12 Easter Main Dishes for People Who Hate Ham

Braised Lamb Shanks

These fall-off-the-bone-tender lamb shanks are seared to lock in flavor, then braised in a flavorful gravy of beef broth, a quality dry pinot noir and tomato seasoned with rosemary, garlic and onion. The best part of this recipe is that you can cook it on the stovetop or in your slow cooker or Instant Pot.

Braised Honey Mustard Rabbit

A tangy Dijon-sage honey mustard sauce creates a beautiful glaze for this simple braised rabbit.

Spring Skillet Roasted Lemon Chicken & Veggies

Ina Garten’s roasted chicken may be a classic, but it’s definitely an any-given-Sunday affair. For Easter, whip out your cast-iron skillet and get to work on this roasted lemon chicken and veggies instead. The butterflied chicken is rubbed down with an oil infused with plenty of thyme, ginger, paprika and cayenne and baked with aromatic lemon slices, onions and garlic atop spring potatoes, seasonal asparagus and marinated artichokes for briny punch of flavor. Add some dry white wine, and as the chicken cooks, the peppery ginger-infused juices from the chicken will drip down into the wine to create a flavorful au jus pan sauce for this one-pot Easter dish.

Herb-Crusted Salmon With Goat Cheese Polenta

Tart and earthy goat cheese polenta and sweet roasted cherry tomatoes are the perfect companions for this herb-crusted salmon, brushed with spicy Dijon mustard and topped with garlicky, herb-seasoned breadcrumbs to create a crisp and delectable crust. 

Grilled Vegetarian/Vegan Cauliflower Steaks

For a vegetarian or vegan alternative, these grilled cauliflower steaks are nobody’s side dish. They’re brushed with oil, lemon, garlic and honey (or agave to make it vegan), then roasted until tender and caramelized. Serve them topped with red pepper and parsley and a scattering of walnuts for added texture.

Juicy Slow Cooker Beef Brisket

Since Easter falls during or near Passover each year (or, if you live here in Texas, because it’s Thursday), there should be plenty of brisket on sale at the grocery store. If you can’t talk your pal out of his grandma’s Passover brisket recipe, try this juicy slow cooker brisket seasoned with a spicy rub and cooked low and slow in a kicked-up barbecue sauce.

Stuffed Chicken Breasts With Mushrooms & Goat Cheese

Bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts are stuffed with a mixture of cooked, wine-deglazed mushrooms, shallots, garlic and herbs and a smattering of creamy, salty goat cheese, then roasted until golden-brown.

Bison Steak With Herbed Brown Butter

Garlic- and rosemary-infused brown butter is the ideal complement to the tender, buttery mouthfeel of bison in this bison steak recipe.   

Sun-Dried Tomato & Garlic Roasted Leg of Lamb

This showstopping roasted leg of lamb is rubbed with a piquant paste of sun-dried tomatoes in oil and garlic, stuffed with more thinly sliced garlic and cooked until the center is warm and red and the outside is chargrilled. Serve it with a lemon-dressed potato salad for a refreshing contrast of flavors.

Keto & Paleo Garlic & Dijon Chicken Drumsticks

Everyone gets in on the best cut of the bird with garlic and Dijon chicken drumsticks. Marinate the drumsticks in a bright and zesty mix of hearty whole-grain mustard, spicy Dijon, garlic and lemon juice and bake them until the skin is just charred and the juices run clear.

Miso-Glazed Salmon

Miso paste adds an extra punch of umami to the sweet Japanese sake and mildly acidic mirin (rice wine) in the glaze for these flaky, meaty salmon fillets. Serve the miso-glazed salmon over steamed white rice as the recipe indicates or mix it up by serving it over an Armenian rice pilaf (an Easter tradition in that country) and top it with thinly sliced green onions for garnish.

Paleo Roasted Duck With Herb Ghee

Stuff your duck with a mixture of aromatics and tart berries to imbue the meat with flavor and keep it tender and juicy, then rub it down with a ghee flavored with rosemary, thyme, sage and garlic. After roasting until the herb ghee duck is cooked through and the skin is dark brown and crisp, make a succulent brown gravy with the drippings. This recipe uses cranberries, but any tart in-season berry or fruit will do.

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