Italian Christmas Food (2024)

FAQs

What is a traditional Italian Christmas meal? ›

Pasta is a must for an Italian Christmas Dinner. Lasagna, Stuffed Manicotti and other cheesy baked pasta dishes are a hit with all ages—this is classic Christmas fare in Southern Italy.

Typical "fishes" include baccalà (salt cod), frutti di mare (shellfish), capitone (eel), calamari (squid), scungilli (conch meat) and vongole (clams). Fried vegetables are also a popular accompaniment to the fish; expect fried artichokes, pickled vegetables, fried squash blossoms, and other treats.

These days, more common fish include baccalà, octopus, and shellfish. In Rome, a favorite local dish is the pezzetti, which are fried cubes of ricotta or pieces of artichokes, zucchini, or broccoli; in Naples, a starter is a sauteed mix of broccoli and seafood.

That's why Italians celebrate Christmas Eve with a large feast known as La Vigilia on December 24th. Traditionally, Italian Christmas Eve dinner is a meat-free meal. According to an old Catholic tradition, it's meant to purify your body ahead of a religious celebration.

Catholic tradition prohibits the consumption of meat on the evenings before religious holidays. Most Italians, therefore, eat a fishy feast on Christmas Eve.

The Feast of the Seven Fishes is an Italian-American tradition to ring in Christmas Eve, when Roman Catholics celebrate the midnight birth of Jesus, known in Italian as “La Viglia.” Fish is a traditional ingredient in the Christmas Eve dinner because custom calls for the eschewing of red meat leading up to the holiday.

Typical feast

The meal's components may include some combination of anchovies, whiting, lobster, sardines, baccalà (dried salt cod), smelts, eels, squid, octopus, shrimp, mussels and clams. The menu may also include pasta, vegetables, baked goods and wine.

Some Italians start celebrating with a nice dinner on December 24th, while others prefer a light meal — preferably without meat — and wait for a huge Christmas lunch, the day after. However, the midnight Mass at the local church is a tradition from the North to the South.

For a full Italian breakfast, Christmas is the ideal time of year to slow down and indulge. Since Christmas Eve dinner is part of the celebration, the traditional Italian breakfast items for this time of year include leftover pandoro, a sweet bread, or panettone and panforte, two types of fruit bread.

What is a traditional Italian Christmas dinner menu? ›

A typical Christmas dinner in Italy involves a series of courses. Usually, to begin, there's whiting in lemon, followed by a clam or mussel spaghetti dish, before the famous Italian classic dish of salted codfish, known as baccalà is served.

Most of the year, you'll find Italians drinking a 'spritz' either Aperol or Campari whilst those who don't like bitter will drink a 'Hugo' made with sweet elderflower liquor. Come Christmas time, we like indulging in a glass of 'vin brulee' or mulled wine in English.

The Feast of the Seven Fishes is an Italian American Christmas Eve celebration that operates similarly to Thanksgiving, with traditional dishes and practices that span generations, decades and oceans.

Christmas Day: Lasagne and Seasonal Sweets

This is usually followed by a second course of roasted meat and vegetables, with lamb and potatoes being a popular choice in Rome. The meal concludes with the ever-present panettone, pandoro, and torrone, alongside mandarins and nuts.

What is a typical Italian dinner? Typically, Italian dinner dishes include a variety of pasta, soups, risottos, and seafood. With an Italian-inspired dinner menu, you'll find dishes like pizza, spaghetti, ravioli, and desserts such as tiramisu.

These are the top-rated main dish and side dish recipes you need for a perfect traditional Christmas dinner. They cover the savory side of Christmas dinner, from prime rib, baked ham, and roast turkey to scalloped potatoes, green bean casserole, and cranberry sauce.