23 Vegan Easter Recipes That Are Plant-Based and Totally Delicious (2024)

RELATED

Aran Goyoaga

• Time Commitment:50 minutes
• Why We Love It:vegan, dairy free, under 500 calories

Carrotsfor spring? Groundbreaking. Seriously—when roasted and blitzed together with fennel and miso, you won’t believe the depth of flavor of this soup.

Nisha Vora

• Time Commitment:1 hour, 25 minutes
• Why We 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.

Photo: Nico Schinco/Styling: Aran Goyoaga

• Time Commitment:35 minutes
• Why We Love It:vegan, gluten free, special occasion–worthy

The cashew cream dressing is completelydairy 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.

Ana Cuba/A Modern Cook’s Year

• Time Commitment:25 minutes
• Why We 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.

Gemma Ogston/The Self-Care Cookbook

• Time Commitment: 40 minutes
• Why We 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.

• Time Commitment: 1 hour, 10 minutes
• Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, kid-friendly

This cake issweetbut nottoosweet, moist, tender and bursting with juicy fruit. Aside from being plant-based, it’s also free of refined sugars and packed withfiber, so you can feel fabulous about having a slice (or two) for Easter brunch.

Nassima Rothacker/Happy Food

• Time Commitment: 30 minutes
• Why We 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.

Ren Fuller/Downshiftology: Healthy Meal Prep

• Time Commitment: 15 minutes
• Why We 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.

Photo: Liz Andrew/Styling: Erin McDowell

• Time Commitment: 40 minutes
• Why We 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.)

Photo: Liz Andrew/Styling: Erin McDowell

• Time Commitment: 50 minutes
• Why We 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.

Photo: Nico Schinco/Styling: Sarah Copeland

• Time Commitment: 45 minutes
• Why We 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.

Gentl and Hyers/Open Kitchen

• Time Commitment: 5 minutes
• Why We 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.

The Full Helping

• Time Commitment: 55 minutes
• Why We 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.

Lisa Romerein/Love Is Served

• Time Commitment: 1 hour
• Why We Love It: special occasion-worthy, make ahead

Thanks tochia 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.

The Full Helping

• Time Commitment: 35 minutes
• Why We 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.

Linda Pugliese/Help Yourself

• Time Commitment: 50 minutes
• Why We 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.

Minimalist Baker

• Time Commitment: 1 hour, 10 minutes
• Why We 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).

The Simple Veganista

• Time Commitment: 10 minutes
• Why We 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.)

Two Spoons

• Time Commitment: 20 minutes
• Why We 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.

Minimalist Baker

• Time Commitment: 1 hour, 45 minutes
• Why We 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.)

Two Spoons

• Time Commitment: 1 hour, 20 minutes
• Why We 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.

Oh My Veggies

• Time Commitment: 1 hour, 15 minutes
• Why We 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.

Minimalist Baker

• Time Commitment: 1 hour, 40 minutes
• Why We 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.

RELATED

Senior Food Editor

Katherine Gillenis PureWow’s senior food editor. She’s a writer, recipe developer and food stylist with a degree in culinary arts and professional experience in New York City...