Best Holiday Recipes

August 27, 2019
Celebrate Christmas with our best holiday recipes for main dishes, side dishes and desserts—from traditional roasts and sides to vegetarian mains, fun cocktails and unique cookie ideas.
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Pomegranate, Cranberry & Brie Bruschetta

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Make this simple festive appetizer for your holiday guests. Toasted baguette slices with creamy, melted brie are topped with an orange-cranberry-pomegranate mixture--each bite delivers an explosion of flavor and texture!

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Balsamic Berry Vinaigrette Winter Salad

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This festive salad features colorful greens, fruit and cheese tossed with a light and zesty dressing.

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Twice-Baked Sweet Potatoes

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This healthy recipe is a savory riff on the traditional brown-sugar-and-pecan-topped sweet potato casserole so often found on Thanksgiving tables. Crispy baby kale leaves make a stunning garnish, but any green or herb that suits you will look great, fried or not.

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Parmesan Scalloped Potatoes with Spinach

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Classic scalloped potatoes get a burst of color, heartier texture and a healthy update with the addition of chopped spinach. The greens in this side dish also create a nice contrast to the creamy, velvety potatoes.

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Cranberry Meringue Pie

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If you're a fan of lemon meringue pie, you'll love this festive cranberry meringue pie recipe. For the fluffiest meringue, set your eggs out at room temperature for about 15 minutes or submerge (in the shell) in a bowl of lukewarm water for 5 minutes before beating--egg whites at room temperature will gain more volume than cold whites.

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Cranberry-Orange Punch

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This gorgeous fruity punch is perfect for any party--serve it on its own for a fun mocktail that will please kids and adults alike. Or, set out optional alcoholic mix-ins, like tequila and/or vodka, for a mix-your-own cocktail station.

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Rib Roast with Dijon-Sour Cream Sauce

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This classic rib roast is seasoned with rosemary and marjoram and served with an incredibly simple--yet divine--mustard and sour cream sauce.

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Chocolate Cream Pie

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Chocolate cream pie isn't just a diner special--it's the perfect dessert for any celebration. We love the added flair of chocolate curls on top, but a pretty dollop of whipped cream on each piece would look just as elegant.

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Caramelized Pear Custard Pie

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This custard pie recipe elevates the simple pear to something heavenly. The pears are lightly caramelized, baked into vanilla custard, then topped with a cinnamon caramel sauce just before serving.

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Cider-Brined Spatchcock Turkey

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Brining is a classic way to prep roast turkey for the oven. It infuses the meat with so much flavor from apple cider, celery, onion, oranges and fresh herbs. Spatchcocking is the technique of removing the backbone of a turkey or chicken and pressing the bird flat. It's a convenient way to speed up the roasting time and it results in evenly browned, moist turkey.

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Fig & Walnut Wild Rice Dressing

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This gluten-free dressing (or stuffing, if you prefer) leans on a blend of brown and wild rice for a complex nutty flavor. Look for dried Mission figs in the bulk aisle or with the packaged dried fruit in your grocery store. You can swap in dried cherries or cranberries if you can't find dried figs.

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Cranberry Coconut Trifle

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No other dessert turns heads like a trifle. Festive in every way, this trifle recipe glows from within with scarlet layers of juicy cranberries. The filling is made from an astounding 6 cups of antioxidant-packed cranberries! We made the custard “skinny” with a combination of low-fat milk and light coconut milk. From-scratch brown-butter sponge cake, made with whole-wheat pastry flour, stands in for store-bought ladyfingers.

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Quinoa Salad with Oranges, Beets & Pomegranate

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Roasted beets and sweet dates, tangy oranges and juicy pomegranate seeds make this quinoa salad recipe festive. It pairs beautifully with turkey or roast pork.

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Marmalade-Horseradish-Rosemary Glazed Ham

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Orange marmalade, whole-grain mustard, and horseradish are combined with fresh rosemary to make a sensational glaze for this delicious ham. It's a perfect main dish for a holiday gathering or family reunion.

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Acorn Squash Bisque

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Rich in flavor and color, this squash bisque is a great choice to serve alongside other autumnal entrées such as roasted pork tenderloin, pork chops and turkey.

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Loaded Bread Stuffing

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This bread stuffing has more than your basic celery and onion--you'll love the unexpected addition of mushrooms, red pepper, carrots and water chestnuts! And while it's the perfect addition to your holiday menu, it's also a great choice for serving with chicken or fish any night of the week.

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Eggnog Pie with Cranberry Sauce

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This healthy custard pie recipe combines the flavors of gingerbread and eggnog into a festive holiday dessert. An easy cranberry sauce balances the sweetness of the pie with a touch of tartness. To lighten the load of holiday baking, each element can be prepared up to 5 days ahead.

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Vegan Gingerbread Cookies

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Coconut oil stands in for butter in this dairy-free, eggless cookie recipe for completely mouthwatering gingerbread cut-outs. Decorate cookies with a simple vegan icing or sanding sugar.

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Peppermint Pattie Pots de Creme

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We love York peppermint patties and the flavor of these festive pots de crème is a dead ringer for the candy. Unlike traditional über-rich custard recipes, this custard uses low-fat milk, only 3 egg yolks and 1/2 cup of half-and-half for its creamy richness. Just 1/2 teaspoon of peppermint extract in the custard gives plenty of minty flavor, but if you want that icy mountain-breeze sensation, add a whole teaspoon instead.

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Roast Chicken with Pomegranate Glaze

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This sweet-tart pomegranate molasses glaze is delicious combined with the citrusy sumac spice rub, and gives the roasted chicken a dark, ruby luster. Rub the chicken earlier in the day, or overnight, for the best flavor.

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Snowman Meringue Cookies

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You've never made a snowman like this! These cute lightened-up cookies are awesome on their own, or float one in a cup of hot chocolate and watch it melt away. When making meringues, make sure that your bowl and beaters are clean and that there is not a trace of yolk in the egg white; the smallest amount of fat will prevent the egg whites from forming meringue. Depending on the humidity in your kitchen, the baking time might vary considerably. Check to make sure your cookies are crisp throughout before removing them from the oven.

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Gingered Cranberry Sauce

Credit: Diabetic Living
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This maple syrup-sweetened sauce is the perfect side dish to your holiday bird. It cooks in less than 15 minutes and can be made several days ahead, freeing up time for you to prepare other dishes on the big day.

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Sparkling Pomegranate-Chai Mocktail

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This nonalcoholic punch recipe tastes like a cocktail but doesn't include a hangover. Perfect for the holidays or a brunch.

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Roasted Vegetable Antipasto

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A zesty vinaigrette makes these roasted Brussels sprouts, fennel, carrots and beets pop. If you can't find small carrots, halve larger ones crosswise then quarter lengthwise. Serve this vegetable antipasto as a side dish or appetizer.

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Creamed Spinach Casserole

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This creamy spinach casserole recipe is a more sophisticated cousin to creamed spinach. It's perfect for weekend entertaining or as a holiday side dish.

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Spaghetti Squash with Pistachios & Sage

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Serve this low-carb side dish with roast pork, roast chicken or a firm white fish, like halibut or cod. No microwave? Bake squash halves cut-side down at 400 degrees F until tender, 40 to 50 minutes.

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Honey Buzz Cocktail

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While gin lets the grapefruit shine through, this punch recipe also works with bourbon. Using the Angostura bitters is optional, but the cinnamon-clove flavor gives this drink a bit of holiday-appropriate spice.

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Peppermint Chocolate Tart

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This rich chocolate tart dessert recipe is low in sugar, making it a perfect healthy finish to a heavy holiday meal.

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Roasted Carrots with Calimyrna Fig Dressing

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Whole roasted carrots make quite a statement on the dinner table when they're topped with a port wine-and-fig dressing. In this recipe, we like dried Calimyrna figs because they're a tad less sweet than Mission figs and taste slightly nutty as well.

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Instant Pot Sweet Potato Casserole

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Use any multicooker or electric pressure cooker to make this classic Thanksgiving side dish. The sweet potatoes get perfectly tender and almost caramelized while cooking under high pressure, plus using your multicooker saves stovetop and oven space.

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Slow-Cooker Balsamic Short Ribs

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Now here's a healthy beef short ribs slow-cooker recipe you can serve to company--even on a holiday. Serve with mashed celeriac or mashed potatoes, steamed green beans and a bold Italian red wine that has a touch of sweetness (think amarone or brunello).

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Stained Glass Sugar Cookies

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You won't believe how easy it is to make these seriously impressive cookies. Crushed ard candy melts in the center of these festive sugar cookies, making a gorgeous stained-glass effect. Use any shape cookie cutter you like, just make sure you have two--a big one for each cookie, and a slightly smaller one for the hole in the middle.

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Peppercorn-Crusted Beef Tenderloin

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This super-simple recipe covers beef tenderloin in a blend of cracked black, white and green peppercorns. Though it takes moments to prepare, since it's beef tenderloin it's perfect for a special occasion. Look for peppercorns in the bulk spice section so you can buy just what you need. The recipe will also work with black ones only.

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Lemon-Dill Green Beans

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This lemon and dill vinaigrette is a natural complement to green beans. It's also great tossed with steamed asparagus or drizzled over sliced fresh tomatoes. To make this recipe serve 10, multiply all the ingredients by 2 1/2: Use 2 1/2 pounds green beans, 3 tablespoons dill, 2 1/2 tablespoons each shallot, oil and lemon juice, 2 1/2 teaspoons mustard and 3/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper.

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Cranberry Crumble Bars

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These cranberry-orange bars freeze well. Make a batch on a free afternoon and pop them in the freezer so you'll always have a healthy dessert on hand when company calls.