What’s driving Easter menus this year? Taste, time and budget

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What’s driving Easter menus this year? Taste, time and budget

As households prepare for Easter gatherings, many are looking for ways to make their favorite holiday classics more convenient without sacrificing the flavors that appeal to everyone, along with ways to make their favorite holiday classics more convenient and low-cost. Findings from a new survey provide a snapshot of how families are approaching holiday meal planning this year.

Data from the survey conducted on behalf of Green Giant Vegetables by YouGov and fielded from Jan. 30 - Feb. 3, 2026 with 2,393 U.S. adults shows that shoppers preparing for Easter cooking are curating their menus with flavor, cost, time, and ingredient familiarity all in mind.

Survey finds taste, time, quality and cost are top priorities

According to the survey, home cooks aren’t choosing between taste and convenience this Easter: They want both.

While planning to shop for Easter meal ingredients, the survey found:

• 75% prioritize taste/flavor
• A combined 54% include prep time (35%) and ease/convenience (30%) in top three factors
• 43% prioritize quality of ingredients
• 37% cite cost

Time and money savings are key

There is nothing worse than spending money on fancy ingredients and spending an extended amount of time cooking a complicated recipe only to have it turn out badly.

Cooking with familiar ingredients builds confidence in the kitchen. A holiday like Easter is often tradition-driven, so tried and true staples empower home cooks with the confidence they need to create crowd-pleasing meals.

Cost-conscious shoppers know how to prioritize familiarity and value when planning a holiday meal. Still, there is no doubt that hosting a home-cooked sit-down meal for a large group costs the host both time and money. Exactly how much time and money? According to the survey:

• 75% spend 15 minutes or more prepping vegetables
• 34% spend over 30 minutes prepping vegetables
• 10% spend over an hour prepping vegetables
• 57% plan to spend $1-$50 on side dishes

Modern Easter cooking plans

Hosting an Easter meal for a large group of family and friends takes time, organization and creativity. Today’s home chef wants to impress and delight guests with recipes that are practical and easy to prepare, so they can spend less time in the kitchen and more time enjoying the festivities. While flavor is nonnegotiable, the survey underscores that convenience often drives menu decisions.

Save time on the sides

While the holiday food centerpiece may require hours of preparation and cooking, the side dishes should be the simplest elements of the meal. Pantry and fridge staples are convenient, time-saving ingredients that can be easily added to every dish.

Create a crowd-pleasing starter by combining zucchini and canned corn for savory zucchini corn bites with dill yogurt dipping sauce, or grab canned green beans from the pantry to quickly whip up these sautéed green beans with caramelized onions.

This Easter, the perfect menu isn’t just about tradition; it’s about finding that sweet spot between celebration and real life. While great flavor is still the top priority, today’s shoppers are also weighing the importance of cost, prep time, and ingredients they already know and love.

Methodology

All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 2,393 adults, of whom 1,134 plan to prepare at least one dish from scratch for Easter. Fieldwork was undertaken between Jan. 30 and Feb. 3, 2026. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all U.S. adults (aged 18 and over).

This story was produced by Green Giant Vegetables and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.