18 Passover Recipes for an Unforgettable Seder

Homemade Preserved Horseradish

As tempting as it might be to pick up a bottle of prepared horseradish from the grocery store, it's almost as easy to make it from scratch. It takes just three ingredients—chunks of horseradish root, a little white vinegar to keep it from browning, and a pinch of salt—and a few minutes of pulsing in a food processor or blender. Make it now, and you can use it straight through the holiday—the pungent condiment will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for about three weeks.

Perfect Hard-Boiled Eggs

Hard-boiling an egg may seem like the simplest of tasks, but it comes with a number of possible pitfalls: chalky, green-tinged yolks; rubbery whites; and, worst of all, the shell that refuses to pull away. Our heavily tested technique will save you from all of those dreaded outcomes. For easy-to-peel eggs with firm but tender whites and nicely cooked yolks, start them in boiling water. Simmer them for 11 minutes, shock them in ice water, then remove the shell under running water. Or, even better, try steaming them instead.

Traditional Ashkenazi Charoset With Apples and Walnuts

This classic Ashkenazi charoset is so tasty that you'll be tempted to scarf up all the leftovers once the seder is over—and so simple that you may just start making it all year long. Combine diced apples and chopped toasted walnuts with a cup of sweet red Passover wine, plus plain or lightly toasted sugar and a pinch of spices, and you're done. We like to use a mix of sweet and tart apples, like a combination of Fuji and Granny Smith, for a balanced flavor.

Sephardic-Style Charoset With Dried Fruit and Nuts

Unlike the Ashkenazi version, Sephardic-style charoset incorporates dried fruits rather than fresh apples, and a wider variety of spices and nuts. Ours blends a red wine–simmered mixture of dates, dried apricots, and raisins with roasted almonds, plus a bit of fragrant orange blossom water. Chopping up the nuts and fruit in a food processor speeds things up, but make sure you leave a few chunks for texture.

The Dinner Plate

Classic Jewish Chopped Chicken Liver

It's not fancy or especially pretty, but the best chopped liver can be just as tasty as any pâté. The dish is incredibly simple—nothing more than chicken livers, hard-boiled eggs, onion, and fat—so it's worth using the best version of each component. We favor livers that have been grilled, broiled, or seared; a mix of lightly sautéed and more deeply browned minced onion; and schmaltz, or rendered chicken fat. If you have gribenes, or delicious bits of crispy onion left over after making the schmaltz, don't forget to sprinkle them on top.

Hummus Masabacha (Hummus With Whole Chickpeas)

This easy variant on a traditional hummus mixes whole chickpeas with puréed ones and tahini sauce, and can be as chunky or smooth as you like. We start with Kenji's easy tahini sauce, made by puréeing whole unpeeled (yes, unpeeled!) garlic cloves directly into lemon juice, then adding that mixture to the tahini. For the best flavor, cook dried chickpeas in water with an array of aromatics, then blend some of the cooking liquid into the sauce.

Carciofi alla Giudia (Roman-Jewish Fried Artichokes)

There's a solid tradition of deep-frying in Roman-Jewish cuisine, and these shatteringly crisp artichokes, served with just a sprinkling of salt and a squeeze of lemon, are a case in point. The trick to getting them tender and crunchy, with that signature Mediterranean flavor, is double-frying in olive oil—though you can also use a more neutral oil to emphasize more of the artichokes' own flavor.

Stovetop Tzimmes With Carrots and Raisins

If you think of this old Passover standby as nothing more than a mound of mushy, oversweetened carrots, it's time to revisit it with a fresh recipe. Orange juice keeps the flavor bright, and just a dab of honey highlights the carrots' natural sweetness. A mix of cardamom and cinnamon gives the dish added complexity.

The Best Matzo Ball Soup

Every family has its own matzo ball style, so our customizable recipe lets you tailor the dish exactly to your liking. With the help of baking powder, seltzer, or just plain water, you can make matzo balls that are airy, dense, or anywhere in between. No matter what style you choose, a quality chicken stock is nonnegotiable—poaching the matzo balls in stock instead of water maximizes their flavor.

Air-Fryer Roasted Potatoes

With this recipe, there’s no preheating the oven, no dealing with rimmed baking sheets, and, most importantly, no waiting an hour for your potatoes to cook. Parboiling the potatoes in a solution of water and baking soda breaks down the outer layer, creating a starchy slurry that gives the cooked potatoes extra crunch. Meanwhile, infusing the cooking fat with aromatics such as garlic, rosemary, or thyme makes the potatoes even more flavorful.

Warm Kale and Caramelized Mushroom Salad

The combination of deeply browned mushrooms, hearty kale, and nutty sherry vinaigrette is so flavorful that you won't miss the goat cheese if you choose to exclude it. If you can, use a mixture of mushrooms—shiitakes, creminis, oysters, chanterelles, and porcini will all help build optimal flavor. The warmth from the sauté will infuse the greens, wilting and softening them slightly without any additional cooking.

Air-Fryer Asparagus

The air fryer is the best way to cook tender-crisp asparagus with a deep woodsy flavor: The device's combination of high heat and steady airflow wicks away moisture from the asparagus while it cooks and caramelizes the sugars in fresh asparagus, adding a beautiful complexity of flavor.

Gefilte Fish

Everyone loves to hate on gefilte fish, but the truth is most people just need to let their guard down. The poached fish balls have a pleasantly clean flavor verging on mild, and its seasonings constrained and balanced. We also can't think of any other food that makes prepared horseradish taste so good—not even roast beef. Our recipe guides you through how to make light, tender gefilte fish you'll be proud to serve and delighted to eat.

Jewish-Style Braised Brisket With Onions and Carrots

Brisket is a notoriously difficult cut to cook. Braise it too long, and it'll be tender but dry; not long enough, and it'll come out moist but tough. Our solution is to cover the meat while it braises to trap in the moisture, then submerge the sliced brisket in the warm braising liquid before serving, so it reabsorbs the flavorful juices. Braising sweet onions and carrots along with the meat yields a classic accompaniment. (Do note that there is ketchup in the recipe, but you can substitute tomato paste to make it kosher for Passover.) If you're looking for something time-saving, we also have a pressure cooker version.

Braised Brisket in Apricot and Cranberry Sauce

This brisket takes its inspiration from Southern barbecue. Instead of the leaner brisket flat, we call here for the point cut (also known as the deckle), a piece laced with intramuscular fat and prized in barbecue circles for its extra flavor and moistness. The tomato-based sauce also takes some cues from barbecue, incorporating brown sugar, molasses, and mustard, and gets a fruity holiday twist with the addition of dried apricots and cranberries, cranberry sauce, and apricot preserves. This recipe calls for soy sauce and Worcestershire; if you don't consume those products during Passover, try replacing them with kosher tamari.

Braised Lamb Shoulder With Dried Chiles and Dates

Dark morita chiles, fruity guajillo peppers, and bright, citrusy tomatillos give the dish plenty of flavor, while dates provide a pleasant sweetness. It takes just 30 minutes of active prep time, after which it'll slowly cook in the Dutch oven all day—no babysitting required. To keep it Passover-appropriate, skip the optional Cotija cheese garnish, and serve it with rice or on its own instead of with tortillas.

Sous Vide Chicken Breast

No roasted meats during Passover? No problem—cooking chicken breast sous vide, followed by a quick sear on the stovetop, ensures that the meat will end up delightfully juicy and tender inside, with nicely browned and crisp skin outside. It can be time-consuming, sure, but almost all of that time is hands-off, freeing you up to prepare other dishes. And, unlike traditional methods, sous vide makes overcooking virtually impossible, thus eliminating the number one risk to chicken breast.

Crispy Pan-Seared Salmon Fillets

If you're short on time, good old-fashioned pan-searing makes a wonderfully simple entrée. The key is carefully drying the fish to keep it from sticking and to get the skin—the best part!—extra crisp. Cooking the fillets most of the way through on one side will heat the fish more gently, leaving it moist and tender.