23 Easy Gluten Free Easter Foods to Make, Thaw, Bake, or Buy

4 ingredient, naturally gluten free Easter egg nests from Allrecipes.  Photo from SarahisWright

Having 9 years of Gluten Free EASTER experience, let me brainstorm a list of gluten free Easter foods you can make so you can indulge and enjoy just as much or more than the gluten eaters out there:

Sit egg vertically to cut lid off zig zag style.  Chill filling before stuffing egg whites.Use chunks of black olive for eyes, carrot for nose.

• Make your own "cadbury" eggs with recipe here.  Get Lyle's syrup at CostPlus World Market or substitute with white corn syrup 
• Gluten Free cupcakes see photo here.  Also decorate with pastel icing or get creative with piping bags.  I use Betty Crocker gluten free cake mixes.
• Deviled Egg Chicks (see photo above).  If you chill the filling, you can skip using a piping bag to stuff the egg whites.  I like to use an apple corer or small knife to make a zig zag shape on the egg whites to make it look more like a broken eggshell.  Add horseradish or apple cider vinegar to filling for a kick of flavor.  *beware of the mayonnaise!  The container of mayo must be gluten free/new and not shared by knives that have been used on gluten-containing bread or other products.  No crumb contamination! 

• Candy:  Peeps, most Cadbury candy, M&Ms, jelly beans, etc.  Beware of certain chocolates (like Lindt) that contain gluten.  There are many searchable web lists.
• Chilled Baby Shrimp pasta salad.  Just substitute gluten free pasta like tinkyada or DeBoles. 

•  Shrimp and Cocktail Sauce
• Blue Almond crackers with cheese (I like Brie)
• Crudite (veggie plate).  My mom got me a gluten free spice mix at a festival that you mix with yogurt to make a dip.  You could make dill dip with gluten free ingredients. 

•  Oven-baked Cinnamon tortilla chips with fruit salsa.  Use Rudi's gluten free tortillas or corn tortillas that are gf.  5 Star-rated recipe here  See the tropical avocado salsa I made here
•  Egg nests (4 ingredients, naturally gluten free, use Cadbury eggs to fill)
• Egg in the nest (fried egg in bread hole) (using gluten free sandwich bread)
• Mini tea sandwiches.  Use gf bread, cut with metal cookie cutter for cute shapes.  Use Hormel gluten free ham with no nitrates or Hormel turkey or Boar's Head meats and cheeses or gluten free tuna (no broths in can). I use the gold can of Bumble Bee tuna with all white tuna in water.

I MADE THIS!  For $12 I bought the watering can (Michael's craft store) and fruit and one large metal sturdy flower-shaped cookie cutter (Michael's) and I used lettuce and ribbon to garnish/decorate.  Partygoers thought I bought it for $40-$60!

Gluten free frozen French Macaron mini cookies (chocolate & vanilla) from Trader Joe's.  Thaw 30 min on counter.

Soft gluten free pretzels.  Microve a few seconds.

I love this XO Double Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe.

•  Chex mix (use gluten free ingredients)
• Rice Krispies bars (use gf cereal like Cocoa Pebbles, Strawberry Chex, etc.) 

•  Trader Joe's has gluten free frozen French Macarons (pic above) that I judge gluten free.  They are adorable pastel tasty bundles.  They are very difficult to make from scratch.
• Chocolate Mousse is naturally gluten free when made the traditional way
• Merengue Cookies (my mother calls it divinity).  It's mostly egg whites and sugar.  

•  Wrap chunks of gluten free  (dairy free) goat cheese or pineapple in prociutto and secure with toothpicks for their own handles.
• peanut butter blosssom cookies- just substitute for gluten free flour blend

•  Betty Crocker gluten free sugar cookies mix (I haven't tried this yet)
•  fruit kabobs or fruit "flower" arrangement.  I made mine from youtube video (see pic above)
•  Gluten free XO double chocolate chip cookies (pic of box above) I made these and they are my new favorites!  Soft, chewy texture, not crumbly at all & yum
• Whole Foods carries the microwaveable SOFT gluten free pretzels (pic above) that I dip in honey or frosting
• Gluten Free ice cream cones filled with...cupcake batter & baked or just gelato, fro yo or ice cream 

•  Chocolate-dipped fruit

*DRINKS-  I love to MUDDLE (mash up fruit, bonus if you use a mortar & pestle) drinks.  I web search for knockoff recipes of alcoholic or virgin versions of the muddled limeades, lemonades, and other spritzy springy drinks at Ruby Tuesday's and P.F. Chang's!  Think Watermelon Lime, or lemon with basil, mango lemonade, raspberry lime, pineapple cherry.

*ALSO try Gluten Free versions of other traditional Easter dishes at Linda's blog.