Here are the 25 Best French Holiday recipes, made simple, from Le Chefs Wife.com which are sure to impress your guests this holiday season. Whether served at a holiday cocktail party or the starring attraction at Christmas, these dishes will elevate your holiday menu. From French Onion Soup Gratinée to Duck Magret with squash and apples to the best crème brulée recipe ever, you will find everything you need to host your next Holiday dinner party here.
French Christmas Traditions
There is something so incredibly magical about French Christmas Traditions. The French Riviera, in particular, does Christmas so well. The backdrop of the mediterranean sea, the convergence of cultures, (Provence! Italy! North Africa!) and the glitter of the Riviera makes for a stunning month of December.
You can read more about French Christmas Traditions in particular in the post I shared here: French Christmas Traditions: The French Riviera or about New Year's Traditions with French Themed New Year's Eve at home or 6 Tips for Hosting a Chic French Themed New Year's Eve Party
In this post I outline over 25 French Christmas foods, made simple, to bring joy to your household this holiday season.
French Holiday Appetizers:
French Cheese Board (though the French usually serve Cheese before the dessert course.. unless you are hosting a cocktail party - then it is perfectly correct to serve cheese at the same time as everything else)
L'Apéro - Cocktail Hour - this post explains how to host a French Apéro - one of my favorite way to gather friends. It is informal, low stress and so much fun!
Seared White Wine Scallops and Leeks Recipe
French Holiday Soups:
Do yourself a favor and make a big pot of vegetable soup before the start of the holidays. It freezes beautifully and will offer you a light, healthy meal when you need to balance out all the Christmas Cookies and Roasts.
Magical Leek Soup (The French woman's trick to eating a balanced diet during the holidays)
Fancy Cream of Cauliflower Soup
La Soupe de Mamie - Grandmother's Vegetable Soup
Creamy Butternut squash Soup with Crispy Sage
French Holiday Main Dishes
Roasted Duck Magret with Apples and Squash
Lemon Thyme French Roast Chicken (Poulet Rôti)
Roasted pork tenderloin with apples and sage
Simple Rosemary Roast Rack of Lamb and Potatoes
La Daube Provençale made simple
French Holiday Desserts
The Best Lemon Sugar Crêpes Recipe
Le Chef’s Moelleux au Chocolat
Bûche de Noël Cake with Dark Chocolate Ganache
Les Treize Desserts - The 13 Desserts a Provençal Tradition
Thanksgiving Recipes
Thanksgiving is not a French holiday, but that doesn't mean some of your favorite French dishes wouldn't make a chic addition to your traditional Thanksgiving Menu.
I wrote an article about how to host a Thanksgiving Dinner Party that you will enjoy. It includes hosting tips and a selection of elevated Thanksgiving recipes
Here are my favorites:
The best Tomatoes Provençale Recipe (Great Vegan Side Dish)
Authentic Ratatouille Recipe (Vegan too!)
Simple Confit Bayaldi Recipe (Vegan as well)
La Salade Parisienne - the best French Potato Salad
Creamiest homemade Lobster Mac and Cheese
French Holiday Breads
La Pompe à L'huile: Provençal Olive Oil Brioche
French Holiday Cocktails
Vin Chaud au Grand Marnier Recipe
I hope you have enjoyed this roundup of my 25 Best French Holiday Recipes...plus a few more. Please leave a comment below if you make any of them - I LOVE to hear from you!
Joyeux Noël, mes amis.
Bon appétit,
Le Chef's Wife
ABOUT LE CHEF'S WIFE
Bonjour! I am Anina Belle. I translate the fancy cooking of my Michelin-star trained French Chef Husband, Le Chef, into easy to make dishes that busy people with no culinary training (like me!) can make at home. We have two young kids (6 and 3) and I have a full time job in hospitality in addition to this blog. I strongly believe that even busy people deserve to eat well at home.
Look inside our Kitchen with this recent Washington Post Article. We were recently featured on the TODAY SHOW for our recipes of French Onion Soup Gratinée and Moelleux au Chocolat. You can watch our full segment here:
I share our home cooking on Instagram, pinterest and tiktok. Sign up for my newsletter to be the first to receive my new recipes and have advance access to cooking classes. I look forward to cooking with you!
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