Christmas Dinner Ideas & Recipes

A slimmed-down white sauce makes this creamy green bean casserole side dish recipe low fat.

In this easy one-pan dinner, boneless pork loin roast is cooked over a bed of carrots and parsnips for an all-in-one dish that makes an impressive centerpiece for a holiday meal or Sunday dinner. Choose free-range heritage pork if you can—its flavor really shines with no more seasoning than a bit of thyme and a little sea salt. If you'd like, dress up the meal with a traditional Irish apple condiment—Ploughmans chutney or Bramley applesauce, which you can find in specialty stores and online.

This easy holiday salad gets its flavor from a sweet citrus dressing that's infused into the kale by massaging the greens and the dressing together with your hands. We like a mix of kale for this recipe, but any type of kale will work.

This colorful and healthy cranberry salad recipe will brighten up any holiday meal. It's sweet but not overly so, with juicy oranges, crunchy walnuts and crisp celery and apples.

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.

A much healthier take on the old-fashioned green bean casserole, this version thankfully skips the canned soup and fried onions! Fresh green beans are cooked until crisp-tender and topped with a garlicky-thyme mushroom sauce, shallots and crumbled chèvre.

When it comes to cooking a whole turkey quickly and evenly, spatchcocking--removing the entire backbone from the bird and splaying it open--is a great technique. This skin on this spatchcocked turkey gets crispy and browned because nearly all of the skin is exposed. This recipe uses a simple blend of oil, fresh herbs and spices for classic roasted turkey flavor. Look for a small turkey, about 12 pounds, as it fits better in most roasting pans.

Turkey is flavored with fragrant herbs and roasted alongside potatoes, carrots and onions. Leftovers--which can be refrigerated or frozen--are perfect for sandwiches or soups!

This braised brisket gets a decidedly wintery feel from the earthy-sweet flavors of carrots, parsnips and rutabaga.

The eye of round is a lean, boneless cut of beef that's less expensive than a tenderloin or rib roast but just as delicious. It's best served medium-rare--when cooked to higher temperatures it can become tough. Topping it with a finger-licking-good horseradish sauce makes this roast beef holiday-worthy.

These scalloped potatoes are surprisingly rich and creamy even though they're made with no dairy (milk, butter or cheese)--vegan comfort food at its best. We use almond milk, herbs and spices to make a flavorful sauce and finish the dish with a crunchy almond topping. This makes a satisfying side dish if you're cooking for dairy-free or vegan diets.

This colorful gratin dish livens up any holiday plate. Creamy melted Gruyère is comforting, while a blend of cumin, nutmeg, and cayenne pepper lends a warm, spicy note.

If you're looking for a twist on classic scalloped potatoes, this recipe using roasted sweet potatoes and melty Gruyère has all the creaminess of the original with a new flavor twist. The sweet potatoes and lightened sauce--made with flour and low-fat milk--keep it healthier than butter- and cream-laden versions. Don't cut your sweet potatoes too thin--they'll turn mushy under the sauce.

Seared steak topped with a dollop of garlicky aioli makes a simple and satisfying supper. Experiment with different herbs in this easy, super-flavorful aioli. We love it on steaks, but it would make a perfect sauce for grilled or broiled salmon or a delicious sandwich spread.

Oven-frying lightly battered onion slices produces the kind of crispy onion rings we all love, but with less fat and fewer calories. Plus, we use almond milk to make this crispy onion topping dairy-free and vegan--perfect for topping a vegan green bean casserole!

For this classic roast beef recipe, cremini or white mushrooms are delicious in the sauce. But if you want to get fancy, mix in some wild mushrooms, such as oyster, maitake or porcini.

A natural, cloudy apple cider is delicious for this exotically spicy and aromatic winter warmer, but if you desire a sparkling-clear drink, apple juice can be substituted. Calvados, which is a French apple brandy, adds richness. If you wish to omit it, just add more cider or juice.

This delicate oyster soup recipe sets the tone for celebration at any meal. We made this stew healthier by primarily using low-fat milk and increasing the amount of vegetables. Don't worry about shucking the oysters--most supermarket seafood departments carry shucked oysters. Serve with crusty bread to sop up all the delicious bits at the bottom of the bowl.

This classic French stew recipe is typically made with a variety of meats and simmered over the course of multiple days. In this easy, streamlined cassoulet, the slow cooker makes it a breeze to have a healthy dinner on the table when you get home.

This festive holiday salad recipe features plenty of oven-roasted broccoli and cauliflower combined with massaged kale. Why massage the kale? It helps tenderize the leaves and infuses the sweet-tangy flavor of the dressing directly into the heart of this healthy winter salad.

Take your veggies and dip to the next level with this colorful crudité wreath. This vegetable appetizer is a stunner with white cauliflower, red tomatoes and green broccoli, green beans, snap peas, kale and Brussels sprouts. It's also a delicious way to start your celebration with veggies (which there are rarely enough of at parties and holidays). The homemade ranch dip, which uses nonfat Greek yogurt in place of sour cream, takes just a few minutes to make, or you can use a healthy store-bought dip.

Mushrooms are a rich, meaty addition in this healthy cornbread stuffing recipe. Here we use oyster mushrooms, but you can use any variety you like. If you have time, bake the cornbread a day or two in advance so it has time to dry out a bit, which lets it absorb the flavors more readily.

Here pears are roasted to sweet perfection with butternut squash and pureed to create a creamy soup that gets a luxurious garnish of Stilton cheese. You can serve this as a first course or with a salad and crusty bread for a light autumn supper.

Shrimp, sole and salmon come together in a beautiful lasagna dish. Serve with an arugula salad and crusty whole-grain baguette.