A night to toast! Christmas takes center stage among the festivities, because it is a very special date, full of tradition, charm and desire to share. For this reason, it is normal to have high expectations for Christmas dinner, even though our pockets sometimes do not help us meet them. If you want to save this year, you don’t have to worry: a special dinner doesn’t need a lot of money, just a lot of creativity.
With this in mind, we bring you many creative and great proposals, both for varied recipes (with vegan and gluten-free options), as well as tips for making money and achieving a splendid dinner. Create the best Christmas Eve menu with these easy and cheap recipes!
How to make an easy and cheap Christmas Eve menu?
Although there are no formulas to prepare a successful dinner, there are very useful tips that you can adapt to your reality and achieve an easy and economical Christmas dinner. If you have a fairly modest budget, don’t worry, I invite you to check the following practical tips:
- Calculate your budget. Do it a month before and rectify it every time you buy something until the arrival of the Christmas date.
- Plan a closed menu. Confirm the number of guests that will attend your dinner, always calculate more in case something unforeseen happens.
- Buy easy-to-preserve Christmas products in advance. These products include meats and foods that keep well for a long time (nougat, dried fruit, candied fruit, etc.). Remember, check the expiration dates and check if they comply with health and storage regulations.
- Buy white label products; take advantage of seasonal products and last minute offers. Preferably, does it a few months or several weeks in advance, but always remember to check the date of the products and their condition?
- Compare prices. Do not buy impulsively; give you time to compare prices, brands and other things. Visit several places and keep the best offer. Try to buy early enough.
- Acquire cheap but good quality cuts of meat. In beef cattle brisket and ribs are cheap and serve to prepare delicious dishes. In the lamb, you can opt for the skirt and, in the pork, for the shoulder.
- Prepare traditional Christmas dishes from other lands. There are thousands of exquisite and original recipes (Christmas and non-Christmas) around the world; you just have to find the right one for you. The chosen one must contain ingredients that are easy to get and that are cheap in your country.
- Substitute some ingredients from traditional Christmas dishes and create your own version. For example, if a certain recipe requires turkey and it’s expensive, swap the turkey for chicken.
- Prepare alternative food recipes. Vegan, vegetarian and pale food offer interesting versions of traditional dishes, as well as other completely new dishes. Perhaps you could show off on Christmas Eve by offering a healthy and original menu.
- Propose to each guest to collaborate with something. If you don’t have enough money for dinner, ask guests to help out with little things like drinks, appetizers, desserts, etc.
Cheap canapés for Christmas dinner
On Christmas Eve, the appetizers are usually more sophisticated, both in taste and presentation. However, this does not mean that you cannot prepare some delicious and stylish bites if you have a limited budget. You will surely find some of these easy canapés interesting, among which we include vegan appetizers and gluten-free recipes:
- Vegan almond leftover. This exquisite spreadable cream, whose appearance and flavor will remind you of meat sausages, contains only: nuts, tubers or vegetables, and textured soy. A vegan alternative in the best gourmet style, very easy to prepare and economical.
- Cashew sauce. This cream has a sweet and delicate flavor, which is why it is perfect to accompany vegetables, meat or fish. Imagine it with some crudités or with some vegetable, meat, fish or seafood croquettes.
- Zucchini in tempura. You can choose the vegetable of your choice and prepare it with this frying, in the best Japanese style. I suggest you start with these exquisite zucchini, I’m sure your guests will be delighted. But if you like Indian food more, tries this vegetable pacer recipe.
- Tomato and olive oil bruschetta. Very similar to crostini, it consists of a slice of toasted bread, coated in garlic and grilled until golden brown. Then, it is assembled with the ingredient of the day and finally it is sprinkled with olive oil and ground paprika.
- Tuna croquettes. As the traditional croquettes cannot be missing among the appetizers, here is a version with tuna that combines perfectly with the cashew sauce. Another recipe that goes very well with this sauce is baked chard croquettes.
- Stuffed banana baskets. You can taste this basket made of plantains filled with: meat, fish, shellfish, cashew sauce, vegan leftovers, guacamole, and Russian salad, among others.
- Volovanes stuffed with vegetables. Volovanes are very versatile puff pastry baskets, which you can prepare at home or buy ready-made. You have many filling options: chicken, mushrooms and cheese, cheese and bacon, minced meat, Russian salad, vegan leftovers and, the one we suggest this time, vegetables.
Appetizers for Christmas Eve – Easy recipes
The appetizers are always light, an appetizer to “make stomach” before the main course. In the most special dinner of the year, you can serve anything from soup to sushi; everything will depend on the main course, since the appetizer must harmonize with it. So what do you prefer: vegan sushi or creamy chestnut soup? Any of these options, perfect for Christmas dinner, is affordable and very easy to prepare:
- Vegan sushi with sliced bread. For this cheap and tasty sushi you only need: sliced bread, vegan pâté (you can prepare this vegan tuna pâté recipe), 2 sheets of nor seaweed, 1 cucumber and 1 roasted pepper. But, if you want something more sophisticated, you can prepare homemade vegan sushi, it will take a little more work but nobody will notice the difference with the original sushi.
- Tropical mushroom ceviche. In this vegetable ceviche, mushrooms replace seafood, providing a very similar texture and absorbing the flavor of the rest of the ingredients. An appetizer with pure tropical flavor!
- Creamy chestnut soup. A delicious soup, very soft and creamy, perfect for this cold season. Preparing it is simple, the ingredients are easy to get and quite accessible.
- Vegan Vietnamese rolls. This exotic starter has a smooth taste, in which all the flavors and textures blend perfectly: the rice paper, the carrot, the lettuce, the mango, the sesame seeds, the coriander powder, the pepper, and the salt and teriyaki sauce. Nothing like Asian food to impress diners!
- Tangerine and almond salad. This entry contains tangerine, bacon, almonds and a dressing. The combination of bacon and tangerine gives an exceptional flavor to this Christmas salad. Perfect to accompany red meats and poultry!
Main dishes for Christmas Eve
If you want a good inexpensive but memorable main course, you need to loosen up a bit and go with the flow, without restricting your imagination. Remember, this dish defines the night. If you are very traditional in the kitchen, you can simply replace ingredients from the usual recipes with cheaper ones. If, on the other hand, you like to innovate, give your preparation a personal touch or try new flavors (from other lands or different culinary styles). You will love any of these easy Christmas dinner recipes!
- Stuffed oat vegetable meat. This very tasty vegetable meat is made up of oats and gluten inside, which provide it with a texture very similar to animal meat (inside and out). Its mushroom and vegetable cheese filling will end up captivating both vegans and non-vegans.
- Vegan chicken roll. This vegan meat roll is characterized by a crispy exterior, very similar to chicken skin (thanks to the Yuba). In addition, it contains a filling of mushrooms, aborigine, olives, onion and garlic, elements that finish giving flavor and body to this recipe.
- Vietnamese chicken. An Asian dish that is very easy to prepare, has few ingredients and has an exquisite flavor. Contains chicken breast, ground black pepper, olive oil, spring onion and teriyaki sauce. Pairs perfectly with jasmine rice and salad.
- Chicken stuffed with plums and walnuts. A recipe with Christmas flavors: nuts, dehydrated fruits, wine, spices and vegetables. If you still can’t decide, you can review other similar alternatives such as Christmas stuffed chicken or chicken in punch sauce.
- Stuffed chicken round. The round is a sophisticated preparation but made with common cuts of meat (whether beef, pork, poultry, etc.). For this round of chicken, you need few ingredients: paprika, asparagus, spinach, white onion, garlic paste, salt and pepper.
- Ravioli in walnut sauce. Christmas pasta is an excellent option, as long as you choose a sophisticated but simple recipe. Try these ravioli with walnut sauce; you’ll know you chose the right recipe!
- Baked pork ribs. Both the shoulder and the pork and beef ribs are cuts of excellent quality and very cheap. Here is a magnificent recipe to make the most of the culinary qualities of pork ribs. Another great and very practical option is to cook baked pork ribs in a bag.
- Stuffed veal brisket. Rib and brisket (also lamb brisket) are inexpensive, versatile, and delicious. In this case, the beef brisket is extremely tasty stuffed with pork, Serrano ham, egg, onion, carrot, garlic, white wine, oil, parsley and spices.
- Hake with beans. A very tender white meat fish, quite cheap and sublime when it comes to serving it. Perfect for Christmas Eve!
Easy desserts for Christmas Eve
The sweet hour has arrived: the moment to prepare the best dessert for Christmas! If you want to close your cheap Christmas dinner with a flourish, you should choose sophisticated but cheap desserts. An interesting alternative is to prepare a dessert buffet. In this case, you could prepare a tasting in small glasses, using three types of sweets or even combinations of them.
That said, we show you our easy dessert menu proposal to impress. Here you will find several alternatives that include gluten-free and vegan recipes:
- Apple and cider cake. A rich cake with a smooth texture and a crisp short crust exterior. The apple and cider give it a delicious juicy touch. It is delicious with ice cream!
- Vegan chocolate coolant . The exquisite chocolate “volcano”, in its healthy version, always impresses diners with its intense cocoa flavor, fluffy exterior and very juicy interior. It contains gluten.
- Gluten free vegan brownies. To make this easy dessert, the flour is replaced by hazelnuts, cashews and beans. These brownies have a texture very similar to traditional brownies and an exquisite and unbeatable flavor. They combine perfectly with ice cream (vanilla, lemon or passion fruit), as well as with milky sweet.
- Chocolate mousse with coconut milk . The coconut milk-chocolate combination gives this mousse an incomparable delicate flavor and a very spongy texture. This healthy and delicious dessert does not contain milk or sugar, but it does contain eggs.
- Passion fruit or passion fruit mousse . A very easy delicacy to prepare, divine and sumptuous. It is made up of passion fruit (maraca), cream cheese and gelatin. A refined tropical dessert infallible!
- Passion fruit hulls . Because passion fruit is an irresistible fruit, we propose another dessert made with it. Passion fruit shells are pieces of fruit in syrup, always ready to be enjoyed with vanilla or chocolate ice cream, a ball of cream cheese or ricotta. You can also enjoy them on a piece of cake or other creative culinary alternatives.
- Jejuna nougat. This homemade version of the popular nougat from Jejuna contains: ground almonds, honey and sugar. As you can see, you need few ingredients, which are easy to get. In addition, the recipe is so simple that you will not believe it. Christmas without nougat is not Christmas!
Easy Christmas Eve Menu – Ideas
If indecision dominates you and you cannot choose between so many delicious dishes, we bring you three menu proposals that include dishes for almost all tastes and needs (non-vegan, vegan and celiac). Happy Holidays!
Christmas Eve Menu – First option
- Appetizers: tuna croquettes with cashew sauce.
- Entree: tropical mushroom ceviche.
- Main course: chicken stuffed with plums and walnuts.
- Dessert: passion fruit mousse, apple pie and cider.
Vegan Christmas Eve menu
- Appetizers: vole-au-vents stuffed with vegetables (they are also great filled with vegan leftovers )
- Entree: vegan sushi with sliced bread or vegan sushi
- Main course: stuffed porridge vegetable meat
- Desserts: vegan chocolate coolant and coconut milk chocolate mousse
Gluten-free Christmas Eve menu (for celiac)
- Appetizers: basket of stuffed bananas
- Starter: chestnut and almond cream soup
- Entrée: Stuffed beef brisket
- Desserts: gluten-free vegan brownies and passion fruit shells
