The holiday season always feels far away until suddenly… it isn’t. One minute you’re putting away Halloween costumes. The next, you’re looking at the December calendar trying to remember who’s coming for Christmas Eve, what you’re making for Christmas dinner, and whether you volunteered to bring something to a school party you completely forgot about.
I really do love this time of year. I love having family and friends together, the traditions we come back to, and sitting around the dinner table eating things we don’t make on a normal Tuesday. My mom loves to cook, so I’m more than happy to let her handle most of the cooking for our big holiday meals. That said, the meals are also one more thing someone has to think about ahead of time. If you’re the default parent, there’s a good chance that “someone” is you.
These are holiday meal ideas to help you start planning, from the main dishes that deserve a spot on your table to sides, dessert, and a few lower-effort options for the days surrounding the main event. You don’t need all of them. Pick the ones your family will eat, decide what you’re buying instead of making (because yes, you’re allowed to do that, too), and get the plan out of your head.
16 Holiday Meal Ideas That Can Help Reduce Stress
A good holiday menu doesn’t need to be enormous. I usually start with the main dish, add a few sides that make sense with it, and make sure at least some of the meals can be handled ahead of time. I spent 15 years as a product manager turning “I have no idea where to even start” projects into a roadmap, and holiday meals are just another project.
Break it into smaller, easier-to-handle parts, so future you, the one standing in the kitchen on Christmas Eve, isn’t left scrambling.
Our Christmas Eve dinner has become a tradition of its own. My husband is Nicaraguan, and since we don’t live near his family, we’ve started making some of the dishes his family would normally have around the holidays. It’s a special way to make room for new traditions while honoring old ones from both sides of our family.
The recipes below are a mix of dishes for Christmas dinner and ideas that work just as well for the rest of the holiday season. Because people will still need dinner on December 22nd.
Want the free monthly planning page? I’ll send you the printable I use to map out the season, holidays, deadlines, and the meals, so the whole thing lives on paper instead of in your head. Grab the free planning page here.
Classic Prime Rib
Prime rib is a good choice when you want the main dish to feel special without having several different things happening on the stove at once.
Season it ahead of time with salt, pepper, garlic, and fresh rosemary, then let the oven handle most of the work. A meat thermometer takes the guesswork out of when it’s done, which can be incredibly helpful when you’re already keeping track of a million mental tabs at once.
Serve with horseradish cream and add a little fresh rosemary to the platter if you want to dress it up. Mashed potatoes and roasted vegetables make for easy sides that work well with the main dish.
Slow-Cooker Beef Stew
Not every meal during the holiday season needs to be Christmas dinner. (In other words, it doesn’t have to look like it belongs on the cover of Good Housekeeping.) Beef stew is one of those meals I like for the days around the holiday, especially when family is staying with you and everyone needs to eat but isn’t expecting anything elaborate.
I’ve made and (highly!) recommend Mom’s Slow Cooker Beef Stew from Ambitious Kitchen. Made with fresh herbs, dry red wine, and tender potatoes and carrots, it’s as delicious as it sounds. And if I’m already making a big batch of stew, I’ll usually double it and freeze the leftovers in Souper Cubes. It’s barely any more work now, and future me gets an entire dinner out of it later.
Serve it with bread and a salad, and dinner is taken care of with ease.
Honey-Glazed Spiral Ham
A spiral ham works well when you’re feeding a larger group because almost all of the prep has already been done for you. For the glaze, combine brown sugar with mustard and orange juice, then brush it over the ham toward the end of the cooking time. You still get that glossy holiday-dinner centerpiece without spending the entire morning working on it.
Add orange slices or fresh herbs around the platter before you put it on the table. Small effort. Looks great.
Roast Turkey With Herb Butter
For a lot of families, turkey is their holiday dinner. If you fall into that category, there’s no reason to reinvent it. (And I’m surely not here to convince you otherwise.)
I like keeping the seasoning fairly classic with butter, garlic, rosemary, sage, salt, and pepper. Use a meat thermometer to tell you when it’s ready rather than relying on cooking time alone. Fresh sage, orange slices, and cranberries around the finished turkey can make the plate feel a little more festive without adding a ton of time to the process.
Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Mashed potatoes are dependable. Yes, there is a place for dependable on a holiday menu.
Roasting the garlic first adds more flavor without changing the dish enough that the suspicious eaters at the table start asking questions. You can also make the potatoes ahead and reheat them with a little extra milk or cream and butter before serving.
I’m always looking for things that can move off the day-of list; mashed potatoes are definitely one of those.
Baked Mac & Cheese
This Baked Mac & Cheese recipe from Nagi Maehashi is one of our regulars around the holidays. And no, this isn’t where I’m going to tell you to replace the cheese with something healthier. Some holiday dishes earn their place on the table exactly as they are.
It also works with just about any main dish you’re already making. Put it next to ham or turkey, add a vegetable somewhere else on your table, and move on to the next thing on your list.
Lasagna
Another easy regular for us around the holidays is the “World’s Best Lasagna” recipe from Allrecipes. It’s our go-to when we want something substantial that isn’t another turkey-or-ham dinner.
It’s also the kind of meal that can do most of the heavy lifting. Add a salad and some bread (store-bought counts), and you’re done. Nobody said every holiday meal needs seven separate side dishes.
Green Bean Almondine
With all of the rich dishes that tend to show up at holiday dinners, I like having at least one vegetable dish that feels fairly light.
For Green Bean Almondine, blanch the green beans and toss them with butter, toasted almonds, and a squeeze of lemon. It doesn’t take long, and the lemon helps balance some of the heavier dishes on the table. It also works well alongside almost any main dish, so you don’t have to think hard about whether it belongs with the rest of the menu.
Cranberry-Orange Sauce
If you’ve never made cranberry sauce from scratch because it sounds like one more holiday project, this one is surprisingly manageable. (And a reason why it will always be one of my favorite dishes.) Simmer fresh cranberries with sugar, water, orange zest, and a little orange juice until the berries break down and the sauce thickens.
Then put it in the refrigerator. That’s it. It takes roughly 10–15 minutes, and you can make it several days before the actual holiday. (That’s the real selling point for me.) By the time everyone arrives, the dish is already finished and ready to be served.
Cornbread and Sage Stuffing
Stuffing is very family-specific. People tend to know what they think stuffing should taste like, and I respect that. However, you have some wiggle room to make this dish work with your schedule.
A cornbread version with sage, celery, onion, broth, and butter works well with turkey or ham and can be prepped ahead. Letting the cornbread dry out first also helps it absorb the broth without becoming too soft.
Roasted Winter Vegetables
One sheet-pan recipes can take care of a lot of that holiday chaos. Try carrots, Brussels sprouts, parsnips, and sweet potatoes tossed with olive oil, salt, pepper, and a small amount of maple syrup. (Trust me on this one.) Roast them until the edges are browned and the vegetables are tender.
If you didn’t see a family-favorite vegetable on the list above, add it in. I would rather put two vegetables on the holiday table that my family will enjoy than four nobody wanted in the first place.
Dinner Rolls
You can buy the rolls. And if you ask me, you should buy the rolls. If you love baking bread and that’s part of your holiday routine, then by all means, make them. But if it isn’t, buy a bag you like, warm them up before dinner, and finish it off by brushing a little butter over the tops. (There are enough moving pieces in a holiday meal. Not every one of them needs to begin with flour, sweat, and tears.)
Gingerbread Muffins
People still need breakfast during the holidays, which feels mildly unfair after you’ve just planned an entire holiday dinner, right? But these Gingerbread Muffins from Ambitious Kitchen make up for it. Plus, they’re extremely easy to make ahead.
Bake them before things get busy, and you have something ready to grab in the morning without adding another meal to your mental list. That’s really all I’m asking of a muffin in December, especially one that’s fluffy, cozy, and a little lighter than other options.
Chocolate Mousse Pie
For dessert, I love Hershey’s Chocolate Magic Mousse Pie. It’s rich, it’s perfectly chocolatey, and it’s the exact kind of indulgent I want from a holiday dessert. More importantly for holiday planning purposes, it’s something you can make ahead and keep in the refrigerator until you’re ready for it.
Pecan Pie
Pecan pie is a classic for the holidays. But the main reason I like it for a holiday meal plan is because you can make it ahead without worrying that it will dry out overnight.
Bake it the day before and let it cool completely. When dessert comes around, all you need to do is slice it. You can serve it at room temperature or warm individual pieces and add a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Dessert being finished before I even start cooking a holiday dinner is the kind of planning decision I rarely regret.
Hot Chocolate Bar
I know, I know, this one isn’t technically a meal, but I’m keeping it for the sake of giving you a few minutes of peace.
Set out hot chocolate with marshmallows, whipped cream, crushed candy canes, or whatever toppings your kids will like, and let everyone make their own mug. It’s festive without requiring its own planning process, and it works well for Christmas Eve or an afternoon when people are coming and going.
If December as a whole starts to feel like a lot, I wrote about how I avoid holiday stress by deciding what needs my attention and what I can justify taking off the list.
How to Make Holiday Meals Healthier
I’ll be the first to say that holiday meals are meant to be enjoyed. You do not need to spend Christmas dinner stressing over every little ingredient on your plate. I’m not for (or recommending) taking mashed potatoes off the menu and pretending everybody’s thrilled about it.
If we have multiple celebrations coming up or I just want to lighten up part of a meal, though, I love a good healthy swap. I’ll use olive oil instead of butter where it makes sense, swap sour cream for Greek yogurt, add more vegetables, or choose a leaner protein.
The goal isn’t to make every holiday recipe “healthy;” it’s to make a few easy swaps when you want to, enjoy the foods you really love, and move on with your life. Here’s how this can look:
Roast or Steam Instead of Deep-Frying
Roasting vegetables brings out their natural sweetness without requiring a ton of extra work. Steaming is another good option for green beans, broccoli, or other vegetables you want to keep lighter.
You don’t have to change every side. Instead, pick one or two vegetables and prepare them without a ton of additional steps. It also helps when you’re the one planning the full menu. If the mashed potatoes and stuffing are staying, maybe the Brussels sprouts don’t need much more than olive oil, salt, and pepper.
Swap Some Butter for Olive Oil
Olive oil works well for roasted vegetables, salads, and some other sides where butter isn’t essential to the flavor. Don’t get me wrong, I still use butter where I want butter. (It’s Christmas, after all!) The goal isn’t to find a substitute for every ingredient; it’s to look at the meal as a whole and make the choices that work best for you and your family.
Swap Sour Cream for Greek Yogurt
Plain Greek yogurt is another easy swap I make for sour cream. It works especially well in dips, mashed potatoes, and other recipes where you still want that creamy texture and tang. Again, you don’t need to replace sour cream everywhere. I make the swap when it makes sense and leave the recipe alone when it doesn’t.
Add Something Fresh
A fresh side can be the perfect partner to a plate of warm, rich holiday food. That might be a green salad, citrus salad, fresh fruit, or another vegetable that you can keep simple. Not only does it give everyone another option, but it usually doesn’t take up valuable oven space. (That last part matters more than it sounds.)
Include Protein and Vegetables
When I’m planning the menu, I like to make sure we have a main protein and a few vegetables alongside the more traditional sides.
If I want to lighten things up, I might choose a leaner protein or simply add another vegetable to the menu rather than trying to change the dishes everyone is actually looking forward to. And if we’re being specific, the USDA’s MyPlate recommends making half of your plate fruits and vegetables.
I’m not measuring everyone’s plate at the holiday table, but it is a useful reference when I’m deciding what foods to serve in the first place. Then everyone can choose what they want once dinner is on the table.
Add a Lower-Sugar Drink Option
If you’re serving cocktails, cider, hot chocolate, or other holiday-themed drinks, put water or sparkling water out, too. Add some orange slices, cranberries, or fresh rosemary if you want it to feel a little more festive. It takes almost no extra prep and gives everyone another option throughout the meal.
I also have a whole list of holiday mocktails if you want something festive without alcohol. I make the Mom-osa all the time, and it’s an easy one to add when you want the drinks to feel a little more special without creating another complicated thing to make.
How to Meal Plan for the Holidays
This is where I lean pretty heavily on the part of my brain that spent 15 years managing products and projects. There are a lot of moving pieces in a holiday meal: people, dietary needs, groceries, prep, cooking time, oven space. Trying to keep all of that in your head is unnecessary.
Instead, I would rather make the decisions once and write them down. Here’s my full “how to meal plan” process including the systems I actually use once the holidays roll around:
Step 1: Confirm Who’s Coming
Start with the calendar, not the recipe. Who will be there for Christmas Eve? Who’s coming for Christmas dinner? Are you hosting both? Does anyone have a food allergy or dietary restriction that you need to plan around?
Get the headcount and the dates written down first. I know this probably sounds obvious, but these are exactly the details that end up living in text threads until somebody has to remember them later.
Step 2: Choose the Main Dish
Once you know who you’re feeding, choose the main dish for each meal. Maybe Christmas Eve is beef stew and Christmas dinner is prime rib. Maybe your family always makes ham. Or maybe turkey is your non-negotiable. Start there, then choose the sides.
This keeps the menu from growing every time you see another recipe that looks good. (There will always be another recipe that looks good.)
Step 3: Make One Grocery List
Once the menu is final, go through every recipe and put the ingredients onto one grocery list. Then check what you already have. I’ve absolutely bought another container of an ingredient because I didn’t check the pantry first, only to come home and find two of them.
Organize your list however your brain works. I like grouping mine roughly by store section because it makes the shopping trip faster.
Step 4: Work Backward From Mealtime
If dinner needs to be on the table at 4 p.m., start there and work backward. Write down how long the main dish needs to cook and rest. Then look at the sides. Which ones need the oven? At what temperature? What needs to happen on the stove and what can be reheated?
This is usually when I find the conflicts that I would’ve missed without planning backward.
Three dishes needing the oven at three different temperatures at the same time is definitely worth knowing when there are still several days to do something about it. 3:30 on Christmas Day, less so.
You don’t need a minute-by-minute schedule. Give yourself enough of a timeline that you know what needs to happen in what order.
Step 5: Decide What You Can Do Ahead
Now go through the menu one more time and move anything you can off the day itself. Make the cranberry sauce. Bake the pie. Chop the vegetables. Put together anything that can stay in the refrigerator overnight. Find the serving dishes before you need them.
I also put a sticky note in each serving dish with the name of what will go in it. It takes a minute, and when someone asks what they can do, I don’t have to stop and make another decision.
That’s the kind of help I want from planning. Nothing impressive or perfect; fewer decisions when I’m already doing a lot.
Turning These Holiday Meal Ideas Into an Actual Plan
You don’t need to plan every meal between now and January. Start with the one that’s taking up the most space in your head. Choose the main dish, pick a few sides, decide on a dessert, and write down what you can make ahead and what you’re buying from the store.
Then stop. You can come back to the rest later, and you have permission to leave plenty of it off the list altogether.
Need more tips? Here’s how to start holiday party planning 8 weeks out.
If food is one piece of a much longer holiday list, The Simplified Membership™ is where I keep the seasonal dates, deadlines, planning tools, and prompts I use to run our own family operating system. It also includes The Simplified Seasonal Toolkits™ and Ask Like a Mom™, my library of AI prompts for the household planning you would rather not start from scratch.
More than 1,300 moms have used my planning tools to get some of this work out of their heads. I thought ahead so you don’t have to.
Erica O’Connor
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