Perfect Passover Recipes (2024)

FAQs

What are the 5 forbidden foods on Passover? ›

Consider this a brief slice of a very complicated discussion. The Obvious No-Nos: Wheat, spelt, barley, oats and rye. Known collectively as chometz, these grains are universally left out of diets during Passover week.

The actual Seder meal is also quite variable. Traditions among Ashkenazi Jews generally include gefilte fish (poached fish dumplings), matzo ball soup, brisket or roast chicken, potato kugel (somewhat like a casserole) and tzimmes, a stew of carrots and prunes, sometimes including potatoes or sweet potatoes.

Whether you spell it matzo or matzah, no Passover meal is complete without the brittle unleavened bread. You'll inevitably have plenty leftover, so use it to make matzo brei, matzo granola, or matzo toffee.

Thus, Seder participants recall the slavery that reigned during the first half of the night by eating matzah (the "poor person's bread"), maror (bitter herbs which symbolize the bitterness of slavery), and charoset (a sweet paste, possibly representing the mortar which the Jewish slaves used to cement bricks).

Additionally, it should only contain ingredients that are specifically designated as kosher for Passover, like 100% peanuts that have been processed solely through pasteurization. By following these guidelines, you will be able to eat peanut butter during the Passover holiday.

The matzah (a thin, cracker-like flatbread) that we eat on Passover is baked under controlled conditions that do not permit the thin bread to become leavened. The pasta we eat year round is made from wheat flour and is not baked under those conditions. For this reason we do not eat it on Passover.

The ban has been in place since the 13th century, but it's always been controversial. In fairly recent history, it's been overturned. According to NPR, in December of 2015 an international group of conservative rabbis made the decision that it's acceptable to eat rice, beans, and corn during Passover.

That said, hummus, which is made from chickpeas, cannot be eaten on Passover by Ashkenazi Jews. For approximately the last thousand years, Jews of Ashkenazi descent have observed the prohibition of eating kitniyot, legumes, on Passover. Kitniyot includes legumes such as beans, peas, corn, rice, chickpeas, sesame, etc.

All unflavored ground coffees are acceptable for Passover use when bearing an OU. Decaffeinated coffee: Coffee is often decaffeinated by means of ethyl acetate, which is derived from either kitniyot or chometz. Certain brands of decaffeinated coffee are approved when appearing a regular OU symbol.

If keeping strictly kosher, the meat must be kashered by a kosher butcher or sold as a kosher cut of meat. – Many dairy products, like cheese and yogurt, are acceptable when they are not mixed with additives (like corn syrup). Dairy products cannot be mixed with meat.

What do you serve for Passover dinner? ›

A brisket is classic, but we've included some other impressive roast meats, like chicken, rack of lamb, and salmon too. Side dishes—like our cranberry apple quinoa salad, our potato kugel, and chicken matzo ball soup—are also represented.

Bread and other leavened grains

This is the big no-no on Passover. Traditionally, the category of forbidden foods on Passover — known as hametz — was defined as the fermented products of five grains: wheat, spelt, barley, oats and rye.

The Passover seder meal usually begins with a hard-boiled egg dipped in salt water. Then, the rest of the meal features matzah ball soup, brisket, and even matzah lasagna in some communities. Dessert often includes ice cream, cheesecake, or flourless chocolate cakes.

During Passover, Ashkenazi Jews traditionally stay away from not only leavened foods like bread, namely barley, oats, rye, spelt, and wheat, but also legumes, rice, seeds, and corn. The ban has been in place since the 13th century, but it's always been controversial.

No matter what dishes are served, eggs always have a space on the table as powerful symbols of hope, sacrifice, and rebirth. Read on to learn why a burnt egg is included on every Seder plate and discover the history and symbolism of eggs as an essential ingredient during Passover.

Traditionally, the category of forbidden foods on Passover — known as hametz — was defined as the fermented products of five grains: wheat, spelt, barley, oats and rye.