I LOVE Easter and all of the fun that comes around this time of year with kids and children. The weather is (supposedly) getting warmer, the days are longer and there’s plenty of delicious food to be enjoyed! In this blog, I’m sharing 8 simple family friendly Easter recipes for you to enjoy. A mix of sweet and savoury, but all super simple – I hope you and your family enjoy them!
Don’t forget to check out my blog all about Easter activities for the kids that AREN’T related to food, so do check that out for some fab ideas!
1. Bunny Oatcakes
These super-easy oatcakes are made just from oats, a little oil and water – that’s it! You just pop everything in a food processor, whizz for a minute and then roll out and cut out your bunny shapes. Don’t forget to roll out the shapes on baking parchment so that you can easily transfer them to a baking tray. You cook them on the baking parchment on the tray so no need even to grease the tray either. These are completely fuss-free and lovely spread with a little nut butter.
Ingredients
Prep: 10 minutes
Cooking: 25 minutes
Makes: 8
- 85g oats
- ½ tbsp sunflower oil
- 3 tbsp boiling water from the kettle
Method
- Heat the oven to 180C/160 fan/gas mark 4. Add the oats to a food processor and blend for a second until fine. Add the oil and water and blend again until the mixture starts to come away in a ball.
- Form a ball of dough with your hands and roll it out on a sheet of baking parchment to about the thickness of a £1 coin (no need to add extra flour). Cut out bunny shapes with a cutter and reroll the rest of the dough in the parchment.
- Transfer the shapes, still on the parchment to a baking tray and bake in the oven on the parchment-covered tray for 25 minutes. They will firm up but not take on any colour. Cool on the tray and then serve spread with peanut butter or mashed avocado
2. Thick Chocolate Milk
This recipe is probably for the older children and is a healthier version of a chocolate milkshake. The recipe makes a lovely and thick ‘milkshake’-like smoothie but you can vary the thickness by adding a little extra milk if you think your kids will prefer it that way. The recipe is easily scaled up to make more than one.
Prep: 3 minutes
Cooking: N/A
Makes: 1
Ingredients
- 1 banana
- 30g oats
- 120ml milk (any kind)
- 1 tsp peanut butter
- 1 tsp cocoa
- Pinch of cinnamon
Method
- Blend all the ingredients together and serve. Add a splash more milk to loosen, if preferred.
3. Carrot and Avo Pots
Not all Easter bunnies bring chocolate – some can bring carrots, too! Pack a pot of mashed avocado with some carrot sticks and pop on a lid to take out and about with you over Easter. You can make these pots baby-friendly by steaming the carrots until super soft or just offer raw to older children who have better bite and eating skills.
Prep: 3 minutes
Cooking: N/A
Makes: 2 pots
Ingredients
- 1 carrot
- 1 avocado
- A squeeze of lime
Method
- Peel the carrot and slice into sticks.
- Steam until very soft for babies and younger toddler or leave uncooked for older children.
- Mash the avocado with a squeeze of lime.
- Pack into pots for a snack on-the-go, or serve as part of an Easter-themed lunch.
4. Easter Chocolate crispie cakes
These crispie cakes have been a family favourite of mine since I can remember. For ages I wanted to try and create some without the added sugar (syrup or honey usually), but you really need that to glue them together and make them stick. However, I’ve found a way using only dates for sweetness, which actually doesn’t alter the flavour of these so they are just as delicious as always. I’ve used dates to sweeten (which add some extra nutrients too) and I’ve added some seeds to add more crunch and nutrients too. I also use Bran Flakes as the main crunch in this – they are a little higher in sugar than cornflakes, but also contain more fibre and less salt. I also love the texture and crunch they add. They’re also fortified, too.
Prep: 10 minutes + setting in the fridge
Cooking: N/A
Makes: about 10
Ingredients
- 50g dates, pitted
- 2-3 tbsp warm water
- 15g sesame seeds (or use 5g chia seeds)
- 25g butter
- 150g dark chocolate
- 150g bran flakes
Method
- Line a cupcake tin with cases. Blend the dates and water together, adding enough water to get a smooth paste.
- Add to a pan with all the other ingredients and gently melt together.
- Stir to combine and then spoon into cases and pop in the fridge to set.
5. Easter Biscuits
This firm family favourite uses no refined sugar, just natural sweetness from the apple juice and currants. You could use other dried fruits like raisins or sultanas too.
Cooking: 15-20 mins
Makes: about 10-15 biscuits
Ingredients
- 110g of unsalted butter or plant based spread (softened)
- 200g of plain wholemeal flour (you can also use white and self raising too)
- 1.5 tsp of ground mixed spice
- 40-50mls apple juice
- 100g currants
Method
- Lightly grease a large baking tray
- Add the butter to a bowl
- Add the flour and mixed spice and mix well with your fingers until it makes a breadcrumb texture
- Add the currants and then slowly add the juice – you just need enough to combine the whole mixture into a round dough
- Sprinkle extra flour on a flat, clean surface and roll the dough out until it’s around ½ a cm thick – (you can make it thicker than this which will make more of a softer texture) for the biscuits
- Use a cookie cutter to cut the biscuit shapes and place them on the baking tray. Bake for around 15-20 mins or until they are just very slightly browned at 200℃
- Leave to cool and then place on a wire tray
*If you want them sweeter, you can always add 30g caster sugar and swap the apple juice for milk.
**Plain flour produces denser, harder /biscuits. Self-raising flour will give a lighter/softer/ thicker biscuit.
6. Carrot cake hot cross buns
A twist on traditional hot cross buns. These delightful buns are sweetened with a combination of orange juice, carrots and raisins or sultanas. They are dairy free too!
Prep: 10 minutes + 2 – 2 ½ hours proving time
Cooking: 20 mins
Makes: about 12 buns
Ingredients
- 250ml plant-based milk alternative
- 50g plant-based spread
- 500g strong bread flour
- 50ml orange juice
- 7g sachet fast-action dried yeast
- 1.5 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- Flour for dusting
- 2 medium carrots, peeled and grated (dab off excess moisture if you can using kitchen roll)
- 200g raisins or sultanas
Method
- In a small saucepan, warm the milk and then add the fat spread. Once the fat spread has melted, turn off the heat and leave it to cool slightly.
- Add the flour, yeast, and spices to a large bowl.
- When the milk has cooled to lukewarm, make a well in the centre of the flour mixture, then pour in the warm milk mixture along with the orange juice.
- Mix well with a wooden spoon, then use your hands to bring everything together into a sticky dough. Now add the carrots (that you have peeled & grated ) and all of the raisins. Combine into the dough. Tip: If your mixture seems too dry and is not coming together, add more milk gradually. Or if your mixture seems to wet, then add some flour gradually until you can form a dough.
- On a lightly floured work surface knead the dough until it’s smooth, about 5 minutes by hand (or you can use a or in a stand mixer with a dough hook if you have one)
- Lightly dust a bowl with flour and add the dough. Cover the bowl with a tea towel and leave to rise in a warm place until doubled in size (around 1-1 ½ hours).
- Heat the oven to 200C/400F and line 2 baking trays with baking parchment.
- Divide the dough into 12 equal-sized pieces and shape into small round buns. Place them onto baking trays (leave space for them to expand). Leave to rise again until doubled in size (approx 1 hour).
- Use a knife to slice a cross in each bun
- Bake for 20 mins or until golden brown then allow to cool on a wire rack.
Optional: If you want to do a traditional white cross, before baking, mix together 70g flour with 1 tbsp of water gradually to create a thick, pipeable paste. Spoon into a piping bag with a small round nozzle attached to it and pipe crosses on the buns.
GREAT TOASTED 😊
7. Easter eggs recipe
Ingredients
- Dark or milk chocolate depending on your preference. The amount depends on whether you are using small chocolate egg moulds or larger ones.
- I hope you enjoy making this recipe with your little ones this Easter!
Method
- Chop chocolate into small pieces
- Melt chocolate in a heatproof bowl above a small pan half full of boiling water
- Pour into Easter egg moulds
- Tilt the mould so the chocolate covers the surface
- Place in the fridge until set
- Repeat the process a few times until the chocolate layer is about 1/2cm thick
- Optional: add a toy for older children (be careful with younger children and ensure they are supervised)
- Brush melted chocolate around the rim before sticking it together
- Leave to set again
- Enjoy!
8. Chocolate orange bliss balls (no bake)
These no bake chocolate orange balls combine the natural sweetness of dates with rich cocoa powder and zesty orange, resulting in delightful little bliss balls. Quick and easy to make with your little ones. This recipe is from Penelope Henderson at Nutrition 2 Nourish & Flourish.
Prep: 10 minutes
Makes: about 8 bliss balls
Ingredients
- 1 cup dates without stones
- 1/2 cup cashew nuts unsalted
- 1 tbsp cocoa powder unsweetened
- 1/2 orange zest and juice
Method
- Tear the dates into strips and put into a food processor
- Add the other ingredients (cashew nuts, cocoa powder, zest and juice of half a orange) to the processor and blend until coming together but still has some small lumps.
- Take a walnut size piece and roll into a ball using the palm of your hands. Continue with the rest of the mixture.
- Roll the mixture into a choice of coatings (cocoa powder, sprinkles, chia seeds etc)
- To make them into Easter bunnies, you can add some white chocolate drops for the eyes. Then cut marshmallows in half diagonally to create ear shapes.
- Alternatively shape them into an egg shape by gently squeezing on each side.
- Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
I really hope you enjoy making these with your family this Easter. Please do share any photos you take with me on Instagram and use the #SRNutritionEasterRecipes as I love to see you enjoying these recipes!
If you’d like some more healthy treats to make for the kids over Easter, try my sweet low-sugar recipes!