6 Irresistible Vegan Chocolate Dessert Recipes for Passover and Easter

I grew up in a Jewish home, and Passover was always one of my favorite holidays. When I was young, our family was large and lively, and we would gather at my Grandma Ida and Grandpa Joe’s apartment in Brooklyn, home of what we lovingly called “the magic expanding table.” No matter how many relatives arrived, somehow there was always room for one more chair, one more plate, one more story.

For years, my girl cousins were miffed at me because, as the oldest, I was seated at the grown-ups’ table instead of the children’s table. It felt like a rite of passage, listening to the conversations, watching the traditions unfold, absorbing the rhythm of the Seder. Food was central, of course, but so was connection. Passover wasn’t simply about what we ate. It was about memory, ritual, and gathering.

Times changed. Families grew. Traditions evolved. And so did my kitchen.

As a vegan pastry chef, I’ve come to love recreating the flavors and textures of spring holidays in ways that honor both tradition and modern plant-based living. Easter and Passover often overlap on the calendar, and both call for desserts that feel celebratory — chocolate, citrus, coconut, nuts, and confections that can be made ahead and shared.

In this collection of six vegan dessert recipes for Easter and Passover, you’ll find treats that are festive, elegant, and deeply satisfying.

Vegan Dessert Recipes For Passover

Dukkah-Spiced Chocolate–Covered Matzoh

Recently, I went dukkah mad, and that madness led to the creation of this dish. Dukkah is an Egyptian spice blend made with nuts, cumin, sesame, coriander, fennel seeds, pepper berries, salt, some dried herbs, and chili pepper. The ingredients are lightly toasted and ground into a powder, making a divine dust for bread dipped in olive oil. During my dukkah delirium, I made batch after batch with different combinations of spices and nuts. I still had jars of them when my daughter asked me to make matzoh toffee for a Chanukah party. I spied the dukkah and thought, “Why not something different?” I slathered the matzoh with olive oil–enhanced Ganache Glaze, and finished with a shower of dukkah. The pieces were quickly devoured.

The recipe can be found here: http://francostigan.com/blog/dukkah-spiced-chocolate-covered-matzoh-for-passover/

Vegan Dessert Recipes For Passover and Easter

Chocolate-Dipped Coconut Macaroons

This is a delicious, preservative-free version of that canned cookie that appears on virtually every Seder table. These macaroons are too good to eat only on Passover, and you certainly don’t have to be Jewish to enjoy them.

The recipe can be found here: http://francostigan.com/blog/chocolate-dipped-coconut-macaroons/

Raw Chocolate Fudge and Mandarin Orange Tart 

Raw chocolate fillings often taste like date paste–flavored cocoa (to me, anyway). While that can be fine, it is certainly not a rich and silken chocolate fudge. This filling is different. Luxuriously smooth and definitely chocolate, I’m betting that whether or not you are a raw enthusiast, this recipe will find its way into your file of favorite chocolate fillings. The filling can also be spread into the baked Almond Cookie Crust for a change of pace, and Dutch-process cocoa can be used. It won’t be a raw recipe, but it will be very good.

The recipe can be found here:  http://francostigan.com/blog/raw-chocolate-fudge-and-mandarin-orange-tart-for-national-pie-day/

Mendiants

Mendiants are a French confection, composed of nuts and dried or candied fruits strewn on disks of melted chocolate. They look beautiful but can be time-consuming and tricky to make when using tempered chocolate and candying the nuts. I made a simpler version by using leftover ingredients. Melted chocolate left from a recipe test? Check. Walnuts or pine nuts? Yes. Four squares of candied ginger, a handful of dried cranberries . . . you get the idea. This is probably heresy, but it works, so be creative. By the way, traditionally, the nuts and fruits were chosen to represent the four monastic orders, or mendicants, of the church.

The recipe can be found here: https://francostigan.com/vegan-chocolate-mendiants/

Chocolate Orange Sesame Truffles

The liquid in this unusual, slightly chewy chocolate truffle is made by cooking fresh orange juice and finely minced orange zest with tahini (sesame seed paste) and agave syrup. While this truffle ganache is not perfectly smooth, the truffles taste very creamy, and the coating of lightly toasted sesame seeds provides color and crunch.

The recipe can be found here: http://francostigan.com/blog/vegan-chocolate-orange-sesame-truffles/

Vegan Dessert Recipes For Easter

Chocolate, Orange, and Almond Olive Oil Cake

If you have ground almonds in your freezer, this cake takes almost no time to prep. (If youdon’t it’s fast anyway.) But don’t rush the baking and final steps: it is important to bake the cake until it is dark golden brown for the best texture, and to sprinkle a layer of chopped almonds on the serving plate so the bottom of the cake doesn’t stick.

The recipe can be found here: http://francostigan.com/blog/virtual-vegan-potluck-chocolate-orange-and-almond-olive-oil-cake/

More Vegan Chocolate Recipes for Easter and Passover

You can find many more vegan Passover recipes on VegKitchen.com and Real Responsible Eating and Living. Think vegan Matzoh Balls and even Gefilte Fish!

Friends, I LOVE comments, so please do! What will you be cooking for Passover and/or Easter this weekend? Do you play around with tradition or do you cook versions of the food served around your family table? Do you have one food you must have to “feel” the holiday?

Dukkah-Spiced Chocolate–Covered Matzoh, Chocolate-Dipped Coconut Macaroon, and Raw Chocolate Fudge and Mandarin Orange Tart  photos by Hannah Kaminsky.

Mendiants, Chocolate Orange Sesame Truffles, and Chocolate, Orange, and Almond Olive Oil Cake photos by Kate Lewis.