Typical Easter Dishes in Spain: A Guide by Region

Holy Week dishes that define each corner of Spain

Each autonomous community has its own Holy Week dishes. Some are shared, others are exclusive to one area. This guide compiles the most representative ones, organized by community, so you can discover new traditions or prepare that dish that reminds you of home.

We have divided the dishes into savory (starters and main courses) and sweet (desserts), because both categories are equally important on the Holy Week table.

Andalusia: the most intense Holy Week, also at the table

Savory dishes:

• Chickpea stew with cod and spinach: Andalusian version of the Lenten stew, sometimes with a more elaborate sofrito with cumin.
• Cod with tomato: cod loins fried and then stewed in tomato sauce with green pepper. A quintessential Cordoban dish.
• Tagarninas esparragadas: wild thistles (tagarninas) cooked with garlic, fried bread, and paprika. A humble and tasty dish, hard to find outside Andalusia.
• Marinated dogfish (Cazón en adobo): fish marinated in vinegar, garlic, cumin, and paprika, battered and fried. Typical of Cadiz.

Sweets:

• Pestiños: thin fried dough bathed in honey or sugar. There are some with sesame seeds (ajonjolí), with aniseed (matalahúva), or just with honey.
• Wine Torrijas: soaked in sweet wine (Moscatel or Pedro Ximénez) and bathed in honey.
• Borrachuelos: fried pastries filled with angel hair jam, bathed in syrup. Typical of Malaga.

Castile and León: stew as a banner

Savory dishes:

• Lenten stew (Potaje de vigilia): chickpeas, spinach, cod, hard-boiled egg, and a garlic sofrito with paprika. The Castilian version is the most widespread in Spain.
• Soldaditos de Pavía: strips of cod battered in a saffron mixture and fried. The saffron gives an intense yellow color. A Madrid name, but the dish is Castilian.
• Castilian garlic soup: stale bread, garlic, paprika, broth, and a poached egg. The quintessential Lenten dish on the plateau.

Sweets:

• Milk Torrijas: the classic version with infused milk, coated in sugar and cinnamon.
• Flores manchegas / Roscos fritos: fried dough in the shape of a flower, sprinkled with sugar. Made with a special mold.
• Hornazos: enriched bread dough with eggs and oil, sometimes with cured meats. The Salamanca hornazo contains loin, chorizo, and hard-boiled egg inside. It is eaten on Easter Monday.

Basque Country: cod elevated to art

Savory dishes:

• Cod al pil pil: the Basque dish par excellence. Icelandic cod loins confited in oil with garlic. The emulsion of the cod gelatin with the oil creates the pil pil sauce.
• Cod a la vizcaína: cod loins in a choricero pepper sauce. The sauce is made with the pulp of rehydrated dried peppers, onion, and garlic. Intense red color, deep flavor.
• Cod al Club Ranero: with green peppers and tomato sauce. A classic Bilbao recipe.

Sweets:

• Leche frita: thick custard, cut into rectangles, battered, and fried. Crispy on the outside, creamy on the inside.
• Pantxineta: puff pastry filled with cream and covered with sliced almonds.

Catalonia: bacallà a la llauna and mona de Pascua

Savory dishes:

• Bacallà a la llauna: baked cod in a tin tray (llauna) with garlic, parsley, paprika, and oil. Simple and direct.
• Bacallà amb samfaina: cod with Catalan ratatouille (eggplant, zucchini, pepper, tomato, and onion).
• Bacallà esqueixat: cold salad of raw flaked cod (desalted) with tomato, pepper, onion, and black olives.

Sweets:

• Mona de Pascua: sponge cake decorated with chocolate eggs. Godparents give it to their godchildren on Easter Sunday. A deeply rooted tradition in Catalonia.
• Bunyetes: thin and crispy fritters sprinkled with sugar. Served during Lent.
• Coca de llardons: sweet coca with pork cracklings (llardons) and pine nuts. It is consumed before the Lenten abstinence and reappears at Easter.

Galicia, Asturias, and Cantabria: sea and spoon

Galicia:

• Cod empanada: thin dough filled with flaked cod, poached onion, pepper, and tomato. Galician empanada is a world unto itself.
• Pulpo á feira: cooked octopus, cut and seasoned with oil, paprika, and coarse salt. Not exclusive to Holy Week, but it features prominently on many tables.
• Filloas: thin crêpes, sweet (with honey or sugar) or savory (with broth). A Carnival tradition that extends to Lent.

Asturias:

• Lenten fabada: white beans with cod and clams instead of chorizo and morcilla. Same heartiness, Lenten spirit.

Cantabria:

• Cantabrian Anchovies: the salted anchovies from Santoña and Laredo are a cult product. During Holy Week, they are consumed as an appetizer, in sandwiches, or on toast.
• Corbatas de Unquera: thin puff pastry in the shape of a bow tie, glazed with sugar. A sweet shared between Cantabria and Asturias.

Levante, Aragon, and the Islands: rice, fritters, and monas

Valencian Community:

• Olleta de Cuaresma: Valencian stew of chickpeas, white beans, spinach, and cod. The local version of the Lenten stew.
• Pumpkin fritters: fried pumpkin dough, spongy and sweet. Essential during Fallas and Holy Week.
• Valencian Mona de Pascua: similar to the Catalan one but with local variations.

Aragon:

• Bacalao ajoarriero: flaked cod stewed with tomato, pepper, garlic, and egg. A powerful Zaragoza dish.
• Crespillos de borraja: borage leaves battered and fried, sprinkled with sugar. An unusual and addictive sweet-savory treat.
• Almojábanas: fresh cheese and aniseed rings, baked. Aragonese Lenten sweet.

Balearic Islands:

• Panades: small pies filled with fish, peas, and vegetables. Lenten version of the Mallorcan panadó.
• Robiols: sweet turnovers filled with ricotta or angel hair jam.

Canary Islands:

• Canarian sancocho: salted fish (wreckfish or cod) cooked with wrinkled potatoes, sweet potato, and mojo picón. A Good Friday dish.
• Truchas de batata: sweet potato turnovers. A Christmas dessert that reappears during Holy Week.

Frequently asked questions

What is the most typical Holy Week dish throughout Spain?

Lenten stew (chickpeas, spinach, and cod) and torrijas. These are the two dishes eaten in practically all communities, with local variations.

Why does each region have different dishes?

Because the religious rule (no meat) was the same, but the available ingredients varied by area. Coastal regions used fresh fish; the interior depended on salted cod. Sweets made use of local products: pumpkin in Valencia, borage in Aragon, milk in the north.

What are the most popular Holy Week desserts?

Torrijas (all of Spain), pestiños (south), buñuelos de viento and pumpkin fritters (center and Levante), filloas (Galicia), leche frita (north), monas de Pascua (Catalonia and Valencia), and flores fritas (Castilla-La Mancha).

Where to buy quality cod for Holy Week?

At bacalalo.com you can buy premium Icelandic cod with shipping to all of Spain in 24-48 hours. It is the same cod we have been serving since 1990 at our stall in the Mercat del Ninot in Barcelona.