These Christmas dinner concepts will depart your friends merry and shiny, with cozy mains, hearty sides, and decadent desserts all bursting with vacation cheer and versatile for various diets!
What to serve for Christmas dinner? Concern not, vacation hosts, right here is your one-stop information to crafting a Christmas dinner that may have your loved ones singing your praises (and possibly even requesting seconds!).
After internet hosting this vacation for years, listed here are my high Christmas dinner concepts for entertaining a crowd! From comforting casseroles to Christmas aspect dishes, Christmas appetizers, festive Christmas desserts and vacation cocktails, I’ve obtained one thing for everybody. After I’m entertaining, I attempt to have choices obtainable many diets, together with vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free. These are my high recipes to ensure your Christmas dinner will wow everybody.
High Christmas Dinner Concepts
A enjoyable Christmas dinner concept: spotlight vibrant purple and inexperienced in these lasagna rolls! Roll the noodles across the filling for tasty and enjoyable dinner recipe. This recipe includes a filling of spinach, basil and ricotta, topped with a garlicky straightforward home made tomato sauce. (Vegetarian, gluten-free with GF noodles)
Shepherd’s pie is the proper cozy dinner for Christmas! It's like sporting a fuzzy sweater whereas consuming mulled cider: cozy consolation meals to the max! Think about: a creamy gravy crammed with tender greens, lentils and scented with fennel and sage. (Vegan and vegetarian)
Right here's a basic dish that's excellent to impress at Christmas: rooster piccata! Tender, golden-brown rooster cutlets are bathed in a vibrant lemon-butter sauce with pops of briny capers. This basic Italian American dish has captured hearts and stomachs all over the world, and it's an enormous favourite over right here. To make it for a crowd, pan fry the rooster in batches, then make a double recipe of the sauce and pour it over proper earlier than serving.
Cozy pot pie is ideal for Christmas dinner! This one is crammed with a load of veggies, pesto and Parmesan within the filling, and it makes for a filling that's extremely savory and irresistibly creamy. (Vegetarian; vegan possibility)
You don't should be vegetarian to get pleasure from this meatloaf! It's made solely of nuts, rice, mushrooms, onions, herbs, and cheese. One way or the other, all of it melds into an look and texture similar to a meatloaf. it tastes higher than the meat model, and it's all the time a request in our household at Christmas! (Vegetarian)
This French onion rooster bake is irresistibly savory, pairing tender rooster breasts with caramelized onions and Gruyere cheese! It’s excellent for events, holidays, and any time you want a showstopper dish.
This roast turkey is juicy, moist, and so flavorful, your friends will need seconds and thirds! The turkey is roofed in a roasted garlic compound butter and gradual roasted within the oven for a brilliant tender turkey that melts in your mouth. (Gluten-free) through Britney Breaks Bread
Right here’s a Christmas dinner concept that's extremely simpe: this Honey Glazed Salmon recipe! In beneath half-hour, you’ve obtained tender, flaky salmon fillets which might be bursting with taste from a sticky glaze of honey, soy, and garlic. (Pescatarian and gluten-free)
A first-rate rib makes for a basic Christmas dinner! In the event you're searching for your golden ticket to “host of the yr,” that is it! Serve it with creamy horseradish sauce. (Gluten-free) through Grandbaby Truffles
Right here's a favourite Christmas dinner concept: Butternut Squash Lasagna with Sage! The flavors are impeccable: creamy ricotta, punchy Pecorino, and recent sage envelop the candy squash in a comfy embrace. (Vegetarian; gluten-free with gluten-free noodles)
Right here’s a festive Christmas dinner concept that makes dinnertime extra particular: Eggplant Rollatini! It’s like a mix of eggplant Parmesan and lasagna roll ups. Tender strips of eggplant are wrapped round a creamy three-cheese filling, then baked in home made tomato sauce and extra cheese. (Vegetarian and gluten-free)
Right here's a basic Christmas dinner concept: glazed ham! This tender and moist ham is cooked in its personal juices and glazed with a mix of honey, pineapple juice and brown sugar. It comes out candy and salty, buttery and sticky: excellent for the vacation desk! (Gluten-free) through Grandbaby Truffles
There's nothing like a pasta bake to feed a crowd at Christmas! This Italian American casserole is filled with savory taste and comfy nostalgia. Its floor is crammed with pockets of seasoned ricotta, lakes of garlicky tomato sauce, and punctuated by strands of gooey mozzarella. (Vegetarian, gluten-free with gluten-free pasta)
Mediterranean-style baked fish is a shocking Christmas dinner! Roast up any white fish with lemon, garlic and a easy mixture of tomatoes, onions and olives. It comes out completely fork tender with a punchy zip from the lemon and tender greens to taste every chew. (Pescatarian and gluten-free)
Right here’s one other recipe starring Christmas colours that feeds a crowd: this straightforward Stuffed Shells recipe! Stuff pasta shells with ricotta, mozzarella, Parmesan and spinach, then bake them up in a shower of garlicky tomato sauce. (Vegetarian, gluten-free with gluten-free noodles)
This oven baked chuck roast makes a straightforward and comforting Christmas dinner! Juicy fork tender beef is braised in purple wine with carrots, celery, onions, garlic, and recent herbs for an throughout scrumptious, basic dish. (Gluten-free) through Britney Breaks Bread
Christmas is a superb excuse for making restaurant model scallops at house: straightforward Pan Seared Scallops! Scallops have a fantastic, delicate candy taste that’s straightforward to like: and there’s nothing higher than that excellent seared crispy outdoors. Serve on a mattress of candy potato puree or mashed butternut squash. (Pescatarian and gluten-free)
Christmas is a superb time to solurge on fancier fish like halibut! This genius strategy to prepare dinner this well-liked white fish bakes it till flaky and tender with garlic and lemon, together with fried onions and capers when you love that salty, briny pop. (Pescatarian and gluten-free)
Let's transfer to appetizers for Christmas dinner! This Baked Brie recipe couldn’t be an simpler appetizer. Right here’s what it’s good to find out about making a melty, scrumptious pile of brie. The good half? The toppings are versatile relying in your preferences, and you may make a fantastic platter with little effort.
This home made focaccia bread is showy and ideal for Christmas! It’s thick and ethereal, crispy on the surface with lovely pillowy air pockets on the inside. The flavour is developed and completely seasoned, with the basic notes of salt, rosemary and olive oil notes.
A cheese ball is ideal for Christmas! This recipe freshens up the basic with cheddar, inexperienced onion, Worcestershire, garlic powder and smoked paprika for a creamy, savory punch. It’s excellent for vacation entertaining, surrounded by crackers or crostini.
What's extra festive than Christmas tree bread for Christmas dinner? That is the proper appetizer recipe to make a splash. I really like serving it with marinara sauce and cranberries to embellish – they seem like ornaments!
Need to impress at Christmas dinner? Right here’s one of the best straightforward appetizer: the Final Cheese Board! Cheese boards are my go-to for entertaining: they’re easy to place collectively, straightforward to customise for varied diets, and look merely sensible.
Cranberries and salsa aren’t the more than likely pair: till you’ve tried this Cranberry Salsa recipe! This enjoyable Christmas dinner appetizer is zingy and shiny, pairing tart berries with recent cilantro, onion, and jalapeno for a candy tart dip.
This tangy, creamy dip recipe is such a crowd pleaser that it’d intrude with the dialog while you serve it! This basic appetizer is ideal for Christmas. For vegan, do that Vegan Spinach Artichoke Dip.
Right here’s my go-to appetizer that's excellent for Christmas or anytime: this Veggie Dip recipe! It’s extremely creamy and savory, and easy to whip up with simply the precise mixture of spices.
It's not Christmas with out fruit dip in my household! This one is 3 substances, takes 2 minutes, and tastes like a dream. That’s proper: no want to purchase store-bought dip, which is commonly overly candy or synthetic tasting. This one tastes superbly pure, merely candy, and a base of Greek yogurt retains it wholesome and pure.
Want a easy Christmas appetizer to wow? Do that straightforward cranberry cream cheese dip! The home made sauce bursts with candy and tart cranberries, orange juice, and when you’d like, a bit of jalapeno for a tang. Spoon it over cream cheese and it’s excellent for dipping crackers and even apple slices. It comes collectively in minutes with minimal effort.
Right here’s an straightforward appetizer that appears gorgeous and depends on easy, spot-on flavors: Smoked Salmon Appetizer Bites! The basic mixture of smoked salmon, dill, cucumber and cream cheese is a success each time. Combine the cream cheese with recent dill, inexperienced onion and Dijon for a wealthy, zingy pop.
On the lookout for an ideal basic appetizer recipe for Christmas? Do that easy stuffed mushrooms recipe! These little bites have all the pieces happening: they’re savory, meaty, and herby, with a young exterior and a crunch in every chew.
These straightforward deviled eggs are completely basic for Christmas and style wonderful. Greek yogurt, mayo and Dijon mustard add the proper flavoring to those eggs with out being overly wealthy! Garnish with dried dill or smoked paprika for a purple and inexperienced colour theme!
This pinwheels recipe is nice for anytime, but it surely's very best for Christmas Eve with the festive purple and inexperienced! This finger meals is filled with Italian-style flavors: mozzarella, sundried tomatoes, spinach, and a mix of spices. They give the impression of being completely gorgeous on a platter.
Let's transfer on to Christmas aspect dishes! These actually are one of the best mashed potatoes, swirled with recent garlic sauteed in butter, milk, and a bit of bitter cream, then mashed into fluffy oblivion. For the creamiest texture you possibly can whip them with a stand mixer. Take them excessive with my secret ingredient to make everybody across the desk go mad over them.
Right here’s a easy strategy to gown up recent inexperienced beans as a connoisseur aspect for Christmas dinner: Inexperienced Beans Almondine! Make it at house, and this dish is sensible! The beans are shiny inexperienced and completely tender, sautéed in butter with garlic and toasted almonds and completed with a bit of lemon zest.
The purple and inexperienced colour scheme makes this apple salad excellent for Christmas dinner! Crisp tart apple slices pair with pops of pomegranate seeds, creamy goat cheese, and crunchy, cinnamon spiced pecans. Toss them throughout recent greens with a zingy maple and apple cider vinegar dressing, and it’s actually salad perfection.
These Previous Common Candied Candy Potatoes are a basic soul meals dish. Soften-in-your-mouth candy potatoes are baked in a buttery brown sugar glaze with heat spices and vanilla. Scrumptious! through Britney Breaks Bread
This sourdough stuffing recipe is a taste packed home made stuffing that's excellent for Christmas dinner! It's made with sausage, recent herbs, and topped with pecans and dried cranberries for a candy and savory twist. through Britney Breaks Bread
Right here's a scrumptious aspect for Christmas dinner: crispy Brussels sprouts! You already know these crispy Brussels that you may get at a restaurant? These are simply nearly as good. They’re baked till impossibly crunchy, then tossed with a balsamic and honey sauce that brings within the tangy and candy notes.
Right here’s a dreamy Christmas salad: this sensible Pear Salad! It’s a research in contrasts: recent, juicy pear in opposition to funky gorgonzola cheese; shiny pomegranate in opposition to savory shallot. Throw in some toasted pecans and canopy it in tangy poppy seed dressing, and properly: it’s completely irresistible.
Right here’s a wealthy and scrumptious Christmas aspect dish that may have everybody speaking about it: this excellent Brussels Sprout Casserole! As a result of what’s higher than making Brussels that style like mac and cheese? Bake up these tender sprouts with a wealthy and creamy white cheddar cheese sauce, then high it with crunchy breadcrumbs toasted till they’re golden brown.
Oh hiya, luscious and velvety Candy Potato Soup! This root vegetable is makes one of the best candy and creamy puree. Intensify it with a wholesome dose of smoked paprika and the flavour is earthy, subtly smoky and completely irresistible.
Want a enjoyable aspect for Christmas? Do that Endive Salad: equal components refreshing, tangy, bitter, crunchy, and tangy! Bitter endive pairs completely with juicy orange and a candy tart purple wine French dressing. High it off with savory Parmesan shavings and crunchy almonds, and the contrasts are divine.
This mixture of rice with crunchy veggies, pecans, cranberries, and feta cheese crumbles is good for the vacations. A maple Dijon French dressing dressing infuses a tangy taste all through, punctuated by bursts of recent parsley.
Strive these oven roasted candy potatoes to pair with absolutely anything at Christmas dinner! Cube them up, season with care, and roast till they’re browned and caramelized on the outsides.
Right here’s a Christmas aspect dish that impresses each time: Hasselback Potatoes! This well-liked strategy to put together the ever present spud tastes simply nearly as good because it appears. Slice an entire potato into skinny strips, then bake till the slices separate and kind crispy, roasted slices. It’s an entire new strategy to love a potato! It takes a bit of effort to arrange, but it surely’s completely value it for a shocking aspect dish.
Broccoli’s cooler and extra subtle cousin is totally value making an attempt. One way or the other it’s even extra scrumptious than roasted broccoli (if that’s attainable!), with a candy taste and tender crunch. Even higher: its lengthy, elegant stems makes it look fancier and it takes much less time to prepare dinner.
Let's transfer to Christmas dinner treats ! Right here's the proper straightforward Christmas dessert: strive gingerbread cake! This gentle, moist model of the long-lasting cookie is really easy to whip up: no rolling or chopping out dough required! Fire up the batter and bake it into this lovely moist and spiced cake. The wealthy molasses taste tastes like a gentle and fluffy model of the cutout cookies, and it’s made in an enormous pan to feed a crowd.
This Christmas basic is straightforward to make, requiring no particular gear and beneath half-hour of your time. Whip up a batch and revel in that crunchy chocolate coating protecting an irresistibly creamy and chewy peanut butter inside.
These molasses cookies…they're one thing particular. This recipe makes gentle and chewy cookies with a sugar-crisp exterior, infused with cozy, daring spices. Each is fractured into picture-perfect crinkles, and while you sink in your tooth for the primary chew, it's like being enveloped in a heat hug.
These Sizzling Chocolate Cookies style similar to the vacation drink! The cookie batter channels simply the precise taste of the liquid chocolate: it’s textured with sugar crystals and studded with chocolate chunks. The most effective half? A marshmallow heart ties all of it collectively, forming a melty lake of gooey bliss.
This basic Christmas pudding is a stunner! High this bittersweet spongy pudding in a dreamy, creamy butter sauce and put together to be amazed. It's 100% definitely worth the effort and the excellent Christmas dessert to impress everybody across the desk.
This basic Austrian sandwich cookie is a Christmas basic: buttery almond shortbread sandwiches a layer of fruity preserves, making a deal with that’s nuanced and simply candy sufficient. A enjoyable cutout window within the sandwich exhibits the jam peaking by.
Right here's a enjoyable Christmas dessert concept: cranberry apple crisp! The tartness of recent cranberries melds with candy, comforting crisp apples in a cinnamon-spiced fruit layer. The berries add a zingy taste and a shiny purple hue to the fruit, which shines topped with golden buttery crisp crumbles.
Lastly, let's transfer on to Christmas dinner drinks! This Christmas punch is fruity and scrumptious, with a bit of sparkle from ginger ale. You may make it with rum for a punch with alcohol, or omit it for non alcoholic. Both approach, it tastes unbelievable!
Right here's a straightforward drink for entertaining: strive the Christmas Moscow mule! This spin on the basic Moscow mule is a zingy, festive mixture of cranberry juice, vodka, peppermint schnaps and ginger beer. It’s so easy you possibly can construct it proper within the glass, no cocktail shakers required!
This scorching chocolate is spiked with not one however two liqueurs, including each mint and chocolate flavors to the wealthy physique of this drink. It’s stellar with home made scorching chocolate, however you can too make it with bought scorching cocoa combine. The quantity of cozy taste right here is unreal.
Right here's a comfy Christmas cocktail that makes your kitchen odor like a vacation wonderland: spiked and spiced apple cider! It’s excellent for the transition to cooler climate. It's very straightforward to make, and the rum enhances the cinnamon, cloves, and star anise completely. Not solely will it carry your spirits, it makes your kitchen odor like a candle store.
Strive the Peppermint White Russian! This spin on the basic would possibly be much more enjoyable than the unique. It’s obtained a shiny, minty end that melds into the Kahlua and cream completely. It’s quick and straightforward to swirl collectively in a lowball glass, and it’s a complete crowd pleaser.
This shiny purple drink is totally gorgeous to take a look at, and the candy tart taste is crisp and refreshing. It’s obtained all of the character of the basic margarita, however a fantastic new look and nuance to the flavour!
Lastly, what's higher to finish Christmas dinner than a cup of home made scorching chocolate? Right here’s our very finest home made scorching chocolate recipe: it’s creamy, wealthy, chocolaty, and tastes like a dream.
Planning a Christmas Dinner Menu
After I’m constructing a Christmas dinner menu, I take into consideration a showstopper important dish, after which easy aspect dishes I can add alongside. I attempt to do at the least one salad and one starch, and bonus factors if they are often made forward.
Additionally, I often go for a soup for Christmas eve dinner, like wild rice soup or Italian lentil soup. Then I’m going massive on Christmas dinner the subsequent day!
Don’t be afraid to assign dishes to helpers. I’ve discovered the best to delegate are appetizers or desserts.
Make-Forward Christmas Dinner Suggestions
Casseroles like baked ziti, stuffed shells, and lasagna roll-ups can usually be assembled prematurely and refrigerated, then baked when able to serve.
Many appetizers shine when ready prematurely. Cheese balls, dips, and cranberry sauce all get higher within the fridge when made prematurely. You possibly can even assemble a cheese board prematurely and refrigerate.
For sides, mashed potatoes could be made solely forward and reheated gently with additional butter and cream. Salad parts work properly when saved individually after which tossed proper earlier than serving.
Extra Christmas recipes
Need extra choices? Browse by sort with all our Christmas recipes:
- Strive all our greatest Christmas Recipes or Christmas Facet Dishes
- Go for cozy and crowd-pleasing Christmas Appetizers
- Make one of the best Christmas Cocktails and Drinks
- Bake up Christmas Desserts
- Seize Christmas Breakfast Concepts for the morning




