41 Kosher for Passover Desserts to Cap Off Your Seder
These Passover desserts are by the book: You won’t find any chametz (grains such as wheat, oats, rye, barley, and spelt) in these recipes. What you will find: gooey, chocolaty flourless cakes; egg white meringues; rich, dense cheesecakes; and more. If you’re overwhelmed from preparing the rest of the Passover seder and can’t think beyond brisket, there’s always a crowd-pleasing dessert to fall back on: a platter of fresh fruit. Drizzle some olive oil over it and finish it with flaky sea salt and lime zest. Totally acceptable.
The main rule of Passover is to abstain from leavened bread—that part’s clear as crystal—but many also avoid kitniyot during the holiday, skipping grains, seeds, and legumes. A few of these recipes include kitniyot, so swap, substitute, or skip as you please. In general, feel free to modify the following recipes according to how you observe. Now, let’s get to our Passover dessert recipes.
Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Sean Dooley, Prop Styling by Marina Bevilacqua1/41The Strawberriest Pavlova
What do you want for dessert on Passover? Strawberries, strawberries, and more strawberries. Swap the cornstarch for potato starch in the meringue to keep this sweet treat kitniyot-free.
Photo by Alex Lau, Food Styling by Susie Theodorou2/41Heartbeet Chocolate Cake
Almond flour and cocoa powder may be expected ingredients in this Passover dessert, but the key to achieving buttery moistness in this dairy-free cake? Beet purée.
Photograph by Isa Zapata, food styling by Micah Morton, prop styling by JoJo Li4/41Brown-Sugar-Braised Pineapple
Photograph by Isa Zapata, food styling by Sean Dooley, prop styling by Marina Bevilacqua5/41Blueberry Fool With Toasted Coconut
That container of Greek yogurt that’s always in your fridge? Turn it into a laid-back Passover dessert that’ll satisfy any sweet tooth.
Photograph by Isa Zapata, food styling by Emilie Fosnocht, prop styling by Sean Dooley6/41Brown Butter Chocolate Soufflé Fit for a Crowd
Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Kat Boytsova7/41Chocolate-Filled Toasted Coconut Macaroons
You’ve never seen macaroons quite like this before. Filled with melty bittersweet chocolate, it’s like they took a trip to the doughnut shop and got inspired.
Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling ing by Pearl Jones9/41A Giant Panna Cotta
Seek out kosher gelatin for this giant, wobbly panna cotta, topped with balsamic-macerated berries and toasted almonds.
Photograph by Isa Zapata, Prop Styling by Sean Dooley, Food Styling by Kendra Vaculin10/41Chocolate Magic Shell
The easiest Passover dessert idea? An ice cream sundae bar, complete with homemade chocolate magic shell. If you really want to go the extra mile, make your own maraschino cherries.
Michael Graydon + Nikole Herriott12/41Caramelized-Honey Brûlée
If you don’t have a kitchen torch, here’s your excuse to finally order one. This honeyed riff on crème brulée will blow everyone away.
Photograph by Isa Zapata. Food Styling by Kat Boytsova. Prop Styling by Stephanie De Luca13/41Salted Coconut Ladoos
Photograph by Rana Düzyol, food styling by Pearl Jones, prop styling by Beth Pakradooni14/41Diner-Style Strawberry Milkshakes
Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Sean Dooley, Prop Styling by Marina Bevilacqua15/41Mango Mess
With the meringue broken into shards, this Passover dessert feels like an avant-garde take on the Eton Mess (a classic English dessert of whipped cream, juicy fruit, and crunchy meringue).
Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Pearl Jones, Prop Styling by Beth Pakradooni16/41Almond-Raspberry Thumbprint Cookies
Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Spencer Richards, Prop Styling by Marina Bevilacqua17/41Chocolate Paradis With Almond Praline
Photo by Alex Lau, food styling by Chris Morocco, prop styling by Emily Eisen18/41Gluten-Free Carrot Cake
Say yes to golden raisins. (We are pro-dried fruit over here.) Yes to cream cheese. Yes to almond flour, a wonderfully sweet, nutty complement to fresh carrot and walnuts. And yes to coconut oil and vanilla extract, which help the texture and flavors come together.
Photograph by Joe Lingeman, food styling by Shilpa Uskokovic, prop styling by Marina Bevilacqua19/41Tahini Hot Fudge Skillet Cake
This gluten-, dairy-, and mixer-free skillet cake is the ultimate people pleaser. Top with scoops of vanilla ice cream, then finish with a cascade of warm tahini hot fudge.
Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Thu Buser21/41Brown Sugar and Espresso Panna Cotta
A syrupy brown sugar glaze gives this large-format panna cotta a sleek mirror finish. Make it a day ahead (again, with kosher gelatin) to cross one more thing off your to-do list.
Peter Frank Edwards23/41Coconut Cream Pie With Macaroon Press-In Crust
This coconut macaroon crust is so much better than crushed graham crackers (which are not kosher for Passover).
Photograph by Rana Düzyol, food styling by Pearl Jones, prop styling by Beth Pakradooni24/41Strawberry and Campari Sorbet Sundae
Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Pearl Jones, Prop Styling by Beth Pakradooni25/41Flourless Chocolate Meringue Cake
Peden + Munk26/41Hazelnut Butter and Coffee Meringues
These marbled personal meringues—meringue cookies, really—are quite striking, if we do say so ourselves. For a high-contrast swirl, go easy when folding together the ingredients. (Two strokes of the spatula will suffice.)
Photograph by Emma Fishman, food styling by D’mytrek Brown, prop styling by Elizabeth Jaime27/41Flourless Chocolate Cake With Café de Olla Ganache
Ditte Isager28/41Pavlovas With Fresh Berries
Dollop velvety whipped cream atop an extra-crisp, delicate meringue shell for the perfect variety of textures. Add fresh fruit like the recipe instructs, or play with a cooked component, like rhubarb compote.
32/41Chocolate Brownie Cookies
If a fudgy dark chocolate brownie and chewy chocolate chip cookie had a baby, it would be this decadent (but flourless) creation. Bonus: It's portable.
Photo by Emma Fishman, Food Styling by D'mytrek Brown33/41Peach Sorbet With Crushed Blackberries
Tart yogurt, juicy-sweet peaches, and...vodka? Just a splash helps prevent big ice crystals from forming, making the creamy sorbet easier to scoop. Oh, and you don’t need an ice cream maker.
34/41Matzo-Almond Croccante
You may have seen a number of Passover desserts that call for matzo meal, but in this recipe, you want to keep the matzo—or matzah, as some people spell it—whole. It serves as the base for layers of caramel and melted chocolate.
Photo by Alex Lau, Styling by Rebecca Jurkevich35/41Boozy Stovetop Pears With Yogurt
This flaming dessert can be made with any type of booze—amaretto is great if you have it, but you can also substitute a certified kosher whiskey or rum.
Photo by Alex Lau, food styling by Sue Li, prop styling by Kalen Kaminski36/41Salted Chocolate Halva
Peden + Munk39/41Grilled Apricots With Almond Cream and Fregolotta
To make it Passover-friendly, you have to tweak this dessert recipe slightly—but that tweak will also make it easier. Instead of making your own Italian cookie crumble, just break up your favorite store-bought kosher cookies and sprinkle them over the dish.
40/41Lime-in-the-Coconut Macaroons
Orange zest would work, but lime zest is such a fresh addition to macaroons. Our zesting tool of choice? The Microplane. (We don’t even go on vacation without one.)
