25 Delicious and Healthy Holiday Dishes from Around the World

Christmas in Sicily and Southern Italy means the Feast of the Seven Fishes. Traditionally, Roman Catholics in the region fast on Christmas Eve, so a feast of seven (or even more) seafood dishes at the end of the day is a true celebration of the area’s bounty. On the eves of special holidays, as well as on Fridays and during Lent, many observant Catholics refrain from eating meat or dairy, so these seafood dishes are usually fried or cooked in oil rather than butter.

Baccalà, or salted codfish, fried smelt, and calamari are all popular choices, but the healthier shrimp and cod dishes below, each bursting with classic Italian flavors, would fit in at any holiday table. You’ll find delicious versions of a variety of seafood stews, and more. They’re all perfect for this traditional Italian-American feast that’s served on Christmas Eve and features seven (or more) fish dishes. Hope you’re hungry!

Beef bourguignon, also called beef Burgundy, and bœuf à la Bourguignonne, is a beef stew braised in red wine, often red Burgundy, and beef stock. This is typically flavored with carrots, onions, garlic, and a bouquet garni, and garnished with pearl onions, and mushrooms.

This slow-cooked beef stew is the ultimate comfort food and will warm you up during the holidays. There are so many recipes out there for classic boeuf bourguignon or beef Burgundy; this traditional version has a long list of ingredients but is easy to prepare. The combination of beef, wine, vegetables, herbs, and spices makes for a delicious bowl to cozy up with over the days of Christmas.

Christmas is a major affair in Greece, and there are many ways in which people celebrate. Many religious Greeks fast before Christmas. When feast day finally arrives, it’s a time to go all out. One traditional sweet that still has a place at festive holiday tables is melomakarona, a sweet, honey-soaked cookie topped with ground walnuts and eaten on Christmas Day after breaking fast.

If you don’t have the time or skill to prepare traditional melomakarona, try a simpler recipe, which uses the same beloved flavors. For a healthier version you can substitute flour for gluten-free flour, honey for agave syrup, and a bit of tehini instead of eggs. This recipe is so healthy and won’t disappoint and can be great for a person with diabetes.

One of several popular holiday desserts in Poland is babka. It is a kind of sweet bread, and is ubiquitous during the Christmas season. Other treats, like cookies made with honey and poppy seeds, are also common. But bread is essential to the Christmas meal in Poland. Traditionally this festive meal is eaten on Christmas Eve, starting with breaking bread after a long day of fasting.

Many Polish families set an extra place for a lone wanderer who might happen to pass through during this special dinner, which is usually meatless and composed of other staples like beet soup, boiled potatoes, and herring with sour cream. Deliciously sweet and irresistible brioche dough swirled with chocolate and topped with buttery cinnamon crumbles. Make it using half the sugar and include apples and cinnamon. 

On December 13, the official start of the Christmas season in many Nordic countries, citizens of Sweden and other Scandinavian nations celebrate St. Lucia’s Day. Tradition dictates that the eldest daughter dress in a white gown tied with a red sash and a crown of lit candles, then wake her parents with hot coffee and a tray of saffron buns, like those pictured here. Swedes also elect a national Lucia every year, and many towns and villages across the country choose a Lucia to represent them as well.

To give your holiday some true Swedish flavor, try our recipe for saffron buns this season. A saffron bun, Cornish tea treat bun or revel bun, is a rich, spiced yeast-leavened sweet bun that is flavoured with saffron and contains dried fruit including currants and raisins similar to a teacake. The main ingredients are plain flour, butter, yeast, caster sugar, currants and raisins. Substitute plain flour for whole wheat flour, butter for olive oil, and agave syrup for sugar. 

In Ukraine, adherents of the Ukrainian Orthodox church must stick to a strict diet during the Christmas holiday that excludes many items indulged in around the world, like those containing fat, sugar, and meat. Holiday dinner must adhere to those guidelines, including special foods like kutya (pictured), which is sweetened with honey and includes ingredients like wheat, poppy seeds, and nuts. The dish cannot be enjoyed until the first star appears in the night sky.

To put a Ukranian-inspired twist on your holiday meal, try a recipe for wheat berries, and add your favorite combination of natural sweeteners, nuts, and dried or fresh fruits. Kutia or kutya is a ceremonial grain dish with sweet gravy traditionally served by Eastern Orthodox Christians in Ukraine, Belarus and Russia during the Christmas – Feast of Jordan holiday season and/or as part of a funeral feast.is an old Slavic dish known since pre-historic times. It is the main of twelve dishes served for Sviata Vecheria (twelve-dish Christmas Eve supper) during Winter Holidays (Ukrainian Christmas). 

Brazil is a largely Catholic nation, but its inhabitants come from many different countries and cultures. A true melting pot, and its cuisine reflects that. Though Brazil produces a large percentage of the world’s beef, turkey is often the main course served on Christmas. Yet in such a huge nation there are bound to be regional differences, and in certain places fish or pork may be more prevalent.

Colored rice is a popular side dish, no matter where in the country you are, and Brazil nuts are also usually served. Dessert is all over the map — everything from Italian panettone to Portuguese rabanada (fried bread sprinkled with sugar) could make an appearance on the holiday table.

In Peru, spiced hot chocolate is a Christmas tradition. In December, churches around the country take donations to make massive quantities of it, as well as panettone, a traditional Italian holiday bread. The bread and hot, sweet, spicy drink are served to the less fortunate in the weeks leading up to Christmas. On December 24, also called Noche Beuna, Peruvians have their big holiday meal, often featuring tamales or a roast turkey (as in Brazil), and many families celebrate with a champagne toast.

If you think you know how to make the best hot chocolate, you may want to give Peru’s spiced hot chocolate a try. This creamy hot chocolate with a kick is made with chocolate, condensed or evaporated milk, and a combination of spices, such as cinnamon, chili powder, cloves, and nutmeg. In fact, this beverage is so popular that it has its own event known as la Chocolatadas, during which people gather and serve spiced hot chocolate with a popular cake known as panetón.

In Italy, New Year’s Eve is known as “La Festa di San Silvestro,” or St. Sylvester’s Feast. The celebration centers around a massive meal with family and friends, and one of the traditional items at the table is a big pot of lentils. Legumes are thought to symbolize money and prosperity, so Italians eat lots of them in hopes of bringing themselves wealth and success in the coming year.

For an Italian twist on your New Year’s Eve celebration, cook up a big pot of our lentil stew on December 31. Many Italians celebrate the end of the old year and the start of New Year’s Day with fireworks. Many people celebrate a New Year’s dinner with dishes that include: Risotto in bianco (white risotto). Lentils (symbolizing wealth/good fortune).

Kimchi is a popular food in Korea at any time of year, but it’s impossible to image a holiday feast without it. The New Year, or Soll, is also one of the biggest times of celebration in Korea, as it is in countries across Asia that follow the Chinese calendar. Kimchi is usually made with cabbage, but one of these more modern takes, made with cucumbers or turnips, could also be a fun way to mix a bit of the old with the new.

The perfect theme for a New Year’s celebration. For a fully festive Korean meal, serve it with rice cake soup (dduk gook) and an array of vegetable sides. Korean New Year, Solnal, is greeted with steaming bowls of rice cake soup called duk gook – “comfort food,” Make this warm, soothing bowl of rice cake soup with dumplings for your New Year celebration! 

One of the most important foods consumed during New Year’s (or Tết) celebrations in Vietnam, bahn chung is a large rice cake with layers of pork, mung bean, and other ingredients encased in a thick layer of soft, sticky rice. The whole packet is usually wrapped in the leaves of a giant type of bamboo called lá dong, though banana leaves might also work well. Banh chung are square in shape to represent the earth. Bánh dày is a similar type of rice cake eaten during the holidays, but it is round in shape to represent the sky.

Often you’ll find them served at New Year’s celebrations with assorted pickled vegetables, like daikon or shallots. For a different take on a traditional food, try our Crisp Sushi-Rice Cakes as a side or an appetizer in your New Year’s meal. “Banh Chung” (square glutinous rice cake) is a traditional cake of Vietnamese people in Tet holidays. For the Vietnamese, making Banh Chung is an ideal way to express gratitude to their ancestors and homeland In the ancient conception, the Earth is square, hence Banh Chung has square shape to reflect the Earth.