Recipes

70 Healthy Christmas Recipes That Are as Festive as 'Jingle Bells'

How to lighten up the holidays—with less butter and more vegetables.
Brussels Sprouts With Cranberry Mostarda
Photo by Alex Lau, food styling by Susie Theodorou, prop styling by Elizabeth Jaime

Dieting during the holidays makes you feel like a Grinch at the dinner table, but don't worry—there's a happy medium between putting yourself into a food coma with buttery carbs and eating like a rabbit. Prepare for New Year's resolutions early this year with healthy-ish Christmas recipes, many of which still allow you to indulge in a little bit of cheese.

  • Large fillet of salmon topped with an herby salsa verde.
    Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Michelle Gatton
    1/70

    Roasted Salmon With Citrus Salsa Verde

    Paprika gives smoky, spicy balance to bright citrus and herb flavors.

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  • Romaine lettuce and sliced Asian pear on a platter with tahini dressing and sesame seeds.
    Photo by Emma Fishman, Food Styling by Kay Boytsova
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    Sesame Caesar Salad

    Swapping tahini for the mayonnaise that you typically see in classic Caesar salads keeps things creamy but adds nutty earthiness to the tangy mustard and funk from Parmesan cheese.

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  • Brussels Sprouts With Cranberry Mostarda
    Photo by Alex Lau, food styling by Susie Theodorou, prop styling by Elizabeth Jaime
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    Brussels Sprouts With Cranberry Mostarda

    Cranberry mostarda isn’t as sweet as cranberry sauce, it’s got some fire from mustard seeds—and you’ll want it on allll the roasted vegetables this winter.

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  • Charred Sweet Potatoes With Hot Honey Butter and Lime
    Photo by Marcus Nilsson, food styling by Rebecca Jurkevich, prop styling by Kalen Kaminski
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    Charred Sweet Potatoes With Hot Honey Butter and Lime

    When you mix hot sauce with butter, it turns into a spicy, creamy spread that’s perfect for melting atop burnished sweet potato halves, bringing them to life.

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  • Spiced Roast Pork with Fennel and Apple Salad at Tailor in Nashville TN
    Photo by Marcus Nilsson
    5/70

    Spiced Roast Pork With Fennel and Apple Salad

    Pork shoulder gets the Goa spice treatment, with star anise, fennel seeds, coriander, cumin, cloves, and more, courtesy of chef Vivek Surti of Tailor in Nashville.

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  • Image may contain Bowl Food Dish Meal Plant Soup Bowl Produce and Curry
    Photo by Alex Lau, Food Styling by Susie Theodorou
    6/70

    French-ish Onion Soup

    Onions, garlic, oil, wine, and salt are all it takes to make a rich vegan broth that still evokes the classic version.

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  • Chicory Caeser salad recipe
    Photo by Alex Lau, food styling by Susie Theodorou, prop styling by Elizabeth Jaime
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    Chicory Caesar Salad

    This bright, zippy chicory salad gets dressed with a punchy anchovy-lemon vinaigrette and adds a serious pop of color to your table.

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  • Image may contain Plant Food Salad Dish Meal and Vegetable
    Photo by Alex Lau, food styling by Rebecca Jurkevich, prop styling by Kalen Kaminski
    10/70

    Scrunched Cabbage Salad With Grapefruit and Chiles

    Not just for slaw, cabbage is a snappy base that can handle lots of refreshing acidity—in this case from torn grapefruit and hot-and-sour chiles—without withering.

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  • Squash Parmesan recipe
    Photo by Alex Lau, Food Styling by Susie Theodorou
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    Butternut Squash Parmesan

    This twist on traditional eggplant Parmesan has fewer steps (no need to fry!) but no less satisfaction.

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  • This image may contain Food Dish Meal Platter and Lunch
    Photo by Alex Lau, food styling by Susie Theodorou, prop styling by Kalen Kaminski
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    Squash and Radicchio Salad With Pecans

    This squash-centric salad has an irresistible pecan dressing and hardy radicchio that refuses to wilt.

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  • Image may contain Food Dish Meal Lunch Plant Produce and Vegetable
    Photo by Alex Lau, food styling by Rebecca Jurkevich, prop styling by Kalen Kaminski
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    Roasted Winter Squash with Kale Pipian

    This bright green style of mole is made by blending pumpkin seeds into a smooth paste (kind of like how pine nuts work in pesto). The oil in the seeds adds body and rich flavor to the sauce.

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  • This image may contain Food and Plant
    Photo by Gentl and Hyers, food styling by Susie Theodorou, prop styling by Nina Lalli
    14/70

    Sweet Potatoes With Tahini Butter

    Steaming offers extreme speed and high hydration, which means that whatever you cook—from seasonal vegetables to proteins—will be done quickly and always moist.

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  • Image may contain Food Dish Meal Platter Plant and Lunch
    Photo by Gentl and Hyers, food Styling by Susie Theodorou, prop Styling by Nina Lalli
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    Fresh Fruit With Cheese and Peppery Nuts

    Make this fail-safe combination of sweet-juicy fruit, crunchy-salty nuts, and chewy-fatty cheese your all-season salad template.

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  • This image may contain Food Meal Dish and Plant
    Photo by Stephen Kent Johnson, food styling by Rebecca Jurkevich, prop styling by Kalen Kaminski
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    Za’atar Chicken with Garlicky Yogurt

    To make the most of your chicken, you have to make the most of your pan drippings: Here the garlic- and lemon-infused chicken fat is mixed with a citrusy za’atar and spooned over the fall-apart meat.

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  • This image may contain Food Salad and Plant
    Photo by Alex Lau, Food Styling by Rebecca Jurkevich, Prop Styling by Kalen Kaminsky
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    Ice Water Salad

    A stunning salad that's as crunchy and refreshing as it gets—plus, you can make it up to six hours in advance.

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  • Image may contain Cutlery Fork Dish Food and Meal
    Photo by Marcus Nilsson, Food Styling by Frances Boswell, Prop Styling by Amy Wilson
    18/70

    Beef and Ginger Stir-Fry

    Make this glossy, buttery beef stir fry when you need dinner on the table in less time than it takes to listen to a podcast.

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  • Dal Bhat at Tailor Nashville TN
    Photo by Marcus Nilsson
    19/70

    Sweet-and-Sour Dal Bhat

    This iconic Gujarati dish is sweet with jaggery, spicy with green chiles, and sour with lime juice. And it’s exactly what you’d eat if you walked into Tailor chef Vivek Surti’s mother’s house in India.

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  • Image may contain Blade Weapon Knife Weaponry Plant Food Dish Meal Seasoning Animal Seafood Sea Life and Lobster
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    Citrus-and-Dill Gravlax

    Many gravlax recipes will instruct you to drain, turn, and babysit the fish while it cures. Not this one: Set it and forget it.

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  • Leeks with Pine Nut Salsa Verde
    Photo by Marcus Nilsson, food styling by Rebecca Jurkevich, prop styling by Kalen Kaminski
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    Glazed Leeks With Pine Nut Salsa Verde

    When cooked until tender, doused in a chile-honey-vinegar sauce, and finished with a nutty, herby salsa verde, humble leeks transform into the in-demand side that no one saw coming.

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  • Image may contain Food Dish Meal Plant Cutlery and Fork
    Photo by Emma Fishman, Food Styling by Kat Boystova
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    Squash With Yogurt Sauce and Frizzled Onions

    For this vegetarian main, crispy-sweet red onions roast alongside the squash for a finishing dose of flavor and texture.

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  • Image may contain Plant Fruit Food Citrus Fruit Lime Cutlery and Fork
    Photo by Chelsie Craig, food styling by Alison Attenborough
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    Orange Fish in Parchment

    Because the fish, which is flavored with garlic, chile, ginger, and turmeric, is sealed in a pouch before it's baked, it stays extra moist and flavorful with no risk of drying out.

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  • Image may contain Plant Food Seasoning and Vegetable
    Photo by Alex Lau, food styling by Rebecca Jurkevich, prop styling by Kalen Kaminski
    28/70

    Little Wedge Salad with Sour Cream Dressing

    We KonMari'd the classic wedge, got rid of all the extraneous ingredients, and ended up with a salad that sparks joy: crunchy iceberg and a rich, tangy dressing.

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  • Image may contain Food Dish Meal Bowl Curry Stew Soup Bowl and Soup
    Photo by Alex Lau, Styling by Chris Morocco
    35/70

    Spiced Coconut Carrot Soup

    Puréed soups are easy because they don’t require lots of knife work... but they can also be boring. Amping up the seasoning and topping with crunchy shaved vegetables and bright herbs makes it clear that this one's not baby food.

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  • Image may contain Food Salad Dish Meal Plant Human and Person
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    Chicory, Bacon, and Poached Egg Salad

    Dinner salad shouldn’t feel ascetic. That’s why we called up bacon, cheese, and crispy mushrooms.

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  • This image may contain Plant and Food
    Photo by Alex Lau
    37/70

    Charred Sweet Potatoes With Toum

    This recipe is nice twice. The roasting and honey-glazing method is a great way to make sweet potatoes, and you also get an eggless garlic sauce that you’ll use again and again.

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  • Image may contain Dish Food Meal Plant Produce and Seasoning
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    Roasted Squash and Cauliflower With Cashew Tonnato

    Tonnato is a creamy Italian sauce that combines from-scratch mayo with preserved tuna, lemon juice, and anchovies, and is classically spooned over thinly sliced veal. This one is different. It gets creaminess from cashews instead of eggs, and, along with the dukkah spice mix, will gussy up any tray of roasted vegetables you make.

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  • This image may contain Plant Food Produce Vegetable Bean Dish and Meal
    Photo by Alex Lau
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    Chopped Salad

    The dressing and assembled ingredients alone make this salad a star. But the extra effort of cooking the vegetables is worth it we promise!

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  • Image may contain Food Dish Meal Platter Lunch and Plant
    Photo by Michael Graydon + Nikole Herriott, food styling by Rebecca Jurkevich, prop styling by Kalen Kaminski
    44/70

    Glazed Shallots With Chile and Thyme

    These sweet and saucy shallots are your best answer to an effortless, plan-way-ahead side.

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  • This image may contain Food Dish Meal Plant and Pizza
    Photo by Alex Lau, Styling by Andy Baraghani
    45/70

    Butternut Squash Baked Pasta

    The assignment: A satisfying, creamy, crave-worthy baked pasta that would still be delicious without (most of) the cheese. Nailed it!

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  • Image may contain Plant and Food
    Photo by Michael Graydon + Nikole Herriott, food styling by Rebecca Jurkevich, prop styling by Kalen Kaminski
    46/70

    Shaved Carrots With Charred Dates

    Tangy, crunchy carrots meet soft and sweet blackened dates for literally everything you want in one bite.

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Alyse Whitney is the managing editor of Cravings by Chrissy Teigen, based in Los Angeles. She is a Korean-American adoptee who is currently tackling making homemade kimchi for the first time. She was formerly the senior food editor at Rachael Ray Every Day, an associate editor at Bon Appétit, and ... Read More
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