Ukrainian food at Easter is just a polar opposite of the Sviatia vecheria – Christmas Eve menu. Christmas Eve is about meatless and largely dairy-free dishes. Easter is the opposite: a lot of pork plus dairy.
They’re Christian holidays but have roots in pagan traditions. Easter is a celebration of spring and family.
There are two sets of food that get prepared for Easter. The first set of food is prepared ahead of Easter Sunday for a basket. You take this food to church to be blessed.
Easter basket
- Koubasa – garlic sausage
- Cream cheese
- Butter
- Salt (yes, just salt)
- Cheese
- Hard-boiled eggs
- Cooked ham, roast pork, lamb
- Paska
- Babka
Easter dinner
Easter dinner includes all of the items in your basket as well as casseroles and salads.
Pork
- Instant Pot Studenetz – Head cheese
- Pork roast
- Pechene Porosiatko – roast suckling pig
- Kyshka – buckwheat sausage
Holubtsi – Cabbage rolls
- Instant Pot Cabbage Rolls – Holubtsi
- Instant Pot Buckwheat and Pork Cabbage Rolls / Holubtsi
- Instant Pot Sour Cabbage Rolls – Holubtsi
Pyrohy – Varenyky – Perohe
- Baba’s best perohe – varyenyky – pyrogy dough
- Instant Pot farm cheese, potato, onion and dill filling
- Instant Pot prune filling
Baked Pyrizhky
- Instant Pot bread dough for baked pyrizhky or perishke
- Instant Pot farm cheese, potato, onion and dill filling
- Instant Pot prune filling
Nachinka – Cornmeal
Sides
