Midwestern Christmas Foods You Should Try This Year
No holiday season is complete without at least one batch of fluffy potato cinnamon rolls!
If you grew up in the center of the country, this holiday menu will cue instant nostalgia. While family and community traditions vary, these Midwestern Christmas foods are staples on many tables from Chicago to Cincinnati, Detroit to Des Moines and beyond.
No matter where you call home, you’ll love these comfort food Christmas recipes like puppy chow, peppermint bark, and potato skins.
Make-Ahead Mini Cheese Balls
Cheese is big in Wisconsin and beyond, and no Midwestern party—regardless of the time of year—is complete without at least one cheesy appetizer. One of the ultimate crowd-pleasing options for holidays like Christmas? Cheese balls. As you assemble the single-serving cheese balls, we suggest dressing them up for the season. Roll half in a mix of finely-chopped dried cranberries and toasted chopped pecans and roll the other half in finely-snipped chives and toasted chopped pecans.
Pull-Apart Piggy Bread
Pigs in a blanket are a quintessential Midwestern party snack. To level-up the concept for Midwestern Christmas menus, we tucked the little piggies into a monkey bread-style “wreath.” This easy appetizer recipe yields a party-perfect 24 servings, but is a breeze to get oven-ready thanks to refrigerated crescent roll dough, hot dogs, and jarred pickle slices.
Party-Ready Potato Skins
BHG / Abbey Littlejohn
At nearly every Midwestern table, you can’t go wrong by sharing potatoes any which way. Come Christmas, though, potato skins always cue instant nostalgia for the members of Team BHG who grew up in the center of America. Loaded up with chili oil, crispy bacon, tomatoes, green onions, and cheese, these skins are certain to keep folks satisfied until entrée time.
Parmesan-Ranch Sweet Potato Snack Mix
Ranch isn’t just served on salads in the Midwest. Here, you’ll find it paired with wings, vegetables, French fries, cheese curds, and even pizza. A big bowl of party mix is also a signature piece of holiday decor (meaning, it’s as essential as the tree) in many Midwestern homes. So we combined those two ideas into one snack mix. Once you know the ratios of melted butter and dry ranch dressing mix to crackers/chips/pretzels/nuts, you can choose your own adventure and make a new batch each time.
Pan-Roasted Beef Tenderloin with Mushrooms
We recently spoke with a Midwestern butcher, and he confirmed that they sell far more tenderloin than prime rib or poultry come Christmas season. In honor of this prized cut of beef, we’re highlighting one of our fan favorite preparations. This beef tenderloin is ideal for an intimate Christmas dinner menu; just add a salad and a starchy side and you’re all set. The buttery, sherry-spiked mushroom topping lends a lovely dose of steakhouse flair.
Holiday Ham
Ham is also a popular main dish for festive Midwestern celebrations. This centerpiece is a winner any time of year, however due to a couple of the glaze options, we typically think of it (and share it) around Christmas. Try the pomegranate barbecue blend or the cranberry-orange option since those fruits are in season in late fall and early winter.
Overnight Refrigerator Rolls
Every menu needs some sides, and if you’ve ever been to a Midwestern supper club, you know that bread is a Midwesterner’s BFF. This homemade bread recipe will keep joy in the world for holiday hosts, as it can be made the day before guests arrive. About 20 minutes before dinnertime, bake them until golden-brown and brush the tops with melted butter.
Smoky Green Bean Casserole
Scroll through the most popular Thanksgiving dishes in every state, and you’ll notice that green bean casserole makes several appearances across the Midwest, from Michigan to Nebraska to Ohio. It’s far too tasty to reserve for just one day per year, so why not whip up this cozy classic again for Christmas? This slow cooker strategy is the way many Midwestern moms made it since the fried onion-crowned casserole recipe was created to promote Campbell’s Soup in the mid-1950s. Those delightfully-crunchy onion pieces star atop the casserole, and there’s cream mushroom soup in the mix, too.
Classic Mashed Potatoes
Every time we look at the photo of these buttery, creamy mashed potatoes, we can almost taste and smell them already. They’re just that good. And this just-like-grandma-made Christmas side dish is just this easy: Simply boil and drain potatoes, blend with butter, and finish with milk, salt, and pepper.
Test Kitchen Tip: For a lower-carb option, try our cauliflower or celery root variations. Or for depth of flavor, give the roasted garlic method a go.
Puppy Chow
Katlyn Moncada
Midwestern households often shake up big buckets of Puppy Chow (AKA Muddy Buddies) for bake sales, potlucks, and holidays. The sweet snack mix looks like it’s been dusted with snow, which makes it particularly fitting for your Midwestern Christmas menu. If you’re short on time, skip the stovetop instructions and jump ahead to our fast and just-as-fabulous microwave method for this no-bake dessert.
Scotcheroos
Ask pretty much any Midwesterner, and these are THE bar cookie to bring to any potluck—including Christmas gatherings. Peanut butter and chocolate is a frequent pairing for good reason: the salty, nutty notes pair nicely with the rich, subtly-sweet chocolate. This no-bake recipe ups the ante by incorporating the crunch factor via crispy rice cereal.
Test Kitchen Tip: To amplify the salty-sweet element, sprinkle the top of the Scotcheroos with flaky sea salt before the frosting hardens.
The Best Sugar Cookies
Jacob Fox. Food Styling: Annie Probst
Holiday crafts like paper chains and advent calendars are fun, true. But the best holiday crafts are edible ones, like sugar cookie cut-outs. Mix, roll, slice, bake, and cool the all-butter, vanilla-scented sugar cookie recipe, then decorate as desired with multiple colors of royal icing.
Potato Cinnamon Rolls
Lucky enough to have leftover (non-garlicky) mashed potatoes from Christmas dinner? One cup of those spuds is the secret to creating, “absolutely the BEST cinnamon rolls I’ve ever made. I think it’s the potato in it,” one BHG fan says. “You won’t be disappointed when you make these.” They’re ideal for a holiday brunch, or if you really want to celebrate your inner Midwesterner, enjoy the cinnamon rolls with chili for lunch on December 26.
Candy Cane Bark
In addition to family gatherings, Christmas classroom parties, neighborhood gatherings and office get-togethers are common across the Midwest. It’s always a kind gesture to present the host with a homemade food gift, and a no-bake, big-batch bark like this one earns rave reviews each time we share it. The eye-catching marble pattern and the candy cane pieces make this easy dessert recipe feel like you purchased it from a gourmet shop. Even sweeter news? You need just 10 minutes to make a whopping 1-¼ pound batch.
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