Do you know what you are making for Easter? Whether you are new to a special diet, trying to eat healthy, or just want a simple Easter menu that tastes great and doesn’t take forever to prepare, check out these delicious recipes perfect for any spring feast or even an ordinary Tuesday. All of these recipes are gluten free, grain free, and refined sugar free. Most are also GAPS diet compliant.
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Cooking for celebrations and feasts can get overwhelming. Even if (like me) you enjoy cooking, and love special meals, there are limitations on our time and energy. After all, we want to actually celebrate, and not completely expend ourselves on the cooking!
If you have dietary limitations, whether medically essential or chosen for health goals, holidays and special meals can feel a bit overwhelming. Especially the first year or two. However, you can do it! The meal may look a little different. But it can still be delicious, and even pretty. And you can pull it off with time and energy to spare for enjoying the loved ones and the occasion!
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Holidays with Limitations
While limitations come in many forms, some voluntary and some not, I will talk mostly about the food. It’s not the only thing, or even the most important one. Yet food is part of how we set holidays, birthdays, and such apart. Most of us love good food, so it makes sense to pull special food into our parties!
Also, many families develop traditions. Maybe you associate certain foods with certain occasions. Even particular recipes, whether passed through generations or more recent favorites, shape our feasting. They become part of our family identity and traditions that help nourish and root our hearts in something much bigger than the ingredients and recipes themselves.
This all flies apart if you change your diet, and some people find it stressful or sad. If you are having trouble making the adjustment, know that you aren’t alone and that you can make the shifts you need to make without losing your traditions entirely. Also, check out my Christmas-related article that also applies to other celebration times.
There are several ways to approach the problem (that don’t include skipping the holiday entirely), and you may do best to combine them however it works for you:
- figure out which recipes you can still use– there may be more than you think!
- then look at favorites that could work with simple changes– like swapping oil in for butter
- for favorites you can’t tweak, search for similar recipes that fit your needs– different but similar
- try entirely new dishes that work for you– who says you can’t start a new tradition?!
Healthy Easter Recipes
Breakfast
If you are looking for breakfast/brunch type recipes, consider these. Alongside fresh fruit, and maybe cheese and special drinks, you can easily steer clear of most allergens other than eggs. For those who can’t do eggs even in baked form, I like to fix special meat, such as bacon, ham, and smoked salmon.
Simple to make ahead, you can make this crustless quiche in a pie pan, square pan, muffin cups, or even double it in a 9×13″ pan. Skip the dairy or substitute coconut or other nondairy options as needed.
Almond Flour Chocolate Banana Muffins
Coconut Flour Chocolate Banana Muffins
Though technically a cake, this carrot cake could be served as a coffee cake or made into muffins– it isn’t that sweet!
Chicken Apple Breakfast Sausage Patties
Easter Dinner
Depending on the time of day you are feasting, you could make your meal a brunch and not have “dinner” at all. Or you could combine brunch and dinner favorites and let people have what they like. Here are some more dinner-like ideas:
Meat
There isn’t really a traditional “Easter meat”, like turkey at Thanksgiving. Meat is the easiest part of a special diet in some ways, and you may be able to continue with your family tradition.
Many people love ham for Easter; when we have ham, we look for one that is “uncured” and free of added nitrites. It is more expensive, but better for us and very delicious! You can find them more and more widely; we bought our last one at Aldi! Some other ideas:
- roasted chicken— either slow cooker or oven version
- leg of lamb— I grew up having lamb for Easter; this recipe is easy to prepare and delicious.
- beef brisket— not a traditional Easter dish, brisket is a Passover favorite, so why not?
- ham— select your ham carefully, as there will be other ingredients!
Veggies
Vegetable side dishes are also pretty easy to work with if you have a special diet. In case you need inspiration for spring-y dishes, try one of these:
This technique is so simple you need very little time to prepare the carrots. Different ideas for flavor are included, so you can pick the one you like or whatever would go well with the rest of your meal.
Also super fast to prepare, with different flavor variations. You can easily prep in advance, too!
Salad
You can probably come up with a great salad without a recipe– just whatever lettuce you like plus veggies, fruits, nuts, cheese– anything that tastes good and fits your dietary needs. The dressing? Good olive oil, and maybe a little vinegar or lemon juice, is all you need, but you could add a flavorful dressing.
Creamy Berry Dressing— I usually make this salad dressing with cranberry sauce, which is delicious. However, you can use berries or jam for a similar effect if you want something like raspberry. Use the same amount of berry as cranberry sauce, then adjust to your preference for thickness.
Ginger Tahini Dressing— Different and vibrantly flavored, this dressing is as good for you as it is delicious!
Dessert
Based on coconut flour, this is a pretty healthy version of carrot cake!
A GAPS-ified version of traditional lemon squares, these are sweetened with honey– but not very much!
A GAPS favorite with variations you could try.
No eggs in this one– this is a more spring-y, summer-y version of crisp; try with other berries too!
A GAPS friendly, gut friendly way to make ice cream that is still delicious!
Healthy Easter Recipes Aren’t the Only Thing!
As you go about your Easter celebration (or any holiday, birthday, etc.), keep in mind that it isn’t only about the food. Yes, we want to serve special, delicious food that meets our health needs. We want to feel good after the feast!
However, the food is only one part of the occasion. When we celebrate Easter, we are celebrating the love of God, who sent Jesus to pay for all our sins so we could be forgiven and be with Him forever! We can do that with any food, or even with no food at all.
Birthdays are about the person who was born that day and all that that person means to us. Again, the food (especially the CAKE) is part of the fun, but it isn’t really the main thing.
Try to keep the recipes and ingredients in perspective, and don’t stress out about what you can’t serve. Include non-food aspects, such as:
- pretty table setup– dishes, linens, flowers, etc.
- other decorations around the house
- dye or paint Easter eggs– or put stickers on plastic ones!
- special activities– Easter egg hunt, resurrection eggs to make or to buy, ordinary but fun activities like going to church, taking a walk or going to a park, etc.
What activities make your Easter special?
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
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