Easter Feasts from Across the Globe

While honey-glazed ham, creamy mashed potatoes, and soft dinner rolls are typical for American Easter celebrations, different cultures around the world celebrate with their own distinct dishes, blending local ingredients with unique traditions.

“Italians really embrace the holiday,” said Judy Witts Francini, the creator behind the Italian food blog Divina Cucina. A California native, she’s lived in Florence and Tuscany for years.

For Easter lunch, Witts Francini starts with a variety of antipasti. The first course features torta pasqualina, a savory pie made with 33 layers of phyllo dough to represent Christ’s 33 years. The second course includes roast lamb, fried artichokes, peas with pancetta, and crispy roasted potatoes. For dessert, there are chocolate eggs—sometimes as tall as 3 feet—with a surprise inside, as well as a traditional dove-shaped cake called colomba.

And that’s just the lunch menu.

Many countries embrace the idea of abundance when it comes to Easter meals, but there are a few standout dishes worth mentioning. Here are five to try.

Italy: Pizza Rustica

Before dismissing this circular delight as just another pizza, remember that the version Italians crave on Easter bears little resemblance to the standard offerings you’ll find on most U.S. delivery menus.

Pizza rustica, also known as pizzagaina, is a savory pie filled with a rich blend of meats and cheeses, all encased in a crisp, flaky crust. Like most Italian dishes, its recipe varies across regions, towns, and even chefs. It hails from Naples, famously regarded as the birthplace of pizza.

“It’s like a ricotta cheesecake, but super savory — truly to the extreme,” said Rossella Rago, an Italian-American author and host of the popular cooking show ‘Cooking with Nonna,’ who also published a cookbook under the same name.

To prepare the pie, you begin by making the pastry dough, which is a mixture of flour, eggs, salt, milk, and lard.

“Everyone always asks me, ‘Can I use shortening instead?’ And I always say: ‘No,’” Rago explained. “If it were any other time of the year, I’d say ‘Sure, use shortening,’ but on Easter, it has to be lard.”

The filling — at least in Rago’s version — is a flavorful mix of ricotta, provolone, mozzarella, soppressata (Italian dry salami), prosciutto, eggs, and other ingredients.

“Everyone has their own secret recipe they swear by. If you want to start a heated debate among Italians, just ask them, ‘What’s the authentic pizzagaina?’ It’s a topic that’s seriously divisive in Italian-American circles,” Rago chuckled. “It always cracks me up because there’s no one ‘right’ way to make it. The idea that there is is just absurd.”

“Italy had 600 languages before it unified,” Rago pointed out. “Do you honestly think we’d have just one recipe for anything? Absolutely not.”

Rago’s recipe comes from her grandmother, Nonna Romana, and is a true Italian-American tale. Romana was originally from Puglia, a southern Italian region where scarcella isn’t traditionally made. She learned of it from fellow Italian-Americans while working in a Brooklyn clothing factory. She then adapted the recipe, tweaking it over the years until she created a new Italian-American tradition of her own.

“She insists it’s unbeatable,” Rago explained. Her secret ingredient? Extra-sharp provolone. According to Rago, it’s one of the most requested dishes on her website, and anyone who tries it reports success right from the first attempt.

This dish is typically prepared on Good Friday and served at room temperature for Easter Sunday celebrations.

Mexico: Capirotada

When you think of traditional Mexican cuisine, a few staples immediately come to mind: rice, beans, and tortillas, just to name a few.

Now, add capirotada to that list of iconic dishes.

Capirotada is a beloved Mexican dessert similar to bread pudding, made by soaking bread in syrup and layering it with nuts, cheese, fruit, and occasionally sprinkles.

“If you love a combination of salty, sweet, soft, crunchy, and spongy textures with a hint of spice, this dessert is for you,” said Mely Martinez, the creator of the blog Mexico in My Kitchen. “It may sound unusual, but it’s an explosion of flavors in your mouth.”

Born and raised in Tampico, Mexico, Martinez serves this unique dessert every Easter as part of her family’s tradition.

To prepare Martinez’s traditional capirotada, slices of white bread are first baked with butter, then soaked in a syrup made from piloncillo (a type of unrefined sugar), cinnamon, and cloves. The bread is layered in a baking dish with cotija cheese, roasted peanuts, and raisins before being baked. Afterward, it’s topped with banana slices and sprinkles for an added sweetness.

Capirotada is typically served at room temperature on Easter Sunday, though many people enjoy it throughout Holy Week.

“It’s incredibly addictive. Once you start, you just can’t stop,” Martinez confessed to Dinogo.

Capirotada, brought to Mexico by the Spanish, gained popularity for its simplicity and the fact that it uses readily available ingredients.

Originally a savory dish made with beef broth, capirotada has evolved into its current sweet version with syrup, according to Martinez. Some believe the bread symbolizes the body of Christ and the syrup his blood.

Capirotada comes in many different variations across Mexico, each with its own regional twist.

Charbel Barker, the blogger behind My Latina Table, prepares her capirotada with milk. The recipe was passed down by her 'abuelita,' or grandmother.

'My abuelita always said, it’s good but it needs something extra – more sweetness,' Barker recalled. That's when she added two kinds of milk: evaporated and sweetened condensed milk.

According to Barker, the addition of milk enhances the flavor and gives the capirotada a creamy, pudding-like consistency.

'It tastes like a Snickers,' Barker said, describing the flavor of her capirotada.

Poland: Żurek

Żurek, a creamy, smoky soup made from fermented rye flour, is a beloved dish that takes center stage during Easter in Poland. It's often served with a boiled egg, sausage, and topped with fiery horseradish.

Żurek is considered a national gem in Poland, cherished as a traditional dish in Central Europe.

“It’s tangy, savory, and has a hearty, meaty richness,” explained Anna Hurning, the creator of Polish Your Kitchen. Originally from Poland, Hurning now calls Szczecin home.

Each Easter, Hurning prepares a batch of żurek, serving it as a delicious appetizer to start the meal.

To prepare the soup, start by creating a rye starter: combine flour and cold water with garlic, allspice, peppercorns, marjoram, and bay leaves. Let it ferment on your counter for a few days. Hurning assures that while it may seem complicated, it’s a simple process that relies on nature’s magic for the soup’s signature tang.

Once the rye starter is ready, it’s boiled together with the soup base. In Hurning’s version, the base includes bacon, carrots, parsnips, and onions.

This flavorful soup is a year-round favorite across the country, especially popular at Easter, with endless variations. Some versions include sauerkraut and smoked goat cheese, while others feature potatoes and wild mushrooms.

Singapore: Beef murtabak

The culinary landscape in Singapore is a rich fusion of diverse influences: Chinese, Malay, Indian, Eurasian, and Peranakan. Defining authentic Singaporean dishes can be challenging, but that’s the challenge embraced by chef Damian D’Silva.

“If I don’t do something to protect our culinary heritage, it will eventually fade away,” said D’Silva, chef at Rempapa in Singapore. With over 20 years of professional experience in heritage cuisine, he’s dedicated to preserving it for future generations.

“The cuisine here is truly one-of-a-kind. You can find the same dish in Singapore, but prepared in five different ways,” he explained. “And none of them are wrong, as each culture adds its own unique twist with ingredients and stories.”

D’Silva, who grew up in Singapore, fondly recalls his childhood tradition of enjoying beef murtabak, a dish his grandfather prepared for Easter. It was served after Mass, signaling the end of Lent. After 40 days of fasting from meat, D’Silva eagerly anticipated this savory treat.

“Easter was always a time for celebration, and naturally, the first thing that comes to mind during celebrations is meat,” D’Silva explained. “We only had beef on rare, special occasions.”

Beef murtabak is a savory egg crepe stuffed with ground beef that’s been marinated in curry powder, then sautéed with an aromatic blend of onion, garlic paste, and spices such as star anise, cinnamon, and nutmeg. It’s served alongside fresh lime, chili sauce, and raita for a burst of flavor.

“The aromatic spices are what elevate the dish, giving it an unforgettable depth of flavor,” D’Silva shared.

D’Silva has attempted to trace the origins of beef murtabak, but like many iconic Singaporean dishes, its roots stretch so far back that no one can pinpoint exactly where it began.

D’Silva’s version of beef murtabak is a tribute to Singapore’s rich culinary heritage, blending bold flavors that have stood the test of time.

“Singapore’s culinary scene is so much more than just chili crab and chicken rice. It’s an entire world of flavors,” D’Silva said. “If you ever get the chance to experience Singapore’s heritage dishes, don’t miss it – the flavors, the ingredients, everything about it is extraordinary.”

Nigeria: Jollof rice

Loud, vibrant, and overflowing with joy – that’s how Lola Osinkolu, the force behind the blog Chef Lola’s Kitchen, describes Easter celebrations in Nigeria.

Osinkolu, who grew up in Nigeria, recalls that after Easter Sunday church service, her family would head home and immediately begin cooking.

“We would cook non-stop, hour after hour,” Osinkolu reminisced.

The star of the feast? Nigerian jollof rice, of course.

Osinkolu likens jollof rice, a tomato-based dish that likely originated in Senegal before spreading across West Africa, to jambalaya. It’s a beloved dish and a party essential in Nigeria.

“It’s full of spice and absolutely delicious,” she said.

Jollof rice is made with long-grain rice and seasoned with Nigerian-style curry powder. The dish is versatile, with countless variations that include different meats, spices, chilies, onions, and vegetables.

Osinkolu’s version of the recipe, called 'The Party Style With Beef', was passed down from her mother. However, Osinkolu adds her personal touch by roasting the bell peppers, tomatoes, onions, and garlic.

“At home, when we have parties, we don’t cook our jollof rice on the stove; we cook it over an open flame. This gives the rice a smoky flavor that makes it even more delicious,” Osinkolu explained. “To replicate that at home, I roast the bell peppers to get as close as possible to that smoky taste. It really enhances the flavor.”

Her jollof rice is so beloved that she’s learned to always prepare extra, knowing her guests will want to take some home. “I keep hearing the same compliment about how amazing it tastes,” she said.