Traditional Easter Food
Easter is one of those holidays that brings people together, for religious reasons, family traditions, and, let’s be honest, an absurd amount of food. From roast lamb to elaborately decorated eggs (and let’s not forget the towering piles of chocolate), Easter food traditions vary wildly across the world. So, grab a fork and let’s take a delicious tour of Easter feasts from the UK and beyond.
UK: Roast Lamb, Hot Cross Buns, and a Side of Chocolate Overload
Roast Lamb
In Britain, Easter Sunday is practically synonymous with roast lamb. It’s the meal of choice for many households, symbolising sacrifice and new life. Served with crispy roast potatoes, mint sauce, and an unnecessary amount of vegetables (because, you know, balance), this dish is the highlight of Easter lunch.
Hot Cross Buns
A spiced bun with raisins (which some of us pick out) and a cross on top, these little beauties are traditionally eaten on Good Friday. Supposedly, they bring good luck if baked on this holy day, though eating them fresh out of the oven with a thick layer of butter is lucky enough for us.
In 1592, Queen Elizabeth I banned the sale of hot cross buns outside of Good Friday, Christmas, and burials. Apparently, they were just too special to be eaten casually. If only she could see how we casually scoff them down in March before Easter even arrives.
Chocolate Eggs
Easter wouldn’t be Easter without an embarrassing amount of chocolate. The UK takes this seriously, each year, Brits consume over 80 million Easter eggs, which explains the post-Easter sugar crash.
Europe: Bread, Pastries, and a Lot of Lamb
Italy – Colomba di Pasqua & Lamb Feasts
The Italians don’t mess around when it comes to food, and Easter is no exception. Their version of a traditional Easter cake is Colomba di Pasqua, a dove-shaped sweet bread similar to panettone, topped with almonds and pearl sugar. Because even their bread is stylish.
As for mains, lamb (or agnello) is a must-have. It’s often slow-roasted with garlic and rosemary, proving once again that Italians just do food better.
Greece – Tsoureki & Red Eggs
Greek Easter food is next-level. Tsoureki is a rich, sweet bread, flavoured with orange zest and a spice called mahlepi, and often braided with a bright red egg baked inside. The red eggs symbolise the blood of Christ, but also make for a great post-dinner egg-cracking competition.
Lamb also takes centre stage, sometimes roasted whole on a spit, because why do anything by halves?
America takes Easter food in a slightly different direction. Instead of lamb, glazed ham is the star of Easter dinner, often served with mac and cheese, sweet potatoes, and green bean casserole (because vegetables should always be drowned in cream).
Then there’s the Peeps, those neon-coloured, sugar-coated marshmallow chicks that appear every Easter, despite no one being entirely sure if they actually taste good.
Americans eat over 16 billion jelly beans at Easter. That’s enough to circle the globe three times. Who knew jelly beans had world domination potential?
Latin America: Seafood and Empanadas
In many Latin American countries, Easter meals focus on fish and seafood, since eating meat on Good Friday is a no-go. In Argentina and Chile, you’ll find empanadas de vigilia, delicious little pastry pockets filled with tuna, cheese, or spinach.
And in Mexico, there’s capirotada, a traditional Easter bread pudding made with cinnamon, sugar, cheese (yes, really), and dried fruit. The mix of sweet and savoury might sound odd, but trust the Mexicans, it works.
Australia & New Zealand: Chocolate Bilbies and Seafood Feasts
While the UK has the Easter Bunny, Australia has the Easter Bilby, a chocolate version of an endangered marsupial. This was introduced as an alternative to the bunny because rabbits are an invasive species in Australia. So, instead of an adorable bunny delivering chocolate, it's a rodent-like creature with big ears.
On the food front, Aussies and Kiwis celebrate Easter with a seafood feast on Good Friday (prawns, oysters, and fish galore) and often a good old barbecue on Easter Sunday, because nothing says Easter like grilling meat in the sunshine.
The Quirky and the Unexpected
Finally, let’s take a moment to appreciate some of the more unusual Easter food traditions around the world:
Norway – Kvikk Lunsj & Oranges
Norwegians celebrate Easter by eating a staggering amount of Kvikk Lunsj (Norway’s answer to Kit-Kats) and oranges. No one really knows why oranges became an Easter thing, but hey, at least it’s healthy?
Finland – Mämmi
A sticky, dark brown dessert made from rye flour, water, and molasses, mämmi is an acquired taste. It looks suspiciously like something you’d avoid stepping in, but the Finns swear by it.
Poland – Święconka (Blessed Easter Basket)
The Polish take Easter food very seriously. On Holy Saturday, they prepare a basket of symbolic foods, bread, sausage, salt, and eggs, take it to church, get it blessed by a priest, and then (finally) eat it on Easter Sunday.
Easter: A Time for Feasting and Food Comas
Whether you’re tucking into a roast lamb dinner, munching on hot cross buns, or eating your body weight in chocolate, Easter is a time for food, family, and pretending calories don’t count.
So, what’s your Easter feast of choice? Let us know, bonus points if it involves excessive amounts of chocolate.
Happy Easter and happy feasting!
