Make this Christmas the most delicious ever with these 30+ easy and elegant Christmas Dinner menu ideas and recipes. These incredible dishes are as special as the holidays, with desserts, main dishes, sides and salads, and everything in between! Plus, most of these recipes are quick and easy and can be made ahead.
Whether you are hosting a large gathering of friends and family or just a cozy meal for a few, you will find the perfect dishes in this collection of the very best Christmas food ideas and recipes from some of the top bloggers around the country!
To make finding what you are looking for as easy as possible, I’ve separated the recipes into three categories: Main Dishes, Sides and Salads, and Sweet Endings.
Main Dishes:
Perfect Beef Tenderloin with Gorgonzola Sauce – Grits and Pinecones
Nothing says the holidays like a showstopping, melt-in-your-mouth, Perfect Beef Tenderloin with Gorgonzola Sauce. This elegant and impressive, oven-roasted dish is a classic entree for Christmas Dinner or makes a great appetizer for a holiday or New Year’s Eve party. Check out the easy recipe; it’s a must-try!
Crown Roast of Pork – Pudge Factor
Looking for a replacement for the traditional ham for your Christmas dinner? Try Crown Roast of Pork. It is an elegant entrée for your special holiday dinner.
Herb Crusted Rib Eye Roast – Butter your Biscuit
This herb-crusted rib-eye roast recipe is easy and delicious. Moist and juicy with the most delicious garlic herb crust on the outside. This is a stunning dish that will impress family and friends for a holiday dinner or Sunday supper with hardly any work. The rosemary, thyme, and garlic butter add tons of flavor to a rib eye roast. With the most delicious gravy made from the drippings.
Cornish Game Hens with Cranberry Stuffing – Grits and Pinecones
Looking for Christmas dinner ideas? Check out my Roasted Cornish Game Hens with Cranberry Stuffing. They are a delicious, elegant, and inexpensive main course for your Christmas dinner or a special dinner party!
Salmon Wellington – Little Ferraro Kitchen
This salmon wellington recipe is a true show stopper! This salmon wellington recipe is a true show stopper! A beautiful wild-caught filet of salmon is layered with Dijon mustard and creamy spinach mixture and then nestled into buttery puff pastry.
Roasted Beef Tenderloin with Onion Blue Cheese Sauce – Grits and Pinecones
This recipe for Roasted Beef Tenderloin with Onion Blue Cheese Sauce is the answer to your Christmas and holiday dinner prayers. Beef Tenderloins are prized for their tenderness and though expensive, when cooked in the oven, are elegant, delicious and make an impressive main dish for special occasions.
Christmas Roast – Wanderlust and Wellness
Do you need a holiday recipe to feed a crowd? You can’t go wrong with this Christmas Roast! It’s perfectly smoked and fork-tender, making it a holiday meal for the best. All you need to do is pair with your favorite side dish and drink, and you’ve created the perfect Christmas dinner.
Skillet New York Strip Roast – Grits and Pinecones
Incredibly juicy and tender, simple, yet refined, New York Strip Roast cooked low and slow in a cast-iron skillet in the oven will add elegance to any gathering or holiday dinner. Bursting with a bold, beefy flavor, this boneless NY Strip Roast is easy to prepare and makes a dazzling presentation.
Seared Scallops with Brown Butter – Life, Love and Good Food
Seared Scallops with Brown Butter are delicious, elegant, and the perfect combination of zesty and savory. It features sea scallops cooked in a homemade brown butter sauce, with garlic, fresh lemon juice, and capers. This easy meal is sure to become a family favorite!
Mushroom Stuffed Pork Tenderloin – Grits and Pinecones
This spectacular Mushroom Stuffed Pork Tenderloin with Bacon entree will add a touch of elegance to any meal. It features a butterflied pork tenderloin stuffed with a mushroom and bacon filling that is so delicious you could serve it as a side dish all by itself.
Champagne Roast Chicken with Grapes and Shallots – Cali Girl Cooking
We pour the champagne/sparkling wine all over the little chick, stuff it with lemons AND oranges, sprinkle it with salt and pepper, and pop it in the oven. It’s perfect for your Christmas dinner!
Easy Baked Ham with Brown Sugar and Bourbon Glaze – Grits and Pinecones
Nothing says Christmas dinner like a traditional oven-baked ham topped with a decadent sticky-sweet brown sugar bourbon glaze and pineapple and maraschino cherries.
For even more recipes or menu ideas, check out all of my main dish choices here.
Sides and Salads:
Quinoa Stuffed Squash with Walnuts and Pomegranate – Nirvana Cakery
I’m getting all festive on the blog today with this Quinoa Stuffed Squash with Walnuts and Pomegranate, which is perfect for the holiday season. It’s a special plant-based, seasonal, and super wholesome meal.
Broccoli-Cauliflower Salad with Cranberries – Grits and Pinecones
My easy, make-ahead, low-carb wonder, Broccoli-Cauliflower Salad with Cranberries, is a holiday side-dish favorite. This healthy salad is full of crisp broccoli and cauliflower, sweet/tart cranberries, and crunchy pistachios, and it’s equally at home on an elegant Christmas dinner table or at a covered dish neighborhood potluck.
Grown-Up Green Bean Casserole – Pudge Factor
Are you tired of the mandatory cream of mushroom soup Green Bean Casserole? If so, you should try this Grown-up Green Bean Casserole. It’s easy to make and absolutely delicious! What’s even better is that this Grown-up Green Bean Casserole is a cinch to make, can be made ahead of time, and reheats beautifully.
Southern Old-Fashioned Ambrosia – Grits and Pinecones
Southern Ambrosia is often called “Nectar of the Gods,” an excellent description of this famous old-fashioned, citrusy fruit salad. Classic ambrosia is a traditional Christmas dish for many Southerners, and I am no exception. I can’t imagine the holidays without this delicacy front and center on my table.
Green Bean Almondine – Beyond the Chicken Coop
Fresh green beans sautéed with butter and almonds and finished with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice make a delicious green bean almondine. This vegetable side dish is perfect for family, guests, and holiday dinners.
Ultimate Blue Cheese Potatoes Au Gratin – Grits and Pinecones
Are you looking for a delicious side dish for Christmas dinner or holiday entertaining? How about something just a little different from traditional mashed potatoes? Well, hold on to your Santa hat because Blue Cheese Potatoes Au Gratin will rock your world.
Holiday Salad with Kale – Flavor the Moments
This Holiday Salad is as festive as delicious and will add sparkle to any meal! It’s a tasty blend of hardy kale, sweet persimmon, pomegranate, feta cheese, and toasted pecans tossed in a tangy, sweet citrus maple dressing. Ingredients may be prepped in advance, so you have time to enjoy the holidays!
Make-Ahead Duchess Potatoes – Pudge Factor
Simple to make and elegant to serve, these Duchess Potatoes freeze beautifully for a make-ahead side dish for your Christmas or anytime feast.
Baked Southern Candied Sweet Potatoes – Grits and Pinecones
Easy Baked Southern Candied Sweet Potato casserole features thinly sliced sweet potatoes, covered with brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ground cloves, and then topped with sweet, creamy butter and candied pecans. This easy classic Christmas casserole recipe comes together quickly and is both decadent and delicious!
Sundried Tomato Pancetta Cornbread Stuffing – Urban Foodie Kitchen
This Cornbread Stuffing puts a twist on the traditional by adding crispy pancetta and tangy sun-dried tomatoes for a delicious Christmas side dish!
Ultimate Broccoli Cheese Casserole – Grits and Pinecones
When you see a recipe with the name Ultimate Broccoli Cheese Casserole, you expect it to be, well, something pretty spectacular, and this delicious casserole loaded with cheesy goodness lives up to its name! It’s the perfect Christmas dinner side dish.
Easy Christmas Salad – Hungry, Healthy, Happy
A base of mixed greens, some clementines and cranberry, chunks of beetroot, and a sweet pomegranate dressing. This Christmas Salad is a must on any festive dinner table this year. We could all do with a few extra veggies in our life at Christmas time, right? This is a super Easy Christmas Salad to put together, and it is made up of ingredients you probably already have in your fridge leftover from other meals.
Green Bean Bundles Wrapped in Bacon – Grits and Pinecones
Easy delicious Green Bean Bundles Wrapped in Bacon will lend an elegant touch to your holiday dinner table. These divine little packages of tender green beans, wrapped in smoky bacon with a touch of brown sugar, are sure to be a favorite of your family and friends.
Green Salad with Grapefruit, Red and Golden Beets and Balsamic Dressing – Pass Me Some Tasty
Check out this gorgeous green salad with semi-sweet pink grapefruit tossed with raw red and golden beets, cherry tomatoes, sliced almonds, and goat cheese. You gotta have the goat cheese. So good. And then drizzled with a homemade balsamic dressing, it’s perfect for your holiday dining.
Roasted Acorn Squash with Pomegranate Seeds – Trial and Eater
Roasted Acorn Squash with pomegranate seeds. An easy and beautiful side dish for any dinner table.
Easy Parmesan Potatoes Au Gratin – Grits and Pinecones
This recipe for Easy Parmesan Potatoes Au Gratin is irresistibly delicious and the perfect special occasion side dish. With thinly sliced, tender Russet potatoes, nestled in a thick and decadent cream sauce and nutty parmesan cheese, this thoroughly indulgent side dish might edge out your entrée and become the star of the show!
Kale and Brussels Sprout Salad – The Recipe Well
This vegan Kale and Brussels Sprout Salad is a quick and healthy side dish that pairs well with just about any main course. With its impressive presentation, it’s the perfect lighter side to add to your holiday meal!
Need even more menu ideas, here are links to all of my side dish recipes, and all of my salad recipes.
Sweet Endings:
Cranberry Cake with Hard Sauce – Grits and Pinecones
A beautiful and festive dessert, Easy Cranberry Cake with Hard Sauce will make a unique sweet ending for your Christmas meal. Full of fresh tart cranberries, this cake has it all; the colors of the season, a winning combination of flavors and textures, and the creamy, blissful yumminess of a decadent hard sauce.
No-Churn Peppermint Ice Cream – What Molly Made
Everyone will be screaming for more of this delicious and easy No-Churn Peppermint Ice cream with pieces of candy cane. !
Easy Christmas Red Velvet Cake Trifle – Grits and Pinecones
It might be said that Easy Christmas Red Velvet Cake Trifle with its festive candy cane colors and delicious and decadent layers is a Christmas miracle, and if not that, it definitely wins first place for the best Christmas dinner idea!
Gingerbread Cake with Cream Cheese Icing – Grits and Pinecones
Have you ever seen anything as sweet as this Gingerbread Cake with Cream Cheese Icing? With powerful notes of spicy ginger, molasses, warm cinnamon, and cloves, this easy, old-fashioned, moist cake will fill you with nostalgia and memories of past Christmases.
Pecan Pralines and Cream Ice Cream – Grits and Pinecones
A festive and decadent holiday dessert, luscious Pecan Pralines, and Ice Cream will make a sweet ending to any meal! Sometimes it’s called Pralines and Cream Ice Cream, or even simply Praline Ice Cream, but no matter what you call it, the combination of pralines and cream is the perfect balance of richness and sweetness.
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Christmas Cranberry Pie – Grits and Pinecones
Savor the flavors of fresh tart cranberries and citrusy orange marmalade as they come together in this unique and delicious Christmas Cranberry Pie. It’s easy to make and incredibly delicious!
Southern Pecan Praline Cheesecake – Grits and Pinecones
Tis’ the season, and I have a scrumptious make-ahead holiday dessert for you today! Southern Pecan Praline Cheesecake is everything a cheesecake should be and includes a delicious and decadent pecan praline topping.
No-Bake Cranberry Cheesecake – Grits and Pinecones
No-Bake Cranberry Cheesecake features a fresh cranberry topping that covers a luscious cream cheese filling. This delightful and decadent cranberry dessert recipe, with a homemade graham cracker crust, is perfect for the holidays and will look spectacular on your Christmas or holiday dessert table.
More Christmas recipes:
Need even more ideas for Christmas? Check out these other holiday roundup posts:
- 30+ Best Christmas Dessert Recipes
- Easy Make-Ahead Christmas Breakfast and Brunch Recipes
- 47 Fun and Festive Christmas Appetizers, Cocktails, and Sweet Endings
- Put A Jingle In Your Bells With These 31 Easy to Make Edible Christmas Gifts
- 25 Best Christmas Breakfast and Brunch Recipes
- 12 Days of Festive Christmas Cookies
- 31 Easy Homemade Edible Christmas Gifts
If you need even more recipes or menu ideas, you can find all of my Christmas recipes here.
★ If you make any of these recipes, please leave a comment and give them a star rating. I would love to know which are your favorites.
Thanks so much for visiting Grits and Pinecones!
This is a wonderful collection! Thank you.
Thank you so much!
What a beautiful collection of recipes! I wish holiday meals could be everyday meals. 😀
Thanks Sara! Me too!