Ina Garten’s Passover Menu Is Golden

It’s clear that Ina Garten stays on top of her dinner prep routines. Not only does she have dozens of holiday menus on her website, she also takes to Instagram often to give her followers the dinner table rundown before upcoming special occasions. Less than a week after announcing her new memoir, the Barefoot Contessa is already preparing ahead of time for Passover. Keep reading to get the scoop on the stunning meal Garten plans to serve.

In the video’s caption, Garten writes, “My Passover menu is not very elaborate; for me, it’s all about old-fashioned flavors with a modern twist.” And she keeps the portions abundant, too. The first slide of the post shows a humongous stock pot for her Chicken Soup with Matzo Balls, which she included in last year’s menu. This time around, she’s making the broth a week in advance. You can practically smell the soup through the screen with its large chunks of carrots, parsnips, onions and herbs.

In addition to the soup, Garten’s Brisket with Onions & Leeks is making a repeat appearance this Passover, so there’s sure to be no shortage of the main dishes. If you’re strapped for time or need a more hands-off approach, try an alternative method to roasting. A pressure cooker makes easy work out of our juicy Instant Pot Brisket while our Slow-Cooker Brisket & Onions cooks for hours while you get the rest of the meal ready. 

Garten’s side dish selection of Roasted Vine Tomatoes and Cacio e Pepe Roasted Asparagus has us very excited. After roasting for only 10-15 minutes in an oven preheated to 350°F, the vine tomatoes become slightly sweet. This seems like a delectable dish to enjoy directly off the vine or paired with the brisket. If cherry tomatoes on the vine are difficult to find, you can skip the vine and just grab a pint of tomatoes. 

The asparagus is just as approachable as the tomato dish. The stalks get blanched for just 4 minutes, then roasted with Parmesan and Pecorino at 450°F for five minutes. Right as it exits the oven, the stalks are topped with a squeeze of lemon and fleur de sel to taste. It sounds easy to make, cheesy and delicious, right? If you’d like another flavor element, say something sweet and tangy, then you could make our Quick & Easy Asparagus with Balsamic & Parmesan instead. But the menu doesn’t stop there.

For this year’s dessert, Garten is making her Coconut Macaroons, and they only take 35 minutes from beginning to end. If you want to take dessert a step further, try our five-ingredient Coconut Macaroons, which get dipped in chocolate and make for an extra-stunning addition to the table. 

Garten has actually taught us many things about preparing ahead of time for important dinners. But we recognize that dishes like matzo ball soup and beef brisket, even made a week out, can be fairly time-intensive. To reduce the holiday dinner stress, just remember these two things. First, our delicious Matzo Ball Soup takes just 20 minutes of active cooking time. And second, Ina Garten would be the first to tell you that dinner is best served with good company. Regardless of what food makes it to the table, we wish you and your loved ones a safe and happy Passover!