These 21 Easy Southern Easter Dinner Recipe ideas are all made with a shortcut! All the traditional Southern dishes you love make faster! I'll get you in and out of the kitchen so you can enjoy more time with your family and friends during this special holiday.
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From the main course to side dishes to dinner rolls to dessert, we have you covered for your Southern Easter dinner menu with 21 shortcut recipes!
My Southern shortcut recipes for Easter dinner will come in handy when you are trying to help the kids dye eggs, hunter Easter eggs, attend sunrise service, make school classroom treats or just trying to get through the work week til the weekend.
Choose from ham, turkey, or venison for the meat. Quick and easy vegetables and side dishes including deviled eggs and, of course, a Jello salad. If you need to know how to boil those eggs for hunting or eating, here's the Instant Pot method where the peel just rolls off.
With prices sky high in the grocery store, make your own yeast rolls that you don't even have to knead! Desserts, desserts, desserts. All these recipes have a shortcut in them to help you get your Easter meal on the table quicker so you can spend more time with family and friends.
Click on the pictures to head straight to the recipe!
Instant Pot Pepper Jelly Ham with Jalapeno Pepper Jelly
My Freezer Pepper Jelly makes the perfect shortcut sweet and tangy glaze for this bone-in ham made in the Instant Pot or pressure cooker. Use my recipe or store-bought jelly will work.
Instant Pot Bone-In Turkey Breast with Gravy
Save the oven for the pies and sides this Easter! Use your Instant Pot multi-use pressure cooker to cook the best tender and juicy turkey breast. Make the gravy right in the Instant Pot!
Bacon-Wrapped Venison Backstrap Roast
Bacon-Wrapped Venison Backstrap Roast is marinated in teriyaki sauce, then wrapped in bacon before roasting in the oven or air fryer. Pork tenderloin can be substituted if you aren't into hunting like my guys are!
Southern Fried Yellow Squash
You don't have to "deep fry" squash to call them Southern. I'll show you a quick and easy way to pan fry them.
Creamy Keto and Gluten-Free Fresh Green Bean Casserole
Enjoy the iconic green bean casserole even if you are on a Keto or gluten-free diet! Everyone at your holiday dinner table will love version using fresh green beans and no "cream of anything" soup - whether they are on the diet or not!
Roasted Candied Sweet Potatoes (with or without marshmallows)
The shortcut is roasting them for easy peeling and added caramelized flavor before they are candied in the oven.
Naturally Dyed Deviled Eggs
Dye your Easter eggs vibrant colors with what you already have at home and avoid chemical dyes. Then make colorful deviled eggs for dinner!
Easy Strawberry Pretzel Salad (8x8 pan)
A favorite old-fashioned summer dessert, this Easy Strawberry Pretzel Salad is simple to make in an 8x8 pan. This sweet and salty side dish recipe is "small batch" for when you're not going to a potluck. Although, it can easily be doubled for a large family or a party or served as a dessert!
Easy Cheesy Baked Mac and Cheese
There's a shortcut secret ingredient that keeps you from having to make a homemade white sauce and still create creamy macaroni and cheese.
Easy Fresh Green Beans with Bacon
Grocery stores always have fresh green beans on sale the week before Easter. If you're close to a farmers market, support local if they have them. This is an easy stovetop method for green beans but I also have an Instant Pot Fresh Green Beans if you need your stove for other recipes.
Stained Glass Jello Salad (With Shortcuts)
Make this fun, colorful Stained Glass Jello Salad in a fraction of the time with my shortcuts than it traditionally takes! Also called Broken Glass Jello Dessert, this small batch recipe can be made with sweetened condensed milk or even dairy-free with coconut milk.
Easy Southern Macaroni Salad (With Shortcuts)
Easy Southern Macaroni Salad is a classic side dish made with elbow macaroni and a creamy, tangy dressing. Although this make-ahead pasta salad is already simple, I give you plenty of shortcuts to make it even easier.
Honey Roasted Peanut Pie
This simple peanut pie will remind you of a traditional pecan pie but with honey roasted peanuts AND peanut butter in the filling! Cocktail peanuts will also work!
Shortcut Chocolate Truffle Tart
The rich, decadent ganache filling in Shortcut Chocolate Truffle Tart sits on a purchased cookie crust or I give you a shortcut to making your own cookie crust.
Shortcut Strawberry Rhubarb Pie
Refrigerated pie crust cuts preparation time in half in this sweet and tangy springtime fruit pie.
No-Knead Dinner Rolls (Yeast Rolls)
No-Knead Dinner Rolls have all the flavor of a homemade yeast roll with the simplicity of a muffin batter. This is an easy cheap Easter recipe made with ingredients you may already have on hand.
Fruity Marshmallow Cereal Bars with White Chocolate
Fruity Marshmallow Cereal Treats add a little color and flavor to the "oldie but goody" Rice Krispy Treats we know and love.
White Chocolate Easter Candy Bark
A slab of Easter Candy Bark is a quick and easy Easter recipe! If you have a package of white chocolate chips or candy melts in the pantry and a stash of Easter basket candy, you can make this fun holiday recipe with leftover Easter basket candy!
Easy Yellow Squash Casserole
Easy Yellow Squash Casserole, topped with buttery breadcrumbs, comes together quickly when you want to make a homemade Southern side dish for Easter. Yellow squash or even zucchini squash is available year round.
Cast Iron Skillet Pecan Pie
For this recipe, I tweak a traditional Southern pecan pie filling recipe and pour it into a crust made with refrigerated pie crust dough. So easy and oh, so good!
Chocolate Covered Strawberries Disguised as Carrots in Oreo Dirt Cups
This is an easy kids Easter recipe. Strawberries coated in orange candy melts and served in little cups of chocolate pudding. They look like carrots in a pot of dirt! But these are not mud pies!
Wishing you a Happy Easter from my kitchen to yours!
More Easy Southern Easter Recipes
What can I make with leftover boiled eggs?
I look forward to a soft and creamy egg salad sandwich on the Monday after Easter. Egg salad also makes a tasty snack served on crackers if you have "leftover" company.
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