37 Passover Side Dishes That'll Make Your Seder Dinner Your Best One Yet
No more matzo pizza for you!
With springtime in full bloom, its nearly time for the sacred holiday of Passover (April 22 to April 30, 2024), so we’re getting ready to ditch the chametz (or leaved bread products) and attend or host a Passover seder dinner (complete with a rousing chorus of Dayenu and finding the afikoman, ofc!). Though we’d never advocate to completely get rid of some of the more traditional foods eaten during Passover (potato kugel, we love you), those of us who celebrate know things can get a little… repetitive after a while. The best way to avoid that? Like with any holiday, switching up your side dishes can bring some much needed variety, color, and flavors to your meals. Check out our 33 Passover side dishes for ideas—we promise they’re better than eating matzo pizza again 😉.
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. The last of the 10 plagues was the killing of all firstborn Egyptian sons, during which God instructed the Jewish people to slaughter a lamb and mark their doorposts with its blood to instruct the Angel of Death to “pass over” them. After this last plague, the Pharaoh ordered the Jews to leave 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 leavened flour product like bread, cake, cookies, etc. Traditionally Jewish people also have avoided kitniyot, or legumes (like peanuts, peas, and beans), though recently modern families have begun reintroducing them into their Passover diets. 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.) Most families also traditionally make a seder plate full of items that help in the retelling of the Passover story before dinner.
There are some recipes that are practically synonymous with Passover: The aforementioned kugel is one, as is matzo ball soup, carrot-and-date-based tzimmes, and apple-walnut charoset. There are also some traditional Passover seder plate ingredients we’re highlighting here, like horseradish (maror), hard-boiled eggs (beitzah), or beets (zeroah, in lieu of a shank bone). If you’ve got extra of these ingredients and don’t want them to go to waste, try our egg salad, our horseradish mashed potatoes, or our beet borsht.
We’ve also included a number of salads, from lighter greens-based ones like our mandarin orange salad or our roasted beet & goat cheese salad, to hearty ones like our Niçoise salad or our roasted chickpea & avocado salad.
Speaking of chickpeas, they (and other legumes) fall under the category of kitniyot, a traditionally avoided ingredient throughout the history of Passover celebrations. Many modern families have begun reintroducing them into their kosher for Passover diets—if that’s not you, we’ll assume you’ll be aware of the regulations you abide by and will sub in or out of these recipes as needed. For everyone else, we hope these recipes will help broaden your perspective and inspire you to try something new. We think the best part about appreciating a culture you’re not a part of is the opportunity to try something new while also having the flexibility to (respectfully!) not be perfect about it.
Want even more Passover ideas? Check out our best recipes for Passover dinner and our favorite Passover desserts too (our matzo icebox cake is a stunner).
Cacio E Pepe Egg Noodles
Cacio e pepe is one of our all time FAVORITE pasta dishes. This lightened-up version calls for making your egg noodles from scratch, sans flour—the good news is it's SO much easier than it sounds. All you need is a good nonstick pan, and you'll be on your way to OU-P pasta bliss.
Get the Cacio E Pepe Egg Noodles recipe.
Pastrami Matzo Kugel
Of all the various kugels (potato and noodle being the most popular), matzo kugel tends to not get any love. This incredibly flavorful Reuben-inspired recipe is here to change all that.
Get the Pastrami Matzo Kugel recipe.
Air Fryer Moroccan-Spiced Carrots
A combo of spices adds a riot of flavor to those carrots that may or may not have been sitting in the crisper for too long. Serve alongside brisket or chicken for a delicious Middle Eastern-inspired meal.
Cranberry Apple Quinoa Salad
We don’t believe in boring salads at Delish, and crunchy apples and tart cranberries bring a lot of life to this one. The slightly sweet and lemony dressing is a delight, so make extra and put it on everything during Passover.
Get the Cranberry Apple Quinoa Salad recipe.
Greek Lemon Potatoes
Tangy and bright from generous amounts of lemon, this Greek-inspired recipe is a great way to great way jazz up everyone's favorite OUP carb—potatoes!
Get the Greek Lemon Potatoes recipe.
Egg Salad
Make this egg salad using your extra seder plate hard-boiled eggs. Feel free to sub the mayonnaise for sour cream or Greek yogurt if you can't find OU-P mayo.
Get the Egg Salad recipe.
Chicken Matzo Ball Soup recipe
A symbolic dish of past hardships, warming matzo ball soup is an essential component of the Passover feast. The time and effort you invest really pays off here; plus, it couldn’t be easier: Throw a few roughly chopped vegetables, a whole chicken or two, some herbs, and chicken stock into a large pot and basically walk away for two hours.
Get the Chicken Matzo Ball Soup recipe.
Sweet & Sour Braised Red Cabbage
One of our favorite ways to prepare cabbage is to braise it. This mostly hands-off method produces perfectly crisp-tender cabbage, with a TON of flavor.
Roasted Turnips
Turnips, much like radishes and parsnips, turn irresistibly sweet when roasted, making them the perfect foil for a savory main dish. This recipe is for purple-top turnips, which tend to be larger and thicker-skinned than Japanese varieties like hakurei. If yours are small and sweet, skip peeling and check them after just 15 minutes in the oven.
Get the Roasted Turnips recipe.
Cheese Soufflé
At once light-as-air and lavishly decadent, a classic cheese soufflé is hard not to love. The ingredients may be simple, but the impact is anything but; piping hot out of the oven, these soufflés are sky-high, golden brown, and filled with cheesy, custardy goodness.
Get the Cheese Soufflé recipe.
Tzimmes
The word tzimmes has its origins in Yiddish: To "make a big tzimmes about something" essentially means making a big fuss. Here, there's hardly any! The carrots and dates are quickly braised in an orange sauce and finished with fresh parsley for a pop of green.
Get the Tzimmes recipe.
Potato Kugel
For when you can't have traditional noodle kugel (😥), this gluten-free potato kugel is the next best thing. It's essentially a giant latke!
Get the Potato Kugel recipe.
Best-Ever Borsht
This rich, flavorful broth is SO flavorful, making it one of our go-tos during Passover week. Dyed-pink hands got you down? Try rubbing the stained parts of your hand with sliced lemon, then rinse with soap and water.
Get the Best-Ever Borsht recipe.
Shredded Brussels Sprouts
We love classic sautéed Brussels sprouts, but sometimes we crave something with a bit more kick. These slightly spicy, salty-sweet sprouts make a perfect side for passover dinner.
Get the Shredded Brussels Sprouts recipe.
Smashed Potatoes
These crispy potatoes are totally versatile; you can top them with cheddar, ranch seasoning (good use for any leftover seder plate karpas, or parsley), or even brie. Skip the Parmesan and swap the butter for olive oil if you want to serve these alongside meat as a side, or put them out alongside toothpicks as an app.
Get the Smashed Potatoes recipe.
Sugar Snap Peas
Consider this your reminder to not overlook humble sugar snap peas. This recipe is SO simple and makes for a lovely springy green side to pair with stronger flavors (like brisket!)
Get the Sugar Snap Peas recipe.
Cacio E Pepe Sweet Potato Noodles
Missing noodles this Passover? Make these cacio e pepe sweet potato noodles. Tossed in buttery black pepper sauce and showered with Parmesan and Pecorino, these sweet potato noodles are so delicious that no one will even think about asking for “regular” pasta.
Roasted Beet Goat Cheese Salad
All beet lovers rejoice! This is the ideal beet salad: creamy goat cheese (sub feta if you prefer it), roasted beets, avocado... what more could you want this Passover?
Keto Garlic Bread
The secret to really good Passover-friendly "garlic bread"? Cheese, glorious cheese! Fun fact: The same concept applies to cauliflower pizza crust.
Get the Keto Garlic Bread recipe.
Horseradish
Mashed potatoes are always amazing, but these are downright insane. They're also the perfect use for the leftover maror from your Passover Seder plate. Just remember, a little horseradish goes a long way. Even if you're a fanatic, start with our suggested amount (or less), then work your way up.
Get the Horseradish Mashed Potatoes recipe.
