Allergy-Free Passover Recipes

Editor's note: While all of the ingredients in the Passover recipes are kosher for Passover, each community has its own customs as to what to use or not use on Passover. Please also note that any processed food must have a reliable "Kosher for Passover" certification.

Passover is my family’s favorite holiday. However, food allergies still do bring lots of challenges, as many of the traditional foods eaten on Passover contain one or more of the Big Eight (wheat, soy, eggs, dairy, nuts, peanuts, tree nuts, fish and shellfish). We try to have fun in our house, but at the same time get back to the basics with simple ingredients. Here are some of our family’s favorite Passover dishes.

My kids love the sweet charoset, and I can never make enough of itThe Seder is difficult, because you can find lots of allergens lurking right on the Seder plate. Since we have airborne anaphylactic kids to eggs, we leave off the egg. For charoset, go with a very simple recipe. We blend, in the food processor, an apple and a pear, and than drain off the excess liquid. We mix a bit of wine into the charoset of those who can have wine (two of my kids were allergic to grapes, but both recently outgrew this allergy) at the table. My kids love the sweet charoset, and I can never make enough of it. They like it even better after it has sat in the fridge for a day.

For matzah—well, until this year we have been a gluten-free home and therefore used gluten-free matzahs. You can find gluten-free oat matzahs at most bigger Jewish grocery stores. To find a supplier in your area, click here. My kids loved it, but my husband will not be missing the bill for it (they’re on the expensive side) now that we have outgrown our wheat allergies.

One delicious recipes I make is Meatball Soup:

• meat bones (we use lamb because our daughter is allergic to beef, but flanken makes this soup very rich and tasty)
• loads of veggies
• chopped meat (lamb or beef)
• an onion
• tomato

Time to cook up your soup. Begin with chopping the veggies (we tend to use celery, sweet potato, white potato, carrots, onion, turnip, parsnip, zucchini). Place the bones at the bottom of the pot and add the veggies. I load the pot up with veggies because they make it a really hearty, rich soup. I probably fill it to about two-thirds full. Fill the pot to pretty full with water. Add salt and fresh ground pepper to taste. Simmer. When the soup is about 3/4 done (or later!), mix chopped meat with a grated onion and tomato, salt and pepper. Make small meatballs (below) and put into soup. Finish cooking.

Chicken/Turkey Soup Balls

• a few chicken breasts or cut chicken
• grated potatoes
• grated carrots
• cubed zucchini and sweet potato
• onion

Throw meat in food processor and blend. Mix in the potatoes and carrots. Add some salt and pepper. Put cut-up zucchini, sweet potato and onions into a pot. Let simmer for a few minutes, and then start adding in the chicken balls. Let simmer till the chicken is cooked through and you can smell the rich chicken broth that has formed. The chicken balls will make the water into chicken broth. My boys love this soup, and I make it during the year as well. We do not eat fish because two of the children are anaphylactic to fish. So, during the fish course, I just make loads and loads of salads.

During the Intermediate Days we like to eat light lunches, and have to find substitutes for the egg salad we used to live on. Here are a few of our favorites.

Eggplant Salad

Cube a few eggplants and roast them in the oven with a bit of oil or shmaltz. Sautee onions and tomatoes together, so the mixture gets saucy. Mix in the eggplant. Add a bit of salt. This is tasty served warm or cold.

Israeli Salad

Cut veggies into small pieces. Drizzle lemon juice, oil, salt, pepper.

Lettuce Salad

Cut lettuce small. Add salt, pepper, olive oil, lemon juice. Cube an avocado and mix together.

Avocado Salad

Mash a few avocados. Cut finely a quarter of an onion, a thick slice of tomato, lemon juice, and salt to taste.

My kids also love my Zucchini and Tomato Side Dish.

• five tomatoes, cut up
• four zucchini
• two onions

Sautee the onions and when clear, add zucchini. When they are almost fully cooked, add the tomatoes. With a tad of salt and fresh ground pepper, it’s ready to go. This is good served on top of fish, chicken, or turkey to add flavor, or you can serve it as a side dish.

As for other sides, since we can’t serve kugel (have yet to figure out that one without eggs), we tend to be heavy on serving French fries, mashed potatoes, or roasted potatoes with meals, and a good veggie stir fry.

Dessert is always the hardest. Passover ice cream recipes always call for eggs, eggs and more eggs. Thanks to a wonderful friend, I found a recipe that I have adapted and played with over time.

Egg-Free Non-Dairy Ice Cream

• one carton (16 oz) kosher for Passover non-dairy creamer
• one carton kosher for Passover whipped topping (it comes whipped, but I like to whip it a bit stiffer. It’s not necessary, though)
• one packet kosher for Passover pudding mix (vanilla or chocolate)
• one cup flavoring

Mix together the non-dairy creamer, pudding mix and flavoring. For flavoring, you can use fresh fruit that are blended, or pumpkin (goes great with chocolate, my kids tell me). You can use your imagination, or just leave it out. Fold in the whipped topping. If you have an ice cream maker, throw it in there. Otherwise, put it in a Tupperware and put in the freezer. Every hour or so, take it out and mix it until it freezes.

During the year, I make the kids chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream with this (Cherrybrook Kitchen’s chocolate chip cookie dough mix formed into tiny balls and throw in); mint chocolate chip flavor (I heat the non-dairy creamer with 3–4 mint leaves, strain it out, cool it, and then make as usual. I add chocolate chips to it instead of a flavoring); “No peanut butter” peanut butter flavor (sunbutter as the flavoring), and more with regular non-dairy creamer and Rich Whip.

Another popular recipe in my house is Icies, which are made with sugar water comprised of one cup of sugar to one cup of water. Bring to boil and let cool. Add any fruit you love. We like to do strawberries, or strawberry and banana. Chop fruit and put in blender and blend. Some like it chunky while some like it smooth. Add in sugar water to desired sweetness. Freeze. Scoop out or shave it off. My kids also like when I freeze them into cups with a stick.

Happy Passover!

While all of the ingredients in the Passover recipes are kosher for Passover, each community has its own customs as to what to use or not use on Passover. Please also note that any processed food must have a reliable “Kosher for Passover” certification.