19 Passover Dessert Recipes That Might Become Your New Family Tradition

February 13, 2011
Credit: Joseph De Leo
Flourless desserts for Passover are a category of sweets unto themselves, distinctly different and able to hold up against their starchier cousins. Our recipes for flourless cakes, macaroons, and matzo desserts are so delicious you'll want to make them for Passover every year!
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Credit: Joseph De Leo

The sweetest part of any formal meal is dessert, and enjoying a sweet bite to finish the Passover Seder is no different. You may have family recipes that have been passed down to you, Passover classics like flourless chocolate cakes and macaroons, but perhaps you're looking for delicious new recipes that are fresh variations on time-honored Passover staples to add to your repertoire. Once you try our Passover desserts you'll want to make them every year—they're that good!

If you're looking for a novel take on a flourless cake that everyone will enjoy, our coconut chiffon cake is just light and delicate. Using whipped egg whites and coconut oil as a binder will keep your cake in line with dietary restrictions—it's the same approach you'll use when making our almond torte, which can also be made using kosher pareve margarine in place of butter.

Coconut also stars in that Passover classic, the simple macaroon, and we have recipes that feature a thin layer of fine chocolate for an extra touch of sweetness. Another popular Passover option is a fruit-based, like our almond-coconut tart, which is filled with a luscious soy cream-cheese-based filling.

Passover desserts can't include wheat flour or dairy ingredients but they can be full of fresh fruits, dried fruits, ginger, honey, chocolate, and other tempting flavors. Looking for a playful sweet treat to close out your holiday meal? We've come up with ways to use extra matzo in interesting ways, including a crumbled pie crust that comes together with just five ingredients. Here are 19 dessert recipes to have you celebrating the Passover holiday season.

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Coconut Chiffon Cake with Chocolate Frosting

Credit: Armando Rafael
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An airy, cloud-like chiffon cake makes an elegant addition to any dessert buffet. The use of whipped egg whites and coconut oil keeps things kosher.

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Macaroon Sandwich Cookies

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Inspired by the French macaron, we've transformed that classic Passover treat, the macaroon, into a sandwich cookie. A tart fruit filling (we used mango, raspberry, and apricot jams) gives them a certain je ne sais quoi.

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Sweet Matzo Pie Crust

Credit: Aaron Dyer
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Crumbled matzo mixed with coconut oil and sugar makes a graham cracker-like crust ready to be paired with your favorite filling: kosher lemon curd and meringue, or chocolate ganache.

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Apple Matzo Cake

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Flour may be forbidden during Passover, but that doesn't mean you have to forgo cake. Matzo meal makes for a light texture, while pecans give the topping a lovely crunch.

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Flourless Chocolate-Almond Torte with Cherry Preserves and Kirsch Meringue

Credit: Maura Mcevoy
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To make this (or any) recipe kosher for a Passover meal that includes meat, substitute kosher pareve margarine for butter. Then wow your guests with this gorgeous cake that hits a cherry note with each bite, thanks to kirsch liqueur and a layer of preserves.

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Coconut-Chocolate Macaroons

Credit: Johnny Miller
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Honey, vanilla extract, and plenty of lemon zest give these otherwise classic macaroons extra oomph. To decorate, drizzle with melted chocolate or simply dip one side into it.

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Matzo Chocolate-Mint Ice Cream Cake

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Ice cream cake for Passover? You can get away with it, as long as you use matzo for your base. The choice of ice cream is yours; we like mint-chip and straight chocolate.

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Matzo S'Mores

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Who will have more fun this Passover, the kids or the adults? Find out when you serve these irresistible treats, where matzo stands in for graham crackers, but chocolate and marshmallows are right where they belong.

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Coconut Macaroons

Credit: Bryan Gardner
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Give these macaroons, made with just five ingredients—sugar, shredded coconut, egg whites, vanilla extract, and salt—top billing at your Passover dessert buffet. After you master the classic recipe, try making a batch of the chocolate or chocolate-chunk macaroons—you can't go wrong!

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Pistachio, Honey and Sea Salt Matzo

Credit: Kate Mathis
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A Passover confection adults and kids alike will enjoy, this is like a kosher brittle. A layer of dark chocolate and pistachios grace the surface of matzo, and the result is crunchy, sweet, and just a little salty.

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Almond-Coconut Macaroons

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Perhaps the quintessential Passover sweet, macaroons are light and sometimes chewy, and they often feature ground almonds, almond paste, or coconut. This version comes out crisp and is a snap to whip up.

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Crystallized Ginger and Orange Zest Matzo

Credit: Kate Mathis
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Dark chocolate melted and spread on matzo with a sprinkle of ginger and orange zest—nothing could be simpler or more sublime to conclude a seder meal.

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Easy Jam Macaroons

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This macaroon-thumbprint hybrid teams a crumbly almond cookie base with a sweet jam filling. We chose apricot, but feel free to use any flavor you please.

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Matzo Toffee

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Make this confection for Passover, but chances are you'll return to this recipe at other times of the year. It's the perfect blend of crunchy and sweet and keeps in the refrigerator for up to five days.

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Chocolate Passover Cookies

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For a sweet ending, add these crowd-pleasing favorites to your holiday table. The recipe uses matzo meal in place of flour and we bet (almost) no one will know the difference. Okay, so you can't dunk them in milk, but they're delicious all on their own.

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Almond-Coconut Tart

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This tart is a showstopper; try it for Passover, then return to the recipe later in the summer when local berries are at their peak. The almond filling gets its luscious consistency from soy cream cheese.

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Chocolate-Coconut Macaroon Cups

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Yes, you can bake cookies in a muffin tin! In this recipe, it helps the almond-encrusted chocolate macaroons keep their shape.

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Walnut Dacquoises with Honey-Walnut Ice Cream

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Classic Passover dessert ingredients include apples, honey, and walnuts. Here, they blend together for a unique holiday dacquoise. Think of it as a haroset ice-cream sandwich. 

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Coconut-Macaroon Sundaes

Credit: John Kernick
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Seder sundaes anyone? More cake than cookie, these macaroons are dipped in dark chocolate, then served with fresh raspberries, vanilla ice cream, and more dark chocolate.

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