The best part of the holidays is being together with your family, all of them, in one place (yes, it can also be the worst part, but we’re not talking about that right now). But when everyone has flown in and unpacked, you do have to keep them fed and happy. Part of the joy of having a house full of people is cooking and baking together — hello, holiday memories. When you have a small army to feed, you and your crew of cooks need some Christmas recipes to feed a crowd. These entrees and sides will yield large amounts of food to fill up your holiday table and stash in the fridge so guests can reheat them at their leisure.
Pull-Apart Garlic Bread Wreath
Did someone say fresh garlic bread? Grab a premade pizza dough from your local grocery store to simplify the process, a la this recipe from Damn Delicious, and then watch your family members flock to the kitchen as the smell of baking bread and garlic waft through the house.
Apple & Pear Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette
Salads are a great dish to feed a crowd because you can size it up as much as you need to, as long as you have a big enough serving bowl. This one from Averie Cooks is delicious as an appetizer or part of a larger winter spread. It’s got apples, pears, walnuts, pomegranate, and feta, all doused in an easy sweet balsamic vinaigrette.
Sheet Pan Chicken & Stuffing
You just recovered from brining and roasting an entire turkey a few weeks ago, so we need not go there again. Damn Delicious’ recipe for sheet pan chicken thighs and stuffing will give you all that herby, wonderful seasonal flavor with way less work involved.
Spinach & Ricotta Baked Pasta
If you need a 9x13-sized vegetarian main or side dish, try Foodie Crush’s spinach and ricotta baked pasta. It’s easy to make and easy to bulk up with the protein of your choice. Personally, I’d grab a rotisserie chicken at the store to shred and toss in with everything else.
Slow Cooker Mashed Potatoes
Averie Cooks’ mashed potato recipe involves caramelized onions and plenty of cheese — hell to the yeah. If you want to simplify it, though, just skip the onions and follow the instructions for getting perfectly tender, mashable potatoes in your slow cooker. She’ll tell you exactly how much broth, half-and-half, and sour cream to add to get the perfect texture.
Stuffed Pork Loin With Apples, Cranberries, & Pecans
Pork loin is one of those meats you probably don’t make often on a random weeknight, so it feels a little extra special served around the holidays. Laughing Spatula’s recipe will show you how to stuff it with seasonal deliciousness — apples, cranberries, and pecans — for a meal your family will request again next year.
Candied Sweet Potatoes
Seven ingredients (most of which are pantry staples you for sure already have) and 15 minutes of prep — that’s all you need to make Foodie Crush’s candied sweet potatoes.
Easy Brown Sugar Ham
You could definitely order a honey-baked ham and be done with it, but if you’re game to make your own, Damn Delicious’ version is surprisingly simple. The 8-pound ham yields about 12 servings, for reference, which you could scale up or down depending on your crowd.
Cottage Pie
If you’re unfamiliar, cottage pie is kind of like shepherd pie’s easier-to-make cousin. Shepherd’s pie is traditionally made with lamb, while cottage pie is beef-based. This recipe from Our Love Language is Food will teach you how to make a delicious, comforting cottage pie in 30 minutes, and get that cheesy mashed potato crust on top juuust right.
15-Bean Soup
Beans are the perfect filling food for a crowd. They’re super cheap, loaded with protein and fiber, and they hold so much flavor. Foodie Crush’s 15-bean soup looks delicious and comforting, and would be perfect served with a big, easy salad and some bread (and reheated later when the errant house guest gets hungry).
Crockpot Green Bean Casserole
Some dishes from Thanksgiving do deserve a comeback tour, and that includes green bean casserole. Family Fresh Meals’ version comes together in the slow cooker with nearly zero effort on your part and without so much as even taking up space in the oven. It’s a Christmas miracle.
Crockpot Mac & Cheese
You need carbs for an army, you say? Princess Pinky Girl’s slow cooker macaroni and cheese is the easiest and the cheesiest on the internet.
Roasted Butternut Squash
If you need to make a side dish for a crowd, a massive sheet pan or two of roasted veggies will always get the job done. You could choose broccoli, Brussels sprouts, sweet potatoes, or, in the case of this recipe from Budget Bytes, butternut squash.
No-Bake Eggnog Cheesecake
Want to whip up one or two easy desserts that’ll feed a crowd? Simply LaKita’s no-bake eggnog cheesecake recipe is just a matter of measuring and mixing, and letting the cheesecake set in the fridge for a few hours before serving. You will catch your relatives sneaking bites at midnight in their Christmas jammies.
Little Debbie Christmas Tree Cake Dip
You no longer have the energy to make another thing. That’s OK. Family Fresh Meals’ Little Debbie Christmas tree cake dip requires but a whisper of effort. You just need to food-process or mash everything together and stick it in the fridge to set for an hour, and I promise, the people will lose their minds over this stuff.
Cherries In The Snow
Princess Pinky Girl’s cherries in the snow recipe will yield a no-bake, light and fluffy cake dessert that serves 12. It only takes about 15 minutes to assemble (you’ll get to tear up some angel food cake for the base, which is therapeutic), and it looks so pretty on the table with that bright red cherry topping.
*Siiiiigh.* Time to go buy yet another box of Christmas tree cakes.
source https://www.scarymommy.com/lifestyle/easy-christmas-recipes-for-a-crowd-potluck-party
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