20 Christmas Pudding Recipes That Go Way Beyond Figgy

The holiday season is coming up soon and as people all over the world start preparing their Christmas menu, it's interesting to note how many different traditional foods there are, depending on which part of the world you're from.

One of these traditional foods is Christmas pudding, which you may or may not have tried before.

Related: 50 Christmas Classics Made Vegan

What Is Christmas Pudding?

For anyone not familiar, Christmas pudding is essentially a sweet, steamed, dried-fruit pudding that usually makes its appearance during Christmas dinner. It's traditionally made with suet (the saturated hard fat of beef, lamb or mutton), which is used for mincemeat and British Christmas pudding.

This is a dessert that has its roots mainly in the UK, but is also celebrated and made in other countries such as Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the Caribbean.

You may sometimes hear people calling Christmas pudding plum pudding, but don't get it twisted—there are no plums involved. They probably called it that because raisins were once referred to as plums.

And if suet freaks you out just a bit, have no fear: There are plenty of recipes included below without that addition.

How To Make Christmas Pudding

Recipes for Christmas pudding usually include dried fruit, flour, eggs, breadcrumbs and spices. Milk or alcohol is also present as the liquid to help bind the ingredients together.

Over time these recipes have evolved, however, and nowadays, Christmas pudding can include many more ingredients. It can also be vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free and come in the form of Christmas pudding shots.

What Kind of Pudding Was Served in A Christmas Carol?

In the famous novel A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, the Christmas pudding mentioned was described as "hard and firm" and had been doused with brandy and ignited, before being garnished with a holly branch when it was served.

Related: 15 Beautiful Trifle Recipes to Serve at Your Christmas Party

20 Best Christmas Pudding Recipes

There are so many different ways to make this authentic dessert—from sticky toffee pudding and mulled wine Christmas pudding, to sticky date pudding and easy figgy pudding.

You'll be amazed at just how enjoyable Christmas pudding can be!