Easter, or "Pasqua," is one of the most important holidays in Italy, combining religious traditions with family celebrations and delicious food. Marking the end of Lent, it’s a time to come together and enjoy dishes that highlight local, seasonal ingredients. Italians love incorporating spring vegetables, egg-based dishes (symbolizing rebirth), lamb, and chocolate into their Easter meals. From savory recipes to sweet treats like tarts and chocolate eggs, Easter in Italy is all about celebrating with fresh and meaningful flavors.
Following the structure of a typical Italian meal, here you will find a list of typical recipes Italians would eat at Easter:
- Antipasto: A selection of appetizers to start the meal, often including cured meats, cheeses, marinated vegetables, and small bites.
- Primo: The first course, typically a starch-based dish such as pasta, risotto, or a hearty soup.
- Secondo: The main course, usually featuring lamb or tarts for Easter
- Contorno: Side dishes served alongside the main course, often seasonal vegetables or salads.
- Dolce: Dessert to end the meal, ranging from cakes and pastries to gelato or fruit.
- Caffè: A strong espresso, often enjoyed after dessert.
- Digestivo (optional): A small glass of liqueur, like limoncello or grappa, to aid digestion.
In Italy, the celebrations don’t end on Easter Sunday.
Easter Monday, known as "Pasquetta" or "Little Easter," is a day dedicated to relaxing, spending time outdoors, and enjoying a casual meal.
Italians often head out for picnics with family and friends, bringing along leftovers from the Easter feast.
Dishes like savory tarts, roasted meats, and hard-boiled eggs are perfect for these outings, making it a delicious and practical way to extend the holiday festivities.
Antipasto
📋Italian Deep Fried Deviled Eggs With Ricotta Filling
These deep-fried deviled eggs, in Italy known as Uova alla Monachina trace their roots back to 18th-century Naples, a period when the intricacies of French cuisine cast a significant spell on aristocratic kitchens. Beyond their crispy outer layer, these eggs reveal an inner decadence of either rich béchamel or smooth ricotta. Serving these as an aperitif offers a delectable glimpse into Italy's storied culinary past, making any occasion memorable.
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📋 Easy Leftover Ham Spread Terrine
Ham spread terrine is elegant, delicate, and creamy. Decorated with herbs and flavored with cognac, it is very easy to make and you can make it days before your party. Turning leftover ham into a fancy cold ham appetizer
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Easy Baked Stuffed Italian Mushrooms with Pistachios
This Italian stuffed mushroom recipe is a delightful way to start any meal, serving as a perfect appetizer or a complementary side dish. The filling, a rich blend of breadcrumbs, basil, garlic, Parmesan cheese, and pistachios, brings a burst of flavor and texture that's hard to resist.
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📋Mushroom Bruschetta
This mushroom bruschetta is made the traditional Italian way, using sourdough bread, garlic, and extra virgin olive oil. Instead of cheese, I added some crispy bacon to give the bruschetta a hearty taste, perfect for a winter appetizer. You can use regular mushrooms or wild mushrooms for a gourmet meal.
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📋 Italian Bruschetta Recipe With Mozzarella
This Italian bruschetta recipe with mozzarella is the traditional way Italians eat bruschetta. No Italian barbecue is complete without bruschetta, slices of sourdough bread toasted on the barbecue, or simply grilled in the oven. The toasted bread is rubbed with garlic and drizzled with Italian extra virgin olive oil. For the Summer, we like to top it with mozzarella, tomato, basil, and absolutely NO balsamic vinegar.
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📋 Fresh Italian Broad Beans Recipe (Fava Bean Minestra)
More than recipes, these Spring starters are a ceremony to celebrate Spring. The fresh vegetables are piled in layers and covered with lettuce leaves to preserve the green colour of the produces.
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📋Wild Asparagus Flans
Wild asparagus are small and with a slightly bitter taste, there are so many ways you can use these unique early Spring vegetables.
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📋 Easy Romanesco Broccoli Recipe In Parmesan Muffin
This easy Romanesco broccoli recipe enhances the fractal design of this unique vegetable. The broccoli florets are showcased as the topping of a savory cupcake made with carrots, butter, and plenty of Parmesan cheese. The crispy, buttery, cheesy carrot dough perfectly combines with the unique flavor of this creamy, nutty roman cauliflower, but that is not all. Orange and chartre use color, what a perfect combination! Those muffins have a beautiful pastel shade perfect for Easter Monday Picnic, St Patrick's day, or as miniature Christmas trees.
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📋 Gnocco Fritto Dough Recipe - Fried Italian Street Food
Gnocco fritto, a delicious appetizer from Emilia Romagna, is a classic Italian dish. A light and airy fried dough that has gained popularity across the country. This versatile and delicious Gnocco fritto dough is prepared using simple ingredients like flour, water, lard, and a leavening agent. Soft and puffy, it is often served alongside a variety of cold cuts and cheeses, making it an ideal and delightful starter.
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📋How To Make A Healthy And Easy Veggie Baked Frittata
This healthy baked veggie frittata turns everyday ingredients into a delightful meal that's both easy to prepare and good for you. Using any vegetables you have on hand, including cooked veggies or sautéed leftovers, this dish is a healthier alternative to traditional frittatas as it's baked, not fried. It's an ideal choice for those seeking a delicious vegetable frittata that can be enjoyed as a easy breakfast, snack or dinner, making it a versatile addition to your culinary repertoire.
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Primo
📋 Homemade Spaghetti Nests - Nidi di Spaghetti
A surprisingly delightful dish, these baked spaghetti nests offer a unique twist on classic pasta, perfect to celebrate Easter.
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📋 Italian Homemade Vegan Purple Potato Gnocchi
Purple Potato Gnocchi takes traditional Italian cuisine to an all-new level of unique sophistication. Crafted with just three ingredients and no eggs, these little dumplings are a delightful departure from the store-bought gnocchi you might be familiar with. Light as air and pillowy soft, they offer a unique taste experience, capturing the essence of vibrant purple potatoes in every bite. Their striking color and exceptional flavor make them a show-stopping addition to any dinner party.
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📋Easy Fresh Black Truffle Pasta Tagliatelle Recipe
This simple black truffle pasta recipe will make you fully appreciate the earthy taste of the famous black truffle - effectively a wild mushroom. Homemade tagliatelle, butter, freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano, and fresh truffles are all you need to make the most of its oaky, nutty, and world-celebrated flavor. This is an easy fresh pasta dish for special occasions or date nights.
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📋Creamy Truffle Gnocchi With Parmesan Sauce Recipe
Creamy truffle gnocchi is a fancy dish for a special occasion and doesn't have to be complicated or expensive. You can make these Italian potato gnocchi from scratch or buy them freshly made. Combine the pillowy potato dumplings with this creamy sauce mixed with black or white truffles and plenty of Parmesan cheese, and serve them as a side dish or primo piatto. They make such a classy meal that your friends and family will welcome the special celebration.
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📋 Ricotta Spinach Gnudi
Ricotta spinach Gnudi, also known as Malfatti, are pillowy gnocchi made with spinach and ricotta, no potatoes. Their names Gnudi "Naked" or Malfatti "Badly Made" refer to the fact that they are made only with the filling of spinach ricotta ravioli, without the pasta around it. They are boiled like gnocchi and then seasoned with melted butter flavored with sage.
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📋The Classic Pesto With Trofie Green beans and Potatoes
Traditionally, the Genovese pesto recipe is served with fresh Trofie pasta, green beans, and potatoes. They are all cooked together as the starch from the potatoes makes the sauce creamier.
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📋Pasta With Creamy Sicilian Pistachio Pesto Sauce
This pistachio pesto pasta is a mouth-watering dish featuring a luscious pistachio sauce made from the finest Sicilian pistachios from Bronte. With its creamy texture and exquisite flavor, Pasta al Pistacchio is a beloved classic in Sicilian cuisine.
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📋Southern Italian Lasagna Recipe (Lasagna di Carnevale)
This southern Italian lasagna recipe also called lasagna di Carnevale, is a classic dish from Naples served on Fat Tuesday (Martedi grasso). It is a lavish meal traditionally served the day before Lent begins. While the traditional lasagna recipe from Northern Italy is made with Bolognese sauce and white sauce bechamel, this Lasagna alla Napoletana is made with a tomato meat sauce ragu mixed with ricotta cheese and filled with small fried meatballs, mozzarella cheese and hard-boiled eggs.
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📋 Braised Shank Lamb Ragu
Shank lamb ragu has much more flavor and texture than a lamb ragu made with meat only. The bone and its connective tissues add richness to the sauce, creating a creamy consistency and intense aroma. Braised with carrots, onion, and celery, it can be blended with red wine or Marsala. Serve it with pasta, polenta or rice for a rich winter meal.
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Secondo
📋Arrosticini Lamb Or Mutton Skewers
Arrosticini, in dialect also known as Rustelle or Speducci, are traditional barbecued skewers of mutton or lamb, street food from Abruzzo. They were born as a simple lunch for the shepherds while away from home, herding their flocks in the mountains for days. Arrosticini was a basic meal made with the meat from their flock, pears from the trees, and stale bread. What makes them so unique and tender is how they are cut and cooked, perfect for a barbecue party.
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📋Crown Roast Of Lamb Rosemary And Wine
A crown roast of lamb is a rack of lamb rolled so the ribs make it look like a crown. It is the perfect dish to serve at a posh dinner, it immediately sets the tone of a royal banquet.
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Traditional Neapolitan Easter Bread Casatiello vs Tortano
The Neapolitan Easter Bread Casatiello is a staple of the Easter celebration in the Campania region, renowned for its rich, savory flavors. It is a rustic bread sumptuously rolled and filled with an assortment of leftover cold cuts, such as bacon, mortadella, and ham, alongside a variety of cheeses, including provola, mozzarella, and pecorino. The circular shape of the bread is evocative of a crown of thorns, while the whole eggs placed on top of the Casatiello symbolize the resurrection of Christ.
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📋Traditional Italian Cheese Bread - Crescia
This Italian cheese bread is a traditional delicacy from Marche and Umbria called Crescia di Pasqua, usually baked for the Easter breakfast or Monday picnic. It is a savory Easter bread with a soft, fluffy structure and packed with Pecorino and Parmesan cheese. Sometimes bacon or sausages are also added to the dough and it is eaten in slices with salami and boiled egg. Either way, it is good all year round!
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📋 Italian Spinach Ricotta Pie With Caramelized Squash
This Italian spinach ricotta pie is a luscious healthy tart where ricotta cheese is used instead of cream. The savory spinach filling is mixed with caramelized butternut squash to add a slightly sweet fluffy texture without the extra fat. The pie crust is made with pasta frolla, an Italian short-crust pastry. All these ingredients together make the lightest and most delicious hearty Autumn meal.
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Torta Verde Ligure Savory Green Pie Recipe
This savory green pie, known as Torta Verde Ligure, is a cherished dish that combines green vegetables with rice and Parmesan cheese for its filling. While it often features Swiss chard, variations with zucchini, artichokes, or spinach are also common, making it a versatile choice found in Ligurian bakeries.
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📋Zucchini Mushroom Quiche
This zucchini mushroom quiche is perfect for a lunch with friends. You can prepare all the ingredients the day before and bake it just a few minutes before your friends arrive. It is full of healthy vegetables, enriched by eggs, stringy Emmental cheese, and crunchy bacon.
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📋Double Crust Chicken Pot Pie With Mushrooms
This double crust chicken pot pie can be made with leftover or boiled chicken or turkey. Mixed with plenty of vegetables all combined with a creamy bechamel sauce. Find out how to make a crunchy crust, never soggy so the pie can be removed from the mold and served on fancy dinnerware.
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📋 Old fashion Beef Pot Pie With Marsala And Mushrooms
This old fashion beef pot pie with pastry bottom is an Italian spezzatino stew made with a Marsala wine sauce served in a pie crust. It is creamy, rich and decadent and since it has a bottom crust it can be removed from the pan and served on formal dinnerware.
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📋Beef Sausage Hand Pie Recipe
This beef sausage hand pie recipe is a complete meal perfect for picnics as you can eat with your hands without any mess. The filling is made with half beef and half pork mixed with grated carrot, celery, and onion.
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📋 Fluffy Focaccia Pizza
This fluffy Focaccia Pizza is a soft thick Pizza with tomatoes, mozzarella, the basil and ham are encapsulated inside the dough. A great mix of flavour in every bite.
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📋 Italian Mashed Potato Pie Gateau
This Italian mashed potato pie called Gatto' (from the French Gatteau: cake) has originated from Naples, prepared by the French Chefs at the court of the Bourbons. It is a creamy mashed potato casserole filled with cheese, ham, or any other meat you want to use up.
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📋 Stuffed Pizza Rolls With Veggies And Cheese
These stuffed bread rolls can make any boring salad or soup come to life. They are pillowy crumbly dinner rolls filled with spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, gruyere cheese, and pine nuts. They are versatile and can be filled with any other combination of cheese and vegetables. These dinner rolls are a meal by themselves, perfect and simple to make when you want to serve something special to a crowd for a potluck or a picnic.
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Contorno
Easy Authentic Italian Green Beans Tomatoes Recipe
This Italian green bean recipe is incredibly simple to make and requires just a few simple ingredients. The fresh green beans do not need pre-boiling. They are stir-fried and then gently steamed in tomato sauce, resulting in a perfect side dish that is firm, crunchy, and carries a nutty flavor. It's a simple side dish that pairs wonderfully with beef, pork, chicken, or lamb roasts, making it versatile for any time of year.
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Easy Italian Sauteed Spinach with Garlic Recipe
This Italian sautéed spinach is a testament to simplicity and health, making it a perfect side dish for any meat main. With just olive oil and garlic, these leafy greens transform into a delicious accompaniment. It's an easy recipe that promises a beautiful presentation and a nutritious addition to your meal.
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📋 Giambotta or Ciambotta Italian Vegetable Stew
Ciambotta or Giambotta is an Italian vegetable stew from the South of Italy. Each region has a different name and version, however, it is usually made with summer vegetables like peppers, eggplants, zucchini, onions, and potatoes. Make a large batch and eat it for the week, the flavor gets better each day.
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📋 Easy Crispy Italian Roasted Potatoes Recipe
Italian roasted potatoes, or 'patate al forno', are a simple recipe that masterfully creates the best roasted potatoes with a crispy exterior and a soft center. These oven-roasted potatoes, seasoned with garlic and rosemary, are not only a delicious side dish but also one of the favorite potato recipes for many. Their crispy texture and flavorful profile make them the perfect side dish for a Sunday roast, a dinner party, or barbecue meats.
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📋Grilled Vegetable Salad Recipe With Summer Vegetables
This grilled vegetable salad is a great side dish for Mediterranean style barbecue. Even better if prepared the day before, so the vegetables have time to absorb the flavour from the garlic, the basil and the extra virgin olive oil.
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📋Roman-style Artichokes Recipe (Carciofi alla Romana)
Roman artichokes are braised artichokes seasoned with a blend of extra virgin olive oil, garlic, and mint. They are cooked upside down in a pot at low heat with olive oil and water until the steam cooks all the way into the artichoke heart. In Italian, they are called carciofi alla romana, which means roman style artichokes. They can be served as a starter or a side dish to meat.
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Dolce
📋 Creamy Pastiera Napoletana (Easter Ricotta Pie)
Pastiera Napoletana is a ricotta pie typically baked for Easter. The filling is made with wheat mixed with ricotta and has a distinctive flavor of the flower orange water and lemon zest.
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📋 Easy 2-Ingredient Dark Chocolate Mousse Recipe
This two-ingredient dark chocolate mousse is easy to make, dairy free with no heavy cream, only chocolate and eggs. If you like dark chocolate like me, forget the sugar. Dark, smooth, and chocolaty, this fluffy mousse is a decadent dessert perfect for dinner parties as you can prepare and keep it in the fridge, ready to serve.
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📋Easy Torta Caprese (Italian Flourless Chocolate Cake)
Caprese cake is an almond chocolate cake from Naples, which was created by mistake! There is no flour, so it's perfect for people with celiac disease or gluten intolerance. Creamy and chocolaty, the ground almonds give it a perfect crunchy texture.
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📋Italian Easter Cookies
These Italian Easter cookies are a tradition in the southern regions of Italy, they are easy to make and have different fun shapes. The perfect baking project to do with the children.
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📋Italian Fruit Tart Crostata di frutta
Italian fruit tart, commonly known as Crostata di Frutta, are the perfect dessert to indulge in when you want something sweet yet refreshing. A velvety Italian pastry cream, flavored with vanilla, encased in a crumbly, melt-in-your-mouth pastry crust and topped with seasonal fresh fruits.
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The Tiramisu Recipe We Made In Italy In The 80s
This is the old classic Italian Tiramisu recipe from the 80s, just as we made it in Italy. It’s the tiramisu of teenage parties and family gatherings—simple, quick, and authentic. Made with ladyfinger biscuits soaked in espresso, layered with a luscious cream of mascarpone and raw eggs, and topped with a dusting of cocoa powder, it’s the original version without heavy cream or extra ingredients.
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📋 Crostata Di Marmellata Recipe (Italian Jam Tart)
Crostata di Marmellata, a traditional Italian jam tart, is a delightful addition to your dessert repertoire. This rustic treat boasts a delicate, buttery shortcrust pastry dough known as pasta frolla, which serves as a staple in Italian baking and pairs well with the sweet and tangy flavors of various jams and preserves. Home to a crisscross lattice design, the Crostata is an artful and inviting dessert that impresses as much with its appearance as with its taste.
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Digestivo
📋Italian Limoncello recipe
This homemade Italian limoncello recipe is how Italians end the most lavish meals: citrusy, sweet and strong. No wonder we also call it digestive. In a fancy bottle is a perfect edible gift.
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📋 Homemade Italian Limoncello Cream
This Limoncello cream is a creamy version of Limoncello to drink on special occasions. It is perfect for a winter holiday like Thanksgiving or Christmas. I like to make it in November and give it to friends as an edible gift.
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📋Homemade Orange Liqueur Curacao Style
This homemade orange liqueur is very similar to limoncello, it can be served cold at the end of a meal or used in recipes or cocktails that call for Curacao, Triple Sec or Cointreau.
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📋Homemade Chocolate Liqueur recipe
This homemade chocolate liqueur is so creamy, rich and intense that regular hot chocolate will no longer have a place in your life. This recipe doesn't have heavy cream nor milk, therefore this alcoholic chocolate drink is non-perishable and has a long shelf life.
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📋 Italian Homemade Blueberry Liqueur Recipe
This homemade blueberry liqueur, made with fresh blueberries, is a must-have in a homemade liqueur collection. Its vibrant purple hue and tantalizing taste add an intense flavor of wild blueberries to fruity cocktails and punches. You can also enjoy it as an after-dinner treat, cold with a hint of lime juice. Craft your blueberry liqueur and present it as a delightful edible gift to your loved ones.
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📋How To Make Homemade Fresh Strawberry Liqueur
This homemade strawberry liqueur, made with fresh strawberries, is a necessary addition to a homemade liqueur assortment, it adds color and flavor to fruity cocktails and punches or it is served as an after dinner liqueur cold with a drop of lime juice. Its vibrant red color is the perfect addition to delicious cocktails for Valentine's Day. Make your own strawberry liqueur and give it as an edible gift to family and friends
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📋 Homemade Violet Liqueur
This homemade violet liqueur is made with the violets I picked from my garden. Comes March, my garden fills up with wild violets and this is my favorite way to use them. It is a unique edible gift to give to friends!
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📋 Homemade Italian Licorice Liqueur
Licorice liqueur is one of the most effective digestives Italians have to offer. In addition, it is the simplest liqueur to make and does not need months of brewing. Make it now and offer it the next day. The perfect edible gift!
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📋 Homemade Green Walnut Liqueur Nocino Recipe
It is a great liquor to offer after dinner. While a cold Limoncello is great for the summer, the Nocino is perfect for winter.
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If you are making any of these Italian Easter recipes, leave your comment below I would like to hear from you. You can find more delicious ideas if you FOLLOW ME on Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram or sign up for my newsletter.
If you are making any of these Italian breakfasts, leave your comment below I would like to hear from you. You can find more delicious ideas if you FOLLOW ME on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram or sign up to my newsletter.
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