20 Centerpiece-Worthy Lamb Dishes for Your Easter Table From chops and shanks to a leg, rack, or roast, these lamb recipes are worthy of celebrating the spring holiday. By Molly McArdle Molly McArdle Molly McArdle is Food & Wine's Updates Editor. She has written and edited stories about food, wine, culture, place, and technology for more than 15 years. Her work has appeared in Travel + Leisure, GQ, Esquire, Oxford American, The Believer, Bookforum, and many more. Food & Wine's Editorial Guidelines Updated on April 7, 2025 SAVE ALL RECIPES NEW! Save as a collection on MyRecipes Close Credit: Cara Cormack Lamb is traditional for Easter, a holiday rich with symbols of spring. And if you're interested in buying and cooking lamb this season, you've come to the right place. These are some of our favorite lamb recipes for Easter, whether you opt for a show-stopping crown roast or rich, deeply spiced shanks, with plenty of herbs, sauces, and spices enhancing the flavors. 01 of 20 Spice-Crusted Rack of Lamb Eva Kolenko F&W's Paige Grandjean coats two Frenched racks of lamb with coarsely crushed spices: warm cinnamon, floral coriander seeds, and sharp black peppercorns. Top the finished lamb chops with whatever pieces of crust may have fallen off when you slicked the roasted racks and serve with a peppery Syrah. Get the Recipe Save 02 of 20 Braised Lamb Shanks with Herb Salad Dylan + Jeni / Food Styling by Brett Long / Prop Styling by Nidia Cueva 2018 F&W Best New Chef Katianna Hong shares a recipe for lamb shanks that can be made a day ahead, then reheated and crisped up just before serving. Mix a pungent, piquant Korean mustard paste with sweet plum extract and umami-rich soy sauce for a well-balanced, unforgettable sauce. Get the Recipe Save 03 of 20 Leg of Lamb Cooked Over New Potatoes with Spicy Mint-Rum Sauce Greg DuPree / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen This tender, flavorful roast leg of lamb is the centerpiece to cookbook author and scholar Jessica B. Harris's annual dinner parties on Martha's Vineyard. Rub a paste of dried lavender, fresh thyme, and garlic cloves on the meat to create a crunchy, flavorful crust. Serve the celebration-worthy dish with a spicy mint-rum sauce. Get the Recipe Save 04 of 20 Grilled Rack of Lamb with Demi-Glace Butter Johnny Autry An overnight marinade in a garlic, shallot, and herb paste infuses this rack of lamb with intense flavor. Serve with a punchy demi-glace butter and sweet balsamic glaze, both of which can be made ahead of time. Get the Recipe Save 05 of 20 Garlic-Crusted Roast Rack of Lamb Cara Cormack Kenny Rochford's simple, utterly scrumptious preparation for lamb is one of our favorites and one of our most versatile. Rub two Frenched racks of lamb with garlic, rosemary, olive oil, and salt before roasting on high heat. Get the Recipe Save 06 of 20 Crown Roast of Lamb with Jeweled Rice Stuffing Jordan Provost / Food Styling by Thu Buser This crown roast of lamb from Lessons in Chemistry brings the drama. Stand two racks of lamb chops on their ends and tie them together with butcher's twine to create this showstopping presentation. The rice stuffing is dotted with almonds, raisins, and currants, for a toothsome mix of sweet and crunch. Get the Recipe Save 07 of 20 Double-Cut Lamb Chops with Garlic-Caper Rub Greg DuPree / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer/ Prop Styling by Heather Chadduck Hillegas Dress double-cut lamb chops in the punchiest of ingredients: anchovies, garlic, and capers. These incredible flavors mellow and meld with the gamey lamb during the short cook time, which makes use of the broiler to reverse-sear the chops. You end up with a crispy exterior and perfectly cooked interior. Get the Recipe Save 08 of 20 Grilled Leg of Lamb with Garlic and Rosemary William F. Dickey II A long marinade means a quick cook-time for this tender, flavorful leg of lamb recipe from chef Cal Peternell, which comes off the grill after only 20 minutes. Simple and delicious, it's prepared with garlic, rosemary, olive oil, crunchy kosher salt, and freshly ground black pepper. Get the Recipe Save 09 of 20 Rosé-Marinated Grilled Leg of Lamb with Walnut Salsa Fresca Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Torie Cox / Prop Styling by Thom Driver A rosé-based marinade and walnut salsa fresca bring a garlicky, herbal flavor to this grilled leg of lamb recipe. The real secret is studding the lamb with whole anchovies before it goes on the grill; they melt salt and umami into the meat as it cooks for incredible added flavor. Get the Recipe Save 10 of 20 Moroccan-Style Lamb Shanks Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Julian Hensarling / Prop Styling by Julia Bayless This delicious Moroccan-style lamb preparation can be made up to three days in advance, making it very friendly for hosting. Warm spices, fresh wine, dry red wine, sweet toasted almonds, and lucscious braised lamb make this a recipe you'll return to again and again. Get the Recipe Save 11 of 20 Slow-Roasted Lamb Shoulder with Shallots and White Wine Eva Kolenko This lamb shoulder cooks for roughly three hours, braised on top of thyme and shallots in a bath of honey, white wine, and orange juice. Cookbook author Aria Adjani likes to serve this with a lemon-oregano gremolata. Get the Recipe Save 12 of 20 Campfire Lamb Peka Caitlin Bensel This traditional Croatian preparation is designed to be cooked over an open fire, though it's also delicious made in an oven or with a charcoal grill. It's the ultimate one-pot dish, full of rough-chopped vegetables, fresh sprigs of herbs, dry white wine, a healthy glug or two of olive oil — and of course, melt-in-your-mouth slow-cooked lamb. Get the Recipe Save 13 of 20 Lamb Biryani Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Nidia Cueva Few dishes signify celebration quite like dum biryani, a slow-cooked and fastidiously layered rice dish that communicates care and opulence with every bite. A classic of Mughlai cuisine, it's flavored with saffron, rosewater, nuts, fruit, lamb, aromatics, and a cornocopia of spices before being topped by a buttery, flaky parantha crust. Get the Recipe Save 14 of 20 Banana Leaf-Wrapped Lamb Shank Tamales with Morita Chile Salsa DYLAN + JENI Food writer and event producer Paola Briseño González likes to serve these slow-cooked lamb tamales at her annual holiday party, but they are festive (and delicious) enough for any holiday. Banana leaf wrappers give the tamales a custard-like texture and the morita chile salsa brings smoky heat. Get the Recipe Save 15 of 20 Khorak Ghosht-e Bareh (Slow-Braised Lamb) Ellen Silverman Nasim Alikhani, chef and owner of Sofreh in New York City makes this slow-cooked lamb recipe for Nowruz, the springtime Persian New Year celebration. Cinnamon, garlic, turmeric, and cumin flavor a rich, warming braise that renders onions silky and the lamb melty and tender. Get the Recipe Save 16 of 20 Garlicky Braised Lamb Shanks with Sweet Peppers Greg DuPree Legendary chef Jeremiah Tower's recipe for braised lamb shanks was named one of Food & Wine's 40 best in 2018. It still holds up: bright bell peppers, more than four heads of garlic, and a generous helping of fresh thyme yield one of Tower's most iconic dishes. Even better, the lamb can be braised a day ahead of serving. Get the Recipe Save 17 of 20 Pistachio-Crusted Rack of Lamb with Pancetta Quentin Bacon In his book Cocinar en Casa, chef Ferran Adrià of the legendary restaurant El Bulli — a temple of molecular gastronomy — shares an unexpected, totally delicious, and home kitchen–friendly recipe for lamb coated in pistachio pesto and wrapped in crunchy, flavorful pancetta. Get the Recipe Save 18 of 20 Roast Lamb with Orange and Lemon Roland Persson Chef Antonio Ciminelli shares this Roman take on lamb, infusing a butterflied leg of lamb with orange and lemon zest and serving it with a silky sauce made with the tart, citrusy pan juices. Get the Recipe Save 19 of 20 Petite Leg of Lamb with Pickled Rhubarb Salsa Con Poulos F&W's Justin Chapple like to prepare a petite leg of lamb, which cuts down on the effort required to prepare a whole leg but keeps much of what he loves about the traditional cut. Perfect for a small group, it's served with a fresh and tart pickled rhubarb salsa. Get the Recipe Save 20 of 20 Skillet-Roasted Lamb Loins with Herbs John Kernick Chef Cathal Armstrong developed this easy, delicious lamb recipe after a childhood of watching his family spend all day making their Easter lamb. This crowd-friendly dish is ready in under an hour, and yields a beautiful, succulent lamb loin slathered with vibrant herbs, garlic, and shallots. Get the Recipe Save Explore more: Food Holidays & Occasions Easter Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit