If you’re planning a feast for the holiday I’ve got you covered with my healthy Gluten Free Recipes for Easter.
Gluten Free Recipes for Easter
These fabulous dishes include everything from gluten free dessert recipes like my Nut Free Carrot Cake and Gluten Free Coffee Cake to apps like Guacamole Deviled Eggs and much more.
Paleo Recipes for Easter
All of the recipes here are Paleo and grain free, many are SCD Diet compliant as well.
Spring Holidays
The spring holidays, Easter and Passover, mark my favorite time of year. The ground begins to thaw, buds make their way up through the soil, and the dirt comes alive.
Year after year, my garden is reborn after a deep sleep. Signs of transformation abound. As the earth awakens, a renewed hope and the promise of abundance emerge.
This lovely time of transformation is the perfect backdrop for Passover and Easter.
Healthy Easter Recipes
My healthy gluten free Easter menu is a creative affair inspired by the riches of spring. My favorite gluten free Easter recipes use fresh, seasonal ingredients such as asparagus, spinach, rosemary, and so much more.
Special Diets
If you’re on a Nut Free Diet, try my Chocolate Chip Scones made with coconut flour and if you’re in need of dairy free dessert recipes serve up my Keto Blueberry Lemon Bread.
Egg Free Desserts
In need of egg free desserts? Try my Raspberry Thumbprint Cookies, Keto Turmeric Bars, or Raspberry Streusal Bars. There are also numerous low carb vegetarian recipes that are gluten free below.
Easter Recipes from the Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook
My favorite holiday delights are the almond flour recipes, like Gluten Free Lemon Bars, Chocolate Chip Scones, and my Savory Vegetable Quiche from my first cookbook.
- Savory Vegetable Quiche
- Spinach Sun Dried Tomato Tart
- Gluten Free Carrot Cake
- Chocolate Chip Scones
- Gluten Free Lemon Bars
- Raspberry Bars
More Gluten Free Easter Recipes From the Blog
And here are additional healthy gluten free recipes for Easter on the blog.
- Asparagus Basil Salad
- Spinach Cake
- Deviled Eggs
- Fruit Salad
- Nut Free Chocolate Chip Scones
- Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Creamy Cream Cheese Frosting
- Lemon Poppy Seed Bunny Cookies
Is Passover On the Full Moon
The spring holidays are a celebratory time of rebirth. Passover always falls on the full moon of the month of Nisan in the Jewish calendar which is a lunar calendar.
Is Easter After the Spring Equinox
Easter, on the other hand, falls on the Sunday after the first full moon or after the spring equinox, so its date varies.
Further, Western churches use the Gregorian calendar, the standard calendar for much of the world, while Orthodox churches use the older Julian calendar. According to Borgna Brunner:
The two churches vary on the definition of the vernal equinox and the full moon. The Eastern Church sets the date of Easter according to the actual, astronomical full moon and equinox, while the Western church does not use the astronomically correct date for the vernal equinox, but a fixed date (March 21).
So, Easter can occur at two different times during the year. One Sunday celebrated by Western churches and one by Eastern churches. For the Eastern church, Easter always falls after Passover. For the Western Church, Easter sometimes precedes Passover by weeks.
Your Easter Celebrations
What does Easter mean to you? Before you read the above, did you understand the factors that determine the date of the Easter holiday? Will you be celebrating Easter? If so, how?
This post is an oldie but goodie from the archives that I’ve updated. I first posted it in 2011.
Pamela says
This year, Easter is very late…. So, it actually falls as at the same time as my wedding anniversary. Usualy , we have a big dinner with the family….. We go to worship the resurrection…. then celebrate with a feast. I also enjoy going to a Passover Seder…
Elana says
Pamela, thanks for sharing your spring holiday traditions!
Karen says
We get together and enjoy family time. This year one of my students gifted me with tickets to see Wicked…which he purchased without realizing it was Easter. That means we’ll have a late light meal after the three of us ‘girls’ get back from seeing the production. Wonderful people, an entertaining story, delicious food…good times….
But we will color eggs Thursday night. By ‘we’, I mean the adults. The kids have outgrown it. Sad. But the grown up kids have more fun than I can put into words doing it. :^)
Elana says
That sounds wonderful Karen! Happy Easter :-)
Tai says
Thanks for the recipes Elana! I want to try the bunny cookies, but all of it sounds so fresh, easy and delicious. We are Christians so for us Easter is all about Christ. We do add in an egg hunt for fun, but we don’t get into all the big baskets with all the toys and what not. We try to keep it focused on Jesus. I find the different calendars somewhat amusing. We follow the typical western calendar but really if you think about it Easter should follow Passover!!
Elana says
Thanks Tai!
Rebeca says
As always, I so appreciate your recipes!
We are Orthodox Christians, and so celebrate “Pascha” this coming Sunday. (Incidientally, the word Pascha has the same origins as the word Pesach.) This is for us the biggest celebration of the year, full of lots of serious days as we walk through the last days of the life of Christ, and then a great and joyful celebration that begins at midnight on Saturday and continues on, in some ways, for the following forty days.
I once observed Passover with about 1000 Israelis in Kathmandu… it was a great experience. But that is a story for another day. :>
A blessed Pesach to you!
Elana says
Thanks Rebeca. I loved hearing about your Easter observances :-)
Alex says
I’m Jewish, and I consider my 4 year old Jewish. My dad was a lapsed Catholic; my husband goes back and forth between “nothing” and “Christian, if you need to call me anything,” and “Jew-ish”; my MIL, who lives with us, goes to church each Sunday and teaches at a church preschool. Mostly I make Passover happen, but we LOVE LOVE LOVE eggg hunts. I don’t really see anything Christian about them. We do all the local free Easter activities we can fit into our schedule, which is a lot, and then have my husband’s siblings over for an Easter meal and egg hunt. With quarters in a few of the eggs, and the rest empty, due to everyone’s various food restrictions/issues. :)
Elana says
Thanks Alex!
Darkhorse says
Hi Elana,
What do you use for gf matzah? Thanks!
Darkhorse says
Thank you Raquel!
Elana says
Darkhorse, I make a grain-free matzah using almond flour:
https://elanaspantry.com/grain-free-matzo/
Enjoy!
Elana
Brandon says
I have a very similar view to Easter that our ancestors did (when they called it something else), in the fact that it’s a celebration of the returning of light (the sun) and warmth (spring). It’s an awakening of the earth after a cold, dark winter. I make sure to decorate eggs, as eggs symbolize life, and I LOVE hiding them in nature. It’s the best time, too, because life is renewing all around you!
Elana says
Thanks Brandon!
Kiran @ KiranTarun.com says
It’s amazing that we are all made up of different backgrounds and cultures. Thanks for sharing lovely glimpse of celebrations. :)
Elana says
Kiran, agreed! This diversity in our culture is wonderful :-)
Alison says
My place, Sunday afternoon. 12 little ones all under 7 years and 9 adults. Wow, it’s gonna be busy and fun. I just started gluten free this month so I’m thankful to your blog/books! I’m gonna try some food out on Sunday and see what everyone thinks. Thanks elana!
Elana says
You’re welcome Alison :-)
Pat says
These are great ideas for a light spring celebration, no matter what it’s for! The poppy seed bunny cookies look wonderful for Easter baskets!
Thanks!
Pat
Elana says
Thanks Pat!