A Christmas dinner for four doesn’t need a 20-pound turkey and a week of leftovers. Smaller cuts, like a boneless turkey breast, a top round roast or a small glazed ham, cook faster, cost less and fit in the oven alongside the sides.
This menu is portioned for about four people. Pick a starter, one main, two or three sides and a dessert, or use one of the three ready-made menus further down. There’s also a Christmas Day timeline so everything lands on the table at the same time.
Jump to a recipe
- Pigs in a Blanket
- Classic Caesar Salad
- Garlic & Herb Roasted Boneless Turkey Breast
- Top Round Roast Beef
- Creamy Spinach Salmon
- Pineapple-Honey Glazed Ham
- Roasted Potatoes & Carrots
- Pork & Cranberry Stuffing
- Traditional Gravy
- Jamaican Pumpkin Rice
- Soft Dinner Rolls
- Red Velvet Cream Cheese Bundt Cake
- Egg Nog
- Three Ways to Build the Menu
- Christmas Day Timeline
- Free Printable: Holiday Dinner Planner and Timeline
- Christmas Dinner Questions
Small-Group Christmas Menu Options
Festive Starters
1. Pigs in a Blanket
Puff pastry wrapped around little sausages and baked until golden. Kids and adults both go for these.
Time: 35 minutes · Makes: 12 pieces
2. Classic Caesar Salad
Crisp romaine with a homemade Caesar dressing. Light enough to start the meal, and the dressing can be made the day before.
Time: 15 minutes · Serves: 4
The Mains: Perfect for 4 People
3. Garlic & Herb Roasted Boneless Turkey Breast
A boneless breast gives you turkey for four without thawing and roasting a whole bird. It’s done in under an hour and a half.
Time: 1 hour 25 minutes (includes 10 minutes of resting) · Serves: 4
4. Top Round Roast Beef
A lean, affordable cut roasted with garlic and herbs. Slice it thin against the grain so it stays tender.
Time: 1 hour 25 minutes (includes 15 minutes of resting) · Serves: 4
5. Creamy Spinach Salmon
The quickest main on the menu at 25 minutes, and a good choice for anyone who wants something lighter.
Time: 25 minutes · Serves: 4
6. Pineapple-Honey Glazed Ham
A smaller boneless ham with a sticky pineapple-honey glaze. It’s already cooked, so it only needs to heat through.
Time: 1 hour 10 minutes (includes 10 minutes of resting) · Serves: 4
Sides That Steal the Show
7. Roasted Potatoes & Carrots
Potatoes and carrots roasted on one pan until the edges are crisp.
Time: 45 minutes · Serves: 4
8. Pork & Cranberry Stuffing
Ground pork and tart cranberries make a stuffing hearty enough to serve as a side or a small main.
Time: 55 minutes · Serves: 4
9. Traditional Gravy
A simple butter, flour and broth gravy that’s ready in 15 minutes while the meat rests.
Time: 15 minutes · Serves: 4
10. Jamaican Pumpkin Rice
Rice simmered in coconut milk with pumpkin or butternut squash, garlic and thyme. It’s a little sweet and makes a nice change from mashed potatoes.
Time: 35 minutes · Serves: 4
11. Soft Dinner Rolls
Soft, fluffy rolls that can be baked Christmas morning and warmed before dinner.
Time: 1 hour 15 minutes (includes 45 minutes of rising) · Makes: 8 rolls
Sweet Finish
12. Red Velvet Cream Cheese Bundt Cake
A red velvet cake with a cream cheese glaze. It serves 12, so there are slices left for the days after.
Time: 1 hour 15 minutes (20 minutes of prep) · Serves: 12
Time: 20 minutes · Serves: 4
Three Ways to Build the Menu
- The traditional dinner: garlic and herb turkey breast, pork and cranberry stuffing, gravy, roasted potatoes and carrots, and dinner rolls.
- The ham dinner: pineapple-honey glazed ham, Jamaican pumpkin rice, Caesar salad and dinner rolls.
- The quick dinner: creamy spinach salmon, roasted potatoes and carrots, and Caesar salad. The salmon cooks in 25 minutes.
Finish any of them with the red velvet Bundt cake and a glass of egg nog.
Christmas Day Timeline
- The day before: bake the cake, make the egg nog and the Caesar dressing, and assemble the stuffing. Cover and refrigerate everything.
- Christmas morning: bake the dinner rolls and peel and cut the potatoes and carrots.
- About 2 hours before dinner: get the turkey breast, roast beef or ham into the oven.
- About 1 hour before: add the stuffing and the potatoes and carrots to the oven.
- While the meat rests: make the gravy, toss the salad and warm the rolls.
Free Printable: Holiday Dinner Planner and Timeline
Build your own menu from the options above. This free planner has a menu page, an oven and stove schedule and a make-ahead timeline to fill in.
Holiday Dinner Planner and Timeline
Two pages: your menu, an oven schedule and a make-ahead timeline from a week out to the last hour. Free, with no sign-up needed.
See all of our free printables.
Christmas Dinner Questions
How much meat do I need for four people?
Plan on about half a pound of boneless meat per person. A 2 to 3 pound boneless turkey breast, roast or ham feeds four with a little left over.
Which main dish is the quickest?
The creamy spinach salmon, at 25 minutes. The ham is the most hands-off, since it’s already cooked and only needs to heat through and glaze.
What do I do with the leftovers?
Refrigerate them within 2 hours and use them within 3 to 4 days. Leftover ham has its own list: see our leftover ham recipes.
