Simple and Festive Christmas Dinner Recipes and Ideas

When it comes to the holidays, Christmas Dinner is the showstopper. The culmination of all your planning and baking and shopping… and working. It’s the gathering close of those you love. Here are some simple and festive Christmas Dinner Recipes and Ideas to browse.

Christmas Main Dish

Rosemary Rubbed Prime Rib

“Meltingly tender and full of flavor, prime rib is a festive main course for a Christmas feast, and it couldn’t be easier to make, leaving you time to enjoy your guests. Here we’ve included two classic accompaniments, both horseradish cream, and a red wine jus, but feel free to make only one or the other if you prefer.”
Get the recipe: Rosemary Rubbed Prime Rib

Buttermilk Brined Turkey

“Soaking the turkey in a saltwater brine produces tender, juicy meat. In this recipe, our brine mixture also includes buttermilk, which adds flavor to the turkey and helps keep the meat incredibly moist.”
Get the recipe: Buttermilk Brined Turkey

Rolled Turkey Breast with Sweet Apricot Stuffing

“For an easier to carve option this Christmas day, try this rolled turkey breast, which is stuffed with a sweet and aromatic stuffing.”
Get the recipe: Rolled Turkey Breast with Sweet Apricot Stuffing

Herb-Crusted Roast Beef and Yorkshire Pudding with Red Wine Jus

“Have your butcher cut the ribs from the roast and tie them back on. Use muffin tins if you don’t have popover pans. Preheating the pans makes the popover batter start cooking and fluffing the second you pour it in.”
Get the recipe: Herb-Crusted Roast Beef and Yorkshire Pudding

Grilled Lollipop Lamb Chops

“Tender lamb caramelized with agave nectar is quick and easy to make, but looks like a showstopper at the center of the table.”
Get the recipe: Grilled Lollipop Lamb Chops

Holiday Hens with Fig Glaze and Cornbread Stuffing

“Each guest can enjoy his or her own bird when you serve these perfectly portioned Cornish game hens. Remember to season the cavities before adding the sausage and cornbread stuffing, and dot the top of each bird with butter for evenly browned skin. A honey-sweetened balsamic glaze finishes the dish nicely.”
Get the Recipe: Holiday Hens with Fig Glaze and Cornbread Stuffing

Pancetta-Wrapped Pork Loin

“This make-ahead take on porchetta can be assembled the night before, so all you need to do before dinner is pop it in the oven for two hours. Voila!”
Get the Recipe: Pancetta-Wrapped Pork Loin

Christmas Sides

Truffle Potato Gratin

“Ordinary potatoes become a sensational side dish when baked in a rich mixture of cream, crème fraîche, and nutty Gruyère cheese. Finishing it with a drizzle of truffle oil adds an aromatic touch.”
Get the recipe.

Bacon Potato Au Gratin

“To get this comforting classic right, be sure to break the crust that the cream forms several times while cooking. It’ll allow the cream and potatoes to meld perfectly — and prevent the top from overcooking.”
Get the Recipe: Bacon Potatoes Au Gratin

Creamed Spinach

“There’s a reason this vegetable side makes its way onto so many holiday tables: It’s a perfect complement to heartier meat dishes (and impossible to mess up). Don’t forget the nutmeg, which adds essential, festive warmth.”
Get the Recipe: Creamed Spinach

Easy Baked Mac and Cheese

Becoming a holiday mainstay, both as a side and a main dish, there’s no reason not to add this easy Baked Mac and Cheese to your Christmas menu!
Get the recipe: Easy Baked Mac and Cheese

Roasted Squash with Brown Butter and Cinnamon

“This warm, spiced side dish also works well as a ravioli filling or a soup when enriched with milk and cream. Molasses and dark brown sugar create a crackly sweet surface on the butternut squash as it steams in the oven.”
Get the Recipe: Roasted Squash with Brown Butter and Cinnamon

Stuffed Acorn Squash with Quinoa and Kale

An easy and healthy side dish, pretty enough for Christmas with its red and green colors.
Get the recipe: Stuffed Acorn Squash with Quinoa and Kale

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Pomegranates and Vanilla-Pecan Butter

“When roasted in a super-hot oven, Brussels sprouts lose their funk and transform into tender bites. Pomegranates and a sweet butter complement the vegetable’s nutty flavor.”
Get the Recipe: Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Pomegranates and Vanilla-Pecan Butter

Spicy Garlic Green Beans

“They are doused with garlic, lemon zest, shallots and a decent amount of spice. And they are so good it’s basically like eating candy. Or french fries. That’s basically how I eat them. One by one, until all of a sudden the entire plate of Spicy Garlic Green Beans disappears.”
Get the recipe: Spicy Garlic Green Beans

Neopolitan Green Beans with Tomatoes

Another green and red favorite for the Christmas table. A hint of spice and heat, they are one of my favorite, favorite, favorite sides dishes!
Get the recipe: Neopolitan Green Beans with Tomatoes

Christmas Salads

Endive and Apple Salad with Candied Walnuts

“In this pretty winter salad, candied walnuts and sweet apples are the perfect partners for Belgian endive, a crisp winter green with a slightly bitter flavor. If your blue cheese is firm rather than crumbly, you can cut into small, thin wedges instead of crumbling it, if you prefer.”
Get the recipe.

Winter Farro and Kale Salad

“This salad is packed with so many things that I crave, like dark leafy kale and hearty farro; and to make it extra festive – hazelnuts and pomegranates. It’s the salad that looks like a Christmas tree.”
Get the recipe: Winter Farro and Kale Salad

Arugula and Roasted Fruit Salad with Panettone Croutons

“This unique Italian salad strikes just the right balance of sweet and savory with peppery arugula, creamy lemon dressing, and tender butter-glazed roasted fruit.”
Get the Recipe: Arugula and Roasted Fruit Salad with Panettone Croutons

Christmas Soups

French Onion Soup

“It has a touch of red wine. And then it’s topped with these majorly delicious toasts that are loaded with Gruyere cheese and a few thyme leaves. It’s perfection and it’s exactly what we need this time of year.”
Get the recipe: French Onion Soup

Curried Carrot Soup

This Curried Carrot Soup is an easy seasonal favorite, permeated with healthful and fresh ingredients. And oh-so-delicious on the Christmas table.
Get the recipe: Curried Carrot Soup

Christmas Desserts

Red Velvet Roulade with Raspberries

“If your family are anything like mine, Christmas pudding is more of a show rather than something people actually want for dessert. This is why a red velvet roulade is the showstopper you have been looking for to round of the perfect modern Christmas dinner.”
Get the recipe: Red Velvet Roulade with Raspberries

Figgy Pudding

“Figgy Pudding— the name itself conjures visions of Christmas and sugarplums and family… and tradition. A moist and tender Christmas pudding, redolent with the spices of Christmas, figs, and oranges.”
Get the recipe: Figgy Pudding

A Soft and Spicy Gingerbread Bundt Cake

“It’s spicy and gingery, and soft and moist… and incredibly delicious. Every bite bursting with the flavors you expect in gingerbread.”
Get the recipe: Gingerbread Bundt Cake

Chocolate Espresso Coffee Cake

A timeless classic coffee cake filled with a moist and rich dark chocolate flavored with a touch of espresso. It’s super good and a Christmas favorite in our house.
Get the recipe: Chocolate Espresso Coffee Cake