12 Easter Mains That Aren't Ham

Instead of the traditional cured ham that's full of sodium and nitrates, bake the flavors of honey-baked ham into a pork picnic roast. You can season it up to 2 days in advance for even better flavor. The cooked roast cuts like ham, with firm, juicy slices that go perfectly with a simple honey-mustard sauce. We use a skin-on picnic roast here, which is cheaper than a Boston butt roast—making the holiday a little more affordable.

With the glamour of a fancy entrée yet all the ease of slow-cooker prep, this is ideal to serve on a holiday or special Sunday supper. Let the lamb and sauce be the star of your meal, and serve with blanched beans or roasted carrots.

High-flavor ingredients embellish a lean cut in this elegant slow cooker main. A sophisticated stuffing of creamy goat cheese, silky spinach, and lemony herbs give this lean and mighty pork loin 5-star flavor. Topped with apricot-infused sweet and sour sauce, we tip our hats to the slow cooker for coaxing out this degree of decadence.

This beautiful vegetarian main comes together in the slow cooker with acorn squash, pre-cooked brown rice, green onions, and herbs. Crunchy hazelnuts finish the dish, which is perfumed with sage and thyme. 

Use pre-ground fennel and coriander seeds if you’re short on time; you’ll lose the texture the crushed seeds provide, but you’ll get the same great flavor. Substitute 2 teaspoons each of the ground seeds for 1 tablespoon whole seeds.

This holiday-worthy roast requires a little planning ahead but is fairly hands-off. Call your butcher ahead of time to cut the roast and remove the chine bone. Slow roast the beef up to 2 hours in advance, then sear it just before serving.

Adobo is a popular preparation for chicken or pork in Filipino cuisine. Adobo is typically a stewed dish, with the meat simmered in a mix of soy sauce, vinegar, and aromatics. For maximum flavor here, we save the marinade, add extra vinegar, and cook the mixture down into a syrup for basting the grilled pork and drizzling over the finished dish. A touch of brown sugar in the marinade thickens the finished sauce and helps the meat get gorgeously charred bits over the flames. 

Braised short ribs are an iconic holiday comfort food, but that doesn’t mean vegetarians have to miss out! In this recipe, butternut squash (our vitamin A-packed, cold-weather favorite) stands in for beef, getting a long, slow braise in a savory, herb-heavy vegetable broth, yielding fork-tender “steaks” that get smothered in the quick-simmer sauce. It’s a holiday showstopper that will convert the most fervent carnivores at your dinner table.

Glazed with honey, ginger, and Sherry vinegar, this stovetop pork tenderloin comes together in about 30 minutes. It's complemented perfectly by a colorful cucumber, radish, and watercress salad.

Nothing shows off the Instant Pot's capabilities quite like this recipe. Create fall-off-the-bone tender short ribs in just 30 minutes. Coated in a sweet and spicy Asian-inspired sauce, this recipe is wonderful served with a side salad and mashed potatoes or polenta. Any leftover meat can be shredded and used as a terrific taco filler. 

This dish is hearty and cheesy without being heavy. Be sure to use fat asparagus spears; thinner ones will overcook. Feel free to use 4 oblong, shallow gratin dishes for individual portions.

"Frenched" racks of lamb are trimmed so that the bones are cleaned of fat and meat. If you can't find pre-Frenched lamb racks, ask the butcher to French them for you.