Easy Holiday Dishes for Every Part of the Meal

Like most families, my family has many beloved holiday meal traditions. Our Christmas Eve is a choose-your-own adventure affair; my parents, siblings and I each pick a favorite dish. One sister picks up wonton soup from the local Chinese restaurant, and my dad makes a platter of his famous clams casino at my request. My mom might cook up a pasta dish, and my brother will arrange a platter of shrimp cocktail. My contribution is the cheese board, shaped into a crowd-pleasing caprese salad wreath. Christmas dinner, on the other hand, is pretty classic, with a first course of manicotti and a big salad, followed by a roast, butternut squash risotto and sides ranging from baked stuffed potatoes to Brussels sprouts. 

These traditions are special to us, and we look forward to them each year. To the point that my sister and her husband will start making cinnamon rolls late Christmas Eve so they can be ready for our Christmas day brunch—even though they just flew in from Phoenix with a toddler in tow and are fighting off jet lag. Opening presents in the morning wouldn’t be the same without the sweet, warm aroma of the baking cinnamon rolls filling the house. I’m sure your family has their own meaningful traditions too.

While I treasure these traditions, I also like to add something new to the mix each year— whether that’s a side dish or a dessert—and sometimes that something new gets woven into our traditions and repeated. You never know what fabulous new recipe you’ll want to save to your holiday cookbook to make again next year, and the year after that. So in the spirit of trying new things, we’ve created a collection of new holiday recipes that we think just might become new favorites. Plus, they help solve many of the menu-planning struggles we all wrestle with during the holiday season. What can you make when you decide to invite friends over for a last-minute happy hour? Our three-ingredient appetizers that start with one of our favorite freezer staples—puff pastry—are the answer. Or if you’re asked to bring something to share, simple but stunning veggie sides and celebration-worthy baked goods are just the thing to make. We’ve also included some make-ahead breakfasts, because sometimes guests are there for more than just the main event—or maybe brunch is your main event. We hope some of these recipes find a home on your holiday table this year and for years to come!

Puff Pastry to the Rescue

Appetizers are often the highlight of the party, setting the scene for the evening and giving friends and family an opportunity to connect over tasty nibbles. And even though they’re an important part of the holiday meal, they don’t have to be complicated or take a lot of time to prepare.

Keeping this in mind, we turned the VIP of the freezer aisle—puff pastry—into a trio of festive apps. The buttery pastry cooks up flaky and golden brown and is the perfect vessel for almost any flavor combination. Guava and cream cheese bites, inspired by Puerto Rican pastelillos, are a slightly sweet addition to your assortment of appetizers. A container of spinach-artichoke dip spread on a sheet of puff pastry yields super-simple spirals that will have your guests clamoring for more. And savory Parmesan-garlic cheese straws are perfect for cocktail hour. 

Veggie Sides That Shine

Let’s be real, as good as the main dish is, it’s often the sides that steal the show. Whether you’re looking for something new to serve with your tried-and-true roast or the host asks you to bring a side dish, these recipes are really easy to make yet are sure to impress. 

I would argue that no holiday meal is complete without potatoes. And whether you prefer mashed or sweet, we’ve got you covered. Mashed potatoes go from basic to brilliant when they’re smothered with a whole lot of caramelized onions for French onion dip vibes. Roasting smashed sweet potatoes with Parmesan yields super-crispy, savory results. We’ve got easy spins on green beans and carrots too. And even our salad is stunning, getting pops of color from slices of red pear and jewel-like pomegranate seeds.

Share Some Sweets

I grew up baking holiday cookies with my mom to give to friends and neighbors. Our dining room table would be covered with baking ingredients, like sugar, flour, sprinkles, chips, softening butter and room-temperature eggs, that we would transform into goodies. My mom would find festive plates each year to give away, and we would pile cookies and candies on top. Now, I make my own cookie plates. I love looking for new additions to bake up, and recipes like our cranberry-apple streusel bars and raspberry-lemon crinkle cookies will help keep the plates feeling fresh this year.

Looking for a show-stopping dessert? Our chocolate-peppermint cake showcases the perfect winter holiday flavor combination with rich chocolate and lots of mint. The 9-by-13-inch size is ideal for sharing with a big group. There’s peppermint extract in the cake and the buttercream, plus crushed peppermint candies on top to drive home the flavor. It looks festive and fun and is sure to be loved by all.

Don’t Forget Breakfast

If you have overnight guests during the holidays, you may have a little more meal planning to do. That’s where these make-ahead breakfasts come in handy. Sure, you can put out some yogurt, granola and fruit, but with a little bit of extra planning, you can have a cozy, satisfying breakfast ready in no time. The spicy aromas of pumpkin-y French toast casserole and cinnamon-raisin baked oats are sure to lure sleepyheads out of bed. For a savory morning meal, try a veggie-packed quiche that’s made on a sheet pan so it can serve a crowd.

A Behind-the-Scenes Look at Our Recipe Development Process

Every single one of EatingWell’s recipes is created by food experts and reviewed by registered dietitians. Our editors thought about the sorts of recipes we would want to have handy as we headed into the holiday season, and then we worked with our recipe developers to bring them to life. Once the recipes were ready, we reviewed them closely to make sure they’d meet all of our holiday needs. Could the puff pastry appetizers be prepared ahead so we’d have quick snacks at the ready? Check. Were the side dishes easy to make but still delicious and eye-catching enough to impress our guests? Check. And did we have a dessert that represented the best of the holiday season? Check.

After we reviewed them, the recipes were tested again by someone other than the person who initially developed them. This step ensures that the recipe will work, and if the tester finds any issues, they’ll work through them until the recipe is perfect. 

Once the recipes were finalized, they headed to our photo studio. The team photographed the finished recipes and also took additional photos to help you visualize the method as you make the recipe at home. 

Finally, the recipes were reviewed by a registered dietitian to ensure each recipe’s nutrition analysis was accurate. The dietitian also added the nutrition and dietary tags you see on each page—heart-healthy, nut-free and diabetes-appropriate, to name a few. These tags allow you to quickly see if a recipe fits your needs. 

Recipe development, testing and nutrition analysis is a lengthy process, but it guarantees we’re publishing the best recipes possible. We hope these recipes will become family favorites at your holiday celebrations.