Just because you can’t use flour doesn’t mean you can’t make delicious desserts! Here are the best passover desserts to end your seder on a sweet note.
Flourless Chocolate Cake
This Passover dessert tows the line between cake and fudge, and is delectably rich and dense. Rather than flour, chocolate, eggs, and butter are the key ingredients.
You could also add espresso powder and vanilla extract for a little extra flavor. Semisweet chocolate chips give the cake a nice balance of flavor.
However, using dark chocolate chips will make it extra rich and chocolatey. If you want your cake to be more on the fudge side, use that.
Matzo Brittle with Chocolate, Toffee, and Sea Salt
You might know this as matzo crack. It’s so easy to make and delicious that you won’t be able to stop eating it, even after your seder.
Making the toffee isn’t as hard as you might initially think. Combine melted butter with brown sugar and stir. After a few minutes, spread onto the matzo.
Make sure you do this before pouring on the melted chocolate. Then, you can sprinkle on toppings and put into the fridge to let it chill.
Coconut Macaroons (Plain, Chocolate-Dipped)
Maybe you’re the only coconut-lover in your family and they won’t let you put coconut shavings on the brittle. Well, that’s fine. You can make coconut macaroons.
You can dip them into chocolate for a killer flavor combo that puts even the best Passover desserts to shame. What’s more, you only need a few ingredients.
To make coconut macaroons, you’ll need coconut shavings, condensed milk, vanilla extract, egg whites, and salt. They should be formed into a little ball shape.
Chocolate-Covered Matzo
You can make this the same way you made the brittle. If you don’t like toffee, then you can just leave that part out.
You could also just use a chocolate-hazelnut spread like Nocciolata (which is kosher for Passover) if you really want to. If you can’t buy it, make it!
All you need is chocolate, hazelnuts, olive oil, cocoa, sugar, and salt. You could even make a chocolate and matzo sandwich out of it.
Passover Lemon Bars
This isn’t one of those treats you can just whip up last minute. Lemon bars are a little more involved than other Passover desserts.
So, you’ll need to plan ahead. But not, like, so much so that your whole holiday is ruined by the stress of making lemon bars. Rest easy.
The crust is delicate, and will need to be replaced with ingredients that are kosher for Passover. Matzo meal and almond flour are good contenders.
Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies
When it comes to the best Passover desserts, almond flour is a complete game changer. You don’t always need flour, but almond flour is a great substitute.
Not only is it kosher for Passover, almond flour is also good for keeping your cholesterol in check year-round, according to WebMD. Who knew?
It’ll make your cookies taste a little nutty, naturally. They may be more crumbly as well. Other than that, it’s pretty similar to your standard chocolate chip cookies.
Flourless Oatmeal Cookies
Theoretically, you could use almond flour to make these, too, but where’s the fun in that? Challenge yourself to make cookies without the flour at all.
Oatmeal is just the base. You could add chocolate chips or walnuts or any number of ingredients to give your own special flair to it.
You’ll need peanut butter and eggs to get everything to stick together (and, of course, oats). They’ll still be just as chewy and delicious.
Orange Almond Cake
Orange almond cake can be completely flourless. You’ll be using almond meal in this cake instead of almond flour. So, what’s the difference between the two?
Well, according to Bob’s Red Mill, almond flour is a lot finer than almond meal. It’s also made from peeled almonds, whereas almond meal is not.
Boil, chop, and puree the oranges using a food processor. Like the other flourless cake, this one is rich in flavor. If you love citrus, make this.
Passover Apple Cake
Want a fruity dessert, but not a big fan of citrus? Try apple cake! It’s made out of matzo meal, which you can actually make yourself.
All you need to do is crush matzo until it’s finely ground. Other than that, you’ll need oil, eggs, sugar, cinnamon, and, of course, apples.
Apple cake’s top layer, as you can see, is made from sliced apples. You can use any kind, but we suggest honey crisp (they’ll come in handy later!).
Chocolate Mousse
Chocolate mousse is one of the best Passover desserts because of its simplicity and elegance. Most desserts can’t pull that off, but chocolate mousse does it with style.
It’s a great way to introduce people to baking, being a super beginner-friendly recipe. Plus, there are only a few ingredients involved in it.
Some recipes differ, but chocolate mousse really only requires two things: chocolate and eggs. This makes it pretty similar to flourless cake, if you’re a fan.
Pistachio and Apricot Bark
You can use matzo as the base for pistachio and apricot bark, topped it with chocolate. Still, you could also make the bark purely out of chocolate.
If you go down that route, white chocolate is traditionally used. Either way, it’s just as easy as making the matzo brittle, and is pretty similar, too.
If you just make this out of chocolate, pour the melted chocolate directly into the pan, before adding the chopped apricots and pistachios. Chill and cut the mixture.
Pavlova with Fresh Berries
Pavlova is made mostly of egg whites, cream, and sugar, requiring no flour. Instead, potato starch is used. You can top it off with any fresh fruit.
People tend to gravitate towards raspberries and strawberries as toppings, though that’s by no means required. Think of pavlova as an elevated berries and cream.
If you like the flavor of that, then you’ll love pavlova. It’s light, airy, refreshing, and just about everything you could want out of a Passover dessert.
Fruit Salad with Honey and Lime
Fruit salad is the king of low-effort desserts. Adding honey and lime strikes that perfect balance between sweet and sour you never knew you needed.
The best thing about fruit salad is its versatility. You can literally add any kind of fresh fruit you want to it. As ever, we have suggestions.
Lots of people don’t add apple chunks, but we think you totally should! They’re an underrated fruit salad ingredient. Mint leaves will make it taste extra fresh.
Sorbet (Lemon, Mango, Raspberry)
Maybe this is an unpopular opinion, but sorbet drags ice cream through the mud when it comes to flavor. You’ll want this Passover dessert on your table.
And when sorbet is freshly made? Forget about it. You’ll be blown away by how good it is. But don’t get intimidated at the thought!
Making DIY versions of your favorite frozen treats isn’t as hard as it might seem on the surface. Just mix together water, sugar, and fruit juice, before boiling.
Chocolate Hazelnut Truffles
We talked about chocolate hazelnut spreads for a little bit earlier, but let’s reiterate. Chocolate and hazelnut is one of the best flavor combos known to man.
If you don’t want to make a chocolate hazelnut spread, you can make truffles. Truffles are a little complicated, though, since they’re usually made out of ganache.
Ganache is known for being more complicated than other baked goods. Keep an eye on it to make sure that the cream and cocoa butter are evenly mixed.
Meringue Nests with Whipped Cream and Berries
Meringue nests are like puffy clouds, transformed into a lightweight Passover dessert. The creamy “nest” part is made of egg whites, cream of tartar, and sugar.
Fresh berries are then clustered in the middle of the nest. Mint leaves are typically used as a decoration, but also add to the overall flavor.
This does involve baking, though. Instead of chilling it in the fridge, like with the mousse and matzo brittle, you’ll be using an oven.
Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies
Who doesn’t love peanut butter? There’s tons of flourless cookies you can make. Not a big fan of oatmeal? Try these peanut butter cookies.
They don’t need butter, either. Aside from sugar and, obviously, peanut butter, you’ll need to use an egg to bind all the ingredients together.
These cookies are so easy, you’ll want to make them all year long. Once they’re done baking, feel free to decorate however you like.
Pecan Toffee Matzo
Take all the tips and tricks we suggested with the matzo brittle and apply them here. It’s basically the same recipe, except you’ll use pecans as a topping.
Pecans are probably one of the best nuts, behind hazelnuts, and maybe walnuts, depending on what you’re using them for. (That’s a fact, by the way).
To make your whole dessert sweeter, candy the pecans before putting them on the matzo brittle. It requires more steps to make, but it’s worth it.
Berry Compote with Whipped Cream
Berries and cream are an elite dessert. No matter how you spin it, or what variation you go for, nothing can top the simplicity of it.
A compote is a type of light berry sauce. Think of the homemade cranberry sauce you’d make for Thanksgiving. Any fresh fruit can be made into a compote.
For a berry compote, though, you’ll want to use blueberries, raspberries, and strawberries. Homemade whipped cream will also taste best with the compote, regardless of the fruit.
Charoset Balls (Date and Nut Truffles)
Charoset’s a Passover classic, though there’s different ways to make it. Basically, they’re truffles made of dates and nuts, although some versions contain sweet wine and/or apples.
You’ll need to grind dried fruits together into a well-mixed, sticky substance, preferably with a food processor. After you’ve done that, add the nuts.
You could mix them all simultaneously, though — whatever doesn’t strain your food processor. At that point, you’ll roll it into balls and chill them overnight.
Passover Cheesecake with Coconut Crust
Made one too many coconut macaroons and don’t know what to do with them? We’ve got the answer for you. They make the perfect crust for Passover cheesecakes.
If you want to add more coconut flavor, you can top your cheesecake with coconut shavings. You could also bake them into the cake itself.
This cheesecake is at the same difficulty level as any other cheesecake. Like the other Passover desserts you’ll see on this list, potato starch and eggs are needed.
Poached Pears in Red Wine
Poached pears in red wine have a long history, and can trace their roots back to France. Before you poach any fruit, make sure you peel it first.
Everyone puts their own unique variations on the recipe. No matter how you spin it, you’ll be poaching them in red wine and sugar.
Since it’s a dessert, opt for a lighter, sweeter wine. Cinnamon and vanilla are often used for flavoring, and mesh well with pears’ subtle sweetness.
Flourless Sacher Torte
A sacher torte is a chocolate cake that’s famous for its rich decadence. Invented in Austria, it’s since made its way around the world.
Flour isn’t necessarily needed for this cake. Instead, you can use potato starch (all the best Passover desserts do!). Other than that, the recipe remains the same.
This is ideal for dark chocolate lovers, and has a little fruity twist. It’s a two-layer cake that’s glued together with apricot jam in the center.
Banana Chocolate Cake
If you’re going to combine a fruit with chocolate, banana is the best. If you’ve ever had a banana dipped in chocolate, you know what we’re talking about.
Like many of the cakes mentioned thus far, you’ll use potato starch for this. You can also use matzo meal in addition to that.
You’ll combine the bananas and chocolate in the cake mix, but you can also top it with sliced bananas. To help them stick, glaze the cake with chocolate.
Baked Apples with Cinnamon and Nuts
You can put anything inside of the baked apples, but cinnamon and nuts are delectable. Who said you had to save this kind of dessert for autumn?
Since this dessert is warm and sweet, you’ll want to go for an apple that matches that vibe. Granny Smith may be too sour.
Honey crisp, on the other hand, may just fit the bill. See, we told you it would come in handy. Fill it with the nuts of your choice.
Matzo Brei Pancakes with Fruit Compote
This is traditionally more of a Passover breakfast, but yay, more fruit compote! We love fruit compote! There are as many compote possibilities as there are fruit.
The added compote makes the pancakes just sweet enough for dessert. If you’re not into ultra-sweet desserts, this can be a great dessert for you.
Aside from matzo, you’ll need eggs, butter or margarine, and salt. Again, these pancakes aren’t sweet — the sweetness all lies in the fruit compote.
Chocolate Quinoa Cake
Did you raise your eyebrows when we mentioned quinoa? Don’t worry, we know it might seem strange at first glance, especially if you’ve never made it before.
But trust us when we say that you’ll want to have this recipe under your belt. You won’t want another Passover seder without it.
The cake itself is completely free of flour. The quinoa is meant to be a replacement, mimicking the texture of an actual cake.
Almond and Coconut Cookies
Trust us when we say that you’ll want to try every one of these coconut-based recipes. You may as well just buy a bunch of coconuts.
Almond coconut cookies are another coconut-flavored Passover dessert your friends and family will adore. The coconuts lend the cookies a unique and chewy texture.
To make, use almond flour, almond extract, and coconut oil. You can add chocolate chips to satiate your chocolate craving, if you’ve got one, but it’s optional.
Passover Brownies (Flourless)
Passover brownies are very similar to the flourless chocolate cakes we mentioned earlier. The lack of flour makes them both closer to a fudge.
These brownies aren’t that different from regular ones. You’ll need a mixture of cocoa powder and chocolate chips to make your brownies as chocolatey as humanly possible.
Eggs are still necessary, to make them resemble brownies with flour. You could also use an alternative flour that’s kosher for passover, but it’s not a necessity.
Frozen Chocolate Banana Bites
Remember what we said about banana being the best fruit to pair with chocolate? Yeah, we meant it. You don’t have to make a whole cake, though.
If you agree with us but aren’t the cake baking type, these frozen chocolate banana bites might be more your speed. Their versatility makes them especially great.
After you dip the bananas into the melted chocolate, you can roll them in any number of toppings. If you want a little saltiness, use chopped nuts.
So, Which Are the Best Passover Desserts?
Just because flour isn’t on the table doesn’t mean that amazing desserts are unattainable. Now that we’ve listed best Passover desserts, which ones are your favorites?
These desserts can be as easy as chocolate banana bites or as complex as a flourless sacher torte. Really, the sky’s the limit here.
Matzo brittle and charoset balls may be classics, but there’s tons of other options! The best Passover desserts are made with creativity and love. And potato starch.