Spring is one of the busiest times on my blog because people around the world are looking for matzo recipes for Passover. Here are some of my favorites in one handy page plus everything you wanted to know about matzo but were afraid to ask!
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What is matzo?
Matzo – also spelled matzah or matzoh – is essentially Jewish flatbread. Crispy and cracker-like, matzo serves as the symbolic centerpiece of Passover. During Passover we tell the story of the Jews’ exodus from Egypt after escaping the cruel slavery of the ruling Pharaoh.
Why eat matzo on Passover?
In their haste to leave, the Jews didn’t have time to let their bread rise and Jewish unleavened bread or matzo was born. Sometimes called the bread of affliction, matzo symbolizes the suffering of the slaves and their subsequent rush to freedom.
This unleavened cracker comes in many forms
The basic matzo is flour and water and a touch of salt. Around Passover, you will usually see egg matzos – which have more color and are a bit less crunchy and dry than regular matzo. Often, unsalted matzo, whole wheat matzo, gluten-free matzo and even onion-flavored matzo is available around the Pesach (Passover) season. But for your Seder table, be sure to stock up on plain kosher for Passover matzo.
Other ways to use matzo during Passover
Since traditional flour is forbidden during Passover, if you are following the dietary rules of the holiday, matzo stands in in many forms – matzo farfel, matzo meal, and matzo cake meal.
- Matzo Farfel: Matzo farfel is just a board of matzo broken up into little pieces and is ideal for making kugels. Want to see how it’s used? Check out my apple kugel or apricot apple kugel recipes. You can make matzo farfel yourself by putting boards of matzo into a ziploc bag and rolling over them with a rolling pin. Or you can buy farfel online or where you buy your Passover products.
- Matzo Meal: If you put the broken pieces in a food processor and grind it up finer, then you have matzo meal. Yes, you can buy matzo meal in a box or can online or at the store. Essentially the consistency of fine bread crumbs, matzo meal is used in matzo balls, potato pancakes, sponge cakes, and as a breading, just to name a few possibilities.
- Matzo Cake Meal is even more finely ground and is often used as a substitute for flour in baked goods. Either grind your matzo very fine in your food processor or again, you can buy matzo cake meal online or in your favorite Passover products store.
The trifecta of matzo derivatives: (from top to bottom) matzo farfel, matzo meal, and matzo cake flour
Where can you buy matzo?
While you can find matzo in most grocery stores year-round, matzo for Passover has been blessed by a rabbi and is therefore officially kosher for Passover. Be sure to read the box before you buy it if “official kosher for Passover matzo” is important to you. Most grocery stores will carry an extra stock of Pesach foods including matzo as the Passover season approaches or you can order kosher for Passover matzo online.
The great matzo ball recipe debate
One of the most popular dishes during Passover is matzo ball soup. One contentious issue that garners great debate all over the Internet and at many Passover seders is whether you prefer matzo balls that float or sink. We prefer floaters — lighter but still with a bite. So I developed this recipe for matzo ball soup – including how to make lighter matzo balls and homemade chicken stock. We make our balls with matzo meal, eggs, some kind of fat (schmaltz or oil), and a little seltzer, parsley for color, and salt and pepper.
Matzo brei – another Passover favorite
Matzo brei is usually a breakfast food or snack food made from broken pieces of matzo, usually bigger than farfel size. First soaked in water or possibly milk, the matzo is then scrambled with eggs and finished with cinnamon sugar. Or if savory is your thing, sautéed onions are added to the mix.
What is schmura matzo?
Beyond the standard kosher for Passover matzo available during the holiday season, schmura matzo is an even more strictly guarded preparation. The matzo-making is guarded from field to factory to ensure no water comes in contact with the wheat. Water could begin the fermenting process which creates “hametz” or the leavened part of wheat bread.
Schmura matzo is often round and considerably more expensive than standard square matzo boards. Check out this informational video showing exactly how this matzo is made!
Matzo Recipes for Passover and more!
Here are all of my matzo-based recipes plus lots more Passover inspiration. Whether you prefer a traditional passover meal or an updated variation, these recipes will help you create a seder menu, bring a dish to another host’s home, or just feed your family throughout the 7 (or 8) days of Passover.
Passover Appetizer Recipes
How to Make Homemade Matzo Ball Soup
Matzo Ball Soup - the quintessential Passover dish and year-round comfort food. Find a recipe for fluffy matzo balls and homemade chicken stock.
Turkish Haroset for Passover
I make a simple Ashkenazic style charoset with toasted walnuts, chopped apples, cinnamon, and red wine (yes I have even used Manischewitz). This Turkish charoset recipe straddles the line between a traditional Ashkenazic style and a more complex Sephardic style that incorporates dried fruits and different nuts. She uses raisins and dates in addition to apples, pistachios instead of walnuts, and orange juice in place of wine.
Breakfast and Lunch Passover Recipes
Bubbe’s Bubula - Recreating my Grandma's Puffy Matzo Meal Pancake
You’ll love the light fluffy result of this simple Passover recipe staple. Make this matzo meal pancake your own by pan frying in butter or olive oil or coconut oil and experimenting with toppings.
Want to hear more about the family lore behind this bubula? Listen to my guest appearance on The Heritage Cookbook Project’s podcast where I talk about this recipe and how it reconnected my cousin to his childhood. (Have a tissue at the ready!)
Shakshuka: An Easy Egg Dish for any Meal of the Day!
This shakshuka recipe will be a new favorite in your meal plan rotation. If you are a fan of Middle Eastern and North African flavors, you’ll love these eggs poached in a savory, soul-satisfying spicy red tomato sauce base. Usually eaten with a piece of pita to sop up the red sauce, the matzo will stand in quite nicely during Passover.
Kugel Recipes
A Brick by Any Other Name -- Mastering Matzo Farfel Kugel for Passover
One of the most popular posts on my blog, this matzo farfel kugel recipe will put you on the road to kugel mastery.
Apricot Apple Matzo Farfel Kugel
This version is inspired by a recipe a reader sent to me. It offers some lightened up options if you are feeling overwhelmed by the number of eggs in your Passover preparations.
Potato Kugel - Passover Tradition with a Twist
Potato Kugel is a perfect side dish for your Passover seder. This crispy kugel uses carrots, parsley, and some dried herbs to brighten and lighten it up. All the best of the traditional dish with some tasty twists.
Vegetable Side Dishes
Roasted Asparagus Salad with Preserved Lemon
This simple roasted asparagus salad with preserved lemon celebrates citrus and spring. When tomato season begins, the fresh flavor of this salad will just explode. Roasting the asparagus accentuates the best of the beautiful green spears. You certainly can serve this dish on the warm side, but you don’t have to, offering the flexibility to make this ahead of time. Very handy when you are entertaining or on a tight schedule.
Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Pomegranate Molasses
Without the yogurt sauce alongside, this dish works with a meat main course if you keep kosher. Inspired by a recipe in Amelia Saltsman’s Seasonal Jewish Kitchen, I originally prepped this dish with cauliflower too. Be creative and feel free to mix your cruciferous veggies together.
How to Cook Green Cauliflower – Roast your Way to Success
Roasting any color of cauliflower is a simple way to add flavor to your meal and lighten it up at the same time.
Main Course Passover Recipes
Instant Pot Brisket: Fast and Flavorful for the Jewish Holidays
This Instant Pot Brisket recipe uses the same ingredients as my mom’s tried and true brisket, it just takes less time! I even include a technique to pre-slice the meat just like my mom taught me. You can serve this brisket on Passover (just sub in something for the beer and watch for corn syrup in the ketchup).
Sandy's Sweet and Sour Brisket
No instant pot? No problem. Here's the traditional version. The variations on this brisket are plentiful if you google it. This is the recipe my mother always made. If you keep kosher for Passover, substitute broth for the beer and check the ketchup bottle for corn syrup – a no-no for Passover.
Instant Pot Brisket with Pomegranate Molasses
Surprise your family with this simple twist - using pomegranate molasses. It's a tangy twist for a traditional favorite.
Shhh! I'm Not Preparing My Mother's Brisket Recipe for Passover
This variation departs from my mother’s tried and true version, using sweet potatoes, carrots, and a plethora of dried fruits as well as sherry vinegar and beef (or chicken) broth for the braising liquid. It regularly gets as many compliments as my mother’s version (but please don’t tell her I said that).
Chicken with Apricot Jam
This is so simple but always a huge hit. You just need jam, mustard and lemons and you can prepare it ahead and reheat.
Roasted Chicken with Clementines, Onion, Fennel, and Vermouth
Adapted from a classic recipe in the Jerusalem cookbook, you can't go wrong with this flavorful dish. And it is also easily prepped ahead of time.
Ottolenghi's Chicken with Jerusalem Artichoke and Lemon
Another super flavorful chicken dish -- perfect if you want something just a little bit different.
Passover Dessert Recipes
Chocolate-covered Matzo with Toasted Nuts and Sea Salt
This classic recipe originally created by Marcy Goldman in A Treasury of Jewish Holiday Baking offers new toppings and slight changes to the ingredient amounts. Simple to make ahead and refrigerate or freeze and adaptable to different dietary restrictions or flavor profiles.
Dairy Free Chocolate Truffles with Orange and Cardamom
After a long meal with so many courses, doesn’t a small bite sound just perfect? I created this recipe for chocolate truffles with a dairy-free modification making it perfect to serve after a meat-based meal.
And just like the chocolate covered matzo, you can prepare these ahead to minimize work the day of the seder meal.
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Such an informative post, Beth! I don’t have a lot of experience with matzo, but I love the many ways it can be used at Passover (or whenever)!
Well I can tell you that matzo would be really good with butterscotch – what else do you need to know 🙂
I learned so much about matzo – thank you for explaining everything so well. Can’t wait to try your matzo meal pancakes!
I’ll have you feeling 100% Jewish in no time at all
This is the perfect roundup for anyone who is celebrating Passover. The Matzo Kugel looks amazing!
Thank Sandi! I aim to please and educate and destress.