Food Holidays & Occasions Christmas How to Host a Traditional German Christmas Dinner From sides to mains and mulled wine to holiday cookie favorites, here's what to serve on Christmas to celebrate with German flair. By Jodie Kautzmann Jodie Kautzmann Jodie Kautzmann is an editor, baker, and confectioner with more than 15 years of experience in content creation, recipe development, and pastry production. She's obsessed with the fine details and ingredients that take dishes from tasty to outright otherworldly. Food & Wine's Editorial Guidelines Updated on November 25, 2024 Close Photo: Photo by Greg Dupree / Food Styling by Torie Cox / Prop Styling by Prissy Lee Christmas in Germany can feel especially magical. This year, bring a bit of that magic to your own celebration wherever you're spending the holiday by using these recipes to create a traditional German Christmas food spread. Treat guests to a classic German Christmas dinner with essential dishes like roasted goose legs, braised red cabbage. and dumplings — and don't forget the mulled wine and platter of gorgeous, festive cookies. 01 of 20 Braised Red Cabbage with Apples and Bacon Photo by Greg Dupree / Food Styling by Torie Cox / Prop Styling by Prissy Lee This sweet-and-sour, traditional Bavarian red cabbage is always served with goose, duck, or pork. To make it, the cabbage is gently braised with tart apple, smoky bacon, orange zest, and spices. Get the Recipe 02 of 20 Pretzel and Mustard Dumplings © Greg DuPree Pretzel dumplings are a delicious way to use up stale bread and are wonderful alongside roasted goose to soak up extra gravy on the plate. The mustard is not traditional, but it pairs excellently with the pretzel rolls used here. Get the Recipe 03 of 20 Roasted Goose Legs with Sour Cherry Glaze and Gravy Photo by Greg Dupree / Food Styling by Torie Cox / Prop Styling by Prissy Lee In Bavaria, it's not Christmas without roast goose. Food & Wine editor Melanie Hansche reimagines the traditional German dish in her recipe for sour cherry–glazed roasted goose legs, an easier endeavor than roasting the whole bird. Get the Recipe 04 of 20 Stollen Jordan Provost / Food Styling by Thu Buser Golden raisins, cherries, and candied citrus peel are macerated in rum or brandy and folded into a buttery yeasted dough for this traditional German fruitcake that can be baked up to two weeks ahead of time. Get the Recipe 05 of 20 Mulled Wine Chelsea Kyle / Food Styling by Drew Aichele This drink from Walkers restaurant in Cape Neddick, Maine, is gently infused with nutmeg, vanilla, and star anise, then lightly sweetened with honey and maple syrup. The result is a spiced, not-too-sweet mulled wine you’ll want to sip all winter long. Get the Recipe 06 of 20 Rouladen Food & Wine / Photo by Carson Downing / Food Styling by Lauren McAnelly / Prop Styling by Sue Mitchell To make rouladen, thin strips of round or flank steak are slathered in mustard and piled with diced onion, pickles, and bacon before they're rolled up, browned, and braised in red wine gravy. Get the Recipe 07 of 20 Rustic Apple Tart Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Julian Hensarling / Prop Styling by Shell Royster This is the flakiest, easiest, best pie crust we've ever tested. Master chef Jacques Pépin has created a virtually fail-safe recipe that's completely hassle-free: You don't even need to chill the dough before you roll it out. Get the Recipe 08 of 20 Sauerbraten Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Christina Daley Traditional German pot roast is marinated in red wine, red wine vinegar, and lots of herbs and spices like juniper, cloves, and thyme for days before it's slowly roasted until tender. Serve it over red cabbage alongside potato dumplings. Get the Recipe 09 of 20 Fresh Cheese Spaetzle © Lucy Schaeffer Germans typically use quark when making this cheesy noodle dish, but the kind available in American grocery stores isn't quite curdy enough. Former F&W senior test kitchen editor Grace Parisi uses small-curd cottage cheese instead, then makes the accompanying chive sauce with tangy quark. Get the Recipe 10 of 20 Potato Pancakes Matt Taylor-Gross / Food Styling by Amelia Rampe Delightfully crispy potato pancakes are a staple snack at German Christmas markets. Serve them with sour cream or applesauce as an appetizer — though they're also great at breakfast, brunch, or as part of your dinner spread. Get the Recipe 11 of 20 Warm Potato Salad with Pancetta and Brown Butter Dressing © Tina Rupp Here, brown butter is whisked into a tangy, mustardy dressing for creamy fingerling potatoes. The potato salad can be served warm or at room temperature. Get the Recipe 12 of 20 Lentil Soup with Smoked Sausage © Elizabeth Drago, Food Stylist Vivian Lui For a special version of this hearty stew (it is Christmas, after all), use imported Vertes du Puy lentils, which have a rich, earthy flavor. Serve it with a firm whole-grain bread. Get the Recipe 13 of 20 Sautéed German Sausages with Bacon and Apple Sauerkraut © QUENTIN BACON In Germany, sausage is often served for dinner on Christmas Eve. Cooks in the Pfalz region braise sauerkraut with onions, apples, seasonings, a touch of sugar, and a little of the area's Riesling wine, creating an ideal accompaniment for juicy weisswurst or bratwurst. Get the Recipe 14 of 20 Classic Cheese Fondue © Rob Howard Chef Ryan Hardy's velvety fondue is made with two Swiss cheeses — Emmentaler and Gruyère — and two kinds of spirits — white wine and kirsch. The recipe calls for crusty bread cubes, hard salami, and small dill pickles for dipping; potatoes, fruit slices, and raw veggies are also great options. Get the Recipe 15 of 20 Brown Butter-Cardamom Spitzbuben Photo by Caitlin Bensel / Food Styling by Rishon Hanners / Prop Styling by Christine Keely German for "cheeky boys," these traditional Bavarian Christmas cookies get a tantalizing upgrade with the addition of brown butter and the robust, citrusy flavor of freshly ground cardamom. Paired with your favorite jam, the finished cookies will stop your guests in their snowy tracks. Get the Recipe 16 of 20 Hausfreunde © Nicole Franzen You'll need to etch out some time to make this hausfreunde recipe, but the finished cookies are both stunning and tasty, Two layers of buttery shortbread are sandwiched together with apricot jam, crowned with a round of marzipan, glazed in bittersweet chocolate, and finished with a walnut half. Get the Recipe 17 of 20 Candy Cookies © Fredrika Stjärne These layered cookie balls look like something behind a chocolatier's counter. Guests will be surprised and delighted with the candy piece in the center of each cookie. Get the Recipe 18 of 20 Lebkuchen © Rick Poon Lebkuchen are traditional, delicately spiced molasses-ginger cookies. In Germany, they're sold at Christmas markets in various shapes and with an array of colorful decorations; this recipe produces drop cookies that are topped with a powdered sugar glaze. Get the Recipe 19 of 20 Basler Leckerli © Nicole Franzen These honey-sweetened cookie bars are essential to a German Christmas. Make them up to two months in advance and store them in an airtight container with an apple slice to preserve their soft texture — they get more tender and flavorful the longer they sit. (Be sure to swap out the apple once a week.) Get the Recipe 20 of 20 Haselnussmakronen (Raspberry-Hazelnut Macaroons) © Nicole Franzen Round out your tray of German Christmas cookies with these no-fuss macaroon thumbprints. With just five ingredients, they come together in a snap. Says Berlin-based blogger Luisa Weiss, "You just throw the dough together, heat up some jam, and you're almost there." Get the Recipe Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit