A Tu Bishvat seder table is built around the Seven Species, and dried figs, dates and fresh challah are an easy way to bring wheat and fruit into the meal. Below you'll find our favourite kosher picks for the seder table, followed by a sample seder dinner menu and ideas for cakes and Israeli wine.
🍑 Kosher Dried Fruit for the Seder Table
Figs, apricots and dates for the fruit platter, the salads and the sweet sides.
Figs and dates are two of the Seven Species, so they belong at the centre of any Tu Bishvat fruit platter. We chose Happy Village for the figs, apricots and fruit medley, and added three date options so you can pick by brand or budget. In the sample menu below, apricots go into the stuffed vegetables, dates are chopped into roasted carrots and blended into the dressing, and figs finish the platter. Plain dried fruit is naturally pareve, but always check the packaging for added ingredients and look for the kosher certification symbol on the pack you receive.
🥖 Kosher Challah for the Seder Meal
Wheat on the table, ready to dip in olive oil or serve with soup.
Wheat is the first of the Seven Species, and challah is the easiest way to put it on the table. We chose challah from Greens Bakery and Stern's Bakery, two kosher bakeries, so you can serve fresh-style bread without baking. Tear it into pieces for dipping in olive oil and za'atar, or serve it alongside the barley soup. Dairy and pareve status varies by loaf, so check the packaging before you plan around it, and look for the kosher certification symbol on the pack you receive.
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🌳 A Sample Tu Bishvat Seder Dinner
A dairy and pareve menu built around the Seven Species, course by course.
A Tu Bishvat seder is a festive meal built around fruit, grain and the four cups of wine or grape juice. This sample menu keeps every course dairy or pareve, so it works for any kosher home, and each dish features at least one of the Seven Species: wheat, barley, grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives and dates.
🍇 The Four Cups
Tu Bishvat is celebrated with four cups that move through the seasons: first all white, then mostly white with a little red, then half and half, and finally mostly red. Kosher wine or kosher grape juice both work, and white and red grape juice is a popular choice for families.
🌾 How Wheat and Barley Are Eaten at a Tu Bishvat Seder
Wheat and barley are not eaten raw. At a Tu Bishvat meal they appear as cooked or baked dishes served alongside the fruit.
Wheat: challah or other bread, wheat-berry salad, bulgur, couscous, and cakes or cookies made with wheat flour.
Barley: pearl barley in soup, barley and mushroom pilaf, barley salad, or a barley side dish with roasted vegetables.
Many hosts serve one grain dish before the fruit courses so that both grains are represented on the table.
Blessings: bread is customarily blessed with Hamotzi, while cooked and baked grain dishes such as barley soup, couscous or cake are customarily blessed with Borei Minei Mezonot. Customs differ, so please check with your local Kashrut Authority or rabbi.
🌾 Barley for the Seder Soup and Sides
Pearl barley, barley flakes and Italian barley for the second of the Seven Species.
Barley is the second of the Seven Species and the grain behind the soup in our sample menu. Pearl barley is the classic choice for barley and mushroom soup, while the Italian barley works well in pilafs, salads and roasted vegetable sides. Barley flakes cook quickly and suit a warm breakfast porridge or baking. Barley is a grain, so it is not eaten raw, and a cooked barley dish is customarily blessed with Borei Minei Mezonot. Always look for the kosher certification symbol on the pack you receive, and check with your local Kashrut Authority if you have questions.
🍰 Kosher Cakes for the Seder Dessert
A honey cake mix to bake with dates and figs, and two ready-made babkas.
Dessert is where wheat, dates and figs come together, and these cakes make it easy. The Manischewitz honey cake mix is the baker's option for the fig and date cake in the menu, since you can fold in chopped fruit before baking. If you would rather skip the oven, the Greens and Stern's babkas are ready to slice and sit well beside a platter of dried fruit. Cake ingredients and dairy or pareve status vary by product, so check the packaging and the kosher certification symbol, especially if you are serving the cake after a dairy or meat meal.
🍇 Kosher Wine from Israel for the Four Cups
White wines for the first cups, red wines for the last.
Grapes are one of the Seven Species, and the four cups are the heart of the seder. Because the land of Israel is the source of the Seven Species, we chose wines from Israeli wineries, including Yarden, Tzora, Recanati and Galil Mountain. The three whites suit the first cups, and the three reds suit the last two. Each wine is listed with its OK or OU kosher certification on Wine.com, but please check the label on your bottle. If you prefer, kosher grape juice works just as well for the four cups.
Other Kosher Food That May Interest You
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Understanding Our Kosher Certifications
The Kosher Hub references products certified by recognized kosher authorities, including OU, OK, Star-K, Kof-K, and CRC. Certification symbols and status can change, so always confirm the current kosher status directly on the product packaging or via the certifying agency's own listings before purchasing.