67 Christmas Dinner Ideas That Anyone Can Cook (and Everyone Will Love)
Between unwrapping presents, staying in your pajamas until noon, entertaining relatives and eating all the holiday cookies you can handle, who has time to plan and cook an extravagant holiday menu? Allow us to be the first to say it: You do. Presenting 67 Christmas dinner ideas that will inspire your palate, including recipes for brisket, turkey, roast chicken and beyond.
RELATED: 83 Holiday Desserts That Are Festive *and* Downright Delicious
1. Kale and Cheddar Cheese Galette
Pie for dinner? Don’t mind if we do, especially when it’s this savory, vegetarian-friendly number.
2. French Onion Brisket
With tons of caramelized onions and herbs, this beats roast beef any day.
3. Pistachio-Crusted Pork Tenderloin with Apple and Escarole Salad
Pork tenderloin has a reputation for being dry and sad. This one is tender, buttery and totally festive.
4. Alison Roman’s Swordfish with Crushed Olives and Oregano
This effortless, elegant dish will convert even the most stubbornly anti-seafood guests. And did we mention it takes only 30 minutes from start to finish?
5. Pomegranate-Sumac Chicken with Roasted Carrots
This might be the most beautiful one-pan dinner we’ve ever laid eyes on. Thankfully, it tastes as good as it looks.
6. Slow Cooker Turkey Breast with Orange and Herbs
You barely have to lift a finger to make the most stunning, succulent turkey this holiday has ever seen.
7. Ina Garten’s Updated Chicken Marbella
All we want for Christmas is for the Barefoot Contessa to show up at our house, but we’ll settle for this sweet-and-savory updated classic.
8. Whole Roasted Chipotle Chicken
A juicy, spicy roast chicken is just four ingredients away. Serve it with a big green salad and dinner is handled.
9. Cacio e Pepe
Our Italian is rusty, but we think this is how you say “Merry Christmas.”
10. Balsamic Cranberry Roast Chicken
We love when our dinner matches the decor.
11. Butternut Squash Risotto with Crispy Leeks
This tastes the way staying in your pajamas until noon feels.
12. Dorie Greenspan’s Sheet-Pan Balsamic Chicken with Baby Potatoes and Mushrooms
This is a dish best served with wine and a fireside glow. (And in one pan, no less!)
13. Cheater’s White Wine Coq au Vin
If you’ve got one hour, you’ve got enough time to make this elegant French dish. (We took a few shortcuts. Don’t tell anyone.)
14. Lobster Risotto
The holidays are a great excuse to pull out all the stops. This recipe serves two, but it can easily be doubled.
15. Easy One-Pan Ratatouille
Proof that you don’t need a fancy, expensive cut of meat to pull off an impressive, holiday-ready meal.
16. One-Pan Creamy Chicken Fricassee with Sage
This feels very “rustic Italian Christmas,” and we’re not mad about it at all.
17. Pork Scallopini with Lemon, Capers and Radicchio
Thought you had to spend hours on a gourmet dinner? Think again, because this one takes 20 minutes.
18. Pan-Fried Cod with Orange and Swiss Chard
It’s like the feast of the seven fishes, only a heck of a lot less work.
19. Butternut Squash Carbonara
Dreamy, creamy and oh so seasonal, not to mention nutritious. (You know, to balance out all the cookies you’ve eaten.)
20. Spicy Orange-Honey Glazed Ham
This one’s for you, holiday ham purists. It’s got all the traditional flavors (citrus, sugar, spices) with a fraction of the cooking time.
21. Hearty Stuffed Butternut Squash
Consider the squash a Christmas tree and the quinoa, hazelnuts, corn and chickpeas the lights and ornaments.
22. Pomegranate-Maple Glazed Lamb Chops
If you can make chicken, you can make these seasonal stunners. Promise.
23. Turkey Roulade with Cherry and Sausage Stuffing
This baby roasts in only two hours. Better yet, the light and dark meat roast together, so a juicy final product is basically guaranteed.
24. Slow Cooker Whole Chicken with Potatoes
Set up the Crock-Pot on Christmas Eve night before going to bed and it'll be ready to devour in the morning. Then, you can just leave it on "warm" until it's ready to serve.
25. Bacon-Wrapped Black Cod with Spinach and Capers
A nine-ingredient main that only takes 40 minutes? Sounds like a Christmas miracle to us.
26. Sweet Potato Gnocchi in Herbed White Wine Sauce
The vegetarians at your table will be thrilled (and the meat-eaters jealous).
27. White Wine Braised Short Ribs with Buttered Mushroom Cream Sauce
Might we suggest serving these over our 20-minute mashed potatoes?
28. Cast-Iron Pork Chops with Cacao-Spiced Rub
Write this down: Salting and letting the pork chops come to room temperature before cooking them basically ensures that they'll turn out melt-in-your-mouth tender.
29. Cranberry Beef Bourguignon
This beauty is a twist on an Ina Garten classic, spruced up with tart, festive cranberries.
30. Honey Mustard Sheet-Pan Chicken with Brussels Sprouts
If you're only feeding a few people this year, look no further than this sheet-pan wonder. It's a cinch to clean.
31. One-Pan Roasted Salmon with Potatoes and Romaine
Speaking of minimal mess, this 40-minute recipe has your protein, starch and greens covered in one single pan.
32. Sticky Orange Chicken with Caramelized Onions and Fennel
Fennel is a great winter pick, but feel free to use bok choy, green beans or any other veggies you have on hand.
33. Ina Garten’s Tuscan Turkey Roulade
The Barefoot Contessa does it again, with the help of prosciutto, fresh herbs and garlic.
34. Honey-Lime Glazed Pork Tenderloin
We'd pair this bright main with oven-roasted sweet potatoes, avocado rice or Brussels sprouts latkes.
35. Roasted Potato Galette with Crème Fraîche and Smoked Salmon
Indulge at dinner with a green salad or serve it up for brunch with a mimosa.
36. Chicken with Feta Cheese, Dill, Lemon and Harissa Yogurt
Ooooh, what a pretty centerpiece. We can hear your guests already: “turkey who?”
37. Cheater’s Slow Cooker Beef Bourguignon
Admit it: Your hosting style is definitely set it and forget it. But don't worry, we won't tell your relatives.
38. Turkey Sausage and Veggie Polenta Bowls
A low-key holiday calls for creamy Parmesan polenta, savory sausage and no more than 30 minutes at the stove.
39. Antoni Porowski’s Chile-Maple Roast Chicken
Queer Eye's resident foodie just might have the simplest, most flavorful roast chicken recipe ever.
40. Green Bean Casserole Galette
Mushrooms, garlic, herbs and heavy cream > gloppy canned cream of mushroom soup.
41. Stuffed Eggplant
These nutritious beauties can be made totally vegan if you swap the Greek yogurt for non-dairy yogurt.
42. One-Pan Lemon Sage Chicken and Cauliflower
Butter, lemon, heavy cream and Parmesan go a long, long way.
43. Butternut Squash Lasagna
You won't find any red sauce here. This lasagna stars garlic spinach, fresh herbs, mozzarella and all the ricotta.
44. Lemon and Herb Roast Chicken
OK, you most likely have every single ingredient already (well, minus the bird). That's a no-brainer in our book.
45. Jamaican Oxtail
So, you had to cancel that Caribbean getaway earlier this year. Consider this Dutch oven recipe your second chance.
46. Spicy Whole Roasted Cauliflower
We can hear your vegetarian cousin's gasp of joy already.
47. Garlic Breaded Roast Chicken Breast
Fair warning: Once the kids' table gets a taste, you'll be stuck making it year after year. (Thankfully, it's a breeze to whip up.)
48. Vegetable Wellington with Mushrooms and Spinach
There's truly nothing frozen puff pastry can't do. You won't miss the beef one bit, promise.
49. Hasselback Butternut Squash
Slicing the squash from one end to the other without cutting through the bottom allows each and every piece to roast to crispy perfection.
50. Maple-Herb Roasted Turkey Legs
If you're only serving a few people, there's no need to gussy up an entire bird. Go the medieval route with these savory-sweet turkey legs fit for a ren faire.
51. Creamy Vegan Lentil and Roasted Vegetable Bake
Most comfort food has meat or dairy. But this dish puts caramelized veggies, decadent cashew cream and crispy pine nuts front and center.
52. Cheater’s Skillet Paella
Nothing screams "celebration" quite like this classic Spanish dish.
53. Ravioli Lasagna
It's truly the best of both worlds.
54. 30-Minute One-Pot Cheater’s Bouillabaisse
Bet you had no idea you could hop a 30-minute flight to the French countryside, huh?
55. Portobello Mushrooms Stuffed with Barley Risotto
Sure, creamy risotto tastes divine in a bowl (or heck, straight from the pot). But we have an even better idea...
56. Skillet Steak with Asparagus and Potatoes
Christmas dinner for two? We have just the thing. (P.S., there's nothing more romantic than only having one dirty dish to clean.)
57. Easy Skillet Linguine with Trumpet Mushroom ‘Scallops’
Not only are sautéed trumpet mushrooms an uncanny scallop substitute, they're way cheaper and easier to cook than the real thing.
58. Sage-Barley Risotto with Butternut Squash
It may look like a side dish to you. But thanks to the protein-rich barley, this risotto is fit to be a main.
59. Cauliflower Steaks with Lemon-Herb Sauce
Cut your favorite cruciferous veggie into thick slices, sear them on the stove just like real steak and finish them with a lemon-herb sauce you'll want to drizzle on everything.
60. Polenta with Roasted Mushrooms and Bacon
Crown each serving with a sunny-side-up egg to really gild the lily.
RELATED: 30 Christmas Sides You Can Make in 30 Minutes or Less
61. VEGAN BUTTERNUT MAC AND ‘CHEESE’ WITH SMOKY SHIITAKE ‘BACON’
Make this vegan dish and everyone will think you’re a professional chef. (Or a magician.)
62. Potato-Chip Crusted Chicken with Arugula Pesto
The whole family likes chicken parm, right? (Silly question.) Well, this potato-chip crusted chicken with arugula pesto, is like chicken parm but so much better.
63. Winter Squash Galette with Caramelized Onions and Gruyère
With this recipe in our back pocket, we're ready for whatever winter brings.
63. Carrot, Fennel and Miso Soup
Sure, the vegetables are deeply caramelized for maximum flavor. But let’s also give a shoutout to the sweet and salty seed-nut crunch.
64. Dorie Greenspan’s Potato-Parm Tart
If you want to look like a professional pastry chef, this cheesy, starchy galette is the ticket.
65. Jammy Upside-Down Onion Tart
Or switch up your savory tart game with this gorgeous allium number. It’s ready in less than an hour and pairs perfectly with a crisp green salad.
66. Rigatoni with Vodka Sauce
Deck the halls with the easiest vodka sauce you’ll ever make.
67. Skillet Roast Chicken with Schmaltzy Potatoes
The Grinch’s roast beast has nothing on this golden brown chicken. (The secret is brining it in buttermilk a day ahead.)
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