“Easter with your family, Easter Monday with whoever you want!” In Italy, Easter Sunday is traditionally dedicated to gathering with family, spending the day together, perhaps starting early with an “egg hunt” to entertain the children – and on Easter Monday, free rein for reunions with friends, often with barbecues organized at home or outdoors.

But what do Italians eat at Easter?

The key symbols in all regions are eggs, cheeses, cured meats, lamb, spring vegetables, and large sweet and savory leavened breads.ArsWine.it offers you an overview of traditional menus and recipes from various Italian regions and, of course, some advice on the best wines to pair with them. Let’s get started!  

 

Appetizers and Vegetables

Mixed cured meats, local cheeses, and naturally hard-boiled eggs dominate breakfast, but they are also served as appetizers, alongside side dishes that highlight spring produce: artichokes, peas, asparagus, and seasonal salads, fresh fava beans and pecorino especially served from Rome southwards.

ArsWine.it recommends pairing these with white, rosé, or light red wines from the Nifo Sarrapochiello winery. 

• In Liguria, the star is the torta pasqualina, a savory pie made of thin layers filled with ricotta, chard or spinach, and whole eggs placed inside the filling.
• Between Marche, Umbria, and Lazio, the typical dish is pizza o torta al formaggio (crescia), a leavened bread rich in pecorino cheese.
• In Naples and much of Campania, you find casatiello and tortano, bread rings made with lard, cured meats, and cheeses, often decorated with whole hard-boiled eggs fixed on the surface.
• In Puglia, they also prepare scarcella salata, a type of focaccia with cheese and olives, eaten as an appetizer.

First courses: egg pasta and local traditions

Easter first courses focus on egg pasta, a symbol of celebration, adapted according to the local traditions: mountain and countryside dishes in the Central-North, vegetables and Mediterranean flavors in the South.

• In the North, common dishes include agnolotti filled with meat, served with butter and sage, and lasagna with béchamel sauce and ragù, especially in Emilia-Romagna.
• In Central Italy, tagliatelle, pappardelle, stuffed pasta, and timbales are served, often enriched with mixed meats and hearty sauces.
• In the South, typical formats like orecchiette from Puglia are common, also dressed with artichokes and almonds, or baked pasta rich in cheeses and cured meats.
• In Sardinia, the ancient form of pillus is documented, similar to tagliolini or thin pappardelle, traditionally cooked in sheep or beef broth and dressed with ragù. ArsWine.it recommends pairing it with a local wine from the Siddura winery.

The Negroamaro Puglia IGP "Orfeo" by Paolo Leois ideal to accompany first courses rich in flavors, especially those dressed with meat-based sauces.

 

Meat main courses: lamb takes center stage

The main star of Easter meat is lamb, featured in different recipes depending on the region but present almost everywhere as the main dish of the holiday. The most classic preparations are oven-roasted lamb with potatoes and Roman-style abbacchio, cooked with wine, anchovies, garlic, and rosemary. The preparation of “cacio e uova” lamb, traditional in Abruzzo and Molise, is more complex. But if you want to impress your guests with a gourmet dish, you can try the starred recipes with balsamic vinegar that ArsWine.it has gathered for you: beef, duck, or amatriciana pasta with a Michelin-star chef’s touch!

Recommended pairings by ArsWine.it:

Lamb meat is succulent, so we recommend choosing wines with vigorous tannins and good structure, perhaps with notes of ripe fruit or spices. Here you will find a selection of some of the best wines offered by ArsWine.it to accompany the main dish of the Easter menu:

• Luce - Brunello di Montalcino - Tenuta Luce
• Barolo DOCG Ginestra Casa Matè - Elio Grasso
• Mater Matuta Lazio Rosso IGT - Casale del Giglio
• And25th anniversary edition of Luce della Vite - Toscana IGT Frescobaldi
• The Repertorio Aglianico from Vulture D.O.C - Cantine del Notaio

Besides important wines like Barolo and Brunello di Montalcino, we suggest a couple of less demanding but equally valid choices with excellent quality/price ratio:

• Montefalco Rosso  - Clivo del Cardinale
• Merlot PGI Divina Provvidenza

Easter sweets: dove cake, pastiera, and regional specialties

The chapter on Easter sweets perhaps shows the greatest variety. Alongside the traditional chocolate eggs, which combine religious symbolism and playful fun for children, there are many regional variations, all delicious:

• la Easter dove cake, born in Northern Italy and become a national sweet, is a large leavened cake made with flour, butter, eggs, and candied fruit, covered with almond glaze
• in Southern Italy, the Neapolitan pastiera dominates, a shortcrust tart filled with cooked wheat, ricotta, eggs, sugar, candied fruit, and citrus and orange blossom aromas
• in Sicily, Easter is associated with sweets like cassata and cuddura cu l’ova, a cookie or small braided ring that encloses whole boiled eggs, often decorated
• in the Northeast, in Trieste, the pinza is well known, a citrus sweet bread with a soft crumb, typical of Easter celebrations.

Alongside dessert, nothing beats a Passito or an amaro; here are ArsWine.it’s recommendations:

• the Passito di Falanghina Sarriano from the Nifo winery
• land Passule IGT Calabria – the Librandi Passito wine
• Amaro Majora Nepeta, with notes of marjoram and Sicilian bitter orange peel
• Imperium, Ionian Amaro from Calabria: a skillful blend of 33 herbs

An example of a traditional menu

Here is a typical “Italian-style” Easter menu:

• Appetizers: Easter pie, sliced casatiello, mixed cured meats, boiled eggs, fresh fava beans, and pecorino cheese
• First course: baked lasagna or egg tagliatelle with meat ragù
• Main course: roast lamb with potatoes and artichokes
• Side dishes: seasonal salad, sautéed peas, grilled vegetables
• Desserts: colomba cake, pastiera, chocolate eggs.

Despite the endless family and regional variations, Easter cuisine in Italy preserves the idea of a convivial table, rich yet seasonal, where culinary tradition becomes a shared story of identity and memory.

Enjoy your meal and happy holidays from all of us at ArsWine.it!