There are lots of great festive dinner ideas for Christmas if you poke around online, but most of them have one thing in common: they require superhuman efforts (or a team of assistants) to pull off. 

If there’s ever a day I think it’s worth spending some extra time making a main dish, it’s Christmas – don’t get me wrong. But there’s no way I’m going to rush my family through Christmas morning fun so I can get in the kitchen early and start a 36-step recipe that means I won’t see them again until dinnertime.

So, I’m sharing a few recipes I’ve found that are certainly Christmas-worthy and have a super festive feel but don’t require you to spend 90% of Christmas day in the kitchen. Some have make-ahead elements and some can be made in your Crock-Pot, and all of them are worthy of centre stage on your Christmas dinner table.

1. Christmas Baked Salmon 

If you’re not interested in serving roasted meat but you love the way it can be dressed to look festive, this Christmas Baked Salmon is the recipe for you! It’s super easy but looks anything but. Although the honey butter glazed side of salmon with creamy dill sauce sounds great on its own, it’s topped with a colourful holiday tapenade that contains dried cranberries, parsley, slivered almonds and pomegranate for a real “wow” factor. And while the tapenade looks awesome and I wouldn’t skip it, the good news is that you can slide it off the salmon if there are any picky eaters at your table.

The great thing about this recipe is that you can whip up the dill sauce, honey glaze and tapenade 24 hours in advance to make it all go faster on the day; the recipe explains how you can do all of this. 

2. Slow Cooker Roast Chicken

A roast chicken or turkey is a classic Christmas main dish, and there are two big reasons this version is a very family-friendly choice: you can set it and forget it in a slow cooker and it will turn out awesome, and you can make all the sides in advance. Win-win! 

Make-ahead mashed potatoes are a classic side for turkey or chicken, and you can add some Christmas colour to your spread with roasted asparagus or steamed green beans (quick sides to make with very few ingredients) and a simple cranberry sauce. Orange glazed carrots would also pair well with this.

3. Beef Roast With Cranberry Gravy

A beef roast works for any elegant occasion, but cranberry gravy turns this into one of the more festive dinner ideas for Christmas. You can start this recipe in the morning after opening presents and just let it cook all day in the slow cooker while you enjoy family time. 

Serve with some roasted sweet potatoes or mashed potatoes and the green of your choice for an easy but flavourful meal. You can easily choose veg for this meal that you can make in advance to take some of the pressure off of yourself on the day.

4. Manicotti With Tomato Sauce

Take some inspiration from Italian-American families and serve up some manicotti blanketed in tomato sauce this Christmas with a green salad on the side. What really makes this dish extra special is the handmade crepes, which are delicate, tender and surprisingly light. The crepes are easier than they sound to make and the batter whips up easily in a blender. The day you make them, you can slather some Nutella on any extra crepes for a kid-friendly snack that is sure to make you a hero in your house.

They are traditionally stuffed with a ricotta and mozzarella cheese mixture, and you can add chopped parsley or thawed frozen spinach into the filling for some colour and a veg boost. And if you can’t imagine Christmas without some type of meat, you can cook up a meat sauce instead of marinara or make some meatballs to go with it. Best of all, you can make all of this well in advance as it freezes and thaws beautifully!