25 Passover Side Dishes That'll Make Your Seder Dinner Your Best One Yet

It’s nearly Passover (April 5 to April 13, 2023), so we’re getting ready to ditch the chametz (or leaved bread products) and attend or host a Passover seder dinner (complete with a rousing chorus of Dayenu and finding the afikoman, ofc!). Though we’d never advocate to completely get rid of some of the more traditional foods eaten during Passover (potato kugel, we love you), those of us who celebrate know things can get a little… repetitive after a while. The best way to avoid that? Like with any holiday, switching up your side dishes can bring some much needed variety, color, and flavors to your meals. Check out our 25 Passover side dishes for ideas—we promise they’re better than eating matzo pizza again 😉.

There are some recipes that are practically synonymous with Passover: The aforementioned kugel is one, as is matzo ball soup, carrot-and-date-based tzimmes, and apple-walnut charoset. There are also some traditional Passover seder plate ingredients we’re highlighting here, like horseradish (maror), hard-boiled eggs (beitzah), or beets (zeroah, in lieu of a shank bone). If you’ve got extra of these ingredients and don’t want them to go to waste, try our egg salad, our horseradish mashed potatoes, or our beet borsht.

We’ve also included a number of salads, from lighter greens-based ones like our mandarin orange salad or our roasted beet & goat cheese salad, to hearty ones like our Niçoise salad or our roasted chickpea & avocado salad.

Speaking of chickpeas, they (and other legumes) fall under the category of kitniyot, a traditionally avoided ingredient throughout the history of Passover celebrations. Many modern families have begun reintroducing them into their kosher for Passover diets—if that’s not you, we’ll assume you’ll be aware of the regulations you abide by and will sub in or out of these recipes as needed. For everyone else, we hope these recipes will help broaden your perspective and inspire you to try something new. We think the best part about appreciating a culture you’re not a part of is the opportunity to try something new while also having the flexibility to (respectfully!) not be perfect about it.

Want even more Passover ideas? Check out our best recipes for Passover dinner and our favorite Passover desserts too (our matzo icebox cake is a stunner).