53 Christmas Eve Dinners Your Whole Family Will Love (2024)

Marinated thighs get roasted right alongside Brussels sprouts making it one of our favorite low effort chicken weeknight dinners with a very high reward. Reserve some of the marinade to brush over the chicken towards the end of baking: It makes a sweet, sticky, and downright irresistible glaze.

Get the Sheet Pan Citrus-Glazed Chicken recipe.

This recipe is based on gołąbki, a Polish dish in which parboiled cabbage leaves encase a minced meat filling of either pork or beef with onions and rice. What we love most is that the meat and the rice cook in the cabbage itself, meaning less work for us all.

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Fish pie is usually seafood in a cream sauce topped with mashed potatoes. For this version, we took inspiration from Greek cuisine (specifically avgolemono soup) and added dill and lemon.

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Get ready to plan a Christmas dinner party around this ham alone! The tart cherries and bourbon work together to bring a slight sour and oaky tartness to the spiral ham and the glaze has just enough cayenne pepper to deliver a subtle smoky heat.

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Truly comfort food at its finest, chicken pot pie represents the addictive marriage of a flaky, buttery crust with diced chicken, onions, carrots, and peas in a creamy sauce. While it's a dish that you can easily find pre-made in almost any grocery freezer aisle, we strongly believe that making your own is worth it (especially for Christmas dinner!).

Get the Homemade Chicken Pot Pie recipe.

Sometimes, roasting a whole turkey is just too much of an undertaking. A roulade, though? It's surprisingly easy (we swear!), super-flavorful, and much easier to carve. Perfect served with a side of mashed potatoes and gravy.

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Loaded with sharp white cheddar, sweet caramelized onions, and creamy mashed potatoes, the only thing more gratifying than making these traditional Polish dumplings from scratch is stuffing them in your mouth. 😋

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Steak au Poivre, or pepper steak, is a classic French-style steak. It's coated in crushed peppercorns that, when seared, create a beautiful and crisp crust. The steak is finished with a cream-based pan sauce that balances out the pepper perfectly.

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Tamales aren’t just fun to eat, they’re a great solo or group project for anyone who loves to cook. Make it a party by involving your friends or partner, or get the whole family involved. Tamal making is a joy, and tamales are a great canvas for different kinds of fillings.

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Roasting a lamb shoulder is just as easy, if not easier, than roasting a chicken. All you need to do is rub your roast with a mixture of fresh herbs, garlic, and olive oil and throw it in the oven for an hour or so. Bonus points if you roast the meat on top of a bed of potatoes for the perfect complete Christmas Eve meal.

Get the Roast Lamb recipe.

This citrus salmon has tons of flavor from simple ingredients. Here we used oranges and limes, but use lemons, grapefruits, and blood oranges if you have them. As the salmon bakes, the juices start to turn into a syrupy sauce thanks to the honey and creates a perfect glaze over the salmon.

Get the Jalapeño Citrus Salmon recipe.

Don't let the time commitment on this fantastically flavorful Mexican recipe scare you. It's as easy as bringing water to a boil and letting it simmer away while you multitask on other things going on in your life (like wrapping presents?). The longer you let the soup simmer, the better it will be. With time, the meat will turn tender, soft, and buttery, the aromas will deepen, and the color will become as rich as the soup tastes.

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All you need is a couple of oranges, brown sugar, minced garlic, and Italian seasoning to turn pork into something easy enough for any ole weeknight dinner, but fancy enough to impress on Christmas Eve too.

Get the Glazed Pork Tenderloin recipe.

Nothing warms you up on a cold day quite like chicken pot pie. This shortcut version comes together surprisingly fast, despite tasting like something it would've taken your grandma all day to make. Make it for the perfect no-fuss dinner this Christmas.

Get the Skillet Chicken Pot Pie recipe.

For this version of lobster ravioli, wonton wrappers are used instead of pasta dough. We know that it's hardly Italian traditon, but we wanted to make this easy for you. And guess what… they're so darn delicious. (Feel free to use our pasta dough though if you're a purist.)

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This rich, flavorful broth is PERFECT for dipping. We suggest a thick slice of homemade bread, if you can swing it! Dyed-pink hands got you down? Try rubbing the stained parts of your hand with sliced lemon, then rinse with soap and water.

Get the Best-Ever Borsht recipe.

In England, the birthplace of this hearty dish, shepherd's pie is most often made with a ground lamb filling. In the States, it's more common to use ground beef. Both are delicious, so use whichever you prefer this Christmas.

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Few things are more pleasing than a melty, cheesy square of lasagna when it gets cold outside. This creamy white lasagna, made extra luxurious from a cheesy béchamel-type sauce called Mornay, is packed with chopped chicken, spinach, mushroom, and fresh herbs—and a few time-saving secrets (hint: one is a rotisserie chicken!).

Get the Chicken and Mushroom White Lasagna recipe.

Pork tenderloin is often sold in packages with a marinade, but we are making our own rosemary glaze here—it is SO good on pork and helps flavor the potatoes. Feel free to add in some carrots and red onions in place of some of the potatoes for more veggie options too.

Get the Maple Rosemary Pork Tenderloin recipe.

Here’s an easy one-pot chicken and rice dish that comes together quickly and easily while still being full of flavor. Adobo sauce and chipotle chiles bring a little heat and spice things up, while rice and kale make it extra hearty.

Get the One-Pot Adobo Chicken and Rice recipe.