Our 33 Best March Recipes
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This year, March is overflowing with holidays—which means so many opportunities to celebrate with food. This collection of our best March recipes includes Easter menu ideas for your festive brunch and afternoon appetizer spread, plus easy Easter desserts that might even distract the kids from their candy-stuffed Easter baskets. It shares our best recipes for St. Patrick’s Day classics, plus a trove of dishes for Nowruz, filled with fresh spring herbs and greens to ring in the Persian New Year. You’ll also find a few nourishing recipes for Ramadan below; before the month of fasting begins on March 10, check out this Ramadan meal-planning guide for busy cooks.
But for all the days when holiday cooking isn’t on your mind, you’ll also find simple March recipes for quick dinners and side dishes that bring tender spring vegetables to your table—or at least make the most of the freezer aisle.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Sean Dooley1/33Carrot Cake With Cream Cheese Frosting
This collection of our best March recipes begins with a cake special enough for company. You can serve this as the centerpiece on your holiday dessert table or bake it on a rainy day, just because.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Stevie Stewart2/33Spring Sheet-Pan Salmon With Roasted Artichoke Hearts and Leeks
For this sheet pan dinner, you’ll use frozen artichoke hearts, which are always in season (and save you precious prep time). Be sure to wash the leeks thoroughly to remove every bit of soil.
Photo by Elizabeth Coetzee, Food styling by Tiffany Schleigh4/33Hamantaschen
A Purim celebration is not complete without this three-cornered cookie, generously filled with a range of fillings. While a canned poppy seed filling is popular, a range of jams and jellies make a fun assortment, or you can go wild with Nutella, cookie butter, ube halaya, or guava paste and cream cheese.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Drew Aichele5/33Irish Soda Bread With Raisins
Part bread, part scone, all butter and tang, this Irish soda bread goes sweet with moist raisins. It’s great for sopping up those St. Patrick’s Day beers, or just starting your morning off right.
Photo by Deb Perelman6/33Cucumber Salad With Garlicky Dill Yogurt
This salad looks far more impressive than the effort it takes to put together would suggest. Pool the dilly yogurt on the bottom of a platter then pile the cukes on top. Serve with grilled chicken or fish, both of which can use up the rest of that bunch of dill.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Stevie Stewart7/33Chocolate Stout Cake
Stout’s deep, roasted flavors make this chocolate cake truly special. And for any nondrinkers at the party, whip up a batch of good luck green cupcakes.
Photo by Peden & Munk8/33Baked Ham
Deck out this year’s Easter table with a beautifully caramelized, glazed ham sitting next to an array of side dishes. And tomorrow, when all your guests have gone, consider these leftover ham recipes to use up every last slice.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Anna Stockwell9/33Cabbage Potato Pie
Made with tons of potatoes, bacon, cabbage, cheddar, and cream, this St. Patrick’s Day savory pie is bound to please the lucky mouths it finds.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Judy Haubert10/33Cheesy Hash Brown Casserole
If you plan on serving this dreamy cheddar and potato casserole for Easter brunch, get ahead of the morning rush and bake it almost fully the night before. Then reheat it in the oven in the morning as your guests arrive.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Anna Stockwell11/33Pistachio and Pomegranate Meatballs
This glazed meatball recipe is a favorite of cookbook author Najmieh Batmanglij—and it’s sure to become a favorite of yours. Ground pistachios add flavor to the ground turkey used here, but if you’re not a fan of turkey, you can make this recipe with ground lamb too.
Photo by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Yekaterina Boystova13/33Greek-Style Lemon Potatoes With Garlic and Oregano (Patates Riganates)
These easy, lemony wonders do potatoes proud. Serve with leg of lamb, ham, or a whole roasted fish.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Lillian Chou14/33Banana Pudding Cheesecake Bars
We’re big into baking in spring, and this banana pudding riff from Epi contributor Tara O’Brady is definitely among our best March recipes. It’s fragrant banana cheesecake in bar form—no utensils required. A packed Nilla wafers crust adds proper transportation for on-the-go snacking.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, food styling by Anna Stockwell16/33Asparagus and Two-Cheese Quiche With Hash-Brown Crust
It’s easy to understand why this cheesy quiche is one of Epi’s favorite Easter brunch moves—the secret’s in the hash brown crust. Use a food processor equipped with a coarse grater plate to make shredding the potatoes a quick task.
Photo by Andrew Purcell, Prop Styling by Paige Hicks, Food Styling by Carrie Purcell17/33Leg of Lamb With Garlic and Rosemary
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Mira Evnine19/33Thandai
Thandai is the perfect drink to celebrate the festival of Holi—just make sure to serve it ice-cold. Serve the classic beverage with this fun Thandai Poke Cake from Epi contributor Keya Wingfield.
Photo by Travis Rainey, Styling by Joseph De Leo22/33Classic Deviled Eggs
Look no further, the perfect deviled egg is here. This Gourmet recipe has been a hit since it was first published in 2002; you can dress them up however you like. Cook some extra eggs so you can make these colorful pickled eggs too.
Photo by Oriana Koren23/33Hummingbird Cake
Ripe banana and canned pineapple enhance the moisture of this classic Southern cake, which originated in Jamaica. Cardamom and dried rose petals are welcome additions in this aromatic variation.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Nathaniel James, Food Styling by Simon Andrews24/33Herb-Crusted Rack of Lamb
Everyone loves a dish you can eat with your hands, especially when that dish is crispy, juicy meat right off the bone. Serve these lamb chops with a batch of lemon yogurt sauce for dipping.
Photo by Janis Nicolay25/33Hot Cross Muffins
Hot cross buns are more than just a song that you learned to play on the recorder as a child. This recipe transforms the dense, sweet buns into a fluffier, breakfast-ready muffin.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Micah Marie Morton26/33Instant Pot Lamb Haleem
Making a batch of this lamb haleem in the the Instant Pot will set you up for a comforting meal to break the fast during Ramadan.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Micah Marie Morton27/33Daffodil Cake
This sunny cake—a Depression-era riff on angel food—will manifest spring into existence, we promise.
Photo by Travis Rainey, Food Styling by Micah Marie Morton28/33Fluffy and Fabulous Coconut Cake
If coconut is your thing, then you’re bound to fall in love with this fluffy layer cake. After the last slice is served, try one of these other coconut confections.
Romulo Yanes30/33Spring Minestrone With Chicken Meatballs
Packed with spinach, carrots, and pasta, this cozy chicken soup is all sorts of comforting.
Photograph by Heami Lee, food styling by Frances Boswell, prop styling by Sophie Strangio31/33Spring Vegetable Bhajia
Fresh spring produce takes center stage in this vegetarian Indian staple. Serve these or any other of chef Preeti Mistry’s recipes for Holi at your celebration.
Photo by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Yekaterina Boystova33/33Panna Cotta
Many of these March recipes would be excellent served at a holiday table. And while that’s true of these individual panna cottas, we also love the idea of serving them to friends after a simple Sunday supper featuring a hands-off braise and warm potatoes.
