As Christmas approaches, it is a good idea to start figuring out your Christmas dinner menu. While traditional Christmas dinner food is fine, we like to try new menu ideas every year. If you are entertaining lots of guests, these Christmas dinner ideas will give your guests lots of options.
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Christmas Dinner Menu #1 — Baked Potato Bar
Instead of having a traditional Christmas dinner, allow your guests to have baked potatoes with their choice of toppings.
If you don’t think this will be enough food, you can have other dishes to go with your baked potato bar.
What you will need:
This is an easy set up.
Bake the potatoes ahead of time, and then you can keep them warm or reheat them.
Here are some ideas for possible toppings:
- meat gravy (cook hamburger & add cream of mushroom soup)
- chopped green onions
- shredded cheese
- runny cheese (like Ragu)
- bacon bits
- fresh chives
- cooked broccoli
- chili
- sour cream
- pepperoni
Christmas Dinner Menu #2 — Nachos or Tacos
This menu is great for anyone who likes to eat Mexican food. There are tons of options for toppings to make all your guests happy!
What you will need:
If you are planning on having nachos, you can decide to have one or multiple kinds of tortilla chips available.
For tacos, you can have whatever size tortillas you want and hard taco shells. Just warm the tortillas in the microwave and cook the shells in the oven.
You can also try having different types of tacos like fish tacos or Thai tacos.
Some possible toppings for your chips or tortillas:
- taco meat
- shredded or diced chicken
- shredded cheese
- queso or nacho cheese
- jalapenos (fresh or ones from a jar)
- guacamole
- refried beans and/or black beans
- variety of salsas (check out our restaurant salsa recipe!)
- shredded lettuce
- pico de gallo
- chopped tomatoes
- sour cream
- chopped onions
If you want to have a station for people to make their tacos, you could purchase taco holders!
Christmas Dinner Menu #3 — Appetizers
Instead of having a main course, you can offer your guests a variety of appetizers to choose from in a buffet layout.
What you will need:
Some of these appetizer ideas can easily be made ahead of time, but others will need to be cooked. Make sure you plan out how much time you will need and what things can be cooked at the same time.
Some appetizer ideas:
- meatballs or cocktail wieners in gravy, barbecue sauce, or sweet and sour sauce
- ham/cream cheese/green onion roll-ups
- variety of meat, cheese, & crackers
- assorted cube cheeses
- vegetable tray with veggie dip—pickles, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, peppers, green onions, snap peas, celery, cucumbers, radishes, tomatoes
- fruit tray with yogurt dip and/or chocolate dip—bananas, grapes, kiwi, assorted berries, apple slices, star fruit, assorted melon chunks, pineapple
- pigs in a blanket (crescent rolls around sausages or wieners)
- sausage balls (sausage, cheese, & biscuit mix)
- cocktail shrimp with cocktail sauce
- crab rangoon
- pumpernickel bread with spinach & artichoke dip
- cooked sliders (ham & cheese; turkey & cheese; ham, turkey, & cheese; roast beef & cheese)
- stuffed tomatoes or peppers
Christmas Dinner Menu #4 — Soup, Sandwiches/Wraps, & Salad
Allow your guests to help themselves to a buffet of soups, salads, and sandwiches or wraps.
Sandwiches and wraps could be hot or cold.
What you will need:
For salads and soups, you can have a variety of toppings and dressings.
Soup ideas:
- tomato soup
- loaded baked potato soup
- chili (check out our easy chili recipe!)
- Zuppa (create copycat from Olive Garden)
Serve soups with toppings such as cheese, crackers, sour cream, green onions, bacon bits, etc.
Sandwich & wrap ideas:
- grilled cheese
- reubens
- cold cuts
- BLTs
- avocado wraps
- turkey applejack wraps
- pizza wraps
Consider serving wraps with dipping sauces like ranch, honey mustard, etc.
Salad topping ideas:
- diced or shredded chicken
- bacon bits
- cubed ham
- pepperoni
- hard boiled eggs
- peppers
- shredded carrots
- sunflower seeds
- nuts
- cucumbers
- tomatoes
- onions
- croutons
- tortilla strips
- wonton strips
- fried onions or peppers
- avocado
- berries
- mandarin oranges
- corn
- black beans
- garbanzo beans
- shredded cheese
- feta cheese
- blue cheese
It is also a great idea to have a variety of salad dressings available such as ranch, Caesar, french, Italian, Asian, southwest, vinaigrette, etc.
Christmas Dinner Menu #5 — Pizza & Breadsticks
At one of our family Christmases, it is traditional for us to have an assortment of pizza.
We always get take out, so if you’re celebrating on Christmas day, this probably won’t work because most places will be closed.
Besides pizza, we usually have bread sticks or cheese bread and a vegetable tray.
You could also have dessert pizza!
Christmas Dinner Menu #6 — Dessert Bar
If your Christmas get together is short or is a come and go sort of thing, a big variety of desserts could be easy to do.
What you will need:
These could be candies, cookies, cakes, pies, etc.
Check our our favorite pie recipe: peanut butter pie
You could also include fruit salads with your desserts.
A couple of our favorite fruit salads are:
Creamy Fruit Salad Dessert Recipe
3 Easy Fruit Fluff Salad Recipes
They also can be made ahead of time instead of having to wait until the day of your event.
Display your candies, cookies, and other desserts on platters and trays.
Christmas Dinner Menu #7 — Breakfast for Dinner
Breakfast food is good at any time of the day.
What you will need:
Serve your guests different meats like sausage and bacon.
Have eggs in a variety of ways.
Biscuits and gravy, hash browns, oatmeal, and grits are all good breakfast foods to have.
Fresh fruit and yogurt are great healthy foods you can serve as well.
You could bake some muffins or scones.
You can even make pancakes and/or waffles and have different toppings and syrups available.
Some topping ideas:
- chocolate chips
- whipped cream
- maple syrup
- chocolate syrup
- fruit syrup like strawberry or blueberry
- fresh fruit
- sprinkles
- Nutella
- peanut butter
Offer your guests milk, juice, tea, or coffee with their food.
Christmas Dinner Menu #8 — Pasta Bar
If you and your guests like Italian food, then a pasta bar is a great idea.
A pasta bar is like a buffet of all your favorite pasta dishes.
You cook the pasta, and the guests top their pasta with their choice of sauce and toppings.
What you will need:
You can cook up more than one type of pasta if you would like. Bowtie pasta is a great choice, but you could also make up linguine.
Give your guests options for toppings and sauces such as:
- meatballs
- chicken
- bacon
- sausage
- chopped SteakUms
- marinara sauce
- Alfredo sauce
- cheese sauce
- Parmesan cheese
- cooked broccoli
- cooked peppers
- mushrooms (canned or fresh)
- cooked onions
- cooked spinach
Serve the pasta with garlic or cheese bread or Bruschetta.
Christmas Dinner Menu #9 — Hot Cocoa Bar
For a short get together or a come and go get together, a cocoa bar is easy.
What you will need:
Have a lot of hot cocoa made ahead of time.
You could have more than one type of hot chocolate like milk chocolate and dark chocolate.
Have toppings for your guests to add to their drink such as:
- marshmallows
- maraschino cherries
- soft peppermint or chocolate mints
- chocolate chips
- whipped cream
- sprinkles
- assorted creamers or drink syrups such as caramel or vanilla
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What’s on your Christmas dinner menu?
Comment down below your Christmas dinner ideas!
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Somehow I just want to make all 10, they all soung so yummy!
Thank you Cathern!