25 Best French Holiday Recipes - Le Chef's Wife (2024)

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 co*cktail 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.

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French Holiday Appetizers:

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French Charcuterie Board

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French Cheese Board (though the French usually serve Cheese before the dessert course.. unless you are hosting a co*cktail party - then it is perfectly correct to serve cheese at the same time as everything else)

L'Apéro - co*cktail 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!

Authentic Olive Tapenade

Seared White Wine Scallops and Leeks Recipe

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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)

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Fancy Cream of Cauliflower Soup

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La Soupe de Mamie - Grandmother's Vegetable Soup

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La Poule au Pot

Creamy Butternut squash Soup with Crispy Sage

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Potage aux Légumes

French Holiday Main Dishes

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Christmas Capon

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Roasted Duck Magret with Apples and Squash

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Lemon Thyme French Roast Chicken (Poulet Rôti)

Coq au Vin

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Turkey au Vin

Roasted pork tenderloin with apples and sage

Simple Rosemary Roast Rack of Lamb and Potatoes

La Daube Provençale made simple

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Authentic Swiss Cheese Fondue

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French Holiday Desserts

Crème Brulée

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Mousse au Chocolat

Chocolate Soufflé

The Best Lemon Sugar Crêpes Recipe

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Le Chef’s Moelleux au Chocolat

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Bûche de Noël Cake with Dark Chocolate Ganache

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Les Treize Desserts - The 13 Desserts a Provençal Tradition

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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)

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Le Chef's Mashed Potatoes

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Authentic Ratatouille Recipe (Vegan too!)

Simple Confit Bayaldi Recipe (Vegan as well)

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La Salade Parisienne - the best French Potato Salad

Creamiest homemade Lobster Mac and Cheese

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French Holiday Breads

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La Pompe à L'huile: Provençal Olive Oil Brioche

French Baguettes

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French Holiday co*cktails

Vin Chaud au Grand Marnier Recipe

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Kir Royale

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St-Germain Spritz

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

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ABOUT LE CHEF'S WIFE

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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 recentWashington Post Article. We were recently featured on theTODAY SHOWfor our recipes ofFrench Onion Soup GratinéeandMoelleux au Chocolat. You can watch our full segment here:

I share our home cooking onInstagram,pinterestandtiktok. Sign up for mynewsletterto 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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25 Best French Holiday Recipes - Le Chef's Wife (2024)

FAQs

What do the French traditionally eat at Christmas? ›

Christmas Dinner

Dishes might include roast turkey with chestnuts or roast goose, oysters, foie gras, lobster, venison and cheeses. For dessert, a chocolate sponge cake log called a bûche de Noël is normally eaten. Another celebration, in some parts of France, is that 13 different desserts are eaten!

What do the French call Christmas? ›

In France, Santa is called Père Noël (pronounced Peh-r No-eh-l), literally 'Father Christmas. ' As you may have guessed, the word for 'Christmas' is Noël, and it's named after the Saint who is celebrated on December 25. Back before Père Noël became the symbol of Christmas, the French celebrated Saint Nicolas.

What is the special meal eaten late at night on Christmas Eve in France? ›

Réveillon: The French Christmas Feast

It is the main French Christmas Meal and usually starts after the midnight mass, which can be as late as 2 am, but in modern times, families begin at 8 pm till after midnight. They gather for a late-night feast featuring oysters, foie gras, and perfectly roasted meats.

What is France's signature dish? ›

Considered a national dish of France, pot-au-feu has no definitive recipe, and many regions of France have their own versions.

What is the number one dish in France? ›

There are many options to choose from, but France's national dish is probably the Boeuf Bourguignon. Well known in and outside France, it represents the beauty of the cuisine by transforming a simple piece of meat into an intensely flavored dish, only composed with national ingredients.

What is the number 1 famous food in France? ›

Boeuf Bourguignon – Most Famous Food in France

Boeuf Bourguignon is a French stew made with beef braised in beef stock and red wine, naturally from the Burgundy region. Carrots, garlic, onions and a bouquet garni (fresh herbs tied together) are cooked slowly resulting in a hearty beef stew.

What is the most popular meat in France? ›

Overall, while pork is the most consumed meat in France, beef and chicken also play significant roles in traditional French cuisine.

What is the most popular drink in France? ›

Alcoholic beverages favored among French people in 2023

The preferred alcoholic beverage among French people aged 18 to 65 is wine (60 percent), followed very closely by beer (58 percent).

What is Santa in French? ›

Santa Claus, as in other cultures and languages, there are many ways to call Santa Claus in French, like, “Père Noël”, “Papa Noël”, “Saint Nicolas”. The most commonly used “Père Noël”. An elf can be called “elfe” or “lutin”.

Who is the gift giver in France? ›

ɛl]), "Father Christmas", sometimes called 'Papa Noël' ("Daddy Christmas"), is a legendary gift-bringer at Christmas in France and other French-speaking areas, identified with the Father Christmas and/or Santa Claus of English-speaking territories.

What is the main for French Christmas dinner? ›

Many French families will serve roast turkey or capon (a castrated rooster) stuffed with chestnuts as the main dish at Christmas. However, don't expect to see enormous 10 kg turkeys for sale in France. As there is so much other food served before the bird, turkeys tend to be reared to a much more reasonable size.

What do French people eat for Christmas breakfast? ›

France's Christmas breakfast is full of sweet pastries. Many families will partake in pain au chocolat, croissants and brioche doughnuts.

What do the French drink at Christmas? ›

Families usually kick things off by opening a bottle of fine Champagne, like the Champagne Paul Michel. Others may choose to begin with a traditional method French Crémant from the Loire, Limoux or Burgundy and bring out the Champagne later in the meal.

What do they eat at le réveillon? ›

Le Réveillon is a traditional late-night feast or party held when families return from la Messe de Minuit (Midnight Mass) on Christmas Eve. While the food tradition varies from region to region, the meal is full of lavish delicacies including oysters, foie gras, escargot, and roasted fowl.

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