Six Traditional Easter Dishes to Try During Semana Santa in Spain

Easter in Spain: Where Religion Meets the Table

Easter is a truly big deal in Spain. Huge crowds line the streets for the Semana Santa processions, and all that religious fervour can work up quite an appetite. Visitors used to hunting for chocolate Easter eggs may be surprised to find that this particular tradition takes a back seat here — but there are plenty of other delicious, time-honoured Spanish treats to mark the occasion.

Here are six traditional dishes and desserts to look out for during Holy Week.

1. Torrijas

The most famous and essential of all Spanish Easter dishes, torrijas are Spain's own version of French toast. Thick chunks of bread are soaked in milk, fried until golden, and finished with sweet syrup — making them as much a part of Semana Santa as the conical hoods and religious statues of the processions themselves.

You will find torrijas on sale everywhere during Holy Week, from restaurants to bakeries and supermarkets. They are also straightforward to make at home, and a number of celebrated chefs — including three-Michelin-starred Dabiz Muñoz — have published their own winning recipes.

2. Flores Fritas

Flores fritas — literally "fried flowers" — are beautiful flower-shaped pastries traditionally associated with the Castilla-La Mancha and Castile and León regions, though you will find them for sale across Spain during Easter.

Made from egg, flour, milk, and sugar, the dough is pressed into special flower-shaped iron moulds and then deep-fried to a crisp. Traditionally, Spanish families would pass the moulds down from generation to generation, and there was no small amount of competition between households over whose flores were the most intricately shaped.

3. La Mona de Pascua

If this brioche bun looks familiar, it is because it bears a striking resemblance to the roscón de Reyes — the ring-shaped cake eaten at Epiphany in January. The mona de Pascua is particularly popular in Catalonia and the Valencia region, where it is traditionally given as a gift to children at Easter.

In its classic form, the mona is topped with a hard-boiled egg in the shell. These days, however, the boiled egg is often replaced with a chocolate egg at the centre — a nod to the wider European Easter tradition.

4. Buñuelos de Viento

Buñuelos de viento can be found throughout the year, but they are especially popular during Semana Santa. Essentially a fried doughnut, these sweet, light dough balls are covered in sugar and — if done well — have a delicate, almost hollow interior despite their satisfying crunch.

Buñuelos are found in every region, but Andalucía is widely considered to produce the finest versions, with those made in Granada frequently cited as the best.

5. Pestiños

Also popular at Christmas, pestiños are a traditional Spanish pastry made from flour, aniseed, and olive oil. Particularly common across southern Spain, they are typically glazed with honey and dusted with sugar — sticky, sweet, and intensely flavoured.

Their roots lie deep in Andalucían and Extremaduran cooking, and the combination of anise and honey gives them a distinctly Moorish flavour profile that speaks to the region's culinary history.

6. Potaje de Vigilia

Not everything at Easter is sweet. For those who prefer something savoury, Potaje de Vigilia — Vigil Stew — is the essential Semana Santa dish. This hearty stew combines salt cod, chickpeas, spinach, garlic, and hard-boiled egg, and is traditionally served on Good Friday.

The name references the religious tradition of fasting or abstaining from meat on Good Friday: the stew is eaten by the faithful as they await the Resurrection. It remains a staple in homes and restaurants across Spain during Holy Week, and its combination of protein-rich cod and chickpeas makes it as satisfying as it is traditional.

Where to Find Them

During Semana Santa, most of these dishes — particularly torrijas, buñuelos, and pestiños — are readily available at bakeries, pastelerías, and local markets across Spain. Larger supermarkets also stock them in the run-up to Easter. For a more immersive experience, many towns along the Costa Blanca and across Andalucía hold food markets and street stalls during the Holy Week processions where you can try several in quick succession.

This article is based on reporting from The Olive Press, published March 28, 2026. This article is for informational purposes only.