Best Egg Dishes for Easter If Eggs for You Mean the Chicken Not Chocolate Kind

Our best egg dishes for Easter if you prefer your Easter eggs to come from a chicken rather than a bunny include everything from an omelette or frittata with herbs to poached eggs with crunchy asparagus, crispy fried pancetta and fresh parmesan, a perfect Spring dish.

Terence’s hot cross buns recipe is tempting, but I’ve had eggs on the brain for a few days. Not so much for Easter Sunday today, but for the Russian Orthodox Easter next weekend. I like to observe some of the traditions of ‘home’, as a way to connect me with my family, especially my long-departed grandparents. It’s something a lot of expats find themselves doing when they live abroad for as long as we have – 21 years this year!

Observing family traditions triggers memories of time spent together and that act of remembering is very pleasant indeed, even if it’s bittersweet. When those traditions have a food component, as Easter and Christmas do, there’s the added bonus of the recollection of delicious memories related to meals prepared and shared together, which can be savoured during the acts of cooking and eating.

As a child I would help my baboushka dye boiled eggs different colours for Russian Easter, which she would take to the church to be blessed. (Incidentally, the history of why Easter eggs are dyed and decorated is fascinating.) This year I thought I’d pickle some eggs instead, so I’ve been researching Asian flavours and spices to combine in place of ingredients such as bay leaves. I’ll let you know how I go during the week and share the recipe here.

I’m going to make some Russian piroshki also and as Baba’s recipes are back in Australia, I’ve been searching the web for the kind she used to make. They were fried, not baked, and the filling consisted of the tastiest minced beef with fried onions and vermicelli noodles. I can’t find any with noodles online and am wondering if that was one of Baba’s innovations. Looks like I’m going to have to make it up as I go along.

As for today’s eggs, I’m not sure where today went, but I was hoping that someone (hint, hint) would make me a French style omelette or frittata using the fresh dill I bought that’s in the fridge. I adore dill and it’s so hard to get it here. Regular readers might recall my frustrations when I was desperate to find it to make Chalee Kader’s fresh herb salad for Christmas.

Easter brunch and Easter lunch are underway or still to come in many parts of the world, so it’s not too late for Easter eggs for me today. Though looks like I might have to make those eggs myself, seeing Terence is currently tucking into our Thai leftovers.

Fortunately, I won’t have to wing the eggs. We have dozens of eggs recipes in our Grantourismo archive. If you’re like me and you prefer chicken eggs to chocolate eggs, here’s a round-up of our recipes for our best egg dishes for Easter or any other day of the year.

Best Egg Dishes for Easter If Eggs for You Are the Chicken Not Chocolate Kind

A round-up of our best egg dishes for Easter or any other day of the year:

A Perfect Omelette

An omelette is absolutely perfect for an Easter brunch or lunch, washed down with glasses of bubbly and this is easily one of our best egg dishes in the recipe archive, as it makes a perfect omelette.

Fast Omelette Recipe

This fast omelette recipe is the omelette you make when you’re at home with family, enjoying some quiet, fuss-free time together or you’re simply too tired to make that perfect omelette above. There’s nobody to impress and for you Easter is just another holiday and the chance to take it easy rather than hunt for chocolate eggs or host lunch.

Herb Omelette

One of our best egg dishes in the archive is this one for a Cambodian saom omelette, which is traditionally a thinner, browner and crispier omelette, but Terence makes it in the French style, which I much prefer. It’s very filling so ideal for brunch and while we use sa’om or climbing wattle, a garlicky green herb that becomes sweet when cooked, you could easily replace the sa’om with dill, basil, coriander or any other fragrant herb.

Poached Eggs, Asparagus, Pancetta and Parmesan

This light Spring dish of poached eggs with crunchy asparagus, crispy fried pancetta and fresh parmesan is an Italian classic and is easily one of our best egg dishes for Easter, which coincides with asparagus season. Terence made this in Venice in the kitchen of our palazzo apartment rental overlooking the Grand Canal to use the spring asparagus that had just come into season. Served with a crisp white wine it’s a fantastic Spring dish so perfect for Easter lunch.

Poached Eggs, Asparagus, Pancetta and Parmesan – the Fancy Version

This is another of our best egg dishes for Easter, and it is one of my favourites. This poached eggs, asparagus, pancetta and parmesan dish is a more creative and more contemporary version of the classic eggs dish, above. It’s perfect for a spring brunch as it’s pretty, and it also looks like you’ve gone to more trouble than you have. It’s a playful take on the classic and is fun to eat. Serve with a crunchy baguette.

Eggs Benedict

There are few more quintessential brunch dishes than eggs Benedict and you don’t need to do anything more than open a bottle of sparkling wine to transform this into a wonderful Easter or spring brunch or lunch.

Scrambled Eggs with Smoked Salmon, Caviar and Dill

These creamy scrambled eggs with smoked salmon, caviar and dill have become something of a Christmas breakfast tradition for us over the years, but by the time we get around to making and eating them it’s normally Christmas lunch. You can serve these year-round, of course, and there’s no reason why you can’t serve this for Easter brunch. The inclusion of caviar is what makes this suited for a special occasion or holiday, so buy a good bottle of bubbles to wash them down with.

Scrambled Eggs with Truffles

For me, these scrambled eggs with truffles are the winter equivalent of the smoked salmon and caviar with scrambled eggs, which really works year-round, so if you’re in the southern hemisphere, where it’s autumn, this one is for you if you can get hold of some early season truffles. This is another special occasion brunch or lunch eggs dish deserving of a good bottle of sparkling to accompany the dish.

Classic Salade Lyonnaise

This classic salade Lyonnaise, which Terence made when we stayed in a handsome stone house in Céret in southwest France in spring 2010 (when we slipped away to Perpignan for the Easter weekend to see the Procession de la Sanch), is another one of our best egg dishes. It’s brilliant for a spring brunch or lunch at Easter or any other time. It pairs very nicely with a crisp white wine. Everyone washes down their brunch/lunch eggs with a glass of wine, right?

Frittata with Spanish Chorizo and Caramelised Onions

This chorizo and caramelised onion frittata is one of our best egg dishes from the archive because besides being so delicious, it’s so easy to make. There’s no need to mess about with pastry as you have to with quiche nor flip it as you do with a tortilla. Serve it warm or at room temperature and it still tastes good. Make a Mediterranean style salad, open a bottle of Rosé and you have light meal that’s ideal for Spring.

Spanish Potato and Onion Tortilla

There are few more enjoyable meals than a spread of Spanish tapas and you can keep things simple by making this potato and onion tortilla recipe the only dish that needs to be cooked. Prepare a platter of Spanish cold cuts and cheeses, open a tin of anchovies, fill some small dishes with juicy olives, slice some crusty fresh bread, and it looks like you’ve gone to a lot more trouble than you have.

Vietnamese Style Crab Omelette Recipe

This is one of our best egg dishes if you’re inviting friends over for a spring brunch or lunch and are out to impress as it just looks so wonderful. Originally from China, this Vietnamese-style crab omelette can easily be eaten on its own or you could serve an Asian salad on the side. It washes down well with a cold beer or glass of white wine.

Kai Yat Say

On the subject of omelettes, this Thai ‘stuffed’ eggs recipe is another one of our best egg dishes from the archive. Although this egg ‘parcel’ of stir-fried pork mince, diced vegetables and oyster sauce is not really a breakfast or brunch dish in Thailand, it’s one of those street food snacks you can find on the footpaths of Bangkok any time of day or night. It’s a substantial dish so you don’t need anything with it, other than some cold Singha beers.

North African Chakchouka

This North African chakchouka recipe for eggs poached in a spicy tomato sauce is thought to have originated in Tunisia or Algeria, yet is found right across the Middle East and North African region. It’s another of Terence’s best egg dishes and one of the best examples of chakchouka I’ve ever eaten. Warming and comforting, it’s a fantastic dish for our friends in the Southern Hemisphere where the cooler autumn (‘fall’ for North Americans) season has just started.

Huevos Revueltos Con Chorizo

Huevos revueltos con chorizo (scrambled eggs with chorizo) is such a quintessential Mexico City breakfast although it can also be eaten for brunch and lunch with larger than normal portions of refried beans, a stack of fresh tortillas or bowl of quality corn chips, and dishes of extra chilli sauce, white cheese or sour cream, and some jalapenos. This is easily another of our best egg dishes if you like your eggs spicy.

Scrambled Eggs with Arabic Lamb Sausages and Za’atar Toast

These scrambled eggs with Arabic lamb sausages and za’atar toast was created in Dubai, our home for some years, and was the dish that kicked off our Weekend Eggs series when we launched Grantourismo with our year-long grand tour back in 2010. This could be an Arabian style hot English breakfast and it could also be eaten for brunch on Easter or any other day.

Huevos Con Chorizo

This huevos con chorizo recipe (eggs with chorizo) differs to the huevos revueltos con chorizo recipe (scrambled eggs with chorizo), above, in that in this dish the eggs are more lightly scrambled, the chorizo is cured not fresh, and it’s chopped so it’s not as well combined with the eggs. While still spicy it’s a lighter dish despite being creamy, which makes it a better brunch or lunch dish. Once again, though, you want to roll these up in soft tortillas, corn or flour.

Scrambled Eggs with Sucuk Sausage

Both this Turkish-inspired breakfast dish of scrambled eggs with sucuk sausage, bell peppers, eggplants, and parsley and these scrambled eggs with Njeguski kobasica (a smoky pork sausage from the village of Njeguski in Montenegro) and ajvar (‘Serbian salsa’) make for filling egg-based dishes that are terrific for brunch or lunch, Easter or any day.

Contemporary Huevos Rancheros

Like the scrambled eggs dishes, above, Terence’s contemporary take on Mexico’s huevos rancheros or ranch style eggs, served on top of soft tortillas and smothered in a spicy tomato sauce is another of our best egg dishes that’s lovely for brunch or lunch.

Bubur Ayam

The Balinese version of Indonesian congee or rice porridge, bubur ayam, is filling enough for brunch or lunch with its poached chicken and shredded omelette. Like a lot of Asian street food dishes, you can really eat this at any time of day and I much prefer it for lunch rather than breakfast.

Banh Mi Op La

Lunches don’t come much easier than what we called a salad roll when we were young and lived in Australia. One of our favourite lunch ‘rolls’ in Asia is the French influenced Vietnamese baguette called banh mi, and best of all is the banh mi op la, which we used to eat in Hoi An, which comes with an omelette. The addition of egg gives it a breakfast feel but it’s fantastic for lunch too. You can make a whole batch of them and chop them in quarters to serve for family or a group of friends.

You’ll find more of our best egg dishes under our Weekend Eggs series (link at top of post).