Traditional Christmas dinner recipes

Come Christmas Day, there are certain things most of us love to eat. This is what we'd cook for a traditional Christmas dinner.

Starter

Alyn Williams places delicately curled pieces of smoked salmon (a Christmas essential) and watercress leaves into the bowl before gently pouring a velvety watercress, potato and shallot soup around them. Finish with fresh horseradish root. A light and elegant way to kick the feast off, we think.

Or how about pâté? We’ve gone with a fishy theme again – Esther Brunning’s smoked mackerel pâté is simple to make, is ready in ten minutes, and requires only five ingredients (smoked mackerel, cream cheese, horseradish sauce, lemon zest and parsley). A great option is you’re low on time.

Main – roast turkey with all the trimmings

We’re very proud of our roast turkey recipe, which incorporates cooking the bird, cranberry sauce and stuffing all in one method. The turkey is simply flavoured with thyme and melted butter, and the stuffing comes stuffed(!) with bacon, celery, sage, parsley and lemon zest. It will take seconds to whip up the cranberry sauce, which is made fragrant with port, orange zest and redcurrant jelly.

We think we’ve cracked the ultimate roast potatoes recipe. Lovefood editor Andrew experimented with two different types of potato and three different types of fat to discover that Maris Piper potatoes with either beef dripping or goose fat is the way to go. Watch the video then get cooking.

Jazz those Brussels sprouts up with streaky bacon, onion, garlic, a handful of toasted almonds and a splash (or two) of Marsala wine. Sprouts should be blanched very briefly before being soaked in cold water for up to ten minutes, then dried thoroughly, and finally fried off in butter.

It’s not just the potatoes that need roasting. Make a huge vat of roast veg for the table (parsnips, butternut squash, carrots, sweet potatoes and the like), flavoured with garlic, bay leaves and rosemary, and cooked in a generous glug of olive oil. You could even try adding a little honey for sweetness.

Bread sauce – a must for many a Christmas dinner table across the nation. Make this essential accompaniment simply from onion, one clove, a pint of milk, a bay leaf, breadcrumbs and a pinch of salt and pepper. It’s one of those recipes that almost takes care of itself, so that you can get on with something else.

Carrots recently came top in a new poll of Brits’ favourite Christmas dinner foods, so we've got to have them on our plate. Lovefood's Charlotte tried carrots three different ways in this video, and decided that glazed in a buttery sheen with a sprinkling of parsley is best. 

Pudding

Go classic with Mary Berry’s Christmas pudding recipe – it’s what team lovefood will be eating at the office Christmas party! A simple recipe which requires no overnight soaking, and uses freshly grated nutmeg, brandy and lemon zest. Use grated butter instead of suet if you’re a veggie, but always serve with brandy butter.

If you prefer your puddings chocolatey, then try Eric Lanlard’s chocolate and chestnut yule log. Bake a light sponge, soak it in dark rum, spread a chestnut cream (made from crème de marrons and double cream) all over it, gently roll the filled sponge up nice and tight, then drown it in a chocolate glaze. 

More Christmas recipes and features