Traditional Christmas Dinner Recipes including Dessert

Having a list of delicious Christmas dinner recipes gives you a head start in putting together a holiday feast everyone will enjoy. Planning can easily become overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be.

With a little planning, you can easily host a fabulous holiday dinner, with dessert, that will wow your friends.

Planning Christmas Dinner Recipes

The first step to any dinner is menu planning. Do any of your guests have allergies to gluten or dairy? Any vegetarians?

I don’t think it’s necessary to modify your favorite recipes, but I do feel it’s important to have something for friends or family who can’t eat or prefer not to eat certain foods.

Simply ask your guests when extending the invitation whether they have allergies. If they don’t, you can mark that off your list and scroll down to these yummy Christmas dinner recipes. 

If you do have allergies or non-meat eaters in your group, make a dish or two that everyone will enjoy that takes the allergy into consideration.

I was a vegetarian for many years but my mother always made a special dish for me for holiday dinners, and I was so grateful not to have to eat mashed potatoes and corn for dinner!

For vegetarians, you could make something like this Vegan Power bowl. It’s one of my favorite meals and it’s super easy to make.

It’s also a pretty dish, so your guest will be grateful you put so much work into their meal. 

You could also make this Italian Bean soup, but make enough for others as it smells so good!

Choosing Christmas Dinner Recipes

Now that you know all your guests will enjoy the meal, start choosing which of these Christmas dinner recipes you will serve.

Appetizers

I always have a small appetizer or two for guests to enjoy before dinner. My very favorite appetizer for this time of year is this Cranberry Brie braid. It’s a lot easier to make than you might think!

This is my best bruschetta recipe and it’s light enough that guests won’t’ ruin their dinner.

For gatherings where guests will be arriving hours before dinner, perhaps this classic stuffed mushrooms recipe would work well. I’ve served these two appetizers together many times.

Take a look at this list of party appetizers for more ideas.

Main Dish Christmas Dinner Recipes

If you are serving a traditional Christmas dinner, your main dish will probably be a turkey or ham.

Depending on how many guests you are serving, you may choose to serve a turkey breast, a roasted chicken, or even Cornish hens. We love Cornish hens and they are perfect for our small group of four.

1

Slow Roasted Chicken Recipe

As much as we love my slow roasted chicken recipe, it gets old after a while. I decided to change this up and it was absolutely wonderful!

Slow Roasted Chicken Recipe

2

Cooking Your First Turkey

This step-by-step guide shows beginners how to cook a turkey for a moist, delicious, and beautiful centerpiece every time.

Cooking Your First Turkey

3

Copycat Honey Baked Ham

Copycat honey baked ham has a sweet glaze with a hint of brown sugar. This baked spiral ham makes juicy meat with a delicious sticky glaze!

Copycat Honey Baked Ham

Side Dishes

Next, choose your side dishes. I like to serve mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, stuffing, and a green vegetable like green beans or broccoli.

I also like to have bread with the meal, and this loaf of Rosemary Garlic Bread will make nice sandwiches for the leftover poultry the next day.

4

Roasted Root Vegetable Recipe

This Roasted Root Vegetables recipe with parsnips, sweet potatoes and beets is topped with cheese and baked to perfection.

Roasted Root Vegetables

5

Green Bean Casserole without Mushroom Soup

This delicious Green Bean Casserole is ready in 25 minutes and uses no canned soup! You won’t believe how easy this is to prepare, and the flavors will blow you away!

Green Bean Casserole

6

Mom’s Thanksgiving Stuffing

My mother’s Thanksgiving stuffing is my favorite! Easy and delicious!

Mom’s Thanksgiving Stuffing

7

Garlic Parmesan Brussels Sprouts Oven-Baked Casserole

This delicious Garlic Parmesan Brussels Sprouts dish is baked in the oven and turns out an amazing cheesy topping everyone will fight over!

Garlic Parmesan Brussels Sprouts Oven Baked Casserole

8

Loaded Potato Casserole

This easy loaded potato casserole is so delicious you’ll want to make it for every gathering!

Loaded Potato Casserole

9

Stuffing with Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme

I can’t imagine Thanksgiving without stuffing. Every year I get a fresh turkey from my neighbor who runs a dairy farm. I brine that big, beautiful bird and roast it too perfection. Not without stuffing

Stuffing with Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme

10

Overnight Mashed Potatoes

Are you looking for the perfect mashed potatoes to make this Thanksgiving? What about Christmas? How about any day of the week? This overnight mashed potato casserole will be sure to please.

Overnight Mashed Potatoes

11

Easy Broccoli Casserole Recipe

Broccoli and mushroom sauce, topped with cheese and a cracker topping – this side dish is a classic! Broccoli Casserole is comfort food.

Easy Broccoli Casserole Recipe

12

Slow Cooker Stuffing

Stuffing in the slow cooker? You bet! This slow cooker stuffing is moist, flavorful, and easy.

Slow Cooker Stuffing

Dessert

Finally, choose a dessert that will be festive for the occasion. The last few recipes on the list of Christmas dinner recipes below are for sweet treats everyone will enjoy.

13

No Bake Biscoff Cheesecake Recipe

This no bake Biscoff Cheesecake is other-worldly. If you like the flavors of Lotus Biscoff cookies, you are going to want to stop what you’re doing and make this cheesecake.

No Bake Biscoff Cheesecake Recipe

14

Pumpkin Bread Pudding with Pumpkin Spice Whipped Cream

What could be better than delicious Pumpkin Bread Pudding topped with homemade Pumpkin Spice Whipped Cream?

Pumpkin Bread Pudding

Delicious Christmas Dinner Recipes 

Check out this list of Christmas desserts, this list of Eggnog desserts,  and this list of Christmas cookies.

You also need to be sure you have the right tools for cooking. Having the best Christmas dinner recipes but not having the tools you need to make them can create a failure you don’t want to experience! (Been there!)

Making mashed potatoes is so much easier when you have a really good potato masher, and I know we’ve all experienced not having a quality roasting pan.

And if you like making your meal festive, check out these adorable Christmas Silverware Holder Pockets and this CD of Christmas Dinner music.

I’ve got a handful of amazing Christmas breakfast recipes, too. My favorite is this Breakfast Charcuterie Board. It’s the perfect light breakfast. Enjoy!

And for those of you who don’t like the conventional dishes for Christmas, have no fear! We have an entire list of delicious non traditional Christmas recipes for you!

This post was originally posted on November 21, 2014, and updated on December 17, 2020.