When you celebrate Passover (or Pesach) every year, it's easy to rely on the flourless classics across the board, and we totally get it. It’s hard to come up with fun, creative options year after year! From matzo ball soup to brisket, with lots of fun sides in between, you might have your savory menu covered for Passover—where things can get a little tricky is when it comes to dessert time. Lucky for you, these 47 flourless dessert recipes (for cookies, cakes, and other easy treats) have your back—they're great for Passover, and all year long.
If you’re unfamiliar, the term “Passover” refers to the biblical stories of the 10 plagues sent by God to convince the Egyptian pharaoh to “let the Jewish people go” and the eventual exodus of the Jewish people from Egypt. As the story goes, they packed in such a hurry that they didn’t have enough time to even let their bread rise (if you’ve ever made homemade bread, you can imagine), and only were able to bring unleavened, cracker-like bread called matzo with them. To celebrate this exodus, Jewish people today continue to remove chametz from their diets (and their homes, for some strict households) for the duration of Passover, as well as make sure all other ingredients they’re using are specified Kosher for Passover. Simply put, chametz is basically any flour product like bread, cereal, cake, cookies, pasta, etc. In addition, they must continue to follow general Kosher rules (meat and dairy can’t be eaten in the same meal, though fish and eggs are considered neutral, or pareve; no pork products; etc.)
Here we’ve included some fun ideas for desserts to make with matzo (toffee! icebox cake! MAGIC BARS), as well as other traditional Passover desserts, like coconut macaroons and meringues. Want to jazz up your meringue game even more? You're going to love our pavlova, or our pavlova cupcakes with raspberry sauce. We’ve also got a flourless chocolate cake, plus a peanut butter version (if you allow kitniyot, or legumes, during Passover) and a salted chocolate coconut version. They’re so good, you’re going to want to make them year round.
You’ll note a number of desserts we’ve included are vegan, like our vegan cheesecake or coconut ice cream—because they don’t contain real milk, you’re in the clear for eating them even after a meat-heavy dinner. You won’t even miss the dairy, we promise!
This time of year, we love making extra sweet treats to share with our friends and families. Everyone loves being gifted cookies, like our walnut snowballs or snickerdoodle shortbread, or barks, like our sweet 'n' salty chocolate bark or almond toffee. Just be mindful of how strict your gift receiver is about Passover guidelines—when in doubt, buy Kosher for Passover ingredients.
If baking seems too stressful, check out our list of our favorite store-bought Passover desserts too.
Matzo Magic Bars
If you've ever had magic bars (aka seven-layer bars), you know a great dessert doesn't have to be complicated. These matzo-based bars are a genius play on the no-fuss sweet à la cookbook author Molly Yeh, and they're the perfect Passover dessert when you don't have time to make coconut macaroons.
Get the Matzo Magic Bars recipe.
Air Fryer Coconut Macaroons
These are the perfect bite-size treat for any time of day—feel free to skip the chocolate if you want to keep them less sweet. For a pink, raspberry version, smash 1/4 cup fresh raspberries into the foamy egg white mixture with a fork and then toss in the coconut.
Get the Air Fryer Coconut Macaroons recipe.
Chocolate Mousse
In our minds, chocolate mousse is pretty much a super-airy pudding. The chocolate flavor needs to be really strong, and the texture needs to be pillowy and smooth. We've included a few different ways to achieve these—just avoid the gelatin one, and you'll be on your way to a delicious Passover dessert in no time!
Get the Chocolate Mousse recipe.
Honey-Roasted Pears
Lusciously glazed with honey, these roasted pears showcase elegant flecks of vanilla bean and are finished with colorful lemon zest and a dusting of fresh thyme. They can be served on their own for a light bite to satisfy a sweet tooth, or—our favorite—as a complete dessert, with a scoop of cool and creamy, like vanilla ice cream or sweetened Greek yogurt.
Get the Honey-Roasted Pears recipe.
Big-Batch Lava Cake
She’s beauty, she’s grace, she’s big-batch lava cake. Words cannot fully express how we feel about this particular cake. It's fudgy yet light, salty and sweet, and rich as can be. If you’re intimidated by the thought of making lava cake, this is your perfect starter recipe. It only requires 10 ingredients, and because it’s one large batch, there's no need to stress about overcooking the center.
Get the Big-Batch Lava Cake recipe.
Warm Figs With Honey & Greek Yogurt
This is one stunningly easy dessert that's simple yet amazing, and it’s ready in just 15 minutes! You also only need 5 ingredients to make it, including the figs. Plus, there’s no special equipment required—just a trusty skillet. So any time you’re looking for a quick and easy, sweet and savory dessert, look no further than this recipe!
Get the Warm Figs With Honey & Greek Yogurt recipe.
Best-Ever Flan
In our opinion, Flan (AKA the classic baked custard often served in Latin America & Spain) never goes out of style. So pour yourself a freshly brewed cup of coffee and dig into one of the creamiest, most luxurious desserts ever. The addition of egg yolks makes for a particularly rich version, leaving you with just enough egg whites to make coconut macaroons or French macarons.
Get the Best-Ever Flan recipe.
Gluten-Free Peach Cobbler
It’s as if peaches existed solely to be topped with this fluffy buttermilk biscuit topping. Seriously. With almond flour and Swerve granular, this recipe is gluten-free and keto-friendly. If you want to sub in frozen peaches, make sure they’re defrosted first! (You can zap them in the microwave for 30-second intervals if you need to do so quickly.)
Get the Gluten-Free Peach Cobbler recipe.
Chocolate Pots De Crème
These little pots of chocolatey goodness defy explanation. While they're technically a custard, they fall somewhere in the middle between a pudding and a mousse. All you really need to know is that these ultra-chocolatey cups are a rich, sweet dream, topped with fluffy whipped cream.
Get the Chocolate Pots De Crème recipe.
Easy Sorbet
No ice cream maker? No problem! We've included a traditional recipe and a no-churn recipe. A churned sorbet will be smoother and creamier than a no-churn one, but the no-churn sorbet is every bit as refreshing.
Get the Easy Sorbet recipe.
Pavlova Cupcakes With Raspberry Sauce
Pavlovas have a crispy exterior with a soft, marshmallow-like interior, and these mini ones made into cupcakes are ideal for serving to guests. Dollop with a little homemade whipped cream and raspberry sauce for the perfect bite.
High-Protein Mousse
You don’t need any protein powder to help make this a high-protein dessert, only one staple: cottage cheese. If the idea of cottage cheese and mousse is freaking you out, don't stress—the texture is so smooth and fluffy after blending together, you'd never know cottage cheese was hiding in there.
Get the High-Protein Mousse recipe.
Matzoh Icebox Cake
This tastes just like tiramisu! Make it the day before your celebration to ensure the matzo has enough time to soak and turn cakey.
Get the Matzoh Icebox Cake recipe.
French Macarons
These delicate French cookies are somehow simultaneously crispy, chewy, soft, and light as air. This makes them the perfect blank canvas for creative flavors and colors. Make sure all your ingredients are room temperature to achieve the greatest success.
Get the French Macarons recipe.
Gelato
If you can't make it to Italy, our homemade gelato recipe will at least make you feel like you're living your best life, right at home. And if you’ve never experienced authentic gelato, then you might just surprise yourself with how much you love it (maybe even more than American ice cream, but don't worry—we won't tell 😉).
Get the Gelato recipe.
Chocolate Toffee Matzo
This candy has become a post-seder classic and is a great way to utilize any extra matzo you bought. Make a lot and give as gifts!
Get the Chocolate Toffee Matzo recipe.
Brigadeiros
Brigadeiros are super easy to make. They take some finesse, but come together quickly, and you gotta love an assembly line-style treat. Do like many Brazilians do, and keep a can of condensed milk in your kitchen cabinet, so you’ll always be minutes away from enjoying these chewy, chocolate delights.
Get the Brigadeiros recipe.
Easy Halva
Sephardic Jews rejoice, tahini-based halva (similar to fudge, but less sweet, if you're unfamiliar) is super-easy to make at home! We're obsessed.
Get the Easy Halva recipe.
Best Almond Cake
This is one of those gluten-free and dairy-free recipes that we turn to again and again—it's that good. If you're crazy about citrus, go heavy on the zest (any type!), and your cake will shine like the sun.
Get the Best Almond Cake recipe.
Strawberry Chocolate Mousse Cups
Chocolate and strawberries go together like peanut butter and jelly—it's a combo we can't get enough of. For this no-bake dessert, we made edible cups out of chocolate and filled them with a light and airy chocolate mousse for a decadent dessert. Top it off with a strawberry, and you have a perfectly simple Passover dessert.
