out the blue cheese.
5. Vegan Quinoa Breakfast Frittata
- Time Commitment: 40 minutes
- Why I Love It: high protein, <500 calories
When combined with water, chickpea flour (aka gram flour) acts in the same way as eggs, which is pretty darn amazing. Serve it warm or make it ahead and serve it cold or room temperature alongside a salad.
Nisha Vora
6. Vegan Spiced Blueberry Breakfast Cake
- Time Commitment: 1 hour, 10 minutes
- Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, kid-friendly
This cake is sweet but not too sweet, moist, tender and bursting with juicy fruit. Aside from being plant-based, it’s also free of refined sugars and packed with fiber, so you can feel fabulous about having a slice (or two) for Easter brunch.
7. Vegan Buckwheat Waffles with Strawberries
- Time Commitment: 30 minutes
- Why I Love It: <30 minutes, special occasion–worthy, kid-friendly
FYI, making waffles for a crowd is actually pretty simple. Just preheat the oven to a low temperature while you make the batter; as each waffle cooks up, keep it warm on a sheet tray in that oven until you’re ready to serve.
8. Shaved Brussels Sprouts, Fennel and Mandarin Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette
- Time Commitment: 15 minutes
- Why I Love It: <15 minutes, special occasion–worthy, gluten free, crowd-pleaser
For a salad that’s surprisingly make ahead-friendly, use a hearty green (like shaved Brussels sprouts) as the base. This dressing is sweetened with a tiny bit of honey, which can be replaced with maple syrup to make it vegan.
- Time Commitment: 40 minutes
- Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, beginner-friendly
This gorgeous, bright-green soup is, in our opinion, the best way to enjoy market-fresh spring peas. To make it vegan while retaining that creamy texture, swap the heavy cream for an equal amount of plant-based milk or half-and-half. (We’re partial to coconut milk.)
- Time Commitment: 50 minutes
- Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, beginner-friendly, kid-friendly
Psst: Store-bought pizza dough makes this appetizer a breeze to make. Most options are vegan by nature (the dough is typically just flour, water and oil), but check the ingredients before you start baking.
11. Spring Crudités with Romesco Sauce
- Time Commitment: 45 minutes
- Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, special occasion–worthy
Who needs a cheese board when you’re serving up this gorgeous platter of spring vegetables? Even the dip is vegan, getting its creamy texture from blended almonds.
- Time Commitment: 5 minutes
- Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, beginner-friendly, <15 minutes
Another vegan-friendly appetizer, this creamy dip can be made plant-based by replacing the Greek yogurt with a dairy-free equivalent. Pair it with plenty of seasonal vegetables, like carrots and snap peas.
13. Old Fashioned Banana Cake with Creamy Cashew Frosting
- Time Commitment: 55 minutes
- Why I Love It: special occasion–worthy, crowd-pleaser
Whether you serve this as an Easter dessert or a sweet breakfast side, everyone at the table will be raving about that creamy, dreaming frosting. Once they find out it’s made from cashews, they’ll go wild.
14. Vegan Strawberry Shortcake In a Jar
- Time Commitment: 1 hour
- Why I Love It: special occasion-worthy, make ahead
Thanks to chia seeds, the homemade strawberry jam comes together in all of 45 minutes—normally you would need to reduce the fruit for much longer, but here the seeds soak up the juices and set the jam.
15. Spring Vegan Pasta Primavera
- Time Commitment: 35 minutes
- Why I Love It: kid-friendly, beginner-friendly
Lemony, creamy and light, this vegan pasta would make an excellent entrée to celebrate the warmer days ahead. If you spot asparagus and peas at the farmers market, snatch them up.
16. Crispy Tofu Steaks with Broccoli Rabe and Romesco
- Time Commitment: 50 minutes
- Why I Love It: plant-based, high protein
Flavorful and easy to make, these crispy tofu steaks are the perfect replacement for the usual ham or chicken that graces the Easter table. The trick to nailing the texture is to press and drain the tofu thoroughly before cooking with it.
17. Easy Vegan Scalloped Potatoes
- Time Commitment: 1 hour, 10 minutes
- Why I Love It: make ahead, crowd pleaser, gluten-free
Is it really Easter if there isn’t at least one potato side dish on the table? This one relies on umami-rich nutritional yeast to replicate the flavor of cheese (and yeah, it totally works).
- Time Commitment: 10 minutes
- Why I Love It: <15 minutes, no cook, crowd-pleaser
We’re all in favor of a store-bought shortcut…except when it comes to fruit salad. Why would you serve up sad cubed melon when you could make this masterpiece in half the time it takes to pick out the honeydew? (Sorry, honeydew.)
- Time Commitment: 20 minutes
- Why I Love It: special occasion–worthy, crowd-pleaser, gluten-free
Toasted almonds, sliced cucumbers and a balsamic vinaigrette keep this vegan salad from feeling dated. Make the dressing in advance and keep it in the fridge to save yourself time the day of your celebration.
- Time Commitment: 1 hour, 45 minutes
- Why I Love It: special occasion–worthy, crowd-pleaser
Easter brunch wouldn’t be complete without a magnificent quiche, and this one is vegan approved. (If you’ve ever made scrambled tofu, you know how well the soy-based ingredient can replace eggs.)
- Time Commitment: 1 hour, 20 minutes
- Why I Love It: special occasion–worthy, plant-based
Moist and packed with cinnamon, this plant-based cake is surprisingly similar to the coffee cakes you can pick out from the display case in a fancy bakery, even without the butter. If you want to plan ahead, make the cake and store it in the freezer a week before Easter.
22. Vegan Ham
- Time Commitment: 1 hour, 15 minutes
- Why I Love It: special occasion–worthy, crowd-pleaser
As it turns out, there will be ham at your Easter feast. It just won’t be made of meat. Seasoned tofu and a smoky maple glaze are the keys to making this entrée holiday-ready.
23. Vegan, Gluten-Free Rhubarb Crisp
- Time Commitment: 1 hour, 40 minutes
- Why I Love It: <10 ingredients, make ahead
Skip the strawberries and give rhubarb its moment in the spotlight this Easter. The sweet crumb topping is vegan (thanks, coconut oil) and gluten free.
