French Recipes for Easter (2024)

FAQs

What is the traditional French meal for Easter? ›

Known as “le repas de Pâques”, the French Easter meal is a joyous family fare with staple features like lamb, eggs, asparagus and strawberries. It's all about celebrating the arrival of Spring and the rebirth of nature!

There are also several traditional Easter desserts in France. One of the most popular is the “gâteau de Pâques,” a chocolate sponge cake that is often decorated with Easter-themed decorations like chocolate eggs and bunnies. Another popular Easter dessert is a sweet brioche bread known as “pain de Pâques“.

What's a traditional Easter menu include? The main dish for an Easter meal varies, but some typical dishes include honey-baked ham, pot roast, pork chops, and fish. Some popular side dishes include scalloped or mashed potatoes, spring vegetables, and dinner rolls.

Lamb is also a traditional dish for Easter. According to Christianity, as with many aspects of this religious holiday, the lamb represents innocence and obedience, representing faithfulness and loyalty to God.

Here in the United States, one of the most traditional Easter foods is a big glazed ham. In fact, Ree Drummond says, "In Oklahoma, ham is everything on Easter!" The popularity of eating ham started in part because pigs were butchered in the fall, cured over the winter, and ready to eat come springtime!

French children have Easter egg hunts on Easter sunday morning. Eggs are usually chocolate ones and not hard-boiled ones, although the French also play games with raw eggs at Easter.

One of the latest cake trends in vintage cakes or Marie Antoinette cakes. Think a pastel aesthetic with lashings of buttercream swirls and frills. Unashamedly feminine and almost too pretty to cut, these stunning cakes are delightful as they are tasty.

Simnel cake is a fruitcake widely eaten in England, Ireland and other countries with patterns of migration from them, associated with Lent and Easter.

A creamy yet rich combination, the Fleur De Lys Cake is a PAUL favourite. The dark chocolate marquise sits on a crunchy biscuit base and is complete with a delicately placed Fleur De Lys crafted from icing sugar.

Every year, millions of people around the world observe the tradition of eating fish on Easter. Just like chocolate eggs and the Easter bunny, it's a staple of the holiday season, although the tradition dates back far further. In truth, many Christians, particularly Catholics, abstain from eating meat on Sundays.

What do Italian eat on Easter? ›

PASTA. One of the most popular things Italians eat for Easter is of course pasta. Easter pasta dishes are diverse and vary from the north to the south of Italy, including lasagna, ravioli, risotto and baked pasta. In the Emilia-Romagna region lasagna filled with lamb is the preferred choice.

Roast lamb or roast ham is the traditional meat for the main meal on Easter Sunday. Read on for more on what to serve with your traditional Easter roast. Hot cross buns, which are spiced tea cakes, are traditionally served on Good Friday.

France. The traditional Easter flower varies by region in France. In some regions, it is, as in England, the pasqueflower (Pulsatilla vulgaris); in others, the lawn daisy (Bellis perennis), which the French call pâquerette (little Easter flower).

For Easter, France enjoys a three day weekend, as Easter Monday is a national holiday in France. During the traditional Easter family reunion, kids go egg hunting (you can see our daughter Leyla in action in the picture below), but our egg providers are a bit different: magic bells!!

The French don't do hot cross buns.

If you're in the Paris region, Marks and Spencer's is your saviour with a selection that included a version with chocolate chips instead of raisins for dried-fruit refuseniks. Best of all, they're often reduced in price because their existence confuses Parisians.

It is a day off for the general population, and schools and most businesses are closed. Some families organize Easter egg hunts on Easter Monday.