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Passover is one of the most significant holidays for Jewish people, commemorating the liberation of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. During Passover Seder, everybody gathers for dinner to eat symbolic food together—it’s a fantastic time to go all out for a dinner party that everybody participates in.
But what are the best foods to eat at a Passover Seder? You may wonder what to expect if you’re planning a Passover dinner or attending one. Even if you don’t celebrate Passover, if you know anything about the connection between Passover and Easter, you might know that there could be menu overlap.
Accent your spring holiday dinner with amazing meals and amazing company. Here are the best foods to eat at a Passover dinner.
1. Matzah Ball Soup
Matzah meal is the most iconic ingredient of Jewish food; you can prepare and eat it in many forms. Matzah ball soup is arguably the most famous iteration, made with balls of matzah, eggs, water, and salt and cooked in chicken broth. It’s delicious and fun to prepare with a group of people ahead of time. Rolling up the matzah balls can be a task given to young kids in the family to make them feel included, or you can prepare them way before dinner to lessen the stress of cooking.
It’s a great way to start a Passover dinner, and it’s hard not to enjoy it!
2. Gefilte Fish
Another popular appetizer, Gefilte fish is a delicious traditional Passover dish that’s hard not to enjoy. Ground fish, usually whitefish and pike, is mixed with veggies and spices and formed into balls or loaves. Then, the fish is poached in fish stock and served cold with horseradish. It’s a unique dish that works well as an appetizer instead of charcuterie.
3. Brisket
Brisket is a classic Passover entree that is often slow-cooked in the oven for several hours until tender and flavorful. Made from beef, usually the brisket cut, it’s seasoned with a variety of spices and rounded out with veggies. It’s hearty, satisfying, and uniquely tender if cooked correctly.
It’s perfect for a Passover dinner because it can be the star dish of a Passover meal, served with a variety of sides such as roasted potatoes, carrots, and onions. Brisket is also a pretty customizable recipe—every table has a different way of preparing it, and even goyim households have their own spins on it. So you’re sure to find a variation of brisket that fits your table.
4. Roasted Vegetables
With a star dish like brisket, you should also have a star side to bring it all together. Buttery roasted carrots caramelized in thyme and garlic will add extra layers to your main course. Hasselback potatoes drizzled with olive oil and salt will be gone before they hit the table. A perfect side dish will bring your entire dinner together, and you have endless choices! If you’re making your Passover dinner into a buffet-style meal, you can even have a lot of options for sides available.
5. Charoset
Charoset is made from apples, nuts, cinnamon, and honey and served as a side dish or dessert. It’s delicious and healthy, rich with nutrients, and is a sweet accent on what’s so far been savory. The sweet dish also represents the symbols of Passover. It’s indicative of the mortar Jewish enslaved people used to build the pyramids in Egypt. So not only is charoset delicious, but it’s also meaningful. It’s a must-have for any Passover table.
6. Flourless Chocolate Cake
Passover dinner cannot have anything with flour, so you have to get creative for dessert. For hopefully obvious reasons, a flourless chocolate cake is an excellent choice for a Passover dinner. It’s a crowd-pleaser. The cake is made without flour and is instead made with ground almonds or other nuts. It’s decadent and rich, so even a small cake can feed an entire family. It can be served with fresh berries or whipped cream and takes effort to dislike.
Conclusion
The symbolic foods and traditional rituals of Passover Seder make Passover a memorable holiday. It’s a Jewish family’s Christmas or Easter and commemorates a significant historical moment for the Jewish people in the liberation of the Israelites.
While Passover dinner has no flour, you’d be surprised how many delicious foods there are to enjoy despite that. For example, Matzah ball soup uses matzah meal, and flourless chocolate cake uses ground nuts to replace the supposed “staple” ingredient. These dishes aren’t just amazing to eat; they’re easy to make and share with a large group of family and friends.