If you and your family celebrate Passover (or Pesach) every year, we bet you’ve got some tried and true classics you make for seder dinner and all week long. From matzo ball soup to brisket, with lots of fun sides in between, you might have your savory menu covered—where things can get a little tricky is when it comes to dessert. It’s hard to come up with fun, creative options year after year! These 40 flourless dessert recipes have your back—they're great for Passover, and all year long.
If you’re unfamiliar, the term “Passover” refers to the biblical stories of the 10 plagues sent by God to convince the Egyptian pharaoh to “let the Jewish people go” and the eventual exodus of the Jewish people from Egypt. As the story goes, they packed in such a hurry that they didn’t have enough time to even let their bread rise (if you’ve ever made homemade bread, you can imagine), and only were able to bring unleavened, cracker-like bread called matzo with them. To celebrate this exodus, Jewish people today continue to remove chametz from their diets (and their homes, for some strict households) for the duration of Passover, as well as make sure all other ingredients they’re using are specified Kosher for Passover. Simply put, chametz is basically any flour product like bread, cereal, cake, cookies, pasta, etc. In addition, they must continue to follow general Kosher rules (meat and dairy can’t be eaten in the same meal, though fish and eggs are considered neutral, or pareve; no pork products; etc.)
Here we’ve included some fun ideas for desserts to make with matzo (toffee! icebox cake! MAGIC BARS), as well as other traditional Passover desserts, like coconut macaroons and meringues. Want to jazz up your meringue game even more? You're going to love our pavlova, or our pavlova cupcakes with raspberry sauce. We’ve also got a flourless chocolate cake, plus a peanut butter version (if you allow kitniyot, or legumes, during Passover) and a salted chocolate coconut version. They’re so good, you’re going to want to make them year round.
You’ll note a number of desserts we’ve included are vegan, like our vegan cheesecake or coconut ice cream—because they don’t contain real milk, you’re in the clear for eating them even after a meat-heavy dinner. You won’t even miss the dairy, we promise!
This time of year, we love making extra sweet treats to share with our friends and families. Everyone loves being gifted cookies, like our walnut snowballs or snickerdoodle shortbread, or barks, like our sweet 'n' salty chocolate bark or almond toffee. Just be mindful of how strict your gift receiver is about Passover guidelines—when in doubt, buy Kosher for Passover ingredients.
If baking seems too stressful, check out our list of our favorite store-bought Passover desserts too.
1
Ultimate Macaroons
When you just can't stand any more matzo-based desserts, make these gluten-free coconut macaroons instead. You could skip the chocolate, but we don't recommend it. 😉
Get the Ultimate Macaroons recipe.
2
Easy Sorbet
No ice cream maker? No problem! We've included a traditional recipe and a no-churn recipe. A churned sorbet will be smoother and creamier than a no-churn one, but the no-churn sorbet is every bit as refreshing.
Get the Easy Sorbet recipe.
3
Matzo Magic Bars
If you've ever had magic bars (aka seven-layer bars), you know a great dessert doesn't have to be complicated. These matzo-based bars are a genius play on the no-fuss sweet à la cookbook author Molly Yeh, and they're the perfect Passover dessert when you don't have time to make coconut macaroons.
Get the Matzo Magic Bars recipe.
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4
Pavlova Cupcakes With Raspberry Sauce
Pavlovas have a crispy exterior with a soft, marshmallow-like interior, and these mini ones made into cupcakes are ideal for serving to guests. Dollop with a little homemade whipped cream and raspberry sauce for the perfect bite.
Get the Pavlova Cupcakes With Raspberry Sauce recipe.
5
Matzoh Icebox Cake
This tastes just like tiramisu! Make it the day before your celebration to ensure the matzo has enough time to soak and turn cakey.
Get the Matzoh Icebox Cake recipe.
6
Gelato
If you can't make it to Italy, our homemade gelato recipe will at least make you feel like you're living your best life, right at home. And if you’ve never experienced authentic gelato, then you might just surprise yourself with how much you love it (maybe even more than American ice cream, but don't worry—we won't tell 😉).
Get the Gelato recipe.
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7
Chocolate Toffee Matzo
This candy has become a post-seder classic and is a great way to utilize any extra matzo you bought. Make a lot and give as gifts!
Get the Chocolate Toffee Matzo recipe.
8
Flourless Chocolate Coconut Cake
Don't be surprised when you see cracks in the top of this chocolate cake—this is normal with flourless cakes, since steam causes the batter to expand while baking. When the temperature cools, it'll collapse back down, creating the signature cracks. Topped with a layer of cocoa powder, the result is gorgeously artistic.
Get the Flourless Chocolate Coconut Cake recipe.
9
Poached Pears
Have some underripe pears you have no clue what to do with? Why not poach 'em! Poaching slightly underripe pears makes them tender and sweet, while allowing them to maintain their structure. Once poached, they can be served warm or cold, garnished with a caramel reduction of the cooking liquid, and accompanied with everything from ice cream to whipped cream to yogurt.
Get the Poached Pears recipe.
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10
Gluten-Free Almond Thumbprints
This buttery cookie base tastes amazing with just about any kind of jam filling. Strawberry, raspberry, blackberry...the sky's the limit!
Get the Gluten-Free Almond Thumbprints recipe.
11
Easy Halva
Sephardic Jews rejoice, tahini-based halva (similar to fudge, but less sweet, if you're unfamiliar) is super-easy to make at home! We're obsessed.
Get the Easy Halva recipe.
12
Flourless Chocolate Cake
Cocoa powder and eggs give this gluten-free cake all the lift and structure it needs. It can be made ahead of time too—just wait 'til right before serving to pour the ganache to really wow your guests.
Get the Flourless Chocolate Cake recipe.
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13
Best-Ever Fruit Salad
Really? A recipe for fruit salad? Yes, you need it. Because this simple dressing takes strawberries, raspberries, and mangoes to a whole new level. Sweet syrupy honey, fresh tart orange juice, and bright lemon zest come together to elevate your fruit (even if they're out of season) to new heights.
Get the Best-Ever Fruit Salad recipe.
14
Best Almond Cake
This is one of those gluten-free and dairy-free recipes that we turn to again and again—it's that good. If you're crazy about citrus, go heavy on the zest (any type!), and your cake will shine like the sun.
Get the Best Almond Cake recipe.
15
Flourless Fudge Cookies
We skipped the flour and butter but still created the fudgiest cookie with the crispiest edges—this recipe is a keeper, for Passover and beyond.
Get the Flourless Fudge Cookies recipe.
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16
Matzo Granola
Observing Passover doesn’t have to mean missing out on your favorite carby sweet snacks, especially if you’re a cereal or trail mix nut. When crumbled by hand, the ever-versatile unsalted matzo makes a crisp yet hearty base for the perfect granola.
Get the Matzo Granola recipe.
17
Vegan Cheesecake
Vegan means no worrying about dairy in your post-Passover meal. The secret is soaked cashews! Cashews are an amazing ingredient that can be used across a variety of recipes, in anything ranging from a to , and it's no exception here.
Get the Vegan Cheesecake recipe.
18
Triple Almond Cookies
This almond cookie is a carefree, one-bowl affair that yields cute little bites with a whole lot of texture. Almonds make an appearance in three forms in this recipe: almond butter, almond flour, and sliced almonds. Eat them fresh for a warm, cakey bite, or let them cool for a soft-on-the-inside, crisp-on-the-edges experience.
Get the Triple Almond Cookies recipe.
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19
Meringue Cookies
Meringues may look fancy AF, but they're actually easy to make—so long as you keep beating the egg white-sugar mixture until you get stiff and glossy peaks.
Get the Best Meringue Cookies recipe.
20
Flourless Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake
We gave the classic flourless chocolate cake an upgrade in the form of LOTS of peanut butter. Try swirling peanut butter into our flourless fudge cookies too!
Get the Flourless Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake recipe.
