Desserts & pastries
Panades & Rubiols: Mallorca's filled pastry tradition
At Easter, the displays of Mallorcan bakeries fill up with two classics: savoury panades and sweet rubiols – both made from the same shortcrust pastry, but with completely different fillings.
The short answer
Panades & Rubiols: Mallorca's filled pastry tradition
Panades and rubiols are traditional Mallorcan Easter pastries made from shortcrust: panades are round, savoury pies filled with meat, while rubiols are sweet, half-moon-shaped pasties with jam or other sweet fillings.
Panades: savoury pies
Panades are round, closed shortcrust pies filled with lamb or pork, peas and often sobrasada too. The filling goes in raw before baking and cooks in the oven right inside the pastry case. This keeps the meat juicy, and the flavours of the filling mingle as it bakes.
Rubiols: sweet half-moons
Rubiols are made from a similar shortcrust pastry but folded into half-moons and given a sweet filling, such as jam, angel hair (cabell d'àngel, a pumpkin preserve), curd cheese or chocolate. After baking they are often dusted with icing sugar. This sweet version is the counterpart to the savoury panades.
Why both belong to Easter
Both pastries have a firm place in the Easter season and are traditionally sold in bakeries in the weeks before the festival. They mark the transition from Lent to the Easter holidays and are often baked in large batches for the family. Their exact origin is closely linked to the island's rural Easter customs.
Where to buy: bakeries at Easter time
Around Easter, practically every traditional bakery sells both pastries, often side by side in the display. Outside the Easter season the choice is much more limited. If you want to be sure of finding these specialities, plan your visit for the weeks before the festival.
Practical tips
- Look for panades and rubiols in the weeks before Easter – afterwards the choice is limited.
- Panades contain meat – if you avoid meat, the sweet rubiols are the better choice, although their pastry usually contains lard.
- Both pastries keep for a few days and are good to take away.
- For details of Easter customs and processions, see the Religious festivals & traditions section.
Good to know
Price ranges, opening times and airline rules change. We only give verifiable features and orders of magnitude – check details directly with the seller or your airline before buying or flying.
Product knowledge
The specialities on this topic
Baked goods Traditional Island-wide
Panades & Rubiols
Easter pies and pasties
Filled Easter pies (savoury) and half-moon-shaped rubiols (sweet) made from lard pastry.
- Ingredients
- Flour, lard, olive oil, meat or sweet filling
- Diet
- contains lard
- Price range
- Per piece in the low single-digit euro range
- Where to buy
- Bakeries, weekly markets in spring
- Flying
- Pastries are allowed in hand luggage; eat savoury panades promptly.
Last checked: August 2026
Baked goods Traditional Island-wide
Crespells
Mallorcan shortcrust biscuits
Star-shaped shortcrust biscuits with lemon and lard or oil – the island's Easter biscuits.
- Ingredients
- Flour, sugar, egg, lemon zest, lard or olive oil
- Diet
- contains lard
- Price range
- Per bag in the low single-digit euro range
- Where to buy
- Bakeries, weekly markets
- Flying
- Dry biscuits: ideal as a long-lasting gift to take home, just fragile.
Last checked: August 2026
Price ranges, opening times and airline rules change. We only give verifiable features and orders of magnitude – check details directly with the seller or your airline before buying or flying.
| Product | Hand luggage | Suitcase | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Panades & Rubiols | yes | yes | Pastries are allowed in hand luggage; eat savoury panades promptly. |
| Crespells | yes | yes | Dry biscuits: ideal as a long-lasting gift to take home, just fragile. |
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between panades and rubiols?
Panades are savoury and round, rubiols are sweet and half-moon-shaped – both made from a similar shortcrust pastry.
Can you get panades outside the Easter season?
Occasionally, yes, but most are sold in the weeks before Easter.
What are panades typically filled with?
With lamb or pork, peas and often sobrasada as well.
More topics
-
Crespells
Star-shaped, delicate and lightly lemony: crespells are as much a part of Easter in Mallorca as panades – small shortcrust biscuits that look different in every bakery on the island.
-
Coca de Trampó
Not a sweet pastry but vegetables on a crisp base: coca de trampó is the snack you will find on the shelves of almost every bakery in Mallorca.
Related
- Religious festivals & traditions Easter processions and customs in their cultural context.
- Festivals & events Dates around Easter time.
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