16 Easter Dinner Side Dishes for an Eggsceptional Meal

Whether you're serving a main dish of spiral-cut ham, roasted lamb, or any other delicious choice, it's the Easter dinner sides that really make or break your meal. Don't settle for the old standards this year. Instead, you can really shake things up and make your traditional Easter dinner into an eggstravaganza!

It's not Easter dinner without a side of scalloped potatoes. These thinly sliced and tender potatoes in a creamy sauce go perfectly with a country ham or any other main course.

Our simple scalloped potato recipe includes cream and Parmesan and Romano cheeses for a rich flavor that's irresistible. You can even make them ahead if you're bringing them as a side dish to an Easter dinner at someone else's house.

Easter dinner can be a little heavy as a meal (we're not complaining), so you can lighten things up with some simple fruit skewers that add a touch of spring brightness and lots of vitamins to your meal. This recipe makes enough for eight servings.

Ingredients

• 2 cups of strawberries, rinsed and tops trimmed off
• 1 cup of clementines, peeled and separated into sections
• 1 cup of green grapes
• 1 cup of red or purple grapes
• 1 cup of melon of your choice, cut into one-inch cubes
• 16 bamboo skewers

Instructions

1. Starting with a grape (less likely to slide off), stab the skewer through the fruit.
2. Continue adding pieces of fruit until the skewer is full. End with a grape.
3. Set the completed skewer aside until you've done all 16.
4. Arrange them on a platter for an attractive side dish.

Nothing says Easter quite like carrots, and they make great side dishes in just about any form. One creative option is to serve a carrot soup with your dinner - either as a starter or on the side.

Our warm ginger carrot soup recipe is a winner and is so tasty that it can actually works as a vegetarian main course (a super nice touch if you're inviting people who don't eat meat to your Easter dinner). Fresh ginger and orange zest give it a bit of zing that complements the sweetness of the carrots perfectly.

Serving a salad with your Easter dinner is a great way to add some different textures and flavors, as well as lots of fresh and festive color. Keeping with the Easter theme, adding roasted carrots to the salad makes it feel like it fits with the celebration.

The arugula and roasted carrot salad recipe from Ahead of Thyme has so many things going for it. The combination of sweet and tangy flavors makes it a perfect choice to go with any main course. Feta cheese, pine nuts, and a lemon dressing help it stand out.

Another wonderful Easter salad option involves the classic spring favorite of peas. Their bright green color and fresh flavor will be lovely on your holiday table.

Our cold pea salad recipe is about as easy as it gets, too. All you need are frozen peas that aren't quite thawed, real bacon, some red onion for zip, and some mayo. It's a delicious treat that's super refreshing.

When it comes to Easter vegetable side dishes, you can't really beat asparagus. In many places, it's in season right around Easter, so you can find it fresh in your grocery store.

Roasting or grilling it is a great way to bring out the flavor. Our grilled salted asparagus is easy to make, and you can adapt the recipe to your oven broiler if it's not quite grilling weather where you are. Just set your oven to broil and put the asparagus on a sheet pan on a rack near the broiler. Keep a close watch on how they're cooking and move them around often. When they're tender but still a little crispy, they're ready for the Easter dinner table.

Sure, you have the potatoes, but there's no rule that says you can't double up on the starches with your Easter dinner sides. This is a holiday after all.

Our super simple homemade biscuit recipe is easy to whip up while you're waiting for everything to cook. They only bake for about 10 minutes, so plan to put them in the oven right before you call everyone to the table. That way, you can pull them out hot and make everyone's mouth water.

Sometimes you need something a little crisp and zesty to balance out the flavors of your Easter meal. This is where cucumbers come in.

Food & Wine has a really easy and delicious cucumber salad recipe that uses red wine vinegar to add tang. The cucumbers are sliced super thin, so get out your mandoline or food processor for this one.

Let's face it - making Easter dinner is a big job. You really don't have time to be hands on with everything, and these green beans don't ask for much of your attention. They can cook while you're setting the table, making the main dish, and doing all the other things. This recipe serves eight.

Ingredients

• 2 pounds green beans, trimmed and washed
• 6 tablespoons melted butter
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 lemon cut in eighths
• Cooking spray
• Salt to taste

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 425°F.
2. Spray two sheet pans with cooking spray.
3. In a small bowl, mix the melted butter, lemon juice, and garlic.
4. Put the green beans in a large resealable bag. Dump in the butter mixture. Seal and shake until the beans are coated.
5. Dump the beans onto the two sheet pans and bake for 15-20 minutes until they are tender.
6. Serve with the lemon wedges.

Potatoes in all their forms are pretty much perfect, right? If you want an alternative to scalloped or mashed, try our delicious twice-baked potato casserole recipe.

The addition of cheddar cheese and bacon make this mouthwatering, and everyone will want seconds. Make enough to send some home with guests as leftovers, because we promise they'll ask.

Another awesome carrot recipe that will stand out on your holiday table is Once Upon a Chef's carrot slaw. You don't see very many Easter side dishes that use fresh carrots, and that rarity makes this dish special feeling.

In this slaw, the grated carrots are combined with cranberries, walnuts, green onions, and a dressing made with citrus juice. You'll love it.

Bread in the shape of a wreath instantly feels like a celebration, and if you love spanikopita or any combination of feta and spinach, this is the Easter side dish for you. It goes really well with salty main dishes like ham.

Jo Cooks has the perfect recipe for a spinach and feta wreath. It uses a simple, yeast-free dough with a not-so-secret ingredient: Parmesan cheese. Stuffed with spinach and feta, it's a delectable side dish that's sure to be a hit.

Add a pop of color to your Easter table with a salad that has a bright flavor and vibrant hues. Kale might not seem like the first thing you'd think of as a side dish, but the hearty greens balance out the savory main dishes people tend to serve at Easter.

Our mango kale salad recipe is easy to make, and you can mix it up ahead of time and keep it in the fridge until you're ready to eat. The dressing has lots of tangy citrus, which helps make the kale really tender.

Choose small whole carrots for this recipe and roast them whole without cutting the tops off. Piled on a platter and sitting next to your main dish, they'll give your Easter dinner table a festive feeling. This recipe serves eight.

Ingredients

• 2 pounds of small carrots, peeled
• ¼ cup honey
• ¼ cup olive oil
• Cooking spray
• Salt to taste

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Spray two baking sheets with nonstick spray.
2. In a small bowl, whisk the honey and olive oil until combined. You can heat the honey for a few seconds in the microwave to help thin it if you need to.
3. Put the peeled carrots in a large resealable bag and pour the honey mixture in. Seal it and shake until the carrots are covered.
4. Dump the carrots on the two trays and roast in your oven for 25-30 minutes.
5. Add salt just before serving.

We promised an eggstraveganza, and you definitely need eggs for that. Deviled eggs are perfect as an Easter dinner side to give your meal the holiday feel you want.

Our deviled eggs recipe is super easy and includes lots of variations for the filling, including bacon, olives, pickles, scallions, and tons of other ideas.

The creamy dressing of traditional Waldorf salad gives it a sweet pastel look that's ideal for Easter. It's also a fresh treat that has a crisp texture that balances out softer savory foods on the table.

Our Waldorf salad recipe uses three kinds of apples for a mixture of flavors. You can even swap out your own favorites to customize the salad to your tastes.

Your Easter sides will really help you make the meal special. Follow up with a carrot cake or other festive dessert, and sit back and enjoy the celebration. Easter only comes once a year, and the perfect food is just one part of having a perfect day.