The sun is shining, the birds are chirping and the flowers are alive with brilliant blooms. Springtime is here! And so is Easter.
If you’re planning to host an Easter Sunday lunch, the options for cooking and entertaining might at first feel overwhelming. Luckily, there are a few tips and tricks the Bob’s Red Mill team has learned over the years that will ensure your ability to wow your guests!
From Easter food ideas to kids’ crafts, let’s get you feeling inspired and excited to take on the task of hosting a special holiday lunch.
10 Simple Tips for Hosting Easter Lunch
Sometimes, tiny touches and small details can make all the difference when you’re hosting a lunchtime gathering.
#1 Begin with a Beverage and a Bite
As guests begin to trickle in, offer them something to drink — sparkling water with sliced fresh lemon, a glass of chilled Champagne or homemade lemonade. Pair your beverages with a small bite, like deviled eggs (an Easter classic).
#2 Use Place Cards
Place cards do a wonderful job of making a gathering feel special. Enlist the help of little ones for creative place cards or do you own DIY place cards in pastel colors of the season. Spring tip: pick fresh lavender from the garden and attach a small sprig to each name tag.
#3 Integrate Breakfast Elements, Too
Brunch is big on Easter, which means guests might be in breakfast mode (even though you’re technically hosting a lunch). It’s a good idea to have breakfast elements on hand for Easter, like freshly made coffee or orange juice. A homemade quiche with ham or bacon and spring veggies like asparagus is the perfect breakfast-meets-lunch dish for a group.
#4 Do Dessert
Unlike dinner, a lunch gathering isn’t always always associated with dessert, but on Easter, you’ll want to offer something sweet. From Easter Bunny Cakes to pastel colored M&M Party Cookies, the options for Easter desserts are endless. A big bowl of chocolate is always exciting on Easter, but go the extra mile with a homemade dessert and your guests will leave with a smile.
#5 Don’t Forget to Decorate
Simple decorations, like a bowl full of colorful Easter eggs or pastel colored balloons, can go a long way. Springtime flowers put in mason jars will look beautiful around the house, too. Think tulips, peonies and pansies.
#6 Have a Craft for Kids
Once the excitement of the big egg hunt dies down, set a craft out for the kids that they can work on while the final touches are being put on lunch preparations. You can also have a kids table’ — complete with snacks like Easter popcorn (with pastel colored Easter candies).
#7 Take it Outside!
If you have the option of hosting your gathering outdoors, go for it! Easter lunch doesn’t have to be a sit-down indoor celebration. You can take your food to go and have a picnic at a local park or the beach.
#8 Send Guests Home with a Gift
Whether it’s a small potted plant or something edible, send your guests home with a token of Easter appreciation. For something sweet, these Mini Easter Egg Cakes are ridiculously cute.
#9 Make a Playlist
Whether it’s an intimate, sit-down Easter lunch with friends or a potluck with the whole extended family, have a playlist ready! If you have multi-generational gathering, kids and adults will love hearing a mix of their favorite songs to set the mood for a spring celebration.
#10 Think Traditional
Even if you’re integrating your own unique foods into the menu, traditional Easter food is always fun to serve, too (which leads us to the next point).
Traditional Easter Food Ideas
Ham and Asparagus Quiche Cups
These Ham and Asparagus Quiche Cups are made with our Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour, butter, eggs, ricotta cheese, chopped ham, asparagus and shredded cheddar cheese. They make for the perfect pre-lunch Easter appetizer to serve your guests.
Creamy Fruit Salad
Fruit salad is a colorful and tasty addition to Easter lunch, and this recipe for Creamy Fruit Salad is delicious. Based on a 1950s classic with its own twist, this salad is a mix of both fruit and dessert. It’s been updated with Greek yogurt, freshly whipped cream and unsweetened shredded coconut.
Easter Bread Muffins
These Easter Bread Muffins are not only festive, they’re tasty, too! This unique recipe has a texture similar to brioche and is flavored with vanilla extract and lemon zest. To give them that extra Easter look, they’re topped with pastel colored sprinkles.
Carrot-Shaped Croissant Cones
If you want to truly wow your Easter lunch guests, look no further than these Carrot-Shaped Croissant Cones. The recipe is adapted from Julia Child’s croissants and the cones can be filled with everything from chicken salad, to egg salad, to macaroni salad or coleslaw. You can also go for sweet, rather than savory and fill them with chocolate or jam. As an added bonus, the dough is surprisingly simple to make using our Organic Unbleached White All-Purpose Flour, active dry yeast warm milk, water, sugar, salt, vegetable oil and chilled unsalted butter.
Italian Easter Pie
Italian Easter Pie is a classic Italian dish. Our own recipe incorporates ingredients like Sorghum grain, Gluten Free Pie Crust Mix and cornstarch for a gluten free twist on the traditional. In combination with creamy ricotta cheese, the orange zest, orange peel, vanilla extract and orange flower water offer a subtly sweet and floral flavor. When it comes to Sunday lunch ideas, nothing says Easter like this Italian Easter pie.
Sweet Roll Cubano Sliders
If you’re looking for a creative idea for Easter lunch, consider serving these Sweet Roll Cubano Sliders instead of the traditional baked ham. They’re soft and sweet, and you can melt the cheese by placing them under the broiler. These sandwiches are a great idea for entertaining, as the rolls can be made in advance and kept at room temperature in an airtight container for three days. Guests will swoon over the filling, which is a mix of ham, pulled pork, sandwich pickles, pickles jalapeños, Dijon mustard and pepper jack cheese. Our favorite part is how amazing the leftover rolls taste the day after your Easter lunch with butter, jam and a cup of coffee.
Gluten Free Carrot Cake
No Easter gathering is complete without a big slice of carrot cake! This Gluten Free Carrot Cake gives that classic flavor we all love, just without the gluten or dairy. It’s filled with carrot, walnuts and pineapple — and packed with flavors sure to surprise and delight your Easter guests. For the ultimate in Easter decadence, pair your slice of cake with a scoop of vanilla and a sprinkle of extra coconut.
More Inspiration from Bob’s Red Mill
If you’re searching for more Easter food ideas, here are some of our favorite past articles. Make yourself a cup of tea, turn on a good playlist and get inspired.
Carrot cake waffles and cranberry kale quinoa salad take center stage in this article for delicious Easter brunch ideas. If you’re leaning towards incorporating some brunch elements into your lunchtime soiree, this article is the perfect one to read.
Because no Easter lunch is complete without a special Easter dessert, here are 7 Tasty Easter Dessert Recipes. Whether you’re in the mood for frosted sugar cookie bars or carrot cake whoopie pies, this article has you covered for a sweet selection of decadent desserts.
These 5 Quick and Easy Easter Dinner Sides aren’t just for dinner! They can easily be integrated into your lunch menu, too. The garlic and rosemary skillet bread offers an easy and delicious way to bake bread for a group and the roasted broccoli and cauliflower is a foolproof and nutritious side dish.
Whatever you choose to make for your Easter lunch gathering, we’re certain it will taste wonderful and be the absolute perfect way to celebrate the season.
Do you have any favorite dishes you like to whip up every Easter? Whether it’s an appetizer or dessert — or anything in between — we’re looking forward to hearing about your Easter Sunday lunch ideas and food traditions.
From all of us at Bob’s Red Mill, we’re wishing you a happy and healthy Easter with those you love! 
Sometimes, tiny touches and small details can make all the difference when you’re hosting a lunchtime gathering.
These Ham and Asparagus Quiche Cups are made with our Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour, butter, eggs, ricotta cheese, chopped ham, asparagus and shredded cheddar cheese. They make for the perfect pre-lunch Easter appetizer to serve your guests.
Fruit salad is a colorful and tasty addition to Easter lunch, and this recipe for Creamy Fruit Salad is delicious. Based on a 1950s classic with its own twist, this salad is a mix of both fruit and dessert. It’s been updated with Greek yogurt, freshly whipped cream and unsweetened shredded coconut.
These Easter Bread Muffins are not only festive, they’re tasty, too! This unique recipe has a texture similar to brioche and is flavored with vanilla extract and lemon zest. To give them that extra Easter look, they’re topped with pastel colored sprinkles.
If you want to truly wow your Easter lunch guests, look no further than these Carrot-Shaped Croissant Cones. The recipe is adapted from Julia Child’s croissants and the cones can be filled with everything from chicken salad, to egg salad, to macaroni salad or coleslaw. You can also go for sweet, rather than savory and fill them with chocolate or jam. As an added bonus, the dough is surprisingly simple to make using our Organic Unbleached White All-Purpose Flour, active dry yeast warm milk, water, sugar, salt, vegetable oil and chilled unsalted butter.
Italian Easter Pie is a classic Italian dish. Our own recipe incorporates ingredients like Sorghum grain, Gluten Free Pie Crust Mix and cornstarch for a gluten free twist on the traditional. In combination with creamy ricotta cheese, the orange zest, orange peel, vanilla extract and orange flower water offer a subtly sweet and floral flavor. When it comes to Sunday lunch ideas, nothing says Easter like this Italian Easter pie.
If you’re looking for a creative idea for Easter lunch, consider serving these Sweet Roll Cubano Sliders instead of the traditional baked ham. They’re soft and sweet, and you can melt the cheese by placing them under the broiler. These sandwiches are a great idea for entertaining, as the rolls can be made in advance and kept at room temperature in an airtight container for three days. Guests will swoon over the filling, which is a mix of ham, pulled pork, sandwich pickles, pickles jalapeños, Dijon mustard and pepper jack cheese. Our favorite part is how amazing the leftover rolls taste the day after your Easter lunch with butter, jam and a cup of coffee.
No Easter gathering is complete without a big slice of carrot cake! This Gluten Free Carrot Cake gives that classic flavor we all love, just without the gluten or dairy. It’s filled with carrot, walnuts and pineapple — and packed with flavors sure to surprise and delight your Easter guests. For the ultimate in Easter decadence, pair your slice of cake with a scoop of vanilla and a sprinkle of extra coconut.
