The best Passover desserts are often cherished family recipes for macaroons or apple cake, but alongside the classics, there is room at the table for fresh twists on seder sweets. As anyone who celebrates the holiday knows, Passover desserts can't include fermented or leavened ingredients, like wheat flour; cooks get creative with almond flour, matzo meal, and other alternative ingredients. And if you're hosting a kosher seder, it's possible that you'll need a dairy-free dessert, too.
Our recipes span from flourless chocolate cake and macaroons (like these square iterations!) to matzo toffee and include desserts with fresh fruit, dried fruit, ginger, honey, chocolate, and other tempting flavors; we included a few sans dairy, as well. They all have one thing common: You'll want to make these Passover desserts year after year.
Passover Chocolate-Walnut Cake with Orange
Stiffly beaten egg whites give loft to this unleavened cake. The delicious toppings, melted chocolate, orange slices, and toasted walnuts make it extra celebratory.
Thierry's Chocolate Mousse
All you need are five ingredients—chocolate, eggs, butter, salt, and sugar—to make this classic dessert for your seder. Serve with whipped cream. Fresh fruit is optional.
Coconut-Chocolate Macaroons
Honey, vanilla extract, and plenty of lemon zest give these otherwise classic macaroons extra oomph. To decorate, drizzle with melted chocolate or simply dip one side into it.
Matzo Chocolate-Mint Ice Cream Cake
Ice cream cake for Passover? Yes, as long as you use matzo for your base. The choice of ice cream is yours; we like mint-chip and straight chocolate.
Chocolate-Covered Strawberries
It's easy to make your own version of this luscious treat. Just dip large strawberries in melted semisweet chocolate, then coat in finely chopped pistachios (or any nut you please). These are best made the day you want to serve them, as condensation may form on the chocolate if they stay in the refrigerator for too long.
Sweet Matzo Pie Crust
Crumbled matzo mixed with coconut oil and sugar makes a graham cracker-like crust ready to be paired with your favorite filling: kosher lemon curd and meringue or chocolate ganache.
Pavlova with Rhubarb and Pistachios
This dessert is a lovely study in contrasts: The meringue has a delicate, crisp exterior and an ephemeral interior—and then there's the soft, sweet-tart rhubarb and crunchy pistachios.
Chocolate Passover Cookies
The secret to unleavened cookies that are light and chewy lies in this recipe. Beat egg whites until fluffy and fold them into the chocolate batter to achieve the perfect texture.
Strawberry Gelée with Rose Granita
Strawberries play a role in every component of this dessert: a purée flavors the light gelée and icy rosé granita and sliced fruit is suspended in the gelée as well (as scattered over the top).
Pinched Orange Macaroons
These elegant almond macaroons are a favorite of Martha's. The recipe comes from the Four Seasons restaurant in New York.
Apple Matzo Cake
Flour may be forbidden during Passover, but that doesn't mean you have to forgo cake. Matzo meal makes for a light texture, while a pecan topping give this favorite apple cake a lovely crunch.
Flourless Chocolate-Almond Torte with Cherry Preserves and Kirsch Meringue
This gorgeous cake delivers cherry flavor in each bite, thanks to kirsch liqueur and a layer of preserves. To make this (or any) recipe kosher for a Passover meal that includes meat, substitute kosher pareve margarine for butter.
Macaroon Sandwich Cookies
Inspired by the French macaron, we've transformed that classic Passover treat, the macaroon, into a sandwich cookie. A tart fruit filling (we used mango, raspberry, and apricot jams) gives them a certain je ne sais quoi.
Almond-Coconut Chewy Chocolate Cookies
These fudgy macaroon cookies are packed studded with coconut and roasted almonds. The fact that these treats are also kosher and gluten-free makes them a love match for Passover—and for life.
Coconut Chiffon Cake with Chocolate Frosting
An airy, cloud-like chiffon cake makes an elegant addition to any dessert buffet. The use of whipped egg whites and coconut oil keeps things kosher.
Matzo Toffee
You might make this confection for Passover, but chances are you'll return to this recipe at other times of the year once you realize how good it is. It's the perfect blend of crunchy and sweet and keeps in the refrigerator for up to five days.
Easy Jam Macaroons
This macaroon-thumbprint hybrid teams a crumbly almond cookie base with a sweet jam filling. We used apricot, but you should feel free to go with any flavor you please.
Almond-Coconut Macaroons
Perhaps the quintessential Passover sweet, macaroons are light and sometimes chewy, and they are usually made with ground almonds, almond paste, or coconut. This coconut version comes out crisp and is a snap to make.
Pistachio, Honey, and Sea Salt Matzo
Here's a Passover confection for those who love sweet and salty desserts. A layer of dark chocolate and pistachios grace the surface of matzo. Think of it as a kosher brittle.
Almond-Coconut Tart
This tart is a showstopper; try it for Passover, then return to the recipe later in the summer when local berries are at their peak. The almond filling gets its luscious consistency from soy cream cheese.
Matzo S'Mores
Matzo stands in for graham crackers in these irresistible treats. The chocolate and marshmallows are right where they belong.
Crystallized Ginger and Orange Zest Matzo
Dark chocolate melted and spread on matzo with a sprinkle of ginger and orange zest—nothing could be simpler or more sublime to conclude a seder meal.
Chocolate-Coconut Macaroon Cups
Yes, you can bake cookies in a muffin tin! In this recipe, the tin is used to form the almond-encrusted chocolate macaroons and help them keep their shape.
Walnut Dacquoises with Honey-Walnut Ice Cream
Classic Passover dessert ingredients include apples, honey, and walnuts. Here, they blend together for the unique holiday dacquoise. Think of it as a haroset ice-cream sandwich.
Coconut-Macaroon Sundaes
Seder sundaes anyone? More cake than cookie, these macaroons are dipped in dark chocolate, then served with fresh raspberries, vanilla ice cream, and more dark chocolate.