| | | | | |

Simple Easter Menu Ideas for the Whole Family

With Easter around the corner, I am sharing some simple Easter menu ideas for the whole family to enjoy. I am including a few links to easy recipes and some planning tips to make your preparations a little easier.

Pexels-askar-abayev

Easter Sunday is such a special day of remembrance for believers. Easter morning usually begins at church – celebrating what the Lord has done for us, and it ends at home – sharing a holiday meal with family and friends.

When it comes to the meal and family time, there has to be a good balance. You want the food to be delicious and enjoyed by the whole family, but you don’t want to put too much work on just one person. The point is for everyone to get to enjoy the family.

Tips for an Easy Easter Menu and Meal

Before we get into the menu, I feel that it is important to share a few tips to make your Easter lunch with family run a little smoother.

A dining table with an Easter menu touch features a pink floral centerpiece in a vase, candles in holders, and greenery on a lace table runner. Four wooden chairs surround the table, with plates showcasing delightful floral designs.
  • Plan your Easter menu in advance.
  • Meet with other family members and divide up the responsibilities.
  • Place a grocery store order or go purchase all ingredients and/or supplies you need for your part (with the exception of items you will need to have fresh – produce, etc.)
  • Prepare any meals in advance, if possible.
  • Decide where the Easter meal will be held.
  • If you are hosting, decide what decorations, tablecloths, centerpieces, plates, silverware, etc. you need.
  • Plan out seating arrangements to make sure you have a place for everyone.
  • If you really want to plan for an easy gathering, purchase disposable products. They can be as simple or as fancy as you want.

Simple Easter Menu

A few of us in my family met over the phone this week to get a plan for our Easter meal. After my sister and I planned out the menu, we looked back at the last holiday meal we had planned. We weren’t really surprised to see that we had planned almost the same menu items. It just seems like a holiday wouldn’t be the same without them.

Do you have certain menu items that your family loves and has to have for a holiday meal? Ours is a pretty traditional Southern meal. I would love to hear if yours is the same or how it is different.

Easter Appetizers

We usually don’t have a lot of appetizers for our holiday meals. However, we do have a few that are pretty steady:

  • Cream Cheese Dip with Wheat Thins – My sister makes this, and everyone loves it! I will have to see if I can get the recipe and share it later. (This recipe is similar to the filling my Aunt Joy puts in her jalapeno appetizer below.)
  • Kelly’s Fruit Salad
  • Relish Tray
  • Chips with Sour Cream/Ranch Dip

Other Easter Appetizers and Options

There are some really great options for Easter appetizers. Here are a few more:

Main Course – Meat for the Easter Menu

Almost every holiday, but especially Easter, we have to have my dad’s mouthwatering Easy Baked Ham. It is the most tender ham I have ever eaten, and the juice is sweet and delicious! It kind of ends up with a brown sugar glaze on it.

Daddy's Brown sugar baked ham for Easter
Easter Brown Sugar Ham

See the link to the super simple over-night Easter ham recipe here!

Other Main Dish Options for Your Easter Feast

  • Honey-Baked Ham (Purchased – we still prefer my dad’s Brown Sugar Ham recipe.)
  • Fried Chicken
  • Meatloaf – See my easy NO MESS way to make meatloaf here.
  • Pork Tenderloin
  • Lamb Chops or Roast Leg of Lamb
  • Pork Chops
  • Beef or Pork Roast
  • Prime Rib Roast
  • Baked, Grilled, or Fried Fish (I recommend fried outdoors.)

Easter Side Dishes

The side dishes are actually some of our favorite things. We try to make sure everyone has their favorite side dish, so we usually end up with a lot of leftovers. Here is what we have on the Easter menu for this year.

If you notice, we have a couple of varieties of mashed potatoes and green beans. We want to make sure everyone has their favorite things.

Other Easter Sides and Options

Granny Grace's corn casserole for Easter meal

The recipes for the first three side dishes can be found here.

  • Glazed Carrots
  • Granny Grace’s Corn Casserole
  • Au Gratin Potatoes

Easter Desserts

We are going to try to keep the Easter desserts simple this year, since there will be lots of Easter treats and candy for the kids later. We will see if we stick to it.😂

Other Easter Desserts and Options

Miscellaneous Items to Remember

Don’t forget the ice and drinks. We have gotten to the point that many family members bring their own drinks in an insulated tumbler. It doesn’t make for a great matching table setting, but it is very convenient.

Again, in keeping it simple this year, we are having:

  • Water
  • Sweet Tea
  • Unsweet Tea
  • There are usually a few soft drinks if anyone wants one.
  • My nephew and his wife will bring “Good Ice” from Buc-ee’s!

Last but not least, don’t forget the candy and Easter eggs for the kids. Last year I found chocolate crosses for the girls, along with other candy and Easter treats.

On that same subject, we always have Cascarones (Confetti Eggs). This is a tradition we started years ago, and Jacob loved it. We carry it on now in his honor!💕

At this point in our lives, we buy the cascarones from Walmart, but if you want a fun project to do with the kids, see how to make them in the post here. If you prefer to purchase them, get them quickly; the grocery stores usually sell out before Easter.

A carton containing twelve brightly colored eggs, arranged in a single row, is a delightful addition to the Easter menu. The eggs are vibrantly painted in shades of pink, yellow, orange, red, green, blue, teal, and purple, creating a rainbow-like appearance against a plain white background.

Here is a link to order them from Walmart. We just had ours delivered! I’m ready!

Other Helpful Items

These items are so helpful for making the perfect Easter dinner.


Slow Cooker
Roasting Pan
Sheet Pans

disclosure

These simple Easter dinner ideas and menu contain some of my family’s favorite things. Whether it is the main course, a side dish, or dessert, I hope you enjoy your Easter meal as well.

The Reason for the Easter Celebration

A person stands in front of a small white chapel with a steep roof and a sign that reads "Robert F. Thomas Chapel." The chapel, surrounded by leafless trees under a clear blue sky, feels like the perfect place for solitude, as if it were meant for those seeking answers to life's biggest tests.

When we gather together to share this meal, our first priority has to be to reflect and know why we are celebrating. The Easter recipes will be delicious, the dinner table will be set, Easter baskets will be full, chocolate bunnies will be eaten, but first of all, we will praise our Lord for His sacrifice for us.

He is the reason for our Easter celebration. Remember to honor and praise Him, not just on Easter morning, but every day of the year!

Please Join Me

.

Related Post

How to Host Family Gatherings Without Missing Your Family

Until next week…

Closing Signature

disclosure

disclosure: Amazon affiliate links are used on this page. Thank you for supporting Home with Grace and Joy. When you purchase an item, I receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. See my full disclosure and privacy policy on the website. 

“So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God” I Corinthians 10:31

Latest Posts

Similar Posts

13 Comments

  1. We’re in the process of finalizing our Easter brunch menu now so this is perfectly timed, Susan. These recipes and ideas look delicious! Hugs, CoCo

    1. Thank you! I am looking forward to a great Easter. I hope you and your family have a great one as well!

  2. This looks like a delightful menu! Yum. Thanks for sharing at the Will Blog for Comments #31 linkup. Hope to see you next time, too.

  3. Your menu sounds delicious Susan. Happy Easter!

  4. You have quite the spread Susan, everything sounds delicious. We typically have the same dinner for the holidays. Ham is always served for Easter. I think I would like to try something new, but I guess it will have to be next year since we are so close to Sunday now. Fried chicken sounds scrumptious! I have not had it in years.

    1. I love fried chicken, but I hate to fry food. It is just so messy! I think I have made it once in the last 20 years. 😂 Anyway, have a wonderful Easter!

  5. This all sounds wonderful! I love that you’ve got such a variety here. Happy Easter! Thank you for sharing this post with all of us at the Will Blog for Comments #60 linkup! Looking forward to seeing what you’ll share at #61, too–it opens next week. Hope your week is a great one. 🙂

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.