Traditional Romanian Easter Recipes

Easter is my favourite time in the kitchen. Our table is never quiet - there's always something simmering, something baking, and someone sneaking a slice of cozonac before it's ready. These are the recipes I make every year, the ones my family expects to see on the table.

If you're wondering what Romanians eat at Orthodox Easter, the answer is - a lot! Lamb is always the centrepiece, but the table is never complete without sarmale, pasca and cozonac.

These dishes are deeply special to me because they connect my family to our heritage. Here, I've combined those beloved Romanian traditions with universally loved Easter classics, so there's truly something for everyone - whether you're planning Easter brunch, lunch, or a full Easter dinner spread.

Romanian Easter Appetizers/Starters

We love to have our table filled with small bites, and with that in mind, I'm always making the ones I remember from childhood. The red eggs are always front and centre - they're a must on every Romanian Easter table. The tradition says to make them on Holy/Big Thursday, and on Easter Sunday we knock the eggs around the table saying "Christ has risen" as the shell cracks. Whoever's egg cracks first eats it - and you keep going until everyone has cracked theirs. It's one of those rituals that never gets old, no matter how many Easters you've been through! Romanian Easter follows the Orthodox calendar, so our celebrations often fall on a different date than in Western Europe

The boeuf salad is on the list every year, and the devilled eggs are a lovely addition since the egg is such a symbol of Easter. The breadsticks are a great option for nibbles - they're quite addictive. Once you start eating them, you finish before you know it! The table always has fresh spring vegetables too - green onions, spring garlic, radishes, fresh bread and telemea cheese or cas.

I also make chicken cornflake bites for the kids, and baked turkey meatballs instead of fried - just to keep things a little lighter on the fats.

Another traditional Easter starter worth mentioning is drob de miel - a lamb organ meatloaf with whole boiled eggs inside, served sliced. It's very much a village tradition, but if you grew up in Romania, you'll know exactly what I mean!

Romanian Easter Mains

For Easter, I usually make roasted lamb on the second day. I marinate it the day before, leave it in the fridge overnight, then roast it in the morning so it's ready by midday. I serve it plain with a spicy beetroot and horseradish salad. Maybe some roasted carrots or potatoes on the side, or polenta.

Another main I always make is stuffed cabbage rolls - if I can find good cabbage leaves, great, but if not, I always have grape leaves in brine, and I use those instead. We serve them with sour cream or Greek yogurt and bread or polenta on the side.

Romanian Easter Sides

We don't go overboard with sides at Easter - the menu is already quite diverse and filling, so we keep it simple. A sauerkraut cabbage salad, some polenta, maybe a light green salad. Just enough to balance out the richer, heavier dishes we enjoy during this time of year.

Romanian Easter Desserts

Easter involves a lot of baking and cooking, so planning ahead is essential - you need to know what you're making and on which day so everything is ready in time. I usually plan the baking two days before. Making the walnut roll (cozonac cu nuca si stafide) takes half a day, and with the ricotta cake (pasca cu branza) it fills an entire day. I always make double portions, because one walnut roll never survives - that's just an unwritten rule. In Romania, the pasca is traditionally taken to church on Easter Saturday to be blessed by the priest, alongside the red eggs and cozonac.

It's always so funny with all these preparations. We always end up asking ourselves: "Okay, but what are we actually eating today?" So focused on getting everything ready, we completely forget to think about that!

Romanian Easter Soups

I know by now you're already full just from looking at these wonderful dishes - I'm sure of it! But I remember clearly my mother, my grandmother and my aunt asking themselves: should we make a soup or a ciorba, is it really necessary? And always ending up cooking one anyway, right at the end of the day. In Romania, soup is something we simply can't skip. What if someone wants a bowl? It's better to just have it. So we make it.

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