12 Christmas dinner ideas full menus planned around one oven

Five dinners built on a roast, each with its oven plan counted back from the serving time.

1. 

   1The classic roast turkey dinner

   The full American spread, for 12: turkey, gravy, mash, stuffing, cranberry sauce, rolls and pie, with the rolls baked while the turkey rests.

   • 90 min active
   • Start a week ahead

   Menu

   Butternut squash soup; roast turkey with turkey gravy; mashed potatoes, stuffing baked in a dish, cranberry sauce and dinner rolls; pecan pie.

   Buy

   1 lb (450 g) of whole turkey a guest (USDA), 1½ lb (680 g) for leftovers (Food Network): a 12 to 14 lb (5.4 to 6.4 kg) bird, or 18 lb (8.2 kg) with leftovers. Half a pound (227 g) of potatoes each (Whole Foods Market). For twelve: three times the mash recipe, 1½ times the gravy and the rolls (a batch makes 16), 1⅓ times the stuffing, 1¼ batches of soup and two pies.

   Ahead

   Frozen bird into the fridge Sun 20 Dec; dry brine Wed 23 Dec, or Thursday morning if there is still ice in the cavity (UK: see the timeline). Soup no earlier than Tue 22 Dec (UK: Wed 23 Dec); cranberry sauce from Sat 19 Dec; pies on Christmas Eve.

   On the plate

   Carve in the kitchen, fan the breast slices on one side of a warm platter with the dark meat on the other, and pass the gravy.

   Allergens

   Wheat, milk and egg (rolls, stuffing, gravy, pie), pecans; soy in some stuffing cubes; celery in stuffing and most stock; sulphites if the gravy has wine.

   Oven plan, dinner at 3:00 pm

   1. 10:10 amOven to 325°F (163°C).
   2. 10:30 amTurkey in.
   3. 1:30 pmStuffing in beside it if both tins fit: 40 to 60 minutes, to 165°F (74°C) in the center. If not, it bakes in the rest (30 minutes at 350°F (177°C)), the rolls follow and dinner is nearer 3:20 pm.
   4. 2:15 pmTurkey out at the recipe’s temperatures, to rest 30 to 45 minutes; the stuffing stays in if it is not at temperature. Oven up to 425°F (218°C).
   5. 2:30 pmFrozen par-baked rolls in, straight from the freezer, 8 to 12 minutes.
   6. 2:45 pmCarve.
   7. 3:00 pmServe.
   8. 4:15 pmLeftover turkey off the bone and in the fridge, with everything else perishable.

   The twist: For another size of bird, the turkey calculator sizes it and dates the thaw: set its date to 25 December and start a day earlier if you dry-brine.

   Full recipe →
2. 

   2Prime rib with Yorkshire puddings

   The steakhouse Christmas, for 8, and the menu where the rest matters most: the puddings need the whole oven, very hot, once the beef is out.

   • 60 min active
   • Make 2 days ahead

   Menu

   Deviled eggs with drinks; a bone-in rib roast with au jus and Yorkshire puddings; mashed potatoes and green beans amandine; crème brûlée.

   Buy

   About 1 lb (450 g) of bone-in roast a guest (Serious Eats, which also calls ¾ lb (340 g) enough), or one rib for every two (Southern Living): an 8 lb (3.6 kg), four-rib roast, bought no earlier than Sun 20 Dec if you salt it from the 21st. For eight: twice the mash recipe, 1⅓ batches of crème brûlée (it makes six) and 1½ times the pudding batter.

   Whose times

   USDA’s chart for a 325°F (163°C) oven is the slowest in print, so the puddings are never squeezed. The beef checkoff’s 350°F (177°C) table gives 6 to 8 lb (2.7 to 3.6 kg) 2½ to 3 hours to 145°F (63°C); our prime rib calculator uses it but takes this roast out at 135°F (57°C), after 2¼ to 2½ hours, and lets the rest carry it up (5 to 15°F (3 to 8°C), the checkoff says).

   Ahead

   Salt the roast from Mon 21 Dec (Serious Eats: up to four days ahead, uncovered on a rack; bottom shelf). Custards baked Wed 23 Dec. Batter mixed on Christmas morning.

   Rarer beef

   Medium rare, served at 130°F (54°C), is below the USDA minimum: see who should skip it and its note on mechanically tenderized roasts.

   On the plate

   One thick slice, cut side up, jus pooled beside it and not over the crust of the pudding.

   Allergens

   Wheat, milk and egg (puddings, custard, potatoes), almonds on the beans, mustard and egg in the deviled eggs. The au jus can add sulphites (wine), fish (Worcestershire sauce) or soy.

   Oven plan, dinner at 5:00 pm

   1. 11:45 amOven to 325°F (163°C).
   2. 12:05 pmRoast in. USDA: 23 to 30 minutes per pound, so 3 to 4 hours for 8 lb (3.6 kg).
   3. 3:00 pmStart reading the thermometer in the center, away from the bone.
   4. 3:10 pm onOut at 145°F (63°C), USDA’s minimum, and tented with foil. The puddings need 50 minutes from here: if the roast is early, start them and eat early (the 2-hour clock is running).
   5. 4:05 pmLatest time to turn the oven to 460°F (240°C), or 450°F (232°C). If the roast is not at 145°F (63°C) yet, dinner moves; it does not come out early.
   6. 4:20 pmTin of dripping in for 10 minutes: very hot fat, see the recipe.
   7. 4:30 pmBatter in, 25 minutes.
   8. 4:45 pmCarve while they bake.
   9. 4:55 pmPuddings out.
   10. 5:00 pmServe.
   11. By 6:05 pmLeftover beef in the fridge, 2 hours after it left the oven.
   Size and time your roast →
3. 

   3Glazed ham with scalloped potatoes

   The easiest big Christmas dinner, for 12: the ham is already cooked, so the oven only reheats, and everything reheats at one temperature.

   • 40 min active
   • Make the day before

   Menu

   Deviled eggs; a spiral-sliced ham with your glaze; scalloped potatoes, green beans amandine, a green salad and dinner rolls; pecan pie.

   Buy

   USDA’s guide is ⅓ to ½ lb (150 to 225 g) of bone-in ham a serving: 6 lb (2.7 kg) for twelve, or 9 lb (4.1 kg) with leftovers (the ham calculator does any table). For twelve: two pies, 1½ batches of rolls (a batch makes 16) and a second dish of potatoes or smaller squares (the recipe serves 10).

   Oven notes

   USDA’s spiral ham row covers 7 to 9 lb (3.2 to 4.1 kg), so the plan is for the larger ham. It notes that a spiral ham can also be served cold from the fridge.

   Ahead

   Potatoes and pies baked on Christmas Eve and chilled within 2 hours; eggs boiled and filling made up to 2 days before.

   On the plate

   Three overlapping slices, glaze edge up, potatoes cut as a square beside them.

   Allergens

   Milk (potatoes), egg and mustard (eggs, salad dressing), wheat, milk and egg (rolls, pie), almonds, pecans; read the ham label and the glaze.

   Oven plan, dinner at 2:00 pm, 9 lb (4.1 kg) ham

   1. 10:15 amOven to 325°F (163°C), USDA’s floor for ham.
   2. 10:30 amHam in, wrapped tightly in foil. USDA: 10 to 18 minutes per pound, so 1½ to 2¾ hours.
   3. 12:00 pmStart checking: 140°F (60°C) for a ham sealed at the plant, 165°F (74°C) if the store sliced or wrapped it. If it is there early, leave it wrapped in the oven, off the 2-hour clock (our suggestion).
   4. 12:30 pmYesterday’s scalloped potatoes in beside it, covered, 45 to 60 minutes, until the center reads 165°F (74°C).
   5. 1:10 pmUncover the ham, glaze it and give it the last 10 minutes.
   6. 1:20 pmHam out and tented, to rest 15 minutes (Serious Eats).
   7. 1:30 pmPotatoes out and covered. Oven up to 425°F (218°C).
   8. 1:45 pmFrozen par-baked rolls in, 8 to 12 minutes.
   9. 1:50 pmCarve.
   10. 2:00 pmServe.
   11. 3:20 pmLeftovers in the fridge, 2 hours after the ham left the oven.
   Size and time your ham →
4. 

   4Beef tenderloin, the one-hour roast

   For 6, and the reverse of a turkey day: the roast is short and barely rests, so the sides use the oven first. A whole tenderloin feeds 8 to 12 (Serious Eats).

   • 45 min active
   • Make the day before

   Menu

   Butternut squash soup; roast tenderloin with a steak sauce; scalloped potatoes and green beans amandine; chocolate mousse or lemon posset.

   Buy

   The Kitchn allows 6 oz (170 g) of beef a guest and Southern Living 8 oz (225 g): a 3 lb (1.4 kg) center cut for six.

   Ahead

   Salt the beef on Christmas Eve (America’s Test Kitchen: 12 to 24 hours). Soup no earlier than Tue 22 Dec (UK: Wed 23 Dec). Potatoes assembled on Christmas Eve afternoon (24 hours at most); mousse or posset the same day.

   Dessert safety

   The mousse has raw egg white and rum: use pasteurized eggs, make it on Christmas Eve (it keeps one day) and see who should skip it. The posset has neither.

   On the plate

   Two medallions leaning on each other, sauce beside them (slicing notes).

   Allergens

   Milk (potatoes, butter, and the soup unless you make its vegan swap), almonds on the beans; egg and milk in the mousse, milk in the posset.

   Oven plan, dinner at 6:15 pm, USDA’s method

   1. 3:45 pmOven to 400°F (200°C).
   2. 4:00 pmPotatoes in, covered, for 45 minutes, then uncovered about 30.
   3. 5:15 pmPotatoes out and covered. Oven up to 425°F (218°C).
   4. 5:20 pmTenderloin in. USDA’s chart gives a 2 to 3 lb (0.9 to 1.4 kg) piece 35 to 45 minutes in total. A whole 4 to 6 lb (1.8 to 2.7 kg) one takes 45 to 60: put it in at 5:05 pm.
   5. 5:50 pmSoup reheated to 165°F (74°C) and served.
   6. 6:00 pmBeef out when the center reads 145°F (63°C). Potatoes back in, uncovered, while it rests.
   7. 6:10 pmCarve (USDA: rest at least 3 minutes).
   8. 6:15 pmServe.
   9. 7:15 pmLeftover potatoes in the fridge (2 hours from 5:15 pm); the beef by 8:00 pm.
   Quick recipe · One center-cut tenderloin, 2 to 3 lb (900 g to 1.4 kg): 4 to 6 servings. After Serious Eats’ Slow-Roasted Beef Tenderloin (J. Kenji López-Alt); not kitchen-tested by us

   Ingredients

   • 1 center-cut beef tenderloin, 2 to 3 lb (900 g to 1.4 kg), trimmed and tied at even intervals
   • Kosher salt (coarse) and black pepper
   • 4 tbsp butter, 4 thyme sprigs and 1 sliced shallot, for basting

   Method

   1. Up to 2 nights ahead: season the beef all over and leave it uncovered on a rack in the fridge.
   2. Serious Eats’ method: roast on the rack at 225°F (107°C) until the center reads 120 to 125°F (49 to 52°C), 2 to 3 hours. Set it aside for 10 minutes and cut off the twine.
   3. Brown the butter, stir in the thyme and shallot, spoon it over the roast and broil it (under the overhead grill), turning, about 2 minutes in total, to 125°F (52°C) for rare or 130°F (54°C) for medium rare. Rest 5 minutes and slice. The full recipe is at Serious Eats.

   This method sits outside federal advice twice: USDA does not recommend ovens below 325°F (163°C), and its minimum for beef roasts is 145°F (63°C) with a 3-minute rest. A low-oven roast has no well-done end: for anyone pregnant, older, very young or immunocompromised, cook their slices on in a hot pan to 145°F (63°C) on a thermometer, or use this card’s oven plan.

5. 

   5British turkey crown with all the trimmings

   The British Christmas lunch, for 6, and the hardest one-oven case: the potatoes want a hot oven exactly when the bird does. A crown (the breast on the bone) shortens the roast.

   • 80 min active
   • Make the day before

   Menu

   Smoked salmon to start (not for every guest); turkey crown with gravy and bread sauce; roast potatoes (recipe below), pigs in blankets, steamed Brussels sprouts, carrots and cranberry sauce; Christmas pudding.

   Buy

   BBC Good Food says a 4.4 to 5.5 lb (2 to 2.5 kg) crown feeds six; for eight buy about 6.6 lb (3 kg) and add 10 minutes (our scaling). Each: 8 oz (225 g) of potatoes (Delia Smith), 2 pigs in blankets (Good Food magazine), about 3 oz (80 g) of sprouts (Good Housekeeping UK).

   What fits a 60 cm oven

   For six, the crown, one tin of potatoes and a tray of sausages fill both shelves. For eight they do not all fit: roast the pigs in blankets in the crown’s tin for its last 30 to 35 minutes, or after it comes out. Our reading of the sizes, not a tested fit: try the empty tins first.

   Ahead

   Pudding made weeks before or bought; potatoes peeled on Christmas Eve (Nigella Lawson keeps them whole under cold water); a frozen crown thawed to finish on Christmas Eve (the UK rule).

   On the plate

   Three slices of breast, potatoes at the back for height, gravy over the meat only so the potatoes stay crisp.

   Allergens

   Wheat and milk (bread sauce, gravy, pudding), fish (starter). A Christmas pudding usually also has egg, almonds or other nuts, sulphites and alcohol, and sausages wheat and sulphites: read both labels. Celery in most stock.

   Oven plan, lunch at 2:30 pm, 5.5 lb (2.5 kg) crown

   1. 11:25 amOven to 375°F (190°C), or 170°C with a fan.
   2. 11:45 amCrown in: British Turkey’s rule, as BBC Good Food prints it, gives 2 hours for 2.5 kg.
   3. 12:00 pmBread sauce milk heated and left to infuse.
   4. 12:50 pmPotatoes steamed for 10 minutes and shaken.
   5. 12:55 pmTin of fat onto the lower shelf to heat.
   6. 1:00 pmChristmas pudding on to steam, by its label (or microwave it after the main course).
   7. 1:10 pmPotatoes into the hot fat, with the tin out on the stove top. Pigs in blankets in, 30 to 35 minutes.
   8. 1:45 pmCrown out at 165°F (74°C) in the thickest part (UK: 70°C held for 2 minutes) and tented; BBC Good Food rests a turkey 30 to 45 minutes. Pigs in blankets out at 160°F (71°C). Oven up to 400°F (200°C).
   9. 2:00 pmCrumbs into the bread sauce.
   10. 2:15 pmSprouts steamed 5 to 8 minutes (Delia), carrots on, gravy made.
   11. 2:20 pmPotatoes out.
   12. 2:25 pmCarve.
   13. 2:30 pmServe.
   14. 3:45 pmLeftover turkey in the fridge.
   Quick recipe · Roast potatoes for 4, three each and a few over; one and a half times for 6, double for 8. After Delia Smith’s Perfect Roast Potatoes; not kitchen-tested by us

   Ingredients

   • 2 lb (900 g) floury potatoes (Delia uses Desirée; russets in the US), peeled, the small ones left whole and the larger ones halved
   • About 2 oz (50 g) beef dripping (rendered beef fat) or lard; Delia’s team says groundnut (peanut) or sunflower oil is better than olive oil or butter at this heat
   • Salt

   Method

   1. Heat the fat in a roasting tin (pan) on the top shelf of the oven at 400°F (200°C).
   2. Steam the potatoes for about 10 minutes, then shake the pan hard from side to side so the edges roughen.
   3. Turn them in the hot fat and roast for 50 minutes to 1 hour without turning, until golden brown. Full recipe: Delia Online.

   The fat spits: take the tin out onto the stove top to add the potatoes, let them steam dry first, and keep children away. Delia roasts at 400°F (200°C) throughout; starting them cooler under the crown is our adaptation, so judge by color. Not vegetarian with lard or dripping; groundnut oil is peanut oil, an allergen.

Three Christmas tables from other kitchens.

1. 

   6Roast duck or goose, the Central European way

   For 4 with a duck, 6 with a goose: crisp skin, caraway, sauerkraut and dumplings, a favorite Christmas Day roast on Czech tables. Everything but the bird cooks on the stove.

   • 60 min active
   • Make the day before

   Menu

   Beef broth with noodles; roast duck or roast goose; braised cabbage and bread dumplings; apple strudel.

   Buy

   USDA allows 1 to 1½ lb (450 to 680 g) of raw duck or goose a person: a 4.4 lb (2 kg) duck for four, an 8.8 lb (4 kg) goose for six (the recipes). For six, make the cabbage 1½ times (it serves four).

   Goose instead

   Oven on at 2:25 pm, goose in at 2:45 pm: 30 minutes at 425°F (220°C), about 2 hours at 340°F (170°C), ladling the fat out every 45 minutes, then a rest of 20 to 30. A goose is safe at 165°F (74°C) in the thigh (USDA); our recipe goes to 180°F (82°C) for tenderness. Raymond Blanc takes the breast out at 55°C and rests it 30 minutes, far below USDA’s figure.

   Ahead

   Broth the day before, chilled fast and brought back to a full boil. Dumplings steamed in the afternoon and re-steamed in slices; cool and refrigerate them within 2 hours if they wait longer than that.

   On the plate

   A leg or a fan of breast, three dumpling slices overlapping, cabbage in the gap, juices on the dumplings.

   Allergens

   Wheat, milk and egg (dumplings, strudel), walnuts in the strudel; the cabbage is cooked in lard, so it is not vegetarian.

   Oven plan, dinner at 6:00 pm, duck

   1. MorningBake the strudel.
   2. 3:20 pmSalt the duck. Oven to 400°F (200°C), or 180°C with a fan.
   3. 3:40 pmDuck in, breast down, 45 minutes.
   4. 4:25 pmTurn it and ladle the hot fat out of the tin, with the tin on the stove top, never tipped. Oven up to 425°F (220°C, the recipe’s figure), 60 to 70 minutes more.
   5. 5:30 pmOut when the thigh reads 165°F (74°C), the recipe’s figure and USDA’s. Rest 15 minutes under foil while the cabbage finishes and the dumplings steam.
   6. 5:50 pmCarve.
   7. 6:00 pmServe.
   8. 7:30 pmLeftover duck in the fridge.
   Full recipe →
2. 

   7Czech Christmas Eve: schnitzel and potato salad

   For 4, and the menu with no oven on the day at all: the salad is made the day before and the main is fried in the last twenty minutes. The traditional fish is carp; some families prefer schnitzel.

   • 45 min active
   • Make the day before

   Menu

   Open-faced sandwiches with drinks (our pick, not a Christmas Eve custom); fried breaded pork schnitzel with Czech potato salad and lemon; vánočka, the braided Christmas bread, with coffee.

   Buy

   The recipe cuts four escalopes of about 5 oz (150 g) each; add one a head for more. The salad serves six.

   Ahead

   The day before dinner, make the salad once the potatoes are fully cold and chill it overnight (the timeline dates it for a Christmas Day meal). Baking the vánočka the same day is our suggestion.

   Safety

   The salad goes back in the fridge within 2 hours. The recipe takes schnitzel to 70°C, above USDA’s 145°F (63°C) for pork. The sandwiches carry ham and salami, cold cured meats: see who should skip them.

   On the plate

   Schnitzel overlapping the rim side, a tight spoonful of salad, lemon wedge on the crumb.

   Allergens

   Wheat and egg (crumb, sandwiches, vánočka), egg and usually mustard (mayonnaise), milk (cheese on the sandwiches, vánočka), almonds (vánočka).

   Stove plan, dinner at 6:00 pm

   1. 5:30 pmBread the pork.
   2. 5:40 pmFry two at a time, 3 to 4 minutes a side, laying each one into the oil away from you, with a lid within reach. For six, use two pans or start frying at 5:30 pm.
   3. 6:00 pmServe at once. The oven stays off.
   Full recipe →
3. 

   8Italian-American baked dinner, assembled the day before

   For 8, for a host who wants to be at the table: one baked dish, assembled the day before, in the oven while people have a drink. The main is meatless, in the spirit of the southern Italian Christmas Eve, though not vegetarian (Parmigiano is made with animal rennet).

   • 75 min active
   • Make the day before

   Menu

   An antipasto board (our board calculator counts 2 oz (57 g) each of cheese and cured meat a guest, and has a vegetarian switch); eggplant Parmesan with a green salad and bread; panna cotta, which is set with gelatin, so not vegetarian either.

   Buy

   One dish serves eight. Two for sixteen is our scaling: they run past 75 minutes, so swap the racks when you uncover them and go by the thermometer.

   Ahead

   Sauce up to 3 days before, slices fried a day before, the dish assembled up to 24 hours before it bakes (the recipe’s windows): from late afternoon on Christmas Eve. Panna cotta the day before.

   On the plate

   A clean square lifted with a spatula, a spoon of sauce beside it, basil on top.

   Allergens

   Milk, wheat and egg; mustard (salad dressing); cured meats on the board are a higher-risk food.

   Oven plan, dinner at 6:00 pm

   1. 4:25 pmOven to 375°F (190°C).
   2. 4:40 pmThe cold, assembled dish in, covered, for 40 minutes.
   3. 5:20 pmUncover.
   4. 5:40 pm onOut when the center reads 165°F (74°C), by about 5:55 pm: 60 to 75 minutes from cold in all.
   5. 6:00 pmDress the salad and serve.
   Full recipe →

1. 

   9A whole side of salmon, the fast light menu

   For 6, with the oven on for well under an hour: the fish roasts in about 20 minutes, so it suits a late start, a small kitchen or a Christmas Eve fish supper.

   • 35 min active
   • Make 2 days ahead

   Menu

   Butternut squash soup; roast side of salmon (recipe below); boiled potatoes with butter and parsley, braised carrots and a green salad; lemon posset.

   Buy

   BBC Good Food’s 3.3 lb (1.5 kg) side serves six, about 9 oz (250 g) each (our arithmetic); make the potato and carrot recipes 1½ times (they serve four). Cut the side in two if it is longer than your tin.

   Ahead

   Soup no earlier than Tue 22 Dec (UK: Wed 23 Dec), by the Food Standards Agency’s 48-hour rule. Posset on Christmas Eve; glaze mixed in the morning.

   On the plate

   Bring the side to the table whole on a board or platter, lemon wedges down one edge, and cut across into portions.

   Allergens

   Fish, mustard (glaze, salad dressing), egg (salad dressing), milk (potatoes, carrots, posset, and the soup unless you make its vegan swap), wheat (the carrots are finished with flour).

   Oven plan, main course at 6:30 pm

   1. 5:45 pmOven to 400°F (200°C), or 180°C with a fan. Soup on to reheat, to 165°F (74°C).
   2. 6:00 pmPotatoes on to boil, carrots on.
   3. 6:05 pmSalmon in, about 20 minutes. Soup served.
   4. 6:25 pmSalmon out when the thickest part reads 145°F (63°C), the US minimum for fish, and flakes easily.
   5. 6:30 pmServe.
   6. 8:25 pmLeftover fish in the fridge.
   Quick recipe · One 3.3 lb (1.5 kg) side, for 6. After BBC Good Food’s Spiced roast side of salmon (Roopa Gulati); not kitchen-tested by us

   Ingredients

   • One 3.3 lb (1.5 kg) side of salmon, skin on
   • 1 tbsp olive oil, plus a little for the skin
   • ½ tsp ground ginger, 1 tsp paprika and ½ tsp coarsely ground black pepper
   • 1 tbsp wholegrain mustard and 1 tsp honey
   • 1 lemon, in wedges

   Method

   1. Heat the oven to 400°F (200°C), or 180°C with a fan. Run a fingertip down the fillet and pull out any pin bones (our addition). Line a large roasting tin with parchment or foil, oil the skin and lay the fish on it skin down.
   2. Mix the spices, mustard, honey and oil and spread them over the flesh.
   3. Roast uncovered for about 20 minutes, until the fish flakes easily. Serve from the tin or lift it onto a platter. Full recipe: BBC Good Food.

   The recipe goes by flaking; the US minimum for fish is 145°F (63°C) in the thickest part. The glaze has honey, so none for a baby under 1.

2. 

   10Mushroom Wellington, a vegetarian centerpiece

   For 6, with a main that slices like a roast. It bakes at the same 400°F (200°C) as the potatoes.

   • 70 min active
   • Make 2 days ahead
   • Vegetarian

   Menu

   Butternut squash soup; mushroom and sweet potato Wellington (recipe below) with mushroom gravy; scalloped potatoes, braised carrots and steamed Brussels sprouts; pecan pie.

   Buy

   One Wellington serves six; the pie serves eight and the potatoes ten, so there are seconds.

   Ahead

   The Wellington is assembled and chilled up to 2 days before (BBC Good Food): on the evening of Wed 23 Dec, or on Christmas Eve. Soup no earlier than Tue 22 Dec (UK: Wed 23 Dec). Pie baked and potatoes assembled on Christmas Eve afternoon.

   Vegetarian notes

   The Wellington itself is vegan with dairy-free pastry; if you add the optional Gruyère to the potatoes, use a cheese labeled vegetarian.

   On the plate

   One thick slice lying flat to show the filling, gravy beside it.

   Allergens

   Wheat, walnuts or pecans, mustard (Wellington), milk (potatoes, carrots, gravy, and the soup unless you make its vegan swap), egg, milk and pecans (pie).

   Oven plan, dinner at 5:00 pm

   1. 3:10 pmOven to 400°F (200°C).
   2. 3:25 pmPotatoes in, covered, for 45 minutes.
   3. 4:00 pmWellington in on the other rack, 35 to 40 minutes.
   4. 4:10 pmUncover the potatoes, about 30 minutes more.
   5. 4:40 pmPotatoes out. Sage leaves onto the pastry, 10 minutes more. A full oven runs slow and the potatoes vent steam: give the pastry 5 minutes longer if it is pale (our note).
   6. 4:50 pmWellington out to rest 10 minutes.
   7. 5:00 pmServe.
   Quick recipe · One Wellington, for 6. After BBC Good Food’s Easy vegan wellington (Anna Glover); not kitchen-tested by us

   Ingredients

   • 3 oz (90 g) dried porcini, soaked in 2 cups (500 ml) boiling water
   • 2 tbsp olive oil, 1 large onion and 9 oz (250 g) chestnut (cremini) mushrooms, all finely chopped, and 2 crushed garlic cloves
   • 18 oz (500 g) sweet potatoes, peeled, in ¾ inch (2 cm) chunks
   • 1 tbsp each chopped rosemary and sage, plus 4 whole sage leaves, and a grating of nutmeg
   • 3½ oz (100 g) soft white breadcrumbs, 2 tbsp pomegranate molasses, 1½ oz (40 g) chopped walnuts or pecans and 1½ oz (40 g) dried cranberries
   • Two 11 oz (320 g) sheets dairy-free puff pastry
   • 3 tbsp plant-based milk whisked with 1 tbsp English mustard (a hot yellow mustard), to glaze

   Method

   1. Fry the onion and mushrooms in the oil over medium heat for about 20 minutes, until very soft. Add the garlic, sweet potato, porcini and their soaking water (not the gritty last spoonful), cover and cook 15 minutes, until the potato is just soft and the pan nearly dry.
   2. Stir in the herbs, crumbs, molasses, nuts, cranberries and nutmeg, season and cool completely.
   3. Heap the filling down the middle of one pastry sheet on a lined tray, leaving a 2 inch (5 cm) border; glaze the border, lay the second sheet over, press out the air, seal and crimp. Cut a steam hole, glaze, and chill 30 minutes or up to 2 days.
   4. Bake at 400°F (200°C), or 180°C with a fan, for 35 to 40 minutes; lay the sage leaves on with a little glaze and bake 10 minutes more. Rest 10 minutes before slicing. Full recipe: BBC Good Food.

   Contains wheat, tree nuts and mustard. Check that the pastry is the dairy-free kind if anyone at the table is vegan.

3. 

   11Christmas dinner for two

   The whole traditional plate in miniature, with one oven at one temperature for an hour. A turkey breast roasts in about 35 minutes, and roast potatoes want the same heat. (The photo shows the recipe’s own sides.)

   • 45 min active
   • Make 2 days ahead

   Menu

   Smoked salmon on toast (or not, for some guests); turkey breast with its pan juices; roast potatoes and steamed Brussels sprouts; crème brûlée.

   Buy

   The recipe’s 1.3 lb (600 g) breast serves four: dinner and tomorrow’s sandwiches. 1 lb (450 g) of potatoes (Delia’s 8 oz (225 g) each); smoked salmon at 2 to 3½ oz (50 to 100 g) a person, as BBC Good Food’s starters use.

   Ahead

   Bake the custards up to 2 days before; the recipe makes six, and the spares keep 3 to 4 days from baking. Caramelize two under the broiler (the overhead grill) just before serving.

   On the plate

   Three slices fanned, potatoes stacked behind, sprouts in a small pile, juices spooned over the meat.

   Allergens

   Milk (butter baste), fish (starter), wheat (toast), egg and milk (custard).

   Oven plan, dinner at 6:00 pm

   1. 4:30 pmOven to 400°F (200°C) with the fat for the potatoes in it.
   2. 4:38 pmPotatoes on to steam, 10 minutes.
   3. 4:50 pmPotatoes into the hot fat, with the tin out on the stove top: 50 minutes to 1 hour.
   4. 5:10 pmSear the turkey 2 to 3 minutes a side.
   5. 5:15 pmTurkey in, 30 to 35 minutes.
   6. 5:50 pmTurkey out when the center reads 165°F (74°C), to rest 8 to 10 minutes. Sprouts steam 5 to 8 minutes. Potatoes out when golden.
   7. 6:00 pmSlice and serve.
   Full recipe →
4. 

   12The make-ahead menu for 12 or more

   For 12 to 20 as a buffet, with the cooking finished before Christmas Day: a braise that is better sliced cold and reheated, a soup, a slow cooker of mash and a cheesecake.

   • 90 min active
   • Make 2 days ahead

   Menu

   Butternut squash soup in cups; brisket in its onion sauce with horseradish; mashed potatoes, a green salad and dinner rolls; crème brûlée cheesecake.

   Buy

   One 5 lb (2.3 kg) brisket flat serves ten (the recipe); two for twenty is our scaling. A batch of soup serves ten at ¾ cup (180 ml): make two. Half a pound (227 g) of potatoes a guest; two batches of rolls for twenty; a second cheesecake beyond twelve.

   Ahead

   Braise the brisket Wed 23 Dec and cool it the recipe’s way: meat cut in pieces, liquid in shallow containers no deeper than 2 inches (5 cm), in the fridge within 2 hours, never whole in the pot. Slice it cold on Christmas Eve (it reheats up to 3 days after cooking, 2 in the UK). Cheesecake from Mon 21 Dec to Christmas Eve morning. Soup no earlier than Tue 22 Dec (UK: Wed 23 Dec). Rolls frozen up to 6 weeks before. Mash made on Christmas morning and kept hot, or the day before, cooled in shallow dishes within 2 hours and reheated once.

   Safety

   Two briskets and two batches of soup are a lot of hot food for one fridge: use shallow containers, leave space between them and check it stays at 40°F (4°C) or colder. On the day, hot dishes stay at 140°F (60°C) or above or go back in the fridge within 2 hours. The sauce contains red wine, and long cooking does not remove all of it (the numbers).

   On the plate

   Slices shingled in rows in the dish so it reads as the whole cut.

   Allergens

   Milk, wheat, egg; mustard (salad dressing); sulphites (wine); read the horseradish jar.

   Oven plan (our order), buffet opens at 4:00 pm

   1. 1:55 pmOven to 425°F (218°C).
   2. 2:15 pmFirst sheet of frozen par-baked rolls in, 8 to 12 minutes. Rolls go first: they are safe at room temperature.
   3. 2:28 pmSecond sheet in.
   4. 2:40 pmRolls out and wrapped in a cloth. Oven down to 350°F (177°C).
   5. 2:55 pmFirst dish of sliced brisket in its sauce in, under parchment and foil.
   6. 3:30 pmMash reheated to 165°F (74°C) on the stove, then into a preheated slow cooker, which holds but does not reheat (USDA). Soup on.
   7. 3:40 pmSecond dish of brisket in. The first comes out when its center reads 165°F (74°C), usually after 30 to 45 minutes, and stays covered.
   8. 4:00 pmBuffet opens with the first dish.
   9. 4:30 pmSecond dish out at 165°F (74°C) to replace it.
   Full recipe →

The British sides the menus above lean on. Each follows one named published recipe, credited and linked; none has been kitchen-tested by us.

1. 

   Yorkshire puddings

   They bake at the top of the oven’s range, so they belong to the roast’s rest. BBC Food rests the batter up to 12 hours; Serious Eats rests its own up to 3 days. Allow 1 to 2 a person (Good Food magazine). Allergens: wheat, milk, egg. With beef dripping they are not vegetarian.

   • 10 min active
   • Make that morning

   Quick recipe · For 6. After BBC Food’s Make-ahead Yorkshire pudding (Mike Robinson); not kitchen-tested by us. For 8, make one and a half times the batter (our scaling)

   Ingredients

   • 3 eggs
   • 4 oz (115 g) flour and a pinch of salt
   • ½ pint (275 ml) milk, the British measure the recipe prints
   • Beef dripping (rendered beef fat) for the tin

   Method

   1. Mix the eggs, flour and salt, then stir in the milk to a thin batter. Cover and rest in the fridge for up to 12 hours: for a 4:30 pm bake, mix it on Christmas morning.
   2. Put ½ inch (1 cm) of dripping in each hole of a muffin tin and heat it in the oven at 460°F (240°C), or 450°F (232°C), for about 10 minutes, until very hot.
   3. Pour in the batter, return the tin at once and bake 25 minutes, until golden and crisp, without opening the door for the first 20. Full recipe: BBC Food.

   A tin of fat at 460°F (240°C) is the most dangerous thing in this dinner: clear the floor in front of the oven before you lift it out, and keep children away.

2. 

   Pigs in blankets, the British kind

   Small sausages wrapped in bacon, roasted beside the turkey at 375°F (190°C). Good Food magazine counts 2 a person; the Food Savvy campaign 2 to 3. Allergens: check the sausages for wheat and sulphites.

   • 15 min active
   • Make the day before

   Quick recipe · 16, for 8 at two each. After BBC Good Food’s Classic pigs in blankets (Miriam Nice); not kitchen-tested by us

   Ingredients

   • 16 chipolatas (thin pork sausages)
   • 8 slices smoked streaky bacon (regular American bacon)
   • A baking tray

   Method

   1. Heat the oven to 375°F (190°C), or 170°C with a fan. Cut each slice of bacon in half and wrap one piece around each sausage.
   2. Roast on a tray for 30 to 35 minutes, until golden. Full recipe: BBC Good Food.

   Cook them right through: 160°F (71°C) in the middle of a sausage (USDA; the UK’s figure is 70°C held for 2 minutes), not just golden outside. They go in raw beside a nearly cooked bird: keep the tray clear of it and use separate tongs.

3. 

   Bread sauce

   The mild, clove-scented sauce the British put beside turkey. Delia’s method is same-day: the milk infuses for two hours while the turkey roasts; her site’s team says it also freezes, without the cream. Allergens: wheat, milk.

   • 20 min active
   • Make that morning
   • Vegetarian
   • Nut-free

   Quick recipe · For 8. After Delia Smith’s Traditional Bread Sauce, shortened; not kitchen-tested by us

   Ingredients

   • 1 large onion, halved, studded with 15 to 18 whole cloves (or use grated nutmeg)
   • 1 pint (570 ml) whole milk: a British pint, about 2½ US cups
   • 1 bay leaf and 8 black peppercorns
   • 4 oz (110 g) fresh white breadcrumbs
   • 2 oz (50 g) butter and 2 tbsp heavy cream (double cream)

   Method

   1. Bring the milk just to a boil with the onion, bay and peppercorns, take it off the heat and leave it in a warm place to infuse for 2 hours (see the note below).
   2. Lift out the onion, bay and peppercorns and keep them. Stir in the breadcrumbs and half the butter and cook on a very low heat for about 15 minutes, until the crumbs swell and the sauce thickens. Delia then puts the onion back until the sauce is needed.
   3. Just before serving, take the onion out, reheat gently and beat in the rest of the butter and the cream. Full recipe: Delia Online.

   Warm milk is on the 2-hour clock: keep the sauce at 140°F (60°C) or above, or make it late, and for an infusion longer than 2 hours use the fridge and bring the milk back to a simmer before the crumbs go in (our caution, not Delia’s).

The roast’s rest is the free oven window, and how long it lasts depends on whom you ask.

Named sources’ figures, with the arithmetic for eight.

Each menu is sized by its main.

Christmas Day 2026 is a Friday. Where the US and UK rules differ, both are given.

1. Sun 22 Nov, Stir-up Sunday
   • The traditional day to make a Christmas pudding. Nigella Lawson makes hers up to 6 weeks ahead; BBC Food at least a month.
   • From mid-November: par-bake and freeze the dinner rolls (up to 6 weeks, King Arthur Baking). Yorkshire puddings freeze for up to 3 months (BBC Food, Serious Eats).
2. Sat 19 Dec
   • Cranberry sauce from today: BBC Good Food keeps its homemade sauce a week in the fridge.
3. Sun 20 Dec
   • US: a frozen 12 to 14 lb (5.4 to 6.4 kg) turkey goes into the fridge today, on a tray on the bottom shelf, below anything ready to eat: 3 to 4 days to thaw (USDA FSIS: 24 hours for every 4 to 5 lb (1.8 to 2.3 kg)), then up to 2 days thawed, the room for the recipe’s dry brine.
   • The earliest day to buy a rib roast for salting tomorrow (USDA: a raw roast keeps 3 to 5 days), or go by its use-by date.
4. Mon 21 Dec
   • UK: the Food Standards Agency allows 10 to 12 hours per kg in the fridge and says to use defrosted food within 24 hours. A 5.4 to 6.4 kg bird goes in today, so the thaw finishes on Christmas Eve, and is dry-brined for one night only.
   • Salt a rib roast from today (Serious Eats: up to four days ahead, uncovered on a rack), on the bottom shelf.
   • Bake the crème brûlée cheesecake from today to Christmas Eve morning: it needs 6 hours to chill and keeps covered for 4 to 5 days.
5. Tue 22 Dec
   • The first day for the butternut squash soup in the US (it keeps 2 to 3 days); tomorrow in the UK.
6. Wed 23 Dec
   • Dry-brine the US turkey as soon as it has thawed: today, or tomorrow morning if there is still ice in the cavity.
   • Bake crème brûlée custards. Braise the brisket and cool it the recipe’s way: meat in pieces, liquid in shallow containers no deeper than 2 inches (5 cm), in the fridge within 2 hours, never whole in the pot. Assemble the Wellington this evening or tomorrow: it keeps 2 days.
7. Thu 24 Dec, Christmas Eve
   • Bake the pecan pie and refrigerate it. In the afternoon, assemble the scalloped potatoes (up to 24 hours unbaked), or bake them and chill them within 2 hours: tomorrow’s reheat is their one reheat. From late afternoon, assemble the eggplant Parmesan (24 hours too).
   • Make the Czech potato salad for a Christmas Day meal (a day earlier for a Christmas Eve one) and the mousse. Slice the cold brisket. Salt the tenderloin. Peel the roast potatoes and keep them whole under cold water (Nigella Lawson). Yorkshire batter waits until morning (BBC Food: up to 12 hours).
   • Stuffing: prepare the dry and the wet parts and keep them apart until the dish goes into the oven (USDA FSIS).
   • Set the table tonight: how to set a Christmas table.
8. Fri 25 Dec, Christmas Day
   • Follow your menu’s plan. It counts back from the main course, so move all its times together.
   • The 2-hour clock for cooked food starts when the roast leaves the oven, not when dinner starts: each plan ends with its fridge time.
9. Sat 26 Dec to Wed 30 Dec
   • UK leftovers (Food Standards Agency): 48 hours from cooking, reheated once. Friday’s turkey, gravy and mash by Sun 27 Dec; anything baked on Christmas Eve by Sat 26 Dec; a dish made ahead and reheated on the day (brisket, soup, scalloped potatoes) has had its one reheat: eat it cold on Boxing Day, or bin it.
   • US leftovers (USDA FSIS): 3 to 4 days, counted here from the day each dish was first cooked. Friday’s turkey and gravy to Mon 28 Dec or Tue 29 Dec (gravy first); the brisket braised on the 23rd to Sat 26 Dec or Sun 27 Dec; the soup sooner still. Spiral ham gets 3 to 5 days, to Wed 30 Dec. Or freeze them.

American and British advice differ in places, so each rule names its authority.

• The temperatures this page plans toUSDA’s minimums: 165°F (74°C) for turkey, duck, goose, stuffing and anything reheated; 145°F (63°C) with a 3-minute rest for whole cuts of beef, pork, lamb and fresh ham; 145°F (63°C) for fish; 140°F (60°C) for a fully cooked ham sealed at the plant. Roasting charts are planning times; the thermometer decides, read in the center of the thickest part, away from bone (the middle of a baked dish). In the UK the Food Standards Agency accepts 70°C held for 2 minutes, or 75°C for 30 seconds, for any food.
• Chef temperatures and low ovensSerious Eats pulls prime rib and tenderloin at 120 to 130°F (49 to 54°C), turkey breast at 150°F (66°C) and city ham at 120°F (49°C), and roasts beef and ham in ovens from 150 to 250°F (66 to 121°C). Each is below the USDA minimum, and USDA does not recommend roasting below 325°F (163°C). Our own turkey recipe takes the bird out before the breast reaches 165°F (74°C) and requires it to get there in the rest, or go back in.
• Two hours on the tableUSDA: nothing perishable sits out more than 2 hours, or 1 hour above 90°F (32°C), because bacteria grow fastest between 40 and 140°F (4 to 60°C). The UK’s agency says to cool and refrigerate cooked food within 1 to 2 hours; its community-event advice and Food Standards Scotland’s Christmas advice give chilled buffet food no longer than 4 hours out of the fridge.
• Holding food hotUSDA’s line is 140°F (60°C) or above; the FDA suggests an oven at 200 to 250°F (93 to 121°C) and warns that some warmers only reach 110 to 120°F (43 to 49°C), so check the product label. Britain’s 63°C is a legal rule for food businesses; the Food Standards Agency’s pages for home cooks give no hot-holding temperature.
• StuffingUSDA FSIS recommends baking it in a dish; inside a bird its center must reach 165°F (74°C), often after the meat is done. The Food Standards Agency says the same: a separate tin. Wet and dry ingredients are mixed just before cooking (how the sides hub handles it).
• Leftovers, by countryUnited States (USDA FSIS): into the fridge within 2 hours, in shallow containers; eat within 3 to 4 days, spiral ham within 3 to 5; reheat to 165°F (74°C) and bring gravy to a rolling boil. USDA’s pages disagree on gravy (its turkey pages say 3 to 4 days, a blog post of November 2009 says 1 to 2), so use it first. United Kingdom (Food Standards Agency): within 48 hours, reheated until steaming hot throughout, once only; defrosted leftovers within 24 hours.
• Hot food and the fridgeThe two countries give opposite instructions. USDA and the CDC say hot food can go straight into the refrigerator; the Food Standards Agency says to cool it at room temperature first. Either way, divide big pots and roasts. The CDC says most outbreaks of Clostridium perfringens food poisoning happen in November and December, many of them linked to turkey and roast beef, and most often to food cooked in large batches and held at unsafe temperatures.
• Don’t wash the turkeyUSDA and the Food Standards Agency agree: in USDA’s 2019 study, 60 percent of people who rinsed raw poultry had bacteria in the sink afterward.
• Alcohol stays in the foodUSDA’s nutrient retention table keeps 75 percent of the alcohol in a flamed dish, 70 percent in an uncooked one left overnight (brandy butter), 40 percent after 15 minutes of simmering and 5 percent after two and a half hours. Offer children, pregnant guests and anyone who avoids alcohol a version without it.
• AllergensThe US names 9 major allergens (sesame since 1 January 2023) and UK law 14, adding celery, mustard, sulphites, lupin and molluscs, which turn up in stock, glazes, wine and dried fruit. Cooking does not remove an allergen: the Food Standards Agency tells hosts to ask guests beforehand, keep the packets and never just lift the food off the plate.

For pregnant guests, older adults, young children and anyone with a weakened immune system.

• Rare beefMedium-rare prime rib and tenderloin are below USDA’s 145°F (63°C) minimum, which the CDC repeats for adults 65 and older. For these guests, roast the meat to 145°F (63°C), or cook their slices on in a hot pan to 145°F (63°C) on a thermometer; do not judge by color or count on end slices. Or choose a menu that is cooked through: turkey, ham or brisket. Read the label too: a roast marked mechanically, blade or needle tenderized has had its surface pushed inside, and USDA says to cook it to 145°F (63°C) with a 3-minute rest, for everyone. The NHS pregnancy page, as read on 8 October 2026, counts whole cuts of beef “thoroughly cooked on the outside” as safe and requires rolled joints to be cooked right through.
• Raw-egg desserts and eggnogMousse, tiramisu and homemade eggnog are often made with raw egg; the chocolate mousse on the tenderloin menu is one, with rum. US: the FDA says to use pasteurized eggs for anything served raw or lightly cooked and to cook an eggnog base to 160°F (71°C); University of Minnesota Extension adds that alcohol cannot be relied on to kill bacteria in raw egg. UK: since October 2017 the Food Standards Agency has said that British Lion eggs can be eaten raw by pregnant women, children and older people, but not by the severely immunocompromised. Safe under one country’s rule is not automatically safe under the other’s.
• Cold-smoked fishOn 27 July 2023 the Food Standards Agency and Food Standards Scotland advised pregnant women and people with weakened immune systems to avoid ready-to-eat cold-smoked or cured fish, such as smoked salmon, unless it is cooked until steaming hot, and repeated it in December 2024; older people are asked to be aware of the risk. The FDA lists refrigerated smoked seafood as higher-risk for the same groups.
• Pâté, cured meats and soft cheeseThe FDA lists refrigerated pâté as a high-risk food for these groups. The NHS says to avoid liver products (so liver pâté) in pregnancy and to cook cold cured meats such as salami and prosciutto, and brie, camembert and soft blue cheeses, until steaming hot. The CDC’s version: no unheated deli meat, cold cuts or fermented or dry sausages such as salami for pregnant women, people 65 or older or people with weakened immunity.
• Goose and gameThe NHS pregnancy list groups goose with game meats to avoid, because game may contain lead.
• Small childrenFor under-fives, cut sausages lengthwise into strips, not coins, keep nuts off their plates (the NHS says no whole nuts under 5; the CDC lists nuts, sausages and bones as choking hazards) and check fish and poultry for bones. No honey for babies under 1 (NHS): the salmon glaze has it. A coin or charm in a pudding is a choking hazard at any age (our caution).

What named sources support, in brief.

• Goose, then turkeyIn A Christmas Carol (1843) the Cratchits’ dinner is a goose; the turkey is the gift Scrooge sends on Christmas morning. Turkey was on English Christmas tables by 1573 (Thomas Tusser, as quoted by Lauritsen and colleagues), but published accounts put its takeover from goose between the 1930s (BBC Future) and the 1950s (the Museum of English Rural Life).
• HamThe story that Christmas ham descends from a Norse Yule boar rests on two Old Norse passages about swearing oaths on a sacrificial boar; neither mentions ham. Spiral slicing was patented by Harry Hoenselaar of Detroit (filed 1944, granted 1952); USDA’s page dates the invention to 1957.
• The Feast of the Seven FishesItalian-American, from southern Italian Christmas Eve abstinence from meat. Britannica says the name is believed to be exclusively Italian-American and first appears in print in the 1980s; in Italy the meal is the cena della Vigilia. An anthropologist who studies the feast says the reasons for seven are unknown.
• Carp and potato saladRadio Prague International describes the Czech Christmas Eve meal as carp fried in breadcrumbs with potato salad; carp became its center in the 19th century. Some families prefer schnitzel, and roast duck is a favorite on Christmas Day (the same broadcaster).
• Christmas puddingIts ancestor is the plum pottage of the early 15th century (The Field, citing the Oxford Companion to Food). A recipe headed “Boiled plum or Christmas pudding” was in print by 1828, in Elizabeth Hammond’s Modern Domestic Cookery. Stir-up Sunday, the last Sunday before Advent, falls on 22 November in 2026.