Our favourite traditional Christmas recipes | Women's Weekly Food (2024)

While everyone has their own idea of how a Christmas lunch should be, there are a few classics that make the cut on most family’s tables each year. We’ve pulled together a collection of our most delicious recipes for the holiday season, channelling flavours that will bring a sense of nostalgia and joy. From our marmalade glazed ham and stuffed roast turkey, to our boiled fruit pudding and creamy pavlova, these recipes are guaranteed to delight your loved ones this year.

Our favourite traditional Christmas recipes | Women's Weekly Food (1)

01

Spanish-style barbecue leg of lamb

Spanish-style barbecue leg of lamb

This deliciously tender piece of lamb is cooked using traditional Spanish flavours, combining salty chorizo and fragrant garlic and thyme to create a memorable dish for a roast dinner or Christmas lunch.

Our favourite traditional Christmas recipes | Women's Weekly Food (2)

02

Christmas Yule log cake

Yule log cake recipe is perfect for celebrating the Christmas season – delicious vanilla cake filled with hazelnut cream and decorated with chocolate ganache.

Our favourite traditional Christmas recipes | Women's Weekly Food (3)

03

Prosciutto-wrapped turkey breast

Prosciutto-wrapped turkey breast

Wrapping a turkey breast in prosciutto before roasting it helps keep the meat tender and juicy as well as adding lots of flavour to the finished dish.

Our favourite traditional Christmas recipes | Women's Weekly Food (4)

04

Processor fruit cake

Processor fruit cake

Our favourite traditional Christmas recipes | Women's Weekly Food (5)

05

The great Australian Christmas pudding

Traditionally, Australians cooked English-style puddings at Christmas but, although we love them, a lighter pudding is more suited to a hot climate; hence the Great Australian Christmas Pudding was created ­ light, creamy and cool.

Our favourite traditional Christmas recipes | Women's Weekly Food (6)

06

Rabbit and hazelnut terrine

Tender and flavoursome rabbit and hazelnut terrine – the perfect addition to your next dinner party or afternoon tea!

Our favourite traditional Christmas recipes | Women's Weekly Food (7)

07

Cherry, walnut and feta salad

Cherry, walnut and feta salad

Indulge in the delicious combination of cherry, walnut and feta in this fresh wholesome salad – a perfect addition to Christmas lunch this year!

Our favourite traditional Christmas recipes | Women's Weekly Food (8)

08

Orange pudding with rum sauce

Orange pudding with rum sauce

Our favourite traditional Christmas recipes | Women's Weekly Food (9)

09

Roast pork loin with rosemary gravy

Roast pork loin with rosemary gravy

Tender pork loin stuffed with capsicum and ciabatta crumb and served with a rosemary gravy.

Our favourite traditional Christmas recipes | Women's Weekly Food (10)

10

Baked snapper with peppercorn and dill butter

Baked snapper with peppercorn and dill butter

Served with grilled asparagus, this stunning whole baked snapper is brimming with zesty flavours.

Our favourite traditional Christmas recipes | Women's Weekly Food (11)

11

Individual boiled Christmas puddings

Individual boiled Christmas puddings

Nothing says the festive season quite like Christmas pudding – dense, moist and loaded with delicious dried fruit.

Our favourite traditional Christmas recipes | Women's Weekly Food (12)

12

Ginger marmalade glazed ham

Ginger marmalade glazed ham

Ginger marmalade and ginger ale offer this ham glaze a wonderful hint of spice, while brown sugar and maple syrup impart a lovely caramel colour.

Our favourite traditional Christmas recipes | Women's Weekly Food (13)

13

Chocolate chestnut cake

Chocolate chestnut cake

This gorgeous layered cake is the perfect balance of sweet and nutty. It’s the perfect celebratory cake to serve at Christmas time.

Our favourite traditional Christmas recipes | Women's Weekly Food (14)

14

Classic roast chicken with gravy

Classic roast chicken with gravy

This classic French technique for roasting keeps chicken moist and succulent while making sure you end up with beautifully crispy, browned skin.

Our favourite traditional Christmas recipes | Women's Weekly Food (15)

15

Pavlova with berries and cream

Pavlova with berries and cream

Named after the Russian ballerina, the pavlova is a familiar and well loved Antipodean dessert. You can experiment with all kinds of fruit toppings, but berries and cream is always a winner.

Our favourite traditional Christmas recipes | Women's Weekly Food (16)

16

Roast salmon with fennel and apple salad

Roast salmon with fennel and apple salad

Our favourite traditional Christmas recipes | Women's Weekly Food (17)

17

Roasted goose with spiced apples and onions

Roasted goose with spiced apples and onions

This deliciously tender roast goose recipe is stuffed with a pisatchio and fig stuffing, perfectly balancing sweet and nutty. It’s the perfect meal for a special occasion like Christmas.

Our favourite traditional Christmas recipes | Women's Weekly Food (18)

18

Roast vitello tonnato

Roast vitello tonnato

Vitello tonnato is a well-known Italian veal dish accompanied with a tuna mayonnaise. It is usually served cold or at room temperature, making the perfect appetiser for a Christmas lunch.

Our favourite traditional Christmas recipes | Women's Weekly Food (19)

19

Fruit cake and eggnog cheesecake

Fruit cake and eggnog cheesecake

With a fruitcake base, creamy cheesecake filling and fruit topping drizzled with toffee, this Christmas dessert is a wonderfully decadent treat.

Our favourite traditional Christmas recipes | Women's Weekly Food (20)

20

Roast pork with cranberry sauce

This delicious cranberry and pistachio stuffed pork is tender on the inside, crispy on the outside, creating the perfect balance of flavours and textures for a roast dinner.

Our favourite traditional Christmas recipes | Women's Weekly Food (21)

21

Beef rib roast with spiced salt

Beef rib roast with spiced salt

Spice up your beef rib roast, the king of roasts, with spiced salt and serve with luscious garlic mayonnaise on the side.

Our favourite traditional Christmas recipes | Women's Weekly Food (22)

22

Maple-glazed baby carrots

Gorgeously sweet orange and maple glazed baby carrots. The perfect accompaniment for your next dinner party.

Our favourite traditional Christmas recipes | Women's Weekly Food (23)

23

Roast turkey with prosciutto and pear stuffing

Roast turkey with prosciutto and pear stuffing

The contrast of salty and sweet in the pear and proscuitto stuffing adds great depth of flavour to this roast turkey with herbed butter.

Our favourite traditional Christmas recipes | Women's Weekly Food (24)

24

Asparagus and goats’ cheese tart

Indulge in this deliciously crisp, cheesy and tender asparagus and goat’s cheese tart.

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Our favourite traditional Christmas recipes | Women's Weekly Food (2024)

FAQs

What is a traditional Christmas dinner menu? ›

Traditional Christmas dinner features turkey with stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce, and vegetables. Other types of poultry, roast beef, or ham, are also used. Pumpkin or apple pie, raisin pudding, Christmas pudding, or fruitcake are staples for dessert.

What food can be prepared the day before Christmas? ›

Make-ahead Christmas recipes
  • Tuscan sausage, kale & ciabatta stuffing. A star rating of 4.5 out of 5. ...
  • Sunken chocolate, olive oil & hazelnut cake. ...
  • Pheasant casserole. ...
  • Roast garlic make-ahead gravy. ...
  • Air-fryer soy & cranberry chicken wings. ...
  • Croissant bread sauce. ...
  • App onlyQuick pickled red cabbage. ...
  • Mincemeat half-baked cookies.

What are 3 traditional Christmas foods? ›

Every family in every part of the world serves their own traditional Christmas foods, but in the U.S., some are enjoyed nationwide:
  • Turkey.
  • Prime Rib.
  • Baked Ham.
  • Mashed Potatoes & Gravy.
  • Stuffing.
  • Green Bean Casserole.
  • Candied Sweet Potatoes.
  • Roasted Vegetables.
Dec 21, 2023

What to eat on Christmas Day night? ›

Serve a traditional Christmas dinner menu filled with classic dishes, including smoked salmon starters, roast turkey with all the trimmings and Christmas pudding. We're all for breaking with convention and trying something new on special occasions, but sometimes only classic dishes will do on Christmas Day.

What special food is eaten on Christmas Day? ›

Candy Cane can be hung as edible decorations.
  • White Christmas, a sweet slice made of copha and mixed fruit.
  • Cold ham and cold turkey.
  • Seafood and salads.
  • Roast chicken, ham and turkey.
  • Stuffing.
  • Christmas cake or Christmas pudding.
  • Custard.
  • Gingerbread in Christmas shapes.

What is the must have food during Christmas? ›

From classic roast turkey to roast potatoes, indeed, some festive foods are much more preferred than others. As well as festive staples – such as pigs in blankets, parsnips, and Christmas pud – it turns out some of us even enjoy chips at our big feast, as well as Yorkshire pudding.

What do you serve for a casual Christmas lunch? ›

Think: 15-minute paninis, slow cooker potato soup, and make-ahead sausage casseroles that you can pop in the microwave. Of course, you can also make a sit-down Christmas lunch with honey-glazed ham sliders and a beautiful spinach quiche.

What is a typical American Christmas dinner? ›

These are the top-rated main dish and side dish recipes you need for a perfect traditional Christmas dinner. They cover the savory side of Christmas dinner, from prime rib, baked ham, and roast turkey to scalloped potatoes, green bean casserole, and cranberry sauce.

What is the perfect Christmas dinner? ›

You likely will want to choose a main first, like a turkey, Christmas ham, casserole or other show-stopping dishes. Then, you can compliment your main with Christmas side dishes and holiday appetizers. And of course, you can't forget about sweet Christmas desserts and festive co*cktails to sip on throughout the night!

What kind of food should be on the Christmas menu? ›

Each traditional Christmas dinner menu features a main course—including ham, turkey, beef, and vegetarian options—paired with two or three side dishes, desserts, or drinks to jump-start your Christmas or Christmas Eve dinner menu planning.

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