Traditional Southern, Elegant and Simple, Easter Menu -

Your Easter menu doesn’t have to be overly complicated to be amazing. Most of the time simple is best. You can have a traditional (Southern), elegant and simple Easter menu without it being crazy hard. Because who has time for that?

Easter at our house can be almost as crazy as Christmas. With planning for our church’s Easter Egg Hunt, planning children’s church and they’re also singing, it gets a little busy. I also remember when our kids were little, we spent the day running between church and two sets of grandparents’ houses. Not to mention before Sunday, you have to shop for Easter outfits for everyone, go to the church egg hunt, and prep food for Easter. So I know how busy it is.

Make things simple for yourself. Remember why you’re having the meal in the first place. It’s to spend time with your family and eat some yummy food. I had even planned out this whole tablescape that I was going to do and realized when were almost done cooking that I hadn’t even done it yet. But, it didn’t matter, what was more important was that I was spending time with my family. Not to mention, the table looked pretty with all that food on it anyway!

I’ve included links to the recipes that I’m using and trust me, these recipes are delicious. The ones without links are foods that either I’m making and the recipe is in my head because I’ve made it thousands of times, or one of my kids is making it and I don’t have their recipe. But a quick Pinterest search and you’ll find a simple one in no time.

This year for Easter we are having a traditional Southern-style lunch but we’re mixing it up a little with some new recipes. For the chicken I’m using Ina Garten’s Skillet-Roasted Lemon Chicken and let me tell you, it’s so good. You can even prep it the night before. It’s delicious! I’ve made this before and it’s perfect every single time I make it. You will not be dissappointed.

I also wanted to do something a little differenent with the ham besides the sticky sweet glaze that it comes with. I decided to a Brown Sugar Glaze from Carlsbad Craving and it did not dissappoint. Everyone loved it! It’s not icky sweet and has a nice smoky flavor that is just yummy. I was able to put the ham in the crockpot in the morning with 2 cups of water and some of the glaze and then put it in the oven when we got home from church with the remaining glaze. I let the glaze crisp up and removed it from the oven and it was so good, we couldn’t stop snacking on it before we ate.

One of my daughters wanted roast carrots and I decided to give Delish’s Honey Roasted Carrots a try. They were so good I almost couldn’t stop eating them and they couldn’t have been simpler to make. So have fun with your menu and try new versions of some old favorites! Here’s our menu for this year.

Our Traditional Southern, Elegant and Simple Easter Menu

Main Dish

Side Dishes

Potato Salad
Honey Roasted Carrots recipe by Delish
Crockpot Green Beans (2 cans of green beans drained, 2 chicken boullion cubes, water, cook on low for 4 hours)
Macaroni and Cheese

Bread

Yeast rolls or Dinner Rolls

Dessert

Lemon Meringue Pie
French Silk Pie

Drinks

White wine
Sweet Tea

What makes this menu so simple is that the recipes are easy and most of them can be made the day before. There are no complicated recipes, or hard-to-find ingredients, which is perfect because who has time to run around searching for some obscure ingredient when you have to find the right shoes to go with your new Easter dress?

It’s elegant because the food looks beautiful when served. You can serve the ham on a pretty platter and the chicken can be served in the cast iron skillet that it’s cooked in. Both would be beautiful on your table. Serve your sides in pretty dishes and the bread in a basket with an Easter towel. It’s that easy. Let the food be the star!

This holiday is about new beginnings, family, and most of all Jesus loves us. As long as you remember that, your Easter dinner will be amazing no matter what you serve. Happy Easter!