News Beat
11 Ridiculously Easy Christmas Eve Dinner Ideas
OK, so your household might do Christmas dinner a little differently – we’ve always been a “chicken instead of turkey” home, and have hated debates about the role of cauliflower in the meal.
But usually, the fast is planned weeks, even months, in advance. Not so for Christmas Eve, though, at least in our house.
While friends from across Europe have standard dishes they always go for the night before Christmas, I always feel at a bit of a loss. I want something fast, something festive, and something that won’t tire me out before the main event.
Luckily, a post shared to Reddit’s r/Cooking, which reads, “I need easy ideas for Christmas Eve that are not lasagna,” has answers (good, because I’ve never made an “easy” lasagna in my life).
Here are some of the top replies:
1) “I’d go with a pot roast.”
“It’s filling, and it gets all your meat and veg in one pot.”
“Here is something you can prepare for the oven the day before,” replied u/EvaTheE.
BlueCupcake4Me, meanwhile, said, “This is our absolute favourite pot roast recipe. Worth every minute. The only modification we make is to add more broth.”
2) “This year I’m making enchiladas.”
“It only takes about 35-45 minutes to heat up afterwards. I’ll be pre-assembling them before the service and letting them sit for an hour as everything is cooked already.”
3) “My family always does Swedish meatballs on Christmas evening.”
“It’s something that takes very little time that night and can be done easily – and fits the Christmas vibe.”
“Yeah! We do Swedish meatballs along with a cold ham and other Swedish smorgasbord items like boiled potatoes, Jansens potatoes (or equivalent potato gratin), hard bread with Swedish cheese, lutefisk (only for the brave), gravlax, etc,” u/knifeyspoonysporky responded.
4) “In my family, we do a tamale party with beans, rice, and a few kinds of tamales.”
“Tamales! Buy a few dozen and provide salsa, guacamole, etc,” u/Extreme_Breakfast672 agreed.
5) “When my mum got older, we did soups and sandwiches.”
“We had several crockpots of different soups and a spread of several types of meat, cheese and bread/rolls, as well as the condiments, along with crisps, veggies and dips.
“Everyone was tasked with bringing something, even if it was just drinks, plates, soup bowls, etc. Both old and young enjoyed it. You can leave it out to snack on through the evening. And the cleanup is easy.”
Credit: u/hummingbird_lane24
6) “Ham. Nothing is easier.”
Credit: u/name-not-yet-taken
“Yesss. Plus lots of people go crazy for it in appetisers the next day. [It also] mixes into breakfast or potato dishes.
“I leave a container of slices in a conspicuous part of the fridge just for my father-in-law. He finds it like there’s a beacon in the Tupperware lol,” replied u/toreadorable.
7) “You can do what my wife and I are doing, get takeaway Chinese food.”
8) “Have you ever done fish en papillote (fish in a bag)?”
“It’s so easy-you can prep everything ahead of time and assemble the bags earlier in the day, then bake when you’re ready to serve.
“Here is the recipe. My family reduces the amount of Cajun seasoning and adds thinly sliced vegetables, like courgette and julienned carrots. Serve with orzo or angel hair pasta, and you have a complete meal.
“Add a salad and/or soup if you want multiple courses!”
9) “Fondue.”
Credit: u/girlwhoweighted
“My family likes to do cheese fondue for Christmas Eve,” said u/april-oneill.
“Serve with a sturdy bread, cubed ham, sliced apples, and steamed vegetables (broccoli and cauliflower are good for this). It’s easy but feels festive.”
10) “We’re doing nachos! We’re non-traditional around the holidays.”
“Two kinds of meat, beans, cheese, and all the sides. Everyone can build their own.”
11) “A nice beef stew. Any leftovers can be either frozen or used within a few days.”
“I generally put beef cheeks, carrots, onions, rosemary, thyme, juniper berries, and bay leaf in a bowl filled with wine and stock the night before.
“The following day dry the meat and veg, fry it off to give it colour, put the wine/stock in a pan and bring to a simmer for 15 min, add all your meat/veg, bring it back to a simmer, throw it in the oven with a lid for 6 hours at 140C, and crack the lid off in the last 90 minutes.
“If you’re doing dumplings, crack the lid at 60 min, and just remove fully when you add your dumplings. As a bonus, you can often reserve some of the gravy to use on Christmas Day.”
