From Nana’s famous egg dish to spiced sangria and bourbon pecan pie, these are our favorite holiday recipes every Christmas!
Hi friends! ! ‘Tis the season for festive food and drinks. As Christmas approaches, I get more and more excited to prepare our favorite holiday recipes and enjoy the holidays with my family.
While most of the time I aim to eat nutritious recipes with vegetables, protein, and fresh, wholesome ingredients (like these spa gourmet recipes), I like to live with an 80/20 perspective, leaving plenty of room for special treats. I’m also a firm believer in enjoying the holidays, special food, and spending time together without worrying too much about what you’re eating.
Year after year we offer some of our traditional recipes with our meals. For example, it’s tradition to eat Alton Brown’s overnight cinnamon rolls when opening presents on Christmas morning. Making these comforting and delicious holiday recipes is one of the most popular ways to make breakfast, lunch, or dinner extra special. So with that in mind, I thought I’d share some of our favorite holiday recipes, from brunch casseroles to spiced sangria and Ina’s roasted ribs. Let’s dig deeper!
Our favorite holiday recipes
Nana’s famous egg dish
This egg casserole is perfect for any brunch or holiday celebration. It freezes beautifully, can be made ahead of time, and tastes great with pico de gallo salsa.
madre’s famous grammy recipe
Oh, and you have to try Madre’s famous Grammy recipe! These are the perfect holiday dessert—delicious cookie bars that will satisfy even the biggest sweet tooth. Trust me, after one bite, you will be begging for the recipe.
Green beans with goat cheese, almonds and cranberries
These green beans are bright and fresh with creamy goat cheese, orange zest, crunchy slivered almonds, and sweet cranberries. This recipe is gluten-free and takes just 15 minutes from start to finish.
The Ultimate Fall and Winter Salad
This salad is a fall dream come true. It contains butternut squash, spicy arugula, tangy vinaigrette, chicken, pumpkin seeds and goat cheese. It’s perfect for any holiday party or get-together and makes a great vegetable side dish. My vegetarian friends can easily omit the chicken and it’s just as delicious without it.
Best raw chocolate pie
Made with cashews, cocoa, and almond-coconut crust, this Whipped Chocolate Tart is a decadent gluten-free dessert that requires no cooking!
Holiday Spiced Sangria
Festive Spiced Sangria! It’s made before any holiday party and tastes even better after a few days. It’s perfect for parties as it’s a fun alternative to regular bottles of wine.
Ina Garten’s Mulled Wine
Warm up with a pitcher of Ina Garten’s mulled wine, a blend of apple cider and red wine infused with cinnamon, cloves and orange.
Ina’s Sunday Rib Roast
Ina’s Sunday Roast Ribs with Mustard Horseradish is usually the centerpiece of our holiday gatherings. This is a crowd favorite.
Ina’s Bourbon Chocolate Pecan Pie
Another favorite of Ina’s. Chocolate, bourbon, and pecans—what’s not to love? I’ve done it twice this year and plan to do it again on Saturday. I only use gluten-free frozen crusts from Whole Foods.
Our Christmas weekend menu
This year our menu is as follows:
Christmas Eve
Dinner at my dad’s house was always a feast of delicious food and good food. We usually have some type of Mexican buffet with tamales, enchiladas, beans and rice, and a variety of desserts. My aunt often makes eggnog, which is delicious.
Christmas is at our house. We host breakfast and open gifts, then everyone goes home to rest/nap before coming back for dinner, dessert, and cocktails.
This is our commonly used menu:
Christmas Brunch:
- Nana’s Egg Casserole
- Alton Brown’s Cinnamon Rolls
- Bacon or ham (still undecided)
- Tamales and Beans (from madre!)
- coffee and mimosa
Christmas dinner:
- Cheese Board and Artichoke Dip Crackers
- Mediterranean Chopped Salad
- Smoked turkey aboard the Traeger
- Stuffing and Gravy
- Beef Tenderloin with Horseradish Sauce
- Cheesy Potatoes (Madre)
- fresh yeast
- Bourbon Pecan Pie + Dessert Platter (tons of different cookies and candies)
- Mulled wine, eggnog and champagne
This should be a really nice and delicious celebration 😉
I’d love to hear what you have on your holiday menu this year! Brussels sprouts, cheese balls, fun appetizers, yule logs? Please share your favorite vacations in the comments below!
Western Europe
Gina
You can also enjoy:
