Our best ever Christmas recipes for 2024
From a traditional roast turkey with gravy, side dishes galore, classic Christmas puddings and a trifle ready in 30, these are the best recipes for your festive feast.
If you're in charge of the big Christmas feast this year, fear not - we've compiled all our best ever Christmas dishes from our extensive (and triple-tested) recipe catalogue.
We know that there is a huge amount of festive recipes to choose from, which can sometimes be overwhelming, so we've curated a whole gallery and picked our absolute must-have Christmas recipes to have on the Christmas table this year.
From inventive canapés to light starters, show stopping turkeys to fabulous sides, alternative mains to delicious desserts, we have every possible discerning taste covered!
Looking for gifts for the budding home cook? We've rounded up our must-have kitchen essentials for making meal time a breeze!
Spice-Rubbed Turkey
Rubbed with black peppercorns, bay leaves, garlic granules and paprika for a flavoursome twist to your Christmas feast.
Recipe: Spice-Rubbed Turkey
Citrus-salt and Thyme Brined Turkey
Salting (or dry-brining) your turkey makes for wonderful juicy meat. If you’re short on time, start from step 4 and instead season the clementine butter generously with salt.
Individual Grape, Thyme and Goat’s Cheese Tarts
These clever pastries showcase the classic combination of tangy goat’s cheese and sweet grapes, with added sharpness from the balsamic vinegar.
Coquilles St Jacques
An impressive looking dish, that doesn't actually require much work. Serve with buttery mashed potatoes, if you like.
Recipe: Coquilles St Jacques
Pickled Cucumber Salad with Roast Glazed Salmon
This crisp cucumber salad beautifully balances out the richness of the salmon.
Mini Chilli and Crab Doughnuts
If you can’t get fresh crab meat, tinned works, too, just drain it thoroughly. For a vegetarian version, swap the crab for mashed hard-boiled eggs.
Recipe: Mini Chilli and Crab Doughnuts
Pancetta Breakfast Cups
Serve up breakfast for dinner with these tasty little frittatas. Swap the brown sauce for ketchup, if you prefer.
Recipe: Pancetta Breakfast Cups
Goat's Cheese Balls
These no-fuss cheese bites look super pretty, and can easily be made a day ahead.
Recipe: Goat's Cheese Balls
Pear, Candied Pecan and Blue Cheese Salad
A fruity elegant salad that’s sure to impress. Replace the blue cheese with a goat’s cheese if you’re not a fan.
Smoked Salmon Mousse with Pink Peppercorn Butter
The traditional way to hearald a Christmas feast, and these individual serving are so simple and can be made in advance.
Smoked Salmon and Spinach Roulade
Make this eye-catching centrepiece for your guests which combines a cheesy, spinach roulade, filled with a prawn, smoked salmon and ricotta filling.
Clementine and Sage Turkey with Madeira Gravy
Our top choice for Christmas is this exquisite roasted turkey with clementine and sage. Top it with Madeira gravy to make the perfect main dish for your feast.
Stuffed Turkey Roll
Impressive and simple to carve, this turkey roll is packed with sweet apples and spicy chorizo
Recipe: Stuffed Turkey Roll
Stuffed Rack of Pork with Cider Gravy
Our rack of pork recipe is special enough for the confident cook to serve, yet simple enough for the novice to master - try it as a main dish for your Christmas meal.
Recipe: Stuffed rack of pork with cider gravy
Beef Wellington with Port Gravy
Beef Wellington is a recipe that takes some time, but it is a showstopper worthy of a Christmas dinner table.
Recipe: Beef Wellington with Port Gravy
Vegetarian Pea Pithivier
A vegetarian alternative for your guests, this pea pithivier also makes a stunning centrepiece.
Recipe: Vegetarian pea pithivier
Whole Stuffed Celeriac
The earthiness of the mushrooms combined with the truffle oil makes this a perfect vegan showstopper for meat eaters and vegetarians, too.
Recipe: Whole Stuffed Celeriac
Hasselback Squash
For vegans, replace goats cheese with a substitute, we like Violife Feta Style Non-Dairy Cheese Alternative.
Recipe: Hasselback Squash
Caramelised Onion and Squash Baked Ricotta
Serve this delicious vegetarian centrepiece at the table alongside your turkey and the meat eaters will all want a slice too!
Chicken and Pork Terrine
This terrine will look fabulous on your dinner table and will taste even more amazing.
Recipe: Chicken and pork terrine
An experienced and highly skilled team of food writers, stylists and digital content producers, the Good Housekeeping Cookery Team is a close-knit squad of food obsessives. Cookery Editor Emma Franklin is our resident chilli obsessive and barbecue expert, who spends an inordinate amount of time on holidays poking round the local supermarkets seeking out new and exciting foods. Senior Cookery Writer Alice Shields is a former pastry chef and baking fanatic who loves making bread and would have peanut butter with everything if she could. Her favourite carb is pasta, and our vibrant green spaghetti is her weeknight go-to. Lover of all things savoury, Senior Cookery Writer Grace Evans can be found eating crispy corn and nocellara olives at every opportunity, and will take the cheeseboard over dessert any time (though she cannot resist a slice of tres leches cake). With a wealth of professional kitchen know-how, culinary training and years of experience between them, they are all dedicated to ensuring every Good Housekeeping recipe is the best it can be, so you can trust they’ll work (and if they don’t – we’ll have the answer for why*) every time (*90% of the time the answer is: “buy an separate oven thermometer”!).
Cauliflower Wellington
Make this easy lentil, chickpea and cauliflower dahl recipe
Turkey lasagne recipe
Simple Pear and Almond Cake recipe
