Easter is a holiday spent in the comfort of our homes with friends and family. A big component of this holiday is the Easter brunch or Easter dinner. I remember as a kid the excitement of finding Easter eggs followed by a delicious lunch with some of my favorite foods. This Easter I hope to recreate my childhood Easter dinner but with vegan options instead. If you are planning on making your own Easter dinner, keep reading to see how easy it can be!
When I think of Easter, I think of the traditional Easter ham. I don’t know how I would make a vegan ham from scratch, but luckily, I don’t have to. Tofurky makes a delicious Vegetarian Ham Style Roast. It comes with a decadent beer glaze that adds a nice sweetness on top. The great thing about this ham is how super easy it is, you just pop it in the oven and about 15 minutes before it’s done cooking you add the glaze on top. And for about $10, it’s a great buy that can easily feed 4-5 people. If ham isn’t your thing, then I recommend trying Tofurky’s Holiday Roast, which is another great option to affordably feed about 4-6 people.
A classic side dish to go with the vegan ham or vegan roast is gravy. Finding vegan gravy can be difficult, but I found a couple of options that can make your ham or mashed potatoes even more delectable. The easiest one to find in a grocery store will be Campbell’s Mushroom Gravy. If you prefer organic, then I recommend Simply Organic Vegetarian Brown Gravy, or Imagine’s Vegetarian Wild Mushroom Gravy or, Pacific’s Vegan Mushroom Gravy.
And one of my favorite childhood foods that was always made with our Easter dinner are Pillsbury’s Crescent Rolls. Believe it or not, these crescent rolls are accidentally vegan with no dairy, butter, or milk in them, yet they are still amazingly delicious. So, make sure to get your hands on these delicious dinner rolls for your table this Easter.
Now that you have your main staples for dinner, here are a few of my favorite side dishes that are easy to pick up from the store.
I absolutely love the Zucchini fries from Trader Joe’s. You can either serve them as an appetizer or they make a great side dish to your meal.
Another one of my favorite side dishes that you can find at Trader Joe’s or at your local grocery store is Tabbouleh Salad. This Mediterranean dish is a vegetarian salad made of tomatoes, finely chopped parsley, mint, bulgur, and onion, and seasoned with olive oil, lemon juice, and salt. This is simple enough to make at home, but I often find it in the deli sections in most grocery stores. So, it can be one less thing you have to make on Easter day.
If you want to whip up a side dish from scratch, then I recommend trying this Vegan Potato Salad.
Ingredients:
- 5 to 6 red, white or Russet potatoes
- 1/2 cup vegan mayonnaise (I like the Trader Joe’s brand best)
- 3 Tbsp. vinegar
- 1 medium red onion, diced
- 2 stalks celery, diced
- 1/3 cup dried cranberries (optional)
- Top and mix in 2 teaspoons of paprika for a smoky taste
- Add 1/2 cup of yellow mustard to add some extra tang to the dish
- Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add potatoes and cook until tender but still firm, about 15 minutes.
- Drain the water from the pot and cool the potatoes completely, about 15 minutes.
- Peel the potatoes completely and chop into bite-sized pieces. Set aside (Alternatively, you can leave the peels on some potatoes for more texture)
- Gently toss together all the remaining ingredients in a large bowl, add the potatoes gradually and cover with the ingredients until evenly distributed.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Chill for at least one hour before serving, if you have enough time. The flavors are best after an overnight refrigeration.
To make your easy vegan Easter dinner complete, don’t forget about dessert! When I was a kid, it was my favorite thing to frost the sugar cookies at Easter. My mom would bake sugar cookies in the shapes of Easter eggs and us kids would get to decorate them with icing and sprinkles.
For this easy Easter dessert, I recommend using Annie’s Sugar Cookie Box Mix. The mix calls for milk and eggs, but you can simply replace these. For milk, you can use soy, almond, or coconut milk. And for every egg you need you can replace it with 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil. This dessert is fun for both adults and kids alike.
If you are attending an Easter dinner this year, make sure to stay tuned for my next article where I’ll share some easy vegan side dishes you can bring to share.
This Easter, you won’t have to fret or worry about compiling a vegan meal. Instead, you will see that there are many options available to you to make this Easter dinner your easiest one yet.
