The Ultimate Guide to Unforgettable Christmas Dinner Main Course Recipes

As the holiday season draws near, the age-old question inevitably arises: “What to cook for Christmas dinner this year?” If you’re tired of serving the same menu year after year and are looking for fresh inspiration to make your festive feast truly special, you’ve come to the right place. We’ve meticulously compiled an incredible collection of diverse Christmas dinner main courses designed to inspire and delight both you and your guests.

This comprehensive guide offers an array of options, spanning timeless traditional Christmas dinner menu main courses and exciting nontraditional Christmas dinner main course recipes. Whether your heart yearns for the rich flavors of a perfectly roasted Beef or Pork Tenderloin, the elegant presentation of a classic Beef or innovative Vegan Wellington, the savory notes of a glazed Christmas Ham, or the comforting aroma of a perfectly roasted Christmas Turkey, you’ll find plenty of ideas here to crown your holiday table.

Even those who cherish their annual tradition, such as roasting a magnificent turkey, will discover fresh recipe ideas to add a unique twist. Perhaps a new glaze, a different herb rub, or an alternative cooking method could transform your beloved traditional dish into an extraordinary culinary experience this year. This collection is designed to help you elevate your holiday cooking, ensuring every bite is memorable.

To ensure you’re not overwhelmed by the sheer variety of delicious options, we’ve made it easy for you to access these culinary treasures. You have the convenient option to download a curated “36 delicious Christmas Dinner Main Course Recipe Ideas” as a handy PDF. With this comprehensive link collection, you’ll have all these lovely recipes right at your fingertips, streamlining your planning and cooking process for a truly fantastic Christmas menu.

For those who want an all-in-one resource, you can also snag my exclusive Christmas Dinner Cookbook, featuring 24 perfectly matched recipes to create a cohesive and delicious holiday meal!

Exquisite Beef and Pork Tenderloin Recipes for Your Christmas Table

Beef and pork tenderloin are perennial favorites for holiday gatherings, renowned for their incredible tenderness and adaptability to various flavor profiles. These cuts are perfect for creating a show-stopping Christmas dinner main course without excessive fuss, allowing you to spend more quality time with your loved ones. Here are seven exceptional recipes that transform tenderloin into a festive masterpiece, ranging from smoky BBQ to herb-crusted roasts.

BBQ Pork Tenderloin

The best and easiest BBQ Pork Tenderloin made on the grill or in your oven. Simple ingredients packed with sweet and smoky flavor, the only pork tenderloin recipe you’ll ever need!

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Christmas-Spiced Pork Tenderloin

Cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg mix with orange zest and rosemary for a simple rub, creating a fragrant, juicy pork tenderloin recipe perfect for the holidays.

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Electric Skillet Pork Tenderloin with White Wine Sauce

This pork tenderloin is cooked in a citrus white wine sauce. Tender, juicy, and perfectly cooked, it’s certain to become one of your holiday season favorites in no time at all.

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Mind-Blowing Maple Glazed Pork Tenderloin | Borrowed Bites

This addictive Maple Glazed Pork Tenderloin is moist, tender pork covered in a sweet, sticky maple syrup sauce. It’s an amazing main dish that gets rave reviews every time! Plus it is the perfect dish for entertaining and holidays.

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Beef Tenderloin with Wine Sauce

Tender Beef Tenderloin Roast with rich Wine Sauce is an easy and impressive main dish perfect for special occasions or holidays.

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Herb Roasted Beef Tenderloin

Herb Roasted Beef Tenderloin is a delicious treat for Christmas dinner. Fresh herbs bring so much flavor to this lovely cut of meat.

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Christmas Dinner Beef Tenderloin Roast » Not Entirely Average

Christmas Dinner Beef Tenderloin Roast is not only a seasonal favorite, but it is also a tradition. Beef tenderloin roasts are a near-perfect solution for a crowd who would otherwise all want their steaks cooked differently. Tenderloins are typically uneven in shape and weight from end to center to end. Despite requiring a few ‘alterations’ to promote even cooking, the ends usually finish a firm medium, an inner cut a medium-rare, and the center of the roast rare.

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Mastering Beef or Vegan Wellington: 4 Impressive Recipes

For a truly spectacular and gourmet Christmas dinner centerpiece, look no further than Wellington. This dish, whether made with succulent beef tenderloin or a hearty plant-based alternative, promises to impress every guest. The intricate layers of pastry, savory duxelles, and perfectly cooked filling make it a festive showstopper. Explore these four recipes to create a magnificent Beef or Vegan Wellington that will be the talk of your holiday table.

Vegan Wellington

Impress your guests with this gorgeous Vegan Wellington! The filling is meaty, satisfying and ever-so-tasty! It’s surprisingly easy to make too!

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Vegan Wellington (Gluten-Free)

This Vegan Wellington is crispy and flaky, hearty and satisfying, and so full of flavor! It’s a good source of protein and fiber and is gluten-free too. A seriously satisfying plant-based showstopper!

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Individual Beef Wellington Recipe – The Art of Food and Wine

Individual Beef Wellington’s are the perfect gourmet dinner. Tender filet mignon steaks are wrapped and baked in puff pastry.

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How to Make Beef Wellington – House of Nash Eats

When it’s Christmas dinner and you have family or guests coming over this classic Beef Wellington will be the much-anticipated star of the table! The succulent beef tenderloin roast covered in savory mushroom duxelles and flaky puff pastry is absolutely divine!

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7 Amazing Christmas Ham Recipes for a Festive Feast

A beautifully glazed ham often serves as the quintessential centerpiece for Christmas dinner, symbolizing holiday cheer and abundance. Its rich, savory flavor and impressive presentation make it a beloved classic. Whether you prefer a smoky, sweet, or tangy glaze, these seven recipes offer a diverse range of options to prepare a moist and flavorful ham that will delight all your guests. From Instant Pot quick cooks to slow-roasted perfection, we’ve got you covered.

Orange-Bourbon Glazed Bone-In Spiral Cut Ham | Boulder Locavore®

Orange-Bourbon Glazed Bone-In Spiral Cut Ham (recipe) is easy for large gatherings and holiday meals. Low-temperature roasting makes a moist, tender ham.

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Best Instant Pot Honey Baked Ham – Little Sunny Kitchen

Perfect, juicy, and flavorful Instant Pot ham with the BEST EVER glaze, a beautiful centerpiece for your holiday feast!

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Spiral Sliced Ham with Pineapple Cola Glaze – Dish ‘n’ the Kitchen

There’s nothing better than a Spiral Sliced Ham on the dinner table…unless it’s coated with a sweet n sour pineapple cola glaze. This slow-cooked Spiral Ham bakes up nicely in the Crockpot, then finishes in the oven under the broiler.

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Glazed Ham (Oven and Crock Pot Friendly!) – The Cozy Cook

This Glazed Ham Recipe is brushed with honey butter and baked in the oven or the Crock-Pot before being brushed with a sweet pineapple brown sugar glaze! The ham is juicy and flavorful with a perfectly caramelized top.

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Easy Instant Pot Ham Recipe (With 3 Glaze Recipes!)

This easy Instant Pot ham recipe makes a terrific holiday meal. Includes three different glaze recipes (one is keto-friendly).

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Pineapple Brown Sugar Glazed Ham

Pineapple Brown Sugar Glazed Ham – sweet pineapple brown sugar glaze over a juicy salty spiral cut ham. A classic holiday ham recipe, perfect for Easter, Christmas, or Sunday supper.

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Instant Pot Maple Glazed Ham

Instant Pot Maple Glazed Ham with its Caramelized Sweetly Spiced Glaze is a must have for Christmas, Easter and Thanksgiving holidays.

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7 Unique Recipes to Make a Delicious Christmas Turkey

For many, a roasted turkey is the undisputed star of the Christmas dinner table. Achieving a perfectly moist, flavorful bird with crispy skin can seem daunting, but it’s entirely achievable with the right guidance. This section presents seven unique and tested recipes, offering various techniques—from brining to spatchcocking and using an Instant Pot—to ensure your Christmas turkey is nothing short of magnificent. Say goodbye to dry turkey and hello to a juicy, tender masterpiece!

Best Ever Turkey Brine Recipe – Dish ‘n’ the Kitchen

The Best Ever Turkey Brine Recipe. Have you been waffling upon the age-old turkey question…to brine or not to brine? Let me tell you, once you start bringing your holiday turkeys, you’ll never have a dry turkey again!

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Roast Turkey Recipe – The Cozy Cook

This Traditional Roast Turkey Recipe is cooked to the perfect temperature inside and out, with extra crispy brown skin and juicy and flavorful turkey meat! Start it upside down and finish it breast side up for the absolutely perfect result!

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Instant Pot Turkey – Cooking the Whole Turkey | Bacon is Magic

If you’re tired of cooking the turkey for hours, and it ends up dry, this easy Instant Pot whole turkey. This no-fail approach makes a tender and juicy turkey every time.

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Dry Brine Spatchcock Turkey With Herb Butter | Maple + Mango

This delicious Spatchcock Turkey with Herb Butter is juicy, crispy-skinned, and only takes 90 minutes to cook. Learn how easy it is to spatchcock and dry brine your holiday turkey.

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Instant Pot Turkey

Make holiday meals easier this year with Instant Pot Turkey. It’s quick, simple, and doesn’t take up needed space in the oven.

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Instant Pot Turkey Thighs

These Instant pot turkey thighs are a filling, yet easy Christmas dinner to make! Serve with a delicious homemade gravy that everyone will love!

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Easy Roast Turkey Recipe | Little Sunny Kitchen

Cooking a roast turkey is easier than you think! Follow my super simple recipe for a perfectly juicy and tender roast turkey that your whole family will enjoy! No brining or basting is required.

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Exciting Nontraditional Christmas Dinner Main Course Recipes

While classics hold a special place, sometimes Christmas calls for something a little different, something that caters to diverse palates or simply adds a surprising twist to the holiday meal. This section is dedicated to those who dare to venture beyond the traditional turkey or ham. Discover unique and equally festive main course recipes that are perfect for a memorable Christmas dinner, offering everything from elegant lamb to comforting vegan loaves and even fun, family-friendly options.

Easy Christmas Dinner Menu for 6 | Entertaining with Beth

This Easy Christmas Dinner Menu for 6 can be prepped in advance. It’s affordable, it uses basic ingredients and doesn’t require any expensive roasts or seafood!

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Ratatouille Recipe • Happy Kitchen

Ratatouille Recipe: delicious and spectacular vegan gluten-free dish that will be a star of any table. Healthy, impressive looking and comforting dish.

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Cranberry Walnut Bacon Stuffed Pork Roll with Brandy Sauce

This cranberry walnut bacon stuffed pork roll with brandy sauce is as delicious as it sounds, and it’s also pretty! So festive – perfect for Christmas dinner.

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Festive slice – turkey, bacon, stuffing and cranberry pastry – A Mummy Too

A deliciously festive slice – turkey, bacon, stuffing, cranberry, and white sauce in a puff pastry pocket, with a herby cheese crumb.

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The utterly perfect mini cheeseburgers

Selfmade mini cheeseburgers from start to finish. Homemade patties and buns assembled into perfect mini cheeseburgers.

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Low Carb Chicken Cordon Bleu with Coconut Coating

A delicious keto low carb chicken cordon bleu with a crisp coconut coating. It’s an easy entree that’s elegant enough to serve on holidays!

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Slow Roasted Boneless Leg of Lamb – Dish ‘n’ the Kitchen

This succulent Slow Roasted Boneless Leg of Lamb makes a stunning centerpiece for your Sunday Dinner, Holiday, or Celebration. Seasoned with herbs, citrus, and garlic, this perfectly roasted Greek-style lamb is melt in your mouth delicious!

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Classic Crown Rib Roast

Crown rib roast with classic seasoning is a delicious way to celebrate Christmas dinner with family. It has a beautiful presentation and slices into thick pork chops everyone will enjoy!

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The Most Festive Christmas Burgers for Dinner | Platein28

We have the most perfect, fun, and easy Christmas Burgers for you and your kids. Little Rudolph sliders! You won’t forget this festive meal!

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Vegan Cauliflower Lentil Loaf

A hearty plant-based Christmas dinner idea that will satisfy even meat-eaters! A Vegan Cauliflower Lentil Loaf that mimics the classic meatloaf with no meat, gluten-free, nut-free, and soy-free! Get all your protein and veggies in this healthy recipe!

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Baked Lasagna Roll Ups With Marinara Sauce

Our Baked Lasagna Roll Ups With Marinara Sauce recipe, a twist on the classic lasagna, is bursting with three cheeses and an easy homemade sauce.

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Don’t forget to download your free Christmas Dinner recipe books for even more holiday cooking inspiration!

With this incredible array of main course options, your Christmas dinner is set to be truly spectacular. Whether you stick to time-honored traditions or embark on a new culinary adventure, the most important ingredient is sharing good food and laughter with those you love. May your holiday table be filled with joy, delicious flavors, and cherished memories.

🎁 Have a lovely Christmas Dinner with your loved ones! 🎄