Look, it’s been a long year, and many of us are looking forward to putting it all behind us and starting fresh in 2023. But before we start drafting New Year’s resolutions lists and setting goals for the upcoming year, it’s time to indulge. And what better way to reward ourselves and celebrate the end of 2022 than by going full-on Christmas mode?
That includes enjoying the time spent with family, the twinkly lights, the curated holiday playlists, rewatching Home Alone for the 100th time, and last but certainly not least, ALL of the food.
There’s no denying that one of the best things about the winter holidays is all the delicious foods we get to enjoy, guilt-free. But the truth is that even the traditional Christmas dinner can become repetitive after a certain age, and maybe this year, you want to spice things up and do something else besides the classic turkey.
If that’s the case, then you’re in luck, because the online food magazine Chef’s Pencil recently rounded up the most popular Christmas dishes around the world. From sarmales and tamales to roasted pork and goose, there are many delicious holiday foods on the global map, and we’ve selected 20 of our favorites. Check out our selection of 20 popular Christmas dishes around the globe, and maybe you’ll be inspired to try something new this year!
More info: chefspencil.com
A map of most popular Christmas dishes around the world
#1 Prawns | Australia
Fish is quite a popular holiday dish in many countries around the world, and it’s a great choice for those who’d like a lighter meal on Christmas Day.
But fish has become incredibly popular in Australia, especially prawns, which have been a holiday dinner staple since the 80s. It gets quite hot down under in December, so slow-cooking a giant turkey might not be such a great idea. So, locals usually throw some prawns on the barbecue for a delicious, yet light Christmas dinner.
#2 Suckling pig | Spain, Argentina
It might come as a surprise to some that pork is actually more popular than turkey around the world at Christmas time. Roasted suckling pig is the Christmas dish of choice in Argentina, Cuba, Spain, and Mexico, among others.
It’s paired with delicious Crema de Vie (the Cuban version of eggnog), caramelized potatoes and onions, or black beans and rice. This delicious roast will definitely be the main attraction at any Christmas dinner!
#3 Fried Carp | Central Europe
Carp might not be a fish that one usually associates with Christmas - it’s actually seen as a low-quality ingredient in the U.S. and Western Europe. However, in Central and Eastern Europe, it’s become a holiday dinner star. In Austria, the carp is fried in butter and served with potatoes and veggies.
In Poland, it’s soaked in milk, flour-coated, and fried, while Hungarians always have fisherman’s soup on their Christmas dinner table. The scales of the fish are said to bring wealth and good fortune in the new year, so perhaps it’s worth giving it a chance.
#4 Sarma | Eastern Europe
This one is an incredibly popular dish across Eastern Europe, known as sarmale in Romania and Moldova, holubtsi in Ukraine, sarma in Serbia and Bulgaria, and balandėliai in Lithuania. It’s also a popular dish in Germany, where it’s known as kohlrouladen. These delish cabbage rolls are stuffed with beef or pork, or rice and mushrooms for a lighter, non-meat option. They go great topped with sour cream or paired with mashed potatoes or egg noodle pasta.
#5 Tamales | Mexico, Central, and South America
One of the best comfort foods of all time, tamales is also a highly popular Christmas dish in Central and South America. They’re made of corn dough and stuffed with various fillings, like chicken or pork, then wrapped in a corn husk or banana leaf and steamed to perfection.
Home-made tamales is the best option, although it takes patience and skill to cook perfect tamales worthy of the Christmas dinner table. The only downside is that you won’t be able to stop eating them.
A map of most popular Christmas dishes in the Americas
#6 Stuffed Goose | Russia, Belarus, Austria, Germany
Sick of the traditional turkey for Christmas? Why not try something different and go for a stuffed goose this year? It’s a super-popular holiday dish in Central Europe, where fish is usually consumed on Christmas Eve, followed by goose on the big day. Stuff it with apples and prunes, roast it, and serve it with braised red cabbage and potato dumplings.
The darker meat creates a delicious, thick gravy, and the leftover goose fat can be used to cook roast potatoes or a duck confit.
#7 Picana Soup | Bolivia
If you don’t want to go too heavy with your Christmas dinner, you might be tempted to try out a Picana Soup recipe. This dish is extremely popular in Bolivia, and it’s traditionally enjoyed at midnight on Christmas Eve.
It’s basically a soup made with different types of meat, like chicken, lamb, and beef, and various veggies, including corn cobs, potatoes, carrots, peas, onions, and peppers, paired with both wine and beer.
#8 Gourmetten | The Netherlands
If you’re celebrating Christmas the Dutch way, then gourmetten is something that should not be absent from your dinner table. Served in small, yet cute raclette pans, this dish consists of different fried meats and veggies, and a wide assortment of sauces and sides - a veritable Christmas feast.
It’s meant to be enjoyed with friends and family, tasting and mixing all the different foods and ingredients while chatting away and sipping on red wine. Gourmetten can include all sorts of meats and veggies, but if you want, you can include desserts, little pancakes, or omelets, as well.
#9 Anoush Abour | Armenia
Also known as ‘Armenian New Year Pudding,’ Anoush Abour has been a Christmas star dish in Armenia for centuries. The name translates to ‘sweet soup,’ and it’s the perfect description of what this dish is all about. Ingredients include different types of nuts and fruit, depending on one’s preference; usually, almonds, pistachios, pine nuts, hazelnuts, pecan nuts, apricots, raisins, and cranberries are used.
Add to that some dried barley or dried wheat berries, cinnamon, honey or sugar, and pomegranate seeds, and you’ve got a healthy, warming, delicious dish to make your holidays even cozier. Just remember that Armenian Christmas is celebrated on January 6th - that should give you plenty of time to perfect your Anoush Abour recipe.
#10 Jollof Rice | Ghana, Nigeria
Jollof rice is a very popular dish in West Africa and a veritable staple of Christmas cuisine in Nigeria and Ghana. This hearty dish consists of long-grain rice, meat, veggies, and spices all cooked together in a single pot.
In Nigeria, the recipe calls for parboiled rice, tomatoes, peppers, onions, vegetable oil, and stock cubes. All the ingredients are cooked together, yielding a rich tomato and pepper puree that is then used to cook the rice. The dish is then topped with chicken, beef, lamb, or fish, as well as fried plantains, steamed veggies, coleslaw, salad, or other sides of one’s choice.
A map of most popular Christmas dishes in Europe
#11 Duck | Denmark
Another good alternative to the traditional turkey Christmas dish, duck is a popular food in Europe during the holidays, especially in Denmark. The traditional Danish Christmas Eve features roasted duck as the main attraction, served with red cabbage, gravy, boiled potatoes, and Danish sugar-browned potatoes. After this deliciously filling meal comes dessert, which usually consists of a Danish Risalamande - basically rice pudding topped with almonds and whipped cream.
#12 Kūčiukai | Lithuania
Kūčios is the traditional Christmas Eve dinner in Lithuania, held on December 24. The star of this dinner is a dish called kūčiukai, or Christmas cakes, which are essentially sweet pastries made from leavened dough and poppy seeds. They’re usually enjoyed dry, but can be soaked in poppy milk for a more juicy flavor.
In old Lithuanian traditions, these cakes were made of bread and prepared for the vėlės - the spirits of those dearly departed. Families would leave empty seats for them at the table and leave the small cakes out overnight for them to enjoy.
#13 Roasted Pork | Serbia, Switzerland, Slovenia, the Carribeans, Paraguay, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines
Pork is turkey’s biggest competitor during the holidays, especially in Europe. Roasted pork is in fact the Christmas dinner dish of choice in Serbia, Switzerland, and Slovenia, but it’s also incredibly popular in the Philippines and Papua New Guinea. In Switzerland, Filet I'm Teig is a staple of Christmas Eve cuisine, and it consists of roasted pork tenderloin wrapped in puff pastry - the Swiss Beef Wellington if you will.
It often also includes potato salad and sausage meat and can be served with noodles or beans.
#14 Pork Ham | Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, South Africa, Sweden, Finland, Iceland
Nothing screams ‘Christmas’ more than endless evening trips to the kitchen to get ‘just one more slice’ of delicious pork ham. Sweden, Finland, Barbados, Iceland, and South Africa are some of the regions where pork ham is enjoyed during the holidays.
One of the all-time favorite recipes in these parts of the world is the mouthwatering pineapple-glazed pork ham, which features a juicy glaze made of brown sugar, pineapple, and cola. Finger-licking Christmas goodness.
#15 Fish Soup | Hungary
If you’ve ever been to Hungary, you’ll already know all about halászlé, or fisherman’s soup. It’s one of the most popular dishes in the country year-round, but also a beloved Christmas dinner staple. There are various ways of cooking this dish, with or without cream, served over pasta, or eaten on its own - but the main ingredient is always freshwater fish like carp, pike, or perch.
Paprika is the other star ingredient of the soup, giving it a bright red hue and a spicy flavor. Follow the dish with potato salad and crescent-shaped walnut cookies, and you’ve got yourself a delightful Hungarian-style Christmas Eve dinner to remember.
A map of most popular Christmas dishes in Africa, Australia and South-East Asia
#16 Pepperpot | Guyana
A very popular dish in Guyana, pepperpot is traditionally served at Christmas and other special events throughout the year. It consists of stewed meat, usually, beef, pork, mutton, or chicken, flavored with cinnamon, cassareep (a sauce base derived from the cassava root, very common in Guyanese cuisine), and hot peppers.
It’s served with homemade bread, rice, or boiled veggies. Because it takes several hours to cook, the dish is often made in large quantities, in a large pot, so that it can be enjoyed for several days - luckily, the cassareep acts as a preservative, keeping the meat fresh for longer.
#17 Verivorst | Estonia
Verivorst is Estonia’s national dish, consisting of blood sausages served with cranberry sauce, browned potatoes, red berry jam, and mulgi kapsad, a traditional Estonian dish made of pork, barley, and sauerkraut.
It’s the most popular Christmas dish in the country, but it’s also common in Finland (known as mustamakkara) and Iceland (blóðmör). Estonians usually enjoy verivorst with butter or sour cream, as well as lingonberry jam. It’s the perfect Christmas dinner dish for meat lovers.
#18 Funge ou pirão | Angola
Christmas is a very big celebration in Angola, as it rightfully should be, with families gathering around a big Christmas dinner table after attending the traditional Christmas Day Mass.
The star dish at that table usually consists of fungi, or pirão (a corn meal or cassava flour polenta), paired with rice, french fries, turkey, pasta, and fish. The feast is followed by dessert, which is usually a Bolo Rei cake - a round, fluffy Christmas cake filled with various nuts and fruit.
#19 Fufu and Okra Soup | Democratic Republic of the Congo
Okra soup is an extremely popular dish throughout Western and Central Africa, but it’s especially loved in the Democratic Republic of Congo. It’s basically a stew made with diced okra pods, green vegetable leaves, and meat and fish of one’s choice.
The dish is quick and easy to make, and it’s a great healthy, warming, filling option to enjoy on Christmas day. It’s usually served with fufu, a dough-like food made from cassava and corn shaped into round spheres or cooked as a puree.
#20 Peruvian-Style Turkey
Alright, turkey is simply too popular to leave it out completely - it’s the traditional Christmas dish of choice in most countries around the world, including the U.K., Canada, and the U.S., with pork being its main competitor. But it’s good to spice things up every once in a while, so why not try a Peruvian-style turkey recipe for Christmas this year?
In Peru, the turkey is stuffed with crunchy farofas (toasted cassava mix) and decorated with fresh or canned tropical fruit. Alternatively, you can try a French-style turkey recipe, where the turkey is stuffed with chestnuts. Yes, you read that right.