Planning for Passover: A More Organized Approach to Shopping, Kashering, and Cooking

by alichava | Mar 22, 2026 | Jewish Holidays, Kitchen, Kosher, Menu Plan, Parenting, Passover

Passover preparation is always a lot.

Shopping, kashering, cooking — and trying to fit all of it into an already full schedule. In past years, I’ve managed it, but not always in a way that felt organized.

This year, I’m trying to approach it more intentionally. Not by doing less — just by thinking more carefully about how everything fits together.

Start With a Central Plan

Before buying anything, I’ve been focusing on getting everything into one place.

Ari put together a Passover Command Center, which has been a helpful starting point.

It creates one place to track:

• What needs to be cleaned and kashered
• What needs to be purchased
• What needs to be cooked

We’ve also been using OneNote to keep our recipes organized, but hoping to replace it with this new system.

That alone makes the process feel more manageable.

Breaking Shopping Into Categories

One of the biggest changes this year is separating shopping by where it makes the most sense to buy each type of item.

1. Amazon: Bulk and Repeat Items

Anything that is:

• Shelf-stable
• Predictable year to year
• Not brand-sensitive

goes into Amazon.

I’ve started a running list here:
👉 https://amzn.to/4d3NQSX

This includes:

• Subscribe and Save Items
• Past Purchases
• Things that look interesting

Goal: Reduce last-minute runs for basics.

2. Destination Shopping: Larger Stores

For us, that usually means:

• Stores with broader Passover inventory

This is where I focus on:

• Specialty items
• Better pricing on bulk
• Hard-to-find products

Goal: One focused trip with a clear list.

3. Local Stores: Fresh + Fill-In

Local shopping becomes:

• Fresh items
• Anything we didn’t find elsewhere
• Final additions

And yes, store-specific incentives still factor in (like buying $50 at Giant for the free box of matzah). They’re just part of the plan, not the whole plan.

Sequencing the Work

The biggest shift this year is being more deliberate about timing.

Instead of everything happening at once, we’re trying to separate the stages:

• Friday, March 27 – Shopping
• Saturday, March 28 – Kashering
• Sunday, March 29 – Begin cooking

Having defined days for each stage helps prevent everything from overlapping.

Recipes That Make the List Every Year

There are always new recipes, but a few consistently make it back into the rotation.

• Yummiest Passover Chocolate Cake Recipe
  This one gets requested every year.

Other Standbys

• Sweet and Sour Meatballs
• Debi’s Blueberry Muffins
• Chocolate Covered Strawberries
• Sorbet

Having a core set of recipes reduces decision fatigue and makes planning easier.

What I’m Still Refining

Even with a better structure, this is still a process.

• Making sure we buy what we actually need
• Spacing out cooking so it’s not all at the end
• Sticking to the plan once the week gets busy

It’s not perfect, but it already feels more organized than previous years.

Final Thoughts

Passover preparation doesn’t get smaller.

But it can feel more manageable.

For me, the shift this year is about creating a plan that supports the process.