46 New Year’s Eve Dinner Ideas for Ringing in 2025
The hunt for New Year’s Eve dinner ideas feels weighty: It is, after all, your last meal of the year. But the final gathering of 202 should be fun, and the best NYE dinner recipes manage to be both cozy and glitzy, soul-warming and low-stress to pull off. Below you’ll find our recommendations for the main course of your New Year’s Eve feast, including juicy roasts, luxurious pastas, and fancy-feeling soups that will dazzle your crowd. Pour some bubbles or Champagne cocktails, turn on your year-end playlist, and invite everyone over to stuff themselves silly. Scroll down to start planning your New Year’s Eve dinner now.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Drew Aichele1/46Roast Bone-In Pork Loin With Potatoes
One thing we always think about when considering New Year’s Eve dinner ideas is how well a meal scales. A big pork roast is just as easy to cook as a small one, and this recipe is an excellent way to feed a big group with minimal effort. Use the prep time you saved to whip up a few NYE appetizers.
Photo by Isa Zapata, Prop Styling by Stephanie De Luca, Food Styling by Yekaterina Boystova4/46Cheese Fondue
Photo by Andrew Purcell, Prop Styling by Paige Hicks, Food Styling by Carrie Purcell5/46Leg of Lamb With Garlic and Rosemary
You’ll roast this leg of lamb until rosy inside, then let it rest for a bit while you prep a winter salad and warm up your twice-baked potatoes.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food styling by Rebecca Jurkevich7/46Shrimp Cocktail
Many folks we know opt for a finger foods dinner for New Year’s Eve. With this classic shrimp cocktail—and a trio of dipping sauces—a walk-around meal will be plenty hearty. (Not that we’d discourage you from also making baked Brie.) These shrimp are cooked in well-seasoned poaching liquid and quickly cooked, so they’re much more flavorful and never rubbery like store-bought shrimp cocktail can be.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Micah Marie Morton9/46Spiced Yogurt-Marinated Cornish Hens With Sweet Onion-Roasted Potatoes
You could absolutely roast a turkey or another big bird for NYE, but perhaps a smaller feast is in order this year. It’s fun to give everyone their own tender Cornish game hen. Looking for more festive small-group dinner recipes? We have a whole collection here.
Photo by Isa Zapata, Prop Styling by Stephanie De Luca, Food Styling by Yekaterina Boystova11/46Bouillabaisse
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Micah Marie Morton12/46Chicken and Potato Gratin With Brown Butter Cream
Photo by Elizabeth Coetzee, Food Styling by Rebecca Jurkevich13/46Easy, Cheesy Sausage Lasagna
A large-scale pasta bake feels celebratory but doesn’t require much last-minute fussing. Serve the mozzarella-topped comfort food with warm garlic bread and offer frozen amaro after dinner.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Micah Marie Morton15/46Braised Chile-Marmalade Duck Legs With Brussels Sprouts
A festive winter dinner is the perfect time to cook duck—and we promise that this recipe is as easy as it is impressive. You’ll simmer the duck legs in a chile-infused, maramalade-based braise until tender, then reduce the sauce to a sticky-rich lacquer to glaze over the crisp skin. If you’re looking for more of a whole-bird presentation, try our classic roast duck.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Beatrice Chastka, Food Styling by Anna Billingskog17/46Roast Goose with Oranges and Madeira
Photo by Andrew Purcell, Prop Styling by Alex Brannian, Food Styling by Carrie Purcell18/46Cider-Brined, Mustard-Glazed Pork Loin
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Prop Styling by Anne Eastman, Food Styling by John Bjostad19/46Chicken Tagine With Apricots and Almonds
Photo by Elizabeth Coetzee, Food styling by Rebecca Jurkevich20/46Hoppin’ John
It’s traditional to eat black-eyed peas on New Year’s Day, but why wait to get the good luck flowing?
Photo by Quentin Bacon23/46Roasted Salmon With Green Herbs
You can pull off this Ina Garten classic without a lot of advance planning. Just rub the salmon with olive oil and lemon, top with whatever herbs you can find in your fridge or kitchen garden, and roast. Total cook time: just 10–12 minutes. For veggies on the side, you can keep things easy—go with blanched green beans topped with buttery toasted pecans.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Anna Stockwell25/46Roasted Cabbage Steaks With Crispy Chickpeas and Herby Croutons
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Toni Brogan26/46Crab Linguine With Arugula
If crab season is in swing where you live, this pasta is a wonderful way to partake. It’s a favorite of cookbook author Giuliano Hazan—and a favorite of ours.
Photo by Alex Lau28/46Seared Scallops With Brown Butter and Lemon Pan Sauce
Scallops are another one of those deceptively easy New Year’s dinner ideas, especially if you’re only cooking for a few people. For the best New Year’s Eve spread, add a crusty loaf of bread or two, and a fresh green salad—or a citrus salad, if you’re feeling seasonal.
29/46Prawn Moilee
31/46Chard-Wrapped Fish With Lemon and Olive
For this special occasion recipe, you’ll smother white fish in a garlicky olive paste, then wrap the fillets in Swiss chard leaves before simmering them in a lemony cilantro-laced sauce. The wrapping process is meditative (and it feels like you’re making a present for each person at the table).
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Lillian Chou34/46Pork and Chive Dumplings
This year turn your New Year’s dinner into a dumpling-making party. Everyone can get in on the action, and the results are always delicious. Fill up a slow cooker with mulled wine or hot cider to keep everyone’s cups full throughout the gathering.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Anna Stockwell35/46Creamy Butternut Squash Risotto With Toasted Pepitas
Photo by Colin Price37/46Apple Cider Pork Pot Roast
Chunky apples, onion, thyme, and cider make this comforting dish especially appropriate for dinner for New Year’s. Serve with crispy potatoes and a simple kale salad.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Micah Marie Morton38/46Vegetable Tempura
The ultimate move for a New Year’s Eve dinner party? Tempura fried and served right out of the pot, before it has a chance to cool too much. And sparkling wine, of course.
Photo by Chris Court, Benjamin Dearnley, William Meppem, Con Poulos, Anson Smart39/46Spiced Pomegranate and Orange Glazed Ham
If you didn’t cook a holiday ham this year, New Year’s is a great time to make it happen. Serve with biscuits or rolls for making sandwiches, and consider getting a big one, since ham leftovers are the best part. Follow the feast with a festive New Year’s Eve dessert.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Rhoda Boone41/46Milk-Braised Pork With Lemon and Sage
Braising pork shoulder produces a fall-apart tender roast. And when milk is the braising liquid, what results is a sauce reminiscent of an extra-flavorful ricotta. Serve with polenta or Instant Pot mashed potatoes for sopping up the sauce.
Photo by Alex Lau, Prop Styling by Kalen Kaminski, Food Styling by Rebecca Jurkevich42/46Citrus-and-Dill Gravlax
Here’s New Year’s Eve party food that feels really elegant—serve homemade gravlax with blini or slices of dark bread. Scallion crème fraîche adds a nice richness. Then offer any leftovers with bagels, cream cheese, sliced onion, and capers as part of your New Year’s day brunch.
Photo by Shutterstock46/46Fettuccine Alfredo
We love New Year’s dinner ideas that keep things simple, and you only need four ingredients to make this recipe that readers have been praising for years. We recommend kicking things off with hearty New Year’s Eve appetizers like these oversized prosciutto-stuffed mushrooms—and sipping a French 75 as you celebrate.
