Every December, millions of people search for Christmas recipe ideas and land on the same safe, SEO-driven lists from places like Bon Appétit or Epicurious. Beige buffets. Dry roasts. Cookies that taste like nostalgia and nothing else. These 12 days of Christmas recipes are not that. This is a holiday recipe countdown for people who actually care how their food tastes – and aren’t afraid of a little honesty in the kitchen.
From December 13th to December 24th, I’m releasing one new recipe every day: starters, mains, sides, desserts and drinks that earn their place on a real-world Christmas table. Call it a Christmas menu, call it a survival plan – either way, you’ll get food that’s built to be cooked, eaten and remembered, not just posted.
What You’ll Find in These 12 Days of Christmas Recipes
This isn’t another random list of “holiday recipes” scraped together for clicks. Every dish in this 12 days of Christmas recipes series is something I’d actually cook for people I like. Recipes with backbone, not buzzwords. Real butter. Real flavor. Real drinks. No fake “guilt-free” anything.
Over these twelve days, you’ll see:
- Appetizers that look elegant but don’t hijack your entire day.
- Mains that feel like an occasion without demanding a brigade of sous-chefs.
- Sides that don’t taste like afterthoughts.
- Desserts that are worth the sugar, the time and the dishes.
- Cocktails and drinks that do more than fill a glass – they set the tone.
You can use this as a complete Christmas menu idea, or steal pieces of it for Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, or whatever version of the holidays you’re surviving this year. If you want even more holiday recipes beyond this countdown, you can dig into my Holiday Recipes archive for more mains, sides and desserts.
How This Christmas Recipe Countdown Works
Think of this page as your control center for the whole project. From December 13th to 24th, one new recipe drops every day. Each time that happens, this page updates:
- The day gets its title revealed.
- The name of the dish goes live.
- A direct link appears to the full recipe post with step-by-step instructions, photos and notes.
Use it like a living, breathing index for the 12 days of Christmas recipes. Bookmark it, leave it open on a tab, or pin it somewhere between your shopping list and your sanity.
You can follow along in two ways:
- Come back here every day and pick up the new recipe.
- Or, if you actually like yourself, let me bring it to you.
The 12 Days of Christmas Recipes (Live Countdown)
Below is the live list for this Christmas recipe countdown. As each recipe goes live between December 13th and 24th, the title will be revealed and linked to the full recipe post.
- On the First Day of Christmas: (Coming soon)
- On the Second Day of Christmas: (Coming soon)
- On the Third Day of Christmas: (Coming soon)
- On the Fourth Day of Christmas: (Coming soon)
- On the Fifth Day of Christmas: (Coming soon)
- On the Sixth Day of Christmas: (Coming soon)
- On the Seventh Day of Christmas: (Coming soon)
- On the Eighth Day of Christmas: (Coming soon)
- On the Ninth Day of Christmas: (Coming soon)
- On the Tenth Day of Christmas: (Coming soon)
- On the Eleventh Day of Christmas: (Coming soon)
- On the Twelfth Day of Christmas: (Coming soon)
The Christmas Day Finale: All 12 Recipes in One Place
On December 25th, once the ovens cool down and the last glass is poured, I’ll release the full collection: all twelve recipes from this 12 days of Christmas recipes project, assembled into one complete guide. Think of it as your personal holiday playbook for this year – and a starting point for the next.
If you’ve cooked along, cherry-picked a few dishes, or just read the stories with a drink in hand, you’ll have earned it.
Until then, bookmark this page, join The Second Serving, and get ready for twelve days of Christmas food that’s actually worth making.