This is your ultimate round up of easy but out-of-this-world Christmas recipes! There’s a little something for everyone here – starters, main dishes, side dishes and of course, desserts.

Plan your Christmas menu with ease with every delicious, free printable recipe you could ask for.

Save this one and pin it for later – it’s the best Christmas recipe guide around, featuring 50+ incredible recipes!

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One of the things I’ve learned in my years of entertaining is that planning ahead is my best method to beat the stress. This goes for everything – invitations, decorating, and certainly the meal planning and prep.

However, it can be overwhelming to get started. There are so many delicious recipes and ideas out there to choose from! That’s where this easy, organized guide comes in.

Today I’m sharing my favorite recipes for the holidays, broken into categories that make it easy to follow and understand. You’ll see a link to each one, featuring a free printable recipe card.

If you prefer to simply browse around and find your own version of a perfect Christmas meal plan, hop on over to the Christmas category!

A snowman dessert cheese ball, a fun Christmas recipe displayed on a white platter.

Christmas Menu Ideas

Christmas looks different for everyone. You can serve a beautiful brunch, host a festive informal gathering with walking tacos or chili, or treat your guests to a fabulous formal dinner party.

With that in mind, these menu ideas reflect some of the most popular recipes I’ve created over the years! You’ll find fabulous appetizers and delicious desserts, and everything in between.

First, here are a few of my best tips, serving suggestions, and answers to your frequently asked questions.

Tips

  • Choose 1-3 items from each category for a well rounded meal. You’ll want an appetizer (or five haha), a main dish, salad, bread, drinks and dessert.
  • Plan ahead! Get organized a week or so in advance, if possible. This allows you to get your groceries ordered or take an efficient shopping trip!
  • Prep early. Do all your chopping, mixing and creating in the 48 hours prior to your event. The more you accomplish ahead of time, the better you’ll feel on the day of your party!
  • Arrange serving platters and glassware ahead, too. I like to think ahead about which dishes, bowls and platters I’ll need for serving and get them lined up on our island or table.
  • Of course, same goes for the bar area! Don’t skip this complete guide to Christmas Cocktails.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a traditional Christmas dinner?

Traditionally, Christmas dinner looks much like your Thanksgiving meal! That means turkey with stuffing, potatoes, veggie sides, and more. However, many families get creative and choose other types of poultry, or even beef and pork dishes like roasts and tenderloin.

What is the most popular dinner on Christmas?

Turkey is the most popular entrée, but you can choose from a wide array of other proteins if you’d like. Almost as popular are items like ham, prime rib, tenderloin, chicken, roast beef or pork.

baked brie in puff pastry made into a wreath

Serving Suggestions

Here are my favorite serving platters, utensils, baking dishes and glassware. Whether you serve an informal buffet on your kitchen countertops, or a more elaborate seated dinner, you can make it feel oh-so-special for guests with some beautiful serving suggestions.

The Best Christmas Recipes

Appetizers

Reindeer Bacon Cheddar Cheeseball

This Bacon Ranch Cheddar Cheeseball is so cute and festive for the holidays! Shaped into a charming reindeer, this Christmas cheese ball will be the hit of your parties this year – a bacon cheese ball has never looked so cute!

Roasted Shrimp Cocktail

A classic appetizer for the holidays, don’t skip this one. Roasting your shrimp takes it to a whole new level – and it’s so easy to do!

Serve with this homemade cocktail sauce for even more YUM factor!

A platter of shot glasses filled with individual shrimp cocktails

Stuffed Mushrooms

These bacon and cream cheese Stuffed Mushrooms are an easy crowd pleasing appetizer made with just a few simple ingredients. This stuffed mushroom recipe is perfect for parties and perfectly poppable! You can’t stop at just one!

An oval white platter filled with bacon stuffed mushrooms

Stuffed Dates Wrapped in Bacon

These bacon wrapped dates are stuffed with decadent cream cheese… it’s the ultimate combination of sweet and savory flavors. Textural, creamy and oh-so-delicious, you’re going to love this incredible appetizer!

A white oval baking dish filled with dates wrapped in bacon, toothpicks in each one.

Pomegranate Ornament Christmas Cheese Ball

Why buy a boring store bought Holiday Cheese Ball when it’s so easy to make your own? This Pomegranate Cheeseball recipe is a savory Christmas Cheese Ball with a vibrant taste of sweet and sour pomegranate seeds.

Make it in the simple shape of an ornament and you’ll have an appetizer that everyone will love!

A pomegranate Christmas cheese ball shaped into an ornament, surrounded by crackers on a round white plate.

Santa’s Hat Cranberry Cheese Ball

Make it festive this holiday season with a delicious Cranberry Cheese Ball shaped like Santa’s hat!

A cranberry cheeseball in the shape of a Santa's hat, on a plate surrounded by crackers.

Charcuterie Jars

Jarcuterie is the cutest spin on the ever-popular charcuterie boards that are forever loved by families and party-goers across the world! Instead of a board or platter, charcuterie elements are served in individual containers or jars.

Charcuterie in a jar on a marble countertop

Cheese Ball Bites

Mini cheese ball bites are the ultimate easy appetizer to serve at parties! They are filling, savory and delicious… not to mention so easy to customize.

Mini cheese ball bites covered in dried cranberries, with a pretzel stick in the center, resting on a white platter.

Brie Wreath Christmas Appetizer

How to make a beautiful and festive Christmas Appetizer – a Brie Wreath! Baked Brie is always a crowd pleasing sharing plate during the holidays and like most of my easy recipes, just takes a few ingredients to make!

festive christmas appetizers with puff pastry

Irresistible Veggie Dip Recipe

The best veggie dip recipe that will have everyone begging for the recipe! This vegetable dip makes a large batch perfect for get-togethers! Get the secret that makes it stand above the rest!

Veggie dip inside a bowl made of purple cabbage

Pesto Cheeseball Wreath

This Pesto Cheeseball wreath makes the most festive holiday Pesto Appetizer. Cream cheese, basil and cherry tomatoes create a Pesto Cheese flavor explosion! Easy to make with just five ingredients, this gorgeous wreath will be the star of your Christmas party.

A pesto cheeseball Christmas wreath appetizer surrounded by crackers on a platter.

Cranberry Salsa

This sweet and spicy cranberry salsa is an incredible way to spice up your holidays! When you blend the tart juicy bite of fresh cranberries with fiery jalapeños, magic happens.

This Christmas salsa is the ultimate addition to your holiday appetizer spread!

A platter of crackers surrounding cranberry salsa on a block of cream cheese

Christmas Salads

Easy Christmas Salad Recipe

A fun and festive Christmas Salad that looks as good as it tastes. This Christmas wreath salad is always memorable and is quick and easy to make! Perfect to serve as a holiday appetizer or as a side dish.

salad in shape of wreath with toppings to look like berries next to wood salad tongs

Handheld Endive Salad

This easy endive appetizer is everything you crave for entertaining! It’s healthy, gorgeous, and simply bursting with fresh flavor. Bonus? Endive lettuce is naturally so easy to hold… your guests will keep coming back for more!

Endive lettuce salad on a white platter formed into a Christmas tree for a holiday hors d'oeuvre.

Amazing Italian Salad with Italian Dressing

A simple Italian Salad recipe, St. Louis style. Mix up this delicious, memorable salad with fresh and flavorful Italian Dressing in less than 10 minutes!

italian salad

Easy Pear Salad Recipe with Walnuts

An easy Pear Salad Recipe with candied walnuts and gorgonzola is all you need to compliment the Fall season! It’s the perfect dish for a light lunch, dinner or holiday meal.

Roasted Beet Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette

This roasted beet salad is not only gorgeous to serve, it’s more delicious with each and every bite! Loaded with incredibly tender roasted root veggies, it’s a restaurant level salad you’re going to absolutely crave!

A roasted beet salad on a white plate, blue linen towel to the side

Christmas Entrées

Honey Glazed Ham

This Honey Glazed Ham will be the sweet and savory star of your dining table for Christmas and beyond!

It’s made with just five ingredients and 10 minutes hands on time, making it perfect for even a weeknight dinner!

A honey ham on a white platter accented with fresh flowers

Grilled Beef Tenderloin

If you’re looking for an incredibly simple dinner that is special enough to serve to company at the holidays (or any time) grilled beef tenderloin is where it’s at! This tenderloin is rich, tender, juicy, and oh-so-flavorful.

A platter of sliced beef tenderloin, garnished with fresh thyme and garlic.

Homemade Lasagna with Cottage Cheese

This is an incredibly easy homemade lasagna with cottage cheese that can be thrown together in just 10 minutes hands-on time. If you’re looking for a simple lasagna recipe with cottage cheese filling, this is the one for you!

Learn more about what to serve with lasagna and reheating lasagna in the oven, too.

homemade lasagna

Lemon Pepper Salmon

This Lemon Pepper Salmon recipe is absolutely foolproof. In fact, it’s the most delicious and easiest way to add all the goodness that salmon offers into your dinner rotation.

With the perfect blend of seasonings and the essence of fresh squeezed lemon, it’s a light and easy dinner your whole family will love!  

A white oval platter featuring a fillet of lemon pepper salmon, sliced lemons on the side.

Christmas Breads

Easy Homemade Artisan Bread Recipe

A quick and easy artisan homemade bread recipe that is adaptable. It’s perfect for smothering in butter, dipping in oil, or slicing for sandwiches. This homemade bread is moist on the inside, crusty on the outside, and full of flavor!

A marble surface with a loaf of homemade rosemary bread sliced in half.

Cheddar Beer Bread Recipe

This cheddar beer bread is comforting, savory, and incredibly delicious with a variety of toppings and dips. You’ll leave your guests craving more – it’s the ultimate party food!

cheddar beer bread recipe on julieblanner.com

Homemade Cornbread with Maple Butter Topping

Crispy homemade cornbread topped with an incredible maple butter an easy sweet and savory cornbread. It’s a holiday side dish that everyone will love! Simple to make, it’s on the table in just 30 minutes!

homemade cornbread recipe with maple butter

30 Minute Dinner Rolls

These homemade dinner rolls are soft, fluffy, buttery and quite simply irresistible. The best part? This homemade dinner roll recipe is truly ready in around 30 minutes, start to finish.

How to make dinner rolls in just 30 minutes

Christmas Side Dishes

Firehouse Green Beans with Bacon

Step aside green bean casserole, Green beans with Bacon are an easy, last-minute side dish for holidays with the best blend of garlic, parmesan and bacon that will have green bean haters begging for the recipe!

Firehouse Green Beans With Bacon

Sweet Potato Casserole Recipe

A must have, melt in your mouth Sweet Potato Casserole Recipe that is a crowd pleasing side dish for Thanksgiving and Christmas. This dish will wow your guests, while taking just 10 minutes hands on time to make!

A white oval baking dish filled with a sweet potato casserole, spoon lifting out a serving.

Potato Gratin Stacks

Potatoes Au Gratin in easy to serve stacks! This recipe is everything you love about potato gratin made with thinly sliced potatoes, cream and gruyere – plus it’s delicious little individual servings.

A white platter featuring potato gratin stacks, garnished with fresh thyme.

Caramelized Shallot Mashed Potatoes

Mix up your mashed potatoes for the holidays with this easy Caramelized Shallot Mashed Potatoes recipe! They’re so flavorful you’ll never want basic mashed potatoes again!

caramelized shallot recipe

Flavorful Baked Artichoke

Baked Artichoke is one of the easiest side dishes and ways to get your veggies in! These roasted artichoke are so delicious on it’s own or tossed into a salad.

It’s not only delicious, but a good source of fiber, Vitamin C and Vitamin K!

roasted artichoke

Cranberry Sauce with Port

Cranberry Sauce with Port – aka drunken Cranberry Sauce is a nice twist to the traditional Thanksgiving and Christmas recipe. This easy cranberry sauce recipe is quick to make and made with just 3 ingredients! It’s a great festive side dish.

how to make cranberry sauce in minutes

Oven Roasted Sweet Potatoes (Glazed Sweet Potatoes)

This Sweet and Salty Oven Roasted Sweet Potatoes recipe makes an easy crowd-pleasing side dish. No one can resist these Glazed Sweet Potatoes.

You only need 4 simple ingredients and 10 minutes to prep.

roasted sweet potatoes in a white oval baking dish

The Best Baked Macaroni and Cheese

This is an easy, creamy baked mac and cheese recipe made in minutes with just a few staple ingredients! Make the BEST baked macaroni and cheese with very little hands on time.

Creamy Bacon Mac And Cheese

The Best Crispy Brussel Sprouts Recipe

This Crispy Brussel Sprouts Recipe is bursting with flavor!  Brussel Sprouts with pancetta and shallots are sautéed into a fragrant, textural side dish that will leave your family begging for more. 

White bowl with sauteed brussel sprouts, blue linen napkin to the side.

Corn Casserole (Cheesy Corn)

Creamy corn casserole made with cream cheese – this cheesy corn doubles as a dip! It’s a classic side dish that is perfect for parties as a dip or a family-friendly side dish.

corn casserole

Christmas Drinks

Mulled Wine Recipe

Cozy, fragrant and delicious… this Mulled Wine Recipe is the perfect fall and winter drink to keep the chill at bay. No German ski slopes required for this easy mulled wine, just invite your friends! 

three glasses of mulled wine garnished with orange slices and cinnamon sticks

Poinsettia Cocktail

If you’re looking for the prettiest, most festive cocktail around, look no further than this fabulous poinsettia cocktail! With its bold, deep red color and all the classic flavors of the holidays, it’s an unforgettable Christmas drink you’re going to love.

Poinsettia drinks on a white tray, cranberries and rosemary for garnish

Mistletoe Margarita

Hosting a holiday get-together or looking for something festive to sip while helping Santa get ready for Christmas? This simple mistletoe margarita is sure to leave you feeling merry and bright!

A cranberry margarita that is bursting with bright juicy flavor, this cocktail feels like a delicious little holiday indulgence.

Pretty clear glasses full of Mistletoe Margaritas, topped with fresh mint and cranberries.

Easy Non Alcoholic Mulled Wine

An easy Non Alcoholic Mulled Wine recipe for the holidays is enjoyable for people of all ages.

This alcohol free mulled wine recipe is created with sweet grape juice, fruit and spices that simmer into a hot Christmas drink that warms you from the inside out.

non alcoholic mulled grape juice on the stovetop with orange slices and spices

Perfectly Peppermint White Russian

These last two drinks are as much a dessert as they are a cocktail! This Peppermint White Russian recipe is wonderful peppermint drink to enjoy around the holidays.

The coffee liqueur, vodka, and half and half compliment the zingy peppermint schnapps to make a festive and delicious peppermint cocktail.

A peppermint white russian cocktail, garnished with a candy cane and crushed peppermint on the rim.

Merry Mint with Peppermint Schnapps

A Merry Mint cocktail made with Peppermint Schnapps will warm your soul this holiday season! This fun and festive Christmas Cocktail is the perfect blend of cream, mint and vodka!

merry mint cocktail with peppermint schnapps

Christmas Desserts

Reindeer Christmas Brownies

If you’re looking for a recipe for Easy Christmas Brownies, you’re in the right place! These cute Reindeer Brownies are so easy to make, and the kids will love to help decorate! 

A pan of holiday brownies decorated with reindeer.

Gooey Butter Cake with Brown Butter

Classic St. Louis Gooey Butter Cake with a twist – this easy Gooey Butter Cake with Brown Butter has a deeper, richer flavor that you’ll crave again and again!

gooey butter cake in a white ceramic baking dish, with a slice removed onto a white plate.

Easy No Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake Recipe

This Easy No Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake Recipe can be whipped together (literally) in five minutes! It’s about time that can of Libby’s pumpkin puree was put to good use.

With five simple ingredients, it’s the best pumpkin cheesecake for the holiday season. Spend less time in the kitchen and more time with your loved ones!

A slice of no bake pumpkin cheesecake on a white plate.

No Bake Rudolph Noses

These chocolate covered Rudolph Nose Dough Balls will be the hit of your Christmas get together! They’re amazing edible cookie dough truffles covered in a red chocolate shell for a one of a kind no bake Christmas cookie.

A white bowl full of red no bake Rudolph noses on a marble countertop.

Peppermint Ice Cream

This creamy Peppermint Ice Cream is made with just three ingredients in a couple of minutes. It’s a candy cane ice cream dream come true… a delicious treat in a bowl and incredible on browniessugar cookies, cakes and more!

3 ingredient creamy peppermint ice cream recipe

Mandarin Orange Cake (Made From Scratch)

This beautiful made-from-scratch Mandarin Orange Cake is easy to make, especially with the help of little hands. It’s a fresh twist on an old classic – Mandarin Cake made without Cool Whip or cake mix.

how to make mandarin orange cake from scratch

Easy Chocolate Pie Recipe with Pretzel Crust

This easy Chocolate Pie Recipe with Pretzel Crust is the perfect duo! The simplicity of the chocolate pie filling with the salty pretzel crust is incredible!

Make it ahead and place it in the fridge or freezer to enjoy with family and friends at your next party or holiday gathering.

pretzel crust pie with chocolate filling in white baking dish

Eggnog Ice Cream

Enjoy the flavors of the season with creamy Eggnog Ice Cream – a fun and festive Christmas dessert made with just six ingredients in five minutes! This is a no-churn ice cream recipe that’s perfect for the holidays.

eggnog ice cream served in a small white bowl, with a gold loaf pan full of ice cream in the background.

Cracker Toffee

Learn how to make toffee with easy step by step instructions and video. Cracker Toffee aka Saltine Toffee is a classic Christmas Candy that you can’t keep your hands off of! Perfect to give as a holiday food gift and so easy and quick to make.

how to make toffee christmas crack

Funfetti Dessert Snowman Cheese Ball

Learn how to make a cheeseball with a charming snowman cheese ball recipe! Get all the best tips and tricks for creating this sweet dessert snowman cheeseball.

A snowman dessert cheese ball, a fun Christmas recipe displayed on a white platter.

Are you excited to host friends and family this holiday season? I’d love to hear from you!

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