11 Traditional Italian Easter Desserts & Recipes
Making traditional Italian Easter desserts is a delicious way to celebrate the holiday. And it’s easier than you think!
I come from an Italian family and grew up with most of these Italian Easter dessert recipes. I wasn’t big on the typical chocolate eggs and bunnies my friends devoured. I was too busy eating cannoli and Pastiera Napoletana.
We always had an Easter lunch that lasted eight hours (not exaggerating). We had a table full of appetizers that included savory pies like Pizza Gaina (meat pie) and Torta Pasqualina (vegetable pie). And we ended with many more sweets than we could possibly eat.
Ingredients in Italian Easter Desserts
Italian Cheeses
Italian cuisine, including desserts, varies from region to region. But it does seem every Italian region has an Easter dessert where people mix ricotta with something sweet.
Mascarpone is another popular Italian cheese for pastry fillings and desserts.
Citrus
As they are in many Italian Christmas desserts, lemon and orange are common flavors in these Easter recipes. Lemons are an especially common ingredient in the regional desserts and dishes of Campania.
Candied Fruits
Candied fruits usually indicate an Arab influence from when Arabs ruled Sicily. These fruits can include cherries, dates, apples, pears, figs, or really almost anything.
Nuts
So many delicious Italian Easter desserts contain nuts of some kind. You’ll see almonds, pistachios, and pine nuts in the recipes below.
Chocolate
Sorry chocoholics, you will indeed find some chocolate and cocoa powder used below. However, these ingredients are incorporated more as accents rather than the focus of an entire dessert.
Italian Easter Dessert Recipes
1. Italian Easter Bread (Pane di Pasqua)
Italian Easter Bread photo by Christina’s Cucina
Region: Lombardy
Main Ingredients: All-purpose flour, eggs, butter, milk, sugar, salt, dry yeast, confectioner’s sugar, and vanilla extract.
When I was a kid, the first thing I ate every Easter Sunday was this sweet bread. But before you think my parents were irresponsible, you should know that in the old country, desserts often double as Italian breakfast foods. And this dessert contains Easter eggs!
In this traditional recipe, hard-boiled eggs are baked in the center of a twisted brioche-like bread dough. It’s easier to make with a bread machine or stand mixer, but it still is pretty easy without either.
Italian Easter Bread Recipe
2. Neapolitan Easter Pie (Pastiera Napoletana)
Pastiera Napoletana photo by Marcellina in Cucina
Region: Campania
Main Ingredients: All-purpose flour, unsalted butter, granulated sugar, eggs, egg yolks, whole milk ricotta cheese, grano cotto, milk, lemon zest, candied fruit, orange blossom water, and vanilla extract.
Pastiera Napoletana was our family’s most traditional Easter dessert. It’s a shortcrust pastry (pasta frolla) filled with wheat berries, lemon or orange zest, and ricotta.
My nonna made it every year since her family came from a small town in Campania where they prepared this wonderful treat, one of the specialties of Naples. In her family recipe, she simmered orange peels with the grano cotto (cooked grain), and the house smelled amazing. If you cannot find grano cotto at the grocery store, you can purchase it online.
Pastiera Napoletana Recipe
3. Sweet Italian Ricotta Pie (Torta di Ricotta)
Sweet Italian Ricotta Pie photo by The Sage Apron
Region: Southern Italy
Main Ingredients: All-purpose flour, unsalted butter, granulated sugar, eggs, egg yolks, whole milk ricotta cheese, lemon zest, cornstarch, sour cream, and vanilla extract.
If the Napoletana Easter Pie sounds good to you, but you’re skeptical about the wheat berries, then you may want to try this version of Italian Easter Pie. It uses the same traditional pasta frolla crust and a similar ricotta filling, just no added grains.
Personally, I love the wheat berry version because that’s what we always had on our Easter table. I understand it may not be for the typical American, but if you ever visit Naples, you must try it!
Sweet Italian Ricotta Pie Recipe
4. Italian Easter Cookies (Taralli Dolci Di Pasqua)
Italian Easter Cookies photo by The Monday Box
Region: Nationwide
Main Ingredients: All-purpose flour, baking powder, eggs, sugar, unsalted butter, vanilla extract, confectioners' sugar, lemon extract, and nonpareil sprinkles.
Different regions call Italian Easter Cookies by different names. In addition to taralli dolci, you may see them referred to as uncinetti or anginetti. They may also have slightly different shapes—some look more like a knot than others.
Whatever you call them or whatever their shape, once you make these cookies, I bet they become an Easter tradition at your house.
Italian Easter Cookies Recipe
This seems like a good time to mention that Italian Christmas cookies, like Italian Wedding Cookies, make yummy Easter cookies too!
5. St. Joseph Pastries (Zeppole di San Giuseppe)
St Joseph Pastries photo by Maplewood Road
Region: Campania
Main Ingredients: All-purpose flour, salted butter, granulated sugar, eggs, egg yolks, whole milk, cornstarch, vanilla extract, lemon zest, and pitted cherries.
Zeppole di San Giuseppe were originally created by nuns along the Amalfi Coast in the early 1800s. They are the Number 1 dessert for the feast of St. Joseph on March 19th and are enjoyed at family gatherings throughout the Easter season.
The base is a light and airy choux pastry like you find in many French pastries. Inside is a luscious vanilla pastry cream, and on top, an amarena cherry.
These zeppole are so good that after we moved from our Italian neighborhood in NYC to Long Island, we would drive an hour each way for these Easter treats!
St. Joseph Pastries Recipe
6. Tiramisu
Tiramisu photo by Chew Out Loud
Region: Veneto
Main ingredients: Strong coffee, sugar, coffee liqueur, rum, egg yolks, marsala wine, mascarpone cheese, heavy cream, lady finger cookies, cocoa powder, and shaved semi-sweet chocolate.
This traditional Italian dessert from Veneto is one of the most popular sweets in Italy. Even in Rome, it is offered on dessert menus even more than some of the traditional Roman desserts.
Granted, it is not only for Easter, but if you’re looking for a quintessential Italian dessert, this is it. Besides, who wouldn’t love espresso-soaked lady fingers layered with mascarpone cream?
Fun Italian food fact: The Italian word tiramisu means “pick me up,” referring to the slight kick you may get from the coffee used as a key ingredient.
Tiramisu Recipe
7. Italian Easter Dove Bread (Colomba di Pasqua)
Italian Easter Dove Bread photo by Christina’s Cucina
Region: Lombardy
Main Ingredients: All-purpose flour, sugar, vanilla, egg yolks, egg whites, unsalted butter, dry yeast, lemon and orange rind, cornstarch, ground almonds, whole almonds, and pearl sugar.
It is no coincidence that Colomba Pasquale has a similar taste and texture to the famous Milan specialty Panettone. The Milanese baker Dino Villani wanted to create an Easter equivalent to the beloved Christmas dessert.
The dough for both is similar, but the Colomba has a unique almond icing and pearl sugar topping. In addition, it’s shaped like a dove (if you squint you can see it). The dove symbolizes peace, renewal, and the festive spirit of Easter.
Italian Easter Dove Bread Recipe
8. Torta della Nonna (Grandmother's Cake)
Torta della Nonna photo by XOXO Bella
Region: Tuscany
Main Ingredients: All-purpose flour, baking powder, granulated sugar, lemon zest, vanilla, whole milk, egg yolks, eggs, unsalted butter, cornstarch, powdered sugar, and pine nuts.
Like many of Tuscany’s traditional dishes, this dessert combines simple ingredients to create extraordinary flavors. And like Tiramisu, this dessert is enjoyed not just for Easter but throughout the year on other special occasions as well.
Torta della Nonna is essentially an Italian custard pie—a flaky, buttery crust filled with a luscious vanilla custard and topped with crunchy pine nuts.
Torta della Nonna Recipe
9. Italian Lemon Ricotta Cake Recipe (Italian Cheesecake)
Italian Lemon Ricotta Cake photo by The Fresh Cooky
Region: Nationwide
Main Ingredients: Whole milk ricotta cheese, salted butter, sugar, sour cream, eggs, vanilla extract, lemon zest, lemon juice, baking soda, all-purpose flour, and powdered sugar.
The origins of Italian Cheesecake are widely disputed, but most culinary historians say it dates back to ancient Roman times, possibly even to the first century B.C.
So, it’s no wonder every Italian family has their own cheesecake recipe that was passed down from generation to generation. What do they all have in common? Ricotta cheese. This one has a hint of lemon and is pretty easy to make with a springform pan.
Italian Lemon Ricotta Cake Recipe
10. Sicilian Cassata (Cassata Siciliana)
Cassata Cake
Region: Sicily
Main Ingredients: Sponge cake, ricotta, powdered sugar, chocolate, candied fruit, pistachios, marsala wine, almond paste, green food coloring, and white icing.
Cassata cake is a typical Easter dessert in Sicily, where my grandfather’s family is from. You may also see it in Sicilian homes for other celebrations. My mom used to make Cassata for my grandfather’s birthday every year, and it was his favorite.
Cassata is a combination of sponge cake soaked in marsala wine or rum, ricotta mixed with candied fruits and/or chocolate, and sometimes marzipan as an icing.
After dinner, Sicilian tables often display this beautifully decorated Easter cake alongside le pecorelle di martorana (marzipan lambs).
Cassata Cake Recipe
11. Cannoli
Cannoli photo by Coley Cooks
Region: Sicily
Main Ingredients: Drained ricotta cheese, mascarpone cheese, powdered sugar, ground cinnamon, vanilla extract, cannoli shells, and chopped pistachios and/or mini chocolates.
Initially created as a special treat for Carnevale (the festival leading up to Lent), this iconic dessert has since become a beloved staple of Sicilian cuisine, especially during Easter celebrations.
I can tell you firsthand, however, that nowadays you will find cannoli everywhere in Italy all year long, and all day long. It’s even a popular Italian breakfast pastry! I’m all for that: Cannoli are always a good idea!
Cannoli Recipe
Tips for Making Italian Easter Desserts
All of the recipes provided have step-by-step instructions along with tips to make sure your chosen desserts for Easter turn out successfully.
I just want to add one more tip: Do not substitute part-skim ricotta for whole milk unless you absolutely have to. For the richest, creamiest desserts and dishes, whole milk ricotta is absolutely the way to go.
Buona Pasqua!
