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The ultimate Christmas recipes for mains, sides, drinks and desserts

All the Christmas food ideas you need for a resounding four-part Christmas cooking act.
Christmas recipe - Christmas lamb with pomegranate

Christmas lamb with pomegranate

Ben Dearnley

Don’t panic. Christmas may be creeping up, but we have the recipes to plan your festive menu. We have all your bases covered, from easy Christmas recipes to mains in pork and ham, turkey or lamb, or seafood form – and the salads and sides to go with it.

If you’re looking after the main event, turn to our utterly delicious glazed ham recipes primed for lunch or Christmas dinner. Prefer a golden roast turkey? We have whole roasted birds served with cranberry as well as a stuffed turkey roll and turkey involtini dish for faster Christmas cooks. Plus, plenty of fish and seafood recipes typical of an Australian Christmas feast.

Christmas recipes for salads and sides don’t get overlooked, either. Because as we know, a good salad or potato bake can easily outshine the main event.

To finish your feasting on a (sugar) high, our showstopping dessert recipes have you sorted. And for festive drinks, plenty of cocktails to keep the party going. Christmas is going to taste just as good as ever.

Here’s our most comprehensive collection of recipes for Christmas.

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Photo: Kara Rosenlund

Christmas ham recipes

Christmas ham recipes


The centrepiece of any Christmas feast, hams can be glazed with all kinds of ingredients. Whether you lean traditional – honey and mustard, perhaps – or want to try something more unorthodox this year, such as amaretto and cherry-glaze with pistachio and herb crust, these combinations will be the crowning glory to your festive feast.

Christmas ham glazes

Christmas ham glazes


The fundamentals are simple: sugar for sweetness, spices for complexity, and a little acidity to balance it all out. Brush up on the essentials right here.

Jock Zonfrillo's roast turkey with native herbs and spices
Photo: Ben Dearnley

Christmas turkey recipes

Christmas turkey recipes


If there’s ever a time to cook a whole turkey, Christmas is it. Nothing lands on the festive table with more weight and anticipation than the giant bird. Don’t just limit yourself to roasting it either – the big bird benefits from a good ol’ brine and barbecue too.

salt-baked-spanner-crab-on-white-plate
Photo: Ben Dearnley

Christmas seafood recipes

Christmas seafood recipes


Seafood has long been the centrepiece of the quintessential Australian Christmas. What would a festive spread be without king prawns, freshly shucked oysters or side of spanner crab? The catch of the day is here, and then some.

Prawn cocktail tower
Photo: Ben Dearnley

Make-ahead Christmas recipes

Make-ahead Christmas recipes


These are the recipes that will keep your guests fed and watered, while allowing you to escape the kitchen unscathed.

Photo: Ben Dearnley

Vegetarian Christmas recipes

Vegetarian Christmas recipes


Christmas doesn’t have to be an all-ham affair. These vegetarian dishes will keep carnivores and plant-eaters happy at your festive feast, from starters through to the main event.

Barbecued lamb in baharat and yoghurt
Photo: Ben Dearnley

Christmas Roasts

Christmas roasts


These roasted meats are ideal Christmas recipes, from festive goose to luscious pork belly to an old-fashioned roast chicken. Whatever you choose as the centrepiece of your feast, all of the recipes we’ve selected here are designed for maximum flavour and impact.

Barbecued butterflied lamb leg with saltbush rub
Photo: Ben Dearnley

Christmas lamb recipes

Christmas lamb recipes


From slow-cooked lamb shoulders to barbecued and butterflied legs, for gatherings large or small, you’ll find a Christmas lamb recipe for you.

Photo: Ben Dearnley

Christmas mains from top chefs

Christmas mains from top chefs


Dan Hong’s mud crab with XO sauce, Jacqui Challinor’s roast pork shoulder or Heston Blumenthal’s roast turkey and gravy? We have all three, plus more impressive Christmas recipes for mains from some of Australia’s – and the world’s – leading chefs.

Photo: Chris Chen

Christmas salads

Christmas salads


No more soggy lettuce combos. Done right, these side salads might just steal the limelight.

Sunset Negroni
Photo: Ben Dearnley

Christmas cocktails

Christmas cocktails


These recipes for punch, Spritz and spiders will ensure you have a very merry Christmas.

Photo: Ben Dearnley

Christmas desserts

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Be it a traditional pudding, a layered trifle or a pavlova crowned with summer fruit, there’s only one rule: make it unforgettable.

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