Christmas menu for a crowd

If you want to serve up something savoury, get prepared for a marathon egg-cracking session. Pick your dishes wisely – starting the day poaching dozens of eggs isn't the way to go. Batches of muffins, pastries, breakfast buns or individual omelettes are ideal alternatives. Stack them high and let everyone dig in. Our stunning flower-shaped cherry and marzipan pastry can be made the night before, then reheated in the morning.

Breakfast casserole
Sour cherry & marzipan chrysanthemum pastry
Feel-good muffins
Fruitburst muffins
Banana & cinnamon whirls
Cake of kings
Mini smoked haddock omelettes

Christmas dinner

Starters

Sharing dishes work well when feeding large numbers. Try making a large dip, pâté or terrine, or serve up a selection of nibbles and let everyone help themselves – it saves plating up lots of individual dishes before the chaos of the main course ensues. Large sharing platters with gooey melted cheeses, such as camembert and raclette, are always a popular choice.

Sharers:

Vegan terrine
Luxury hummus
Honeyed beetroot & carrot salad with feta & hazelnuts
Baked camembert dough ball platter
Seafood cocktail platter
Beetroot hummus party platter
Baked camembert pie for sharing
Spicy potted crab
Duck & pork terrine with cranberries & pistachios

Nibbles:

Beetroot & blackberry cured salmon
Smoked mackerel & horseradish cups
Spiced prawns with coriander mayo
Oysters with apple & horseradish
Smoked salmon & easy blinis
Chicken skewers with satay dip
Thai chicken skewers

Main course

Turkey is the ultimate roast for feeding a crowd. A 5kg turkey should comfortably serve eight people.

Turkey for eight, plus leftovers:

Brown sugar & spice-glazed turkey with candied carrots
Roast turkey with lemon & garlic
Slow cooker turkey breasts with wine & bacon
Perfect pancetta & roast shallot-stuffed turkey
Scandinavian roast turkey with prune & juniper stuffing & caramelised apples
Roast turkey with pecan, sausage & chestnut stuffing

Turkey for 10:

Salt & pepper turkey
Prosciutto-wrapped turkey roll
Mustard butter-basted roast turkey with bacon

Find more turkey recipes...

If you’re catering for a large group of vegetarian diners, try one of our meat-free show-stopping mains:

Squash, winter herb & crispy butter bean pie
Butternut, sage & hazelnut quiche
Vegan Christmas wreath
Chestnut, spinach & blue cheese en croûte

Side dishes

Accompany your main dish with an impressive spread of crowd-pleasing sides, several of which can be made ahead. We've got plenty of inspiration for all the trimmings, from red cabbage, sprouts and potatoes to stuffing and pigs in blankets.

Stuffing pigs in blankets
Sizzled sprouts with pistachios & pomegranate
Red cabbage with port, prunes & orange
Apricot & hazelnut stuffing
Herb-infused roast potatoes
Triple pigs in blankets
Lightly spiced Christmas stuffing
Hasselback roast potatoes
Charred brussels sprouts with Marmite butter
Sticky spiced red cabbage
Golden spiced roast potatoes
Winter root mash with buttery crumbs

Sauces

Take the stress out of sauce prep by making these flavourful blends ahead, then chilling or freezing until the big day. Try our traditional recipes for gravy, bread sauce and cranberry sauce – you can add extra ingredients for a special twist.

Cranberry sauce with port & star anise
Creamy bread & onion sauce
Easy red wine gravy
Sloe gin cranberry sauce
Sourdough bread sauce
Vegetarian gravy

Desserts

Most of our festive cakes and puddings serve between eight and 10 people. Whether you're going for a traditional fruity Christmas cake or a lighter alternative, such as a roulade, we've got plenty of sweet treats to choose from.

Mince pie cheesecake
White forest meringue roulade
Festive cherry & raspberry tart
Rocky road cheesecake pudding
Christmas pavlova
Fig & honey Christmas cake
Festive frozen chocolate parfait
Chocolate & walnut pavlova with madeira & tangerines
Glam trifle slice
Iced chestnut ripple cheesecake
Trifle cheesecake
Chocolate mint loaf cake
Bûche de Noël
Light & fruity Christmas pudding

Drinks

Avoid having to make individual drinks by serving up large jugs of cocktails and bowls of punch. Alternatively, get the slow cooker out and let the beautiful aromas of mulled wine or hot chocolate fill the house.

Gingerbread gin
Cranberry sea breeze punch
Chocolate eggnog
Christmas sangria kit
Slow cooker mulled wine
Cranberry gin fizz
Slow cooker hot chocolate
Rumberry punch
Ginger, apple & vanilla punch
Winter Pimm's punch
Coconut & vanilla milk bottle cocktail

Want a plan that takes all the stress out of Christmas dinner? Try our easiest ever, next level or budget menu plans, complete with timeplan, pre-loaded shopping list (to print out or use for online shopping) and all the recipes you'll need for the big day.

Visit our Christmas section for recipes, tips and guides. Plus, check out our other Christmas menus.

Vegetarian Christmas menu
Vegan Christmas menu
Gluten-free Christmas menu
Quick Christmas menu
2 hour Christmas dinner menu
Christmas menu for a crowd
Christmas menu for two