28 Passover Recipes To Make For Your Seder (2024)

FAQs

What is a typical Passover seder menu? ›

The actual Seder meal is also quite variable. Traditions among Ashkenazi Jews generally include gefilte fish (poached fish dumplings), matzo ball soup, brisket or roast chicken, potato kugel (somewhat like a casserole) and tzimmes, a stew of carrots and prunes, sometimes including potatoes or sweet potatoes.

The seder plate is the focal point of the Passover seder. Set at the head or the middle of the table where everyone can see it, it holds the 6 symbolic, ceremonial foods for the night: matzo, shank bone, egg, bitter herb, charoset, and vegetable. Matzah: Set three layers of matzah on the table and cover them.

The tradition goes back to the 13th century, when custom dictated a prohibition against wheat, barley, oats, rice, rye and spelt, Rabbi Amy Levin said on NPR in 2016.

Vegetables: Fresh vegetables, such as carrots, potatoes, green beans, broccoli, and lettuce, are all kosher for Passover. It's important to thoroughly wash them to remove any traces of chametz (leavened grains).

Many seder plates include an orange, which is attributed to Susannah Heschel, professor of Jewish studies at Dartmouth College. Heschel included an orange in recognition of gay and lesbian Jews, and others who are marginalized in the Jewish community.

The next year, Heschel put an orange on her seder plate and shared that she chose the orange “because it suggests the fruitfulness for all Jews when lesbians and gay men are contributing and active members of Jewish life.” The seeds of the orange, like other items on the seder plate, symbolize rebirth and renewal.

People usually dress up a little for the seder, but it's best to ask your host ahead of time, as seder attire can run the gamut from jeans and T-shirts to suit-and-tie. You'll probably eat a lot, however, so don't wear anything with a tight-fitting waist!

What meat to eat at Passover? ›

What Do You Eat for Passover Seder Dinner? In addition to the foods included on the Seder plate, Passover typically involves a delicious meal for all to enjoy. The menu may differ depending on family tradition, but some popular choices include brisket, roasted chicken, gefilte fish and potato kugel.

Whether you spell it matzo or matzah, no Passover meal is complete without the brittle unleavened bread. You'll inevitably have plenty leftover, so use it to make matzo brei, matzo granola, or matzo toffee.

The Beet Vegetarians who do not wish to add the shank bone instead substitute a roasted beet, citing the Talmud, Tractate 114b. The Flower or the Seed If you're vegan, the traditional egg needs to leave the Seder plate as well.

A second bitter item, which is sometimes left off the Seder plate entirely, romaine lettuce symbolizes the fact that the Jewish stay in Egypt began soft and ended hard and bitter (look at the two ends of a piece of lettuce). How it's used: Some families do use the chazeret and the maror interchangeably or together.

This is a festival which remembers the escape of the ancient Israelites from Egypt. Jesus and his disciples were celebrating the Passover meal together. As this was the last meal that Jesus would share with his disciples, he took elements of the Passover meal and made them symbols of his death.

Jesus chose this special time of remembrance for Jews to begin a new tradition of remembrance for Christians: the Lord's Supper. Like the Passover meal, the Lord's Supper takes place at the table. It is at the table that we are spiritually fed, just as the bread and the cup sustain our physical bodies.