Saint Patrick's Day is almost here, and you know what that means: All green everything! The decorations the clothes, and the food will all feature a festive green pizzazz.
On almost any other day of the year, a plate full of nothing but green food might be alarming, but on Saint Paddy’s Day, it’s a must. If you’re feeding a crowd for your shamrock-themed party, there’s nothing like serving a traditional Irish-green feast to get into the holiday spirit.
If you normally take the easy route and show up to the party with a container of guacamole, you get a pass this time around only because it’s green. But you can do much better than that—there are all sorts of festive and easy-to-make recipes that feature this magical color.
No matter if you’re serving beverages, appetizers, mains, or desserts, these green recipes are sure to bring you plenty of luck this year.
1. Green Beer
Like any great meal, you’ve got to start with drinks—and let’s be real, it wouldn’t be Saint Patrick’s Day without beer. You can celebrate with a traditional pint of Guinness, or you can add some festive green and gold to your favorite bubbly beverage. It not only looks great, but it tastes great with an Irish meal—anyone up for corned beef and cabbage?
Green beer might not be popular in Ireland, but in the States, it’s a holiday staple. To professional brewers, green beer would refer to beer that is “too young,” or beer that hasn’t fully fermented. But for us common folk, its simply means beer with green food coloring.
Add anywhere from three to six drops of food coloring into your beer, depending on how green you want it. If you want a darker hue, add more coloring, but be aware it could temporarily stain your mouth green.
And while it will alter the taste of your beverage, if you’d prefer not to use artificial food dyes, you can use wheatgrass, spirulina, spinach, or matcha to give your drink a green hue.
There’s no need to pinch us—we’re wearing our green and eating it, too. Since the month of March is all about green, it’s a great excuse to get your veggies in. Green is the color of some of Mother Nature’s most delectable and nutrient-rich veggies, and Brussels sprouts are one of those items found in many traditional Irish recipes.
If you like your Brussels sprouts a little crispy with a side of bacon, then this recipe is right up your alley. To get started, chop your bacon in ½-inch slices. Cook in a skillet on medium heat and stir occasionally until golden brown. Don’t discard any remaining bacon fat left in the pan—you'll need it later.
Heat some oil in a fresh skillet and place your sprouts flat side down. Once they start sizzling, add 1 tablespoon of bacon fat, a pinch of salt, and a little more butter or oil. Cook your sprouts until the edges have a nice char, but don’t let them burn.
Once everything is fully cooked, add your bacon into the skillet with the sprouts and toss thoroughly until heated through. Add 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar and let simmer for 1 to 2 minutes. And just like that, you’re ready to serve a simple, tasty, and festive appetizer or side dish.
Holiday eating usually entails very rich, heavy cuisine, so this recipe for creamy avocado soup is here to lighten the menu and refresh your palate. The creamy avocados provide a minty-green hue to match the holiday, plus it’s super easy to make.
This is a chilled soup recipe that takes just minutes to prepare in the blender—no additional equipment required. The combination of rich avocado and smooth sour cream gives it a silky, luxurious texture.
In your blender, puree 1 avocado, 1 cup of sour cream, 1 cup of water, ¾ cup of salsa Verde, and ¼ cup of fresh cilantro leaves until smooth. Sprinkle in salt and pepper to your liking and give it another quick pulse to mix the seasoning into the soup mixture.
Cover and refrigerate until fully chilled. Once chilled, divide into bowls and add roasted pumpkin seeds and additional cilantro for garnish. This recipe yields enough for 4 servings.
You can’t finish Saint Paddy’s Day without a festive dessert. We’ve all had a clover-shaped sugar cookie, but this recipe for pistachio ricotta cheesecake adds a gourmet flavor to your celebration.
If you’re a fan of pistachio ice cream and cheesecake, you’re bound to go nuts for this recipe. You'll use pistachio paste to make the cheesecake batter, and roasted pistachios to make the crust in place of graham crackers. The light pastel hue is an appealing shade for a festive dessert, and it follows the green food theme without being too overbearing.
Start by roasting your pistachios for 10 minutes at 325 degrees. Once toasted and cooled, pulse pistachios, shortbread cookies, and granulated sugar until finely ground. Once you add melted butter, you’ll be left with a sandy texture. Place this mixture into a cakepan and cook for about 20 minutes at 325 degrees.
To make the filling, beat the eggs and granulated sugar, mixing for about 5 minutes. Add ricotta, pistachio paste, lemon zest, salt, vanilla, and almond extract. Continue beating until smooth and add a few drops of green food coloring.
Pour this filling over the crust and bake until the cheesecake is puffy, but still has a slight jiggle in the center—about 1 to 1 ½ hours. Allow to cool for 2 to 3 hours after baking, sprinkle with chopped pistachios, and enjoy.
5. Bonus: Green Velvet Cupcakes
Who said one dessert was enough? It’s a celebration, so that calls for two desserts! Even if we can’t find the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, we can always enjoy a good cupcake.
You might be more familiar with red velvet cake, which is a traditional chocolate cake made with unsweetened cocoa powder, red food coloring, and cream cheese or buttercream frosting. But we need to fit the theme so we’re adding green food coloring.
Prepare the cake and frosting mixture and top each cupcake with an assortment of green-colored sprinkles and a few gold M&Ms to replicate a pot of gold. And if you have any leftovers, we’re sure a leprechaun will show up to finish the rest.
To Good Health
We hope you enjoyed this list of fun and festive recipes for Saint Patrick's Day. If you’re looking for new appliances to try any of these recipes on, give us a call or stop by our store to shop our entire collection of kitchen appliances and cooking accessories. To good health, or as they say in Ireland, sláinte.