Crispy cookies, mulled wine and beautiful moments with our loved ones in a cozy atmosphere - every year we can hardly wait for the holidays. But in addition to the gifts and the magnificent Christmas decorations, a delicious Christmas menu also creates the perfect festive atmosphere. Christmas is a festival of enjoyment and conviviality and, from a culinary point of view, it is undoubtedly one of the tastiest times of the year. And of course we want to spoil our family and friends with delicious dishes. Okay, but what is a typical German Christmas meal? What do Germans like to eat most at Christmas? Are you still looking for ideas on what to serve this year? Then you are guaranteed to find what you are looking for with us! Read on and note our recipes for a classic Christmas dinner that you can easily cook. Have fun and enjoy your meal!
What is a typical German Christmas meal?
At Christmas we look forward to eating together with our family. Whether a glass of red wine cocoa or a delicious onevegan Christmas cookies– Advent has a lot to offer in terms of culinary delights. In many families, Christmas is associated with tradition and atypical German Christmas dinnercan vary greatly by country or region. Also depends on agethe selection of Christmas dishesand while people over 30 prefer things classic, younger people love to experiment.
In addition, Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve tends to be simpler than on Boxing Day. The reason for this is that in Christianity, Christmas Eve marks the end of Lent - meat is not allowed to be eaten until December 25th. No wonder, then, that roast dishes, such as onecrispy duck from the oven, one of the Germans' favorite dishes on Christmas Day. What is the most popular Christmas meal in Germany – a survey by “Statista” from December 2021 gives us the answer:
- Potato salad with sausages
- Poultry such as roast duck or Christmas goose
- Raclette
- Roast pork or sauerbraten
- Fondue
The cozy get-together and a delicious Christmas menu are the absolute highlights of Christmas. If you still don't know what you want to serve this year, then our recipes for a typical German Christmas dinner have you covered.
Potato salad and sausages Grandma's style
According to the “Statista” survey, potato salad with sausages is the most popular Christmas meal in Germany, served by 20% of families. And that's exactly why we're telling you our best recipe for potato salad with sausages, which we know from our grandmas.
Ingredients for 8-10 servings:
- 2 kg potatoes, waxy
- 1 large onion, chopped finely
- 5 eggs, hard-boiled
- 5 pickled cucumbers from the jar
- 1 liter vegetable broth
- 100 grams of yogurt
- 250 Gramm Mayonnaise
- 20 grams of mustard
- 1 bunch of fresh chives
- 10 Vienna sausages
- Salt and pepper to taste
Preparation:
- Wash potatoes and cook in boiling water for 15-20 minutes.
- Rinse with cold water and remove the peel.
- Bring vegetable broth to a boil in a large pot with onions, mustard, salt and pepper and remove from heat.
- Allow to cool and pour over the potatoes.
- Then cut the cucumbers and eggs into small pieces and add them.
- Fold in the yoghurt and mayonnaise, mix well and leave covered for 1-2 hours.
- Sprinkle with chives and then serve with hot sausages.
- Enjoy!
Make your own red cabbage
A typical German Christmas dinner without red cabbage? We can't even imagine! Whether as a side dish with fish or meat or even individually as a salad - we will show you how you can easily make red cabbage yourself.
Ingredients for 6-8 servings:
- 1 medium-sized red cabbage, finely grated
- 2 apples, peeled and quartered
- 1 medium onion
- 30 grams of pork or goose fat
- 30 ml red wine vinegar
- 500 ml meat broth
- 500 ml red wine
- 30 grams of sugar
- 30-40 grams of flour
- 1 Zimtstange
- 6-8 cloves
- 1 Lorbeerblatt
Preparation:
- Melt the lard in a large pot over medium heat and allow the sugar to caramelize for 4-6 minutes.
- Add the red cabbage and a dash of vinegar and sauté briefly.
- Add apple pieces, onions and spices and deglaze with a little meat broth.
- Simmer for 35-45 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add flour and red wine and cook until the red cabbage becomes soft.
- Here's a little tip: To make the red cabbage even more aromatic and taste better, prepare it 1-2 days in advance.
Potato dumplings recipe for a typical German Christmas dinner
Potato dumplings are also a classic for a typical German Christmas dinner and the perfect side dish for crispy roast duck!
Ingredients for 5-7 servings:
- 1 – 1.2 kg potatoes, boiled until floury
- 2 egg yolks
- 90 grams of potato starch
- 1 THE BUTTER
- 1 pinch of nutmeg
- 1 pinch of salt
Preparation:
- First cook the potatoes in boiling water for 20-25 minutes.
- Rinse with cold water and peel with a knife.
- Allow the potatoes to cool slightly and mash finely with a potato masher.
- Add the potato starch, egg yolks, butter and spices and mix everything well with a hand mixer.
- Let the mixture steep briefly and in the meantime put a large pot of salted water on the boil.
- Form dumplings of the desired size with your hands and slowly add them to the boiling water with a ladle.
- Reduce heat and cook the potato dumplings for 15-20 minutes.
- Remove from the pot and you're done - enjoy!
The perfect Rhenish-style sauerbraten
Beautifully juicy and wonderfully aromatic – this Rhenish-style sauerbraten is guaranteed to be the absolute highlight of your Christmas menu! It does take some planning, but it's definitely worth it!
Ingredients meat and marinade:
- 1 kg roast beef
- 1 bottle of strong red wine
- 2 onions, coarsely chopped
- 1 carrot, roughly diced
- 10 juniper berries
- 2 bay leaves
- 5 cloves
- 5 allspice seeds
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp salt
Sauce:
- 140 grams of herbal printen
- 40 Grams Sultana
- 2 onions
- 40 grams of lard
- 20 grams of beet syrup
Preparation:
- Bring all the marinade ingredients to the boil in a large pot and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Allow to cool completely and add the roast beef. Cover with aluminum foil and place in the refrigerator for 1-2 weeks.
- Remove the meat from the marinade and strain it into a container.
- Heat the lard in a pan over high heat and brown the meat vigorously on all sides.
- Add onions and sauté briefly.
- Add the sultanas, herb scallions and beet syrup and fry everything for 2-3 minutes.
- Deglaze with half of the marinade, reduce heat and simmer covered for 2 hours. Add some of the marinade every now and then until everything is used up.
- Remove the roast from the pot and puree the sauce with the hand blender.
- Serve the sauerbraten with red cabbage and sauce and enjoy!
Christmas carp as a typical German Christmas meal
What Germans like most about Christmas can vary greatly depending on the region. Especially in southern, eastern and central Europe, Christmas carp is a classic Christmas meal for Christmas Eve with a very long tradition. One of the legends says that the scales of a Christmas carp in your wallet should bring us prosperity and luck for the coming year.
Ingredients for 4-5 servings:
- 1 large mirror carp
- 2 red peppers, chopped small
- 2 medium onions, cut into rings
- 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
- 500 grams mushrooms, chopped small
- 1 lemon, sliced
- 20 Gramm Butter
- Fresh herbs such as thyme or rosemary
- 200 ml white wine
- Salt and pepper
Preparation:
- Preheat oven to 200 degrees.
- Wash the carp well inside and out and pat dry with kitchen paper.
- Season with salt and pepper and place herbs and lemon slices in the belly.
- Place butter and fish in a large roasting pan and add chopped vegetables.
- Pour in white wine and cook for about 1 hour.
- Serve the Christmas carp with a sauce or side dish of your choice.
Recipe for classic Springerle
What shouldn't be missing from a typical German Christmas meal? Dessert, of course! Like you oneBake the stollen without a mold, we have already shown. But how about another Christmas classic? Super aromatic, crispy and irresistibly delicious - this oneRecipefor classic Springerle brings back great memories for us. You will need a wooden model for the motifs and you will also have to plan a little more time for the preparation, but you won't regret it.
Ingredients for 20-25 pieces:
- 250 grams of wheat flour
- 250 grams of powdered sugar
- 2 Owner
- 1 tbsp grated lemon peel
- 1 Prise Hirschhornsalz
Preparation:
- Beat the powdered sugar, eggs and lemon zest in a large bowl with a hand mixer for 3-4 minutes until fluffy.
- Add the flour and deer horn salt and knead everything into a smooth shortcrust pastry.
- Roll out the dough on a floured work surface to about 1 cm thick and dust lightly with flour.
- Now press the wooden model for the Springerle into the dough and cut it out with a knife.
- Place the Springerle on a baking tray lined with baking paper and let it dry uncovered at room temperature for 24 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 150 degrees and bake the Springerle for 20-23 minutes.
- To keep the cookies nice and white, place an empty tray in the top rack of the oven.
- Allow to cool and your classic springerles are ready!
