Christmas dinner is one of the few meals where tradition sets the menu. Whether your family carves a roast turkey or serves roast goose with red cabbage and potato dumplings, traditional Christmas food is a big part of what makes the holidays feel special.
This guide covers the dishes behind a traditional American Christmas dinner, with recipes for main entrees, side dishes, desserts, and drinks. It also covers Christmas food traditions from Europe, Latin America, and Asia, and helps you recreate a family favorite or try something new this year.
Table of Contents:
Traditional American Christmas dinner: main dishes
Traditional Christmas desserts
Traditional Christmas food around the world
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Traditional American Christmas dinner: main dishes
With American Christmas food, most traditional Christmas dinner ideas start with one main entree. Turkey and ham are the most familiar choices, while prime rib and beef tenderloin can make your dinner feel like a splurge. Pick a main course, then plan which sides would taste best around it.
1. Roast turkey
Turkey is an affordable main dish that can feed many. Switch things up from Thanksgiving by trying a deep-fried turkey or savory smoked turkey.
2. Glazed ham
You can buy a fully cooked ham, which will mostly need time in the oven and a good glaze. Try a brown sugar glaze or pineapple glazed ham, and use our ham cooking time calculator to plan.
3. Prime rib
Boneless prime rib is a showstopper for a holiday table. A garlic-and-herb crust does most of the flavor work for you, and it serves an entire family.
4. Beef tenderloin
If you want to skip the prime rib, beef tenderloin cooks faster and slices more cleanly. Season it with minced garlic, rosemary, and thyme.
Christmas side dishes
In a traditional Christmas meal, the side dishes do as much work as the main course. Mix and match these sides with your favorite meat.
5. Potatoes
Potatoes belong on every Christmas table. Whether you go for smooth, buttery mashed potatoes or roasted golden potatoes, be sure to add garlic for some extra flavor.
6. Stuffing and cornbread dressing
Stuffing is easy to make and a staple on the American Christmas table. Try a seasoned bread stuffing loaded with fresh rosemary, sage, and thyme. In many Southern and Black American households, cornbread dressing takes its place. It’s baked in a pan instead of inside the bird and seasoned with onion and celery.
7. Candied yams
Candied yams add a sweet side dish to the spread. It’s an inexpensive side dish, and you may have most of the necessary ingredients already: nutmeg, cinnamon, brown sugar, and vanilla.
8. Mac and cheese
Baked mac and cheese is a Southern and Black American staple and a must on the Christmas table. This Southern mac and cheese is rich with sharp cheddar and butter. Bake it until it’s bubbly and golden.
9. Collard greens
Collard greens are another classic Southern side that balances the richer dishes on the table. Simmer them low and slow with smoked turkey or ham hocks until tender, then finish with a splash of vinegar and red pepper flakes.
10. Green bean casserole
Green bean casserole is a popular dish for Thanksgiving and Christmas. To make it stand out even more, try adding savory cheddar cheese on top.
11. Brussels sprouts
Honey-roasted brussels sprouts get crispy edges with a sweet-salty finish from just a splash of honey and a hot oven.
12. Carrots and parsnips
Herb-roasted carrots and parsnips are a seasonal side dish that can share the oven with your main dish.
13. Cranberry sauce
Homemade cranberry sauce takes about 15 minutes. To get started, grab a bag of cranberries, ginger root, and a dash of cinnamon.
14. Dinner rolls
Homemade dinner rolls need 2.5 hours to rise, so starting in the morning or the day ahead is smart. Make a double batch, because they go fast.
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Traditional Christmas desserts
Traditional Christmas desserts lean on warm spices and dried fruit. Most can be made a day or two ahead, which frees up the oven on Christmas Day.
15. Pies
Pie is one of the easiest desserts to make in advance. Pecan pie is a holiday staple and a standard 9-inch pie serves about eight. Sweet potato pie is a Southern favorite with roots in Black Southern cooking, featuring a creamy filling spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg.
16. Christmas cookies
Traditional Christmas cookies work as both dessert and gifts. Try vanilla Christmas cookies with almonds, or holiday sugar cookies to decorate with your family.
17. Puddings
Pudding has been a Christmas dessert since the days of figgy pudding, the steamed fruit-packed treat from the old English Christmas carol. For something easier to make at home, try a vanilla bread pudding, which is a day-old loaf of bread turned into a warm, custardy dessert.
18. Fruitcake and yule log
Fruitcake gets a bad rap, but a fresh homemade one full of dried fruit and nuts is moist and rich. This Christmas cake recipe with dried fruit and nuts can be made days ahead to save you time as the Christmas dinner nears. For a lighter cake, try a yule log (bûche de Noël), which is a chocolate sponge cake rolled around whipped cream and frosted to look like a log. Add powdered sugar for a snowy finish.
Traditional Christmas drinks
Traditional Christmas drinks are usually warm and spiced. Most are easy to make in big batches. Several can be made with or without alcohol.
Alcoholic drinks are intended for adults 21 and older. Please drink responsibly and never drink and drive.
19. Eggnog
Eggnog is one of the most familiar American Christmas drinks. It’s a creamy drink that’s easy to make from scratch. Spike it with dark rum or bourbon for an alcoholic version.
20. Mulled wine
Mulled wine (known as Glühwein in Germany) is red wine simmered with orange and spices, often with a splash of brandy. Set it in a slow cooker on low so it stays warm.
21. Wassail
Wassail is a warm holiday punch made with orange and apple juice, cloves, cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg. The difference between mulled wine and wassail is the base: mulled wine starts with red wine, while wassail has a fruit juice or cider base. It’s a drink best paired with Christmas caroling. If you want an alcoholic version, try adding brandy or sherry.
22. Hot buttered rum
Hot buttered rum is a warm, spiced cocktail made with butter and brown sugar. You'll also need cinnamon, honey, cloves, nutmeg, boiling water, and spiced rum.
23. Mimosas
Mimosas are a simple-to-make Christmas drink. Mix sparkling wine with orange juice, or use cranberry juice for a holiday version.
Traditional Christmas food around the world
Christmas food traditions are different from culture to culture, but many share a few common ingredients. In many countries, the biggest meal is on Christmas Eve, with seafood and roast pork as top choices, and many countries have a sweet bread or dessert just for the occasion. Here’s what’s on the menu across Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Asia.
Traditional Christmas food in Europe
Many European families save their biggest Christmas meals for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Here’s what’s on the plate in Europe.
Traditional Christmas food in Germany
Germany keeps Christmas Eve simple with potato salad and sausages, then saves the rest for Christmas Day. The main entree is usually roast goose with red cabbage and potato dumplings, with stollen (a fruit-studded sweet bread) and spiced lebkuchen cookies for dessert. Glühwein (mulled wine) is popular as well. For more ideas, check out our guide to traditional Christmas foods in Germany.
Traditional Christmas food in Italy
In Italy, the Christmas Eve feast is called La Vigilia. It’s a meatless meal centered on seafood like salt cod (baccalà). Italian American families later adopted the tradition as the Feast of the Seven Fishes. Some other Italian Christmas foods include panettone, a sweet bread with candied fruit, and pandoro, a star-shaped sweet bread.
Traditional Christmas food in Spain
Nochebuena on December 24 is Spain’s main Christmas family dinner, featuring seafood like shrimp, plus roast lamb and suckling pig. Others include turrón (almond nougat) and polvorones (crumbly shortbread cookies). On January 6, Three Kings Day (the Epiphany), people celebrate the Wise Men’s visit to baby Jesus by eating roscón de Reyes, a ring-shaped sweet bread with a small figurine baked inside. For more ideas, explore our guide to traditional Christmas food in Spain.
Traditional Christmas food in Poland
Traditional Polish Christmas food takes center stage during Wigilia, the Polish Christmas Eve dinner. It’s a meatless meal of 12 unique dishes, such as barszcz (beet soup) with small mushroom dumplings called uszka, fried carp, and pierogi filled with sauerkraut and mushrooms. For dessert, people often eat poppy-seed rolls called makowiec.
France
French Christmas foods start at le réveillon, a late Christmas Eve dinner. The meal often starts with oysters, followed by roast turkey or capon. For dessert, there is a rolled sponge cake decorated to look like a yule log, called bûche de Noël.
Russia
In Russia, Orthodox Christmas falls on January 7. Christmas Eve dinner is traditionally meatless. A staple Russian Christmas food is kutya, a sweet porridge made of wheatberries, honey, and poppy seeds.
Traditional Christmas food in Latin America and the Caribbean
Traditional Christmas food in Latin America centers on Christmas Eve (Nochebuena in Spanish-speaking countries). Many of these dishes are also Christmas staples in U.S. homes, like tamales in Texas and Pernil in California.
Mexico
Mexican celebrations revolve around the 9 nights of Las Posadas and Nochebuena on December 24. Tamales, corn dough stuffed with meat or cheese and steamed in corn husks, are the centerpiece of traditional Mexican Christmas food. Tamales are often served along with pozole (hominy stew) or bacalao a la vizcaína, salt cod stewed with tomatoes, olives, and peppers. Sugar-dusted buñuelos (crispy fried dough) and ponche navideño, a spiced warm fruit punch, are other staples.
Puerto Rico
In Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory, the holiday season begins right after Thanksgiving and runs through mid-January. Puerto Rican Christmas food consists of pernil, a pork shoulder marinated in garlic and oregano and slow-roasted, arroz con gandules (rice with pigeon peas), coquito—a creamy coconut-and-rum drink often compared to eggnog- and a coconut pudding called tembleque.
Brazil
Christmas falls in summer in Brazil, and the main meal is on Christmas Eve. Brazilian Christmas food includes roast turkey or pork, farofa (toasted cassava flour cooked with butter and onions), and desserts like rabanada, which is similar to French toast.
Traditional Christmas food in Asia
Christmas traditions across Asia vary widely, from the Philippines’ Noche Buena, a post-Mass feast with deep Catholic roots, to Japan’s more secular custom of fried chicken and strawberry shortcake on Christmas Eve.
Philippines
September kicks off the holiday season in the Philippines with many delicious, traditional Filipino Christmas foods. Many families attend Simang Gabi, a series of nine dawn Masses right before Christmas. Then, they share two kinds of rice cakes. Bibingka, a rice cake baked in banana leaves, and puto bumbong, a purple steamed rice cake with butter and grated coconut on top. Other staple foods include lechon, or roast pig, Christmas ham, queso de bola (a ball of aged Edam cheese), and Filipino spaghetti, a sweet spaghetti that’s made with banana ketchup and sliced hot dogs.
Japan
While Christmas isn’t a national holiday in Japan, Christmas Eve has its own food traditions. During the 1970s, fried chicken became increasingly popular for the holidays, thanks largely to KFC’s 1974 “Kentucky for Christmas” campaign, which marketed it as a Christmas meal. Many still order it on December 24th. Other Japanese Christmas foods include desserts such as a light sponge cake (kurisumasu keki) with whipped cream and strawberries.
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FAQs
What are some of the most common Christmas foods in the U.S.?
Some of the most common foods served during Christmas are ham, turkey, prime rib, mashed potatoes, stuffing, green bean casserole, mac and cheese, collard greens, cranberry sauce, dinner rolls, cookies, and pie.
What is a traditional Christmas dinner menu?
In the U.S., a traditional Christmas dinner menu usually features turkey, honey-glazed ham or prime rib as the main course, with side dishes such as mashed potatoes, stuffing, dinner rolls and casserole. Typical desserts include pie and Christmas cookies, and popular beverages include eggnog and mulled wine.
What are some good Christmas finger foods?
Christmas finger foods are bite-sized appetizers that you can eat with your hands. Pigs in a blanket, charcuterie boards, bacon-wrapped scallops and Christmas cookies are a few examples.
What is the most commonly eaten food at Christmas?
Roast turkey or ham anchors the holiday table for most Americans. In a November 2025 YouGov survey of 700 U.S. adults, 69% called a main dish of roast turkey or ham essential to their holiday meal. The same share said mashed potatoes or other sides were a must, and 65% felt that way about desserts like pies.
What are traditional Christmas foods around the world?
Some traditional foods include tamales (steamed corn dough stuffed with meat or cheese fillings) in Mexico, pernil (slow-roasted pork shoulder) in Puerto Rico, seafood for Italy’s La Vigilia, pierogi (filled dumplings) and barszcz (beet soup) in Poland, roast goose in Germany, bûche de Noël (yule log cake) in France and bibingka (baked rice cake) in the Philippines.
Plan your traditional Christmas dinner through Instacart
Whether your traditional Christmas dinner menu features ham and mashed potatoes or tamales and ponche navideño, you’ll likely want to shop a few days before the holiday. Put your list together early and schedule your grocery delivery through Instacart, and spend more time celebrating with family and friends. If you’re hosting a holiday party, our Christmas party food ideas cover easy appetizers.
