New Year’s Eve Dinner Ideas: 21 Dishes to Serve

A New Year’s Eve dinner party is a festive special occasion meant to celebrate new beginnings. Use these tips to pull off your New Year’s dinner successfully:

• Choose seasonal flavors. Since New Year’s Eve closely follows the holidays, choose festive flavors and seasonal ingredients—such as cranberries, cinnamon, and maple-flavored dishes—for your menu.
• Consider dietary restrictions. Ensure you prepare options for guests with dietary restrictions, especially if your loved ones bring friends and family you don’t know well. Include a vegetarian option and a gluten-free option on your menu to cover all your bases.
• Pick dishes based on the type of dinner. If you’re planning a sit-down dinner, plan several courses (appetizers, a salad, a main course, and a dessert). However, if you want your guests to mingle, consider serving finger food and other appetizers.
• Serve festive drinks. Opt for fun, festive cocktails (like a Cranberry Gin Fizz) or red wine to complete your menu.

New Year’s Eve dinner menus typically consist of easy-to-eat appetizers, upscale main courses, and comfort foods. Get inspiration with this list of dinner recipes:

1. 1. Alfredo sauce: Alfredo sauce is an Italian-American pasta sauce that typically includes parmesan cheese, heavy cream, and butter. You can serve it with fettuccine pasta for a classic dish. Make homemade Alfredo sauce with pasta to impress your guests with a delicious main course.
2. 2. Artichoke bruschetta: Artichoke bruschetta combines the flavors of artichoke dip with French bread to create a cheesy, tangy appetizer. A relatively easy appetizer to make, serve artichoke bruschetta as an elegant finger food at an upscale New Year’s Eve party.
3. 3. Au gratin potatoes: Homemade au gratin potatoes are a classic winter comfort food and make for a perfect New Year’s side dish for cooks looking for alternatives to mashed potatoes. Recipes for au gratin potatoes (or potatoes au gratin) combine layers of sliced potatoes and cheese in a baked casserole dish, sometimes with a breadcrumb topping for a contrasting crunch.
4. 4. Baked Brie: Baked Brie is a crowd-pleasing appetizer you can easily prepare in the oven. To make baked Brie, wrap a wheel of Brie in puff pastry and place it in the oven. If you want a savory dish, add prosciutto; if you want it sweet, include cranberries or pecans.
5. 5. Beef tenderloin: If you have a smoker, surprise your guests with a tender, smoked beef tenderloin. Beef tenderloin is a sizable cut of beef that works well if you want to serve a group of people. Pair the meat with roasted veggies and potatoes.
6. 6. Black-eyed peas: Black-eyed peas are a fantastic vegetarian option to have at your New Year’s Eve dinner. You can cook black-eyed peas in many ways, but even the simplest stewed black-eyed peas make for a flavorful entrée. Serve black-eyed peas over rice, with a side of cornbread, or alongside sautéed greens like collard greens, kale, Swiss chard, or turnip greens.
7. 7. Brussels sprouts: Roasted brussels sprouts have a crispy exterior and tender (but not mushy) interior. Top your brussels sprouts with balsamic vinegar and goat cheese for a delicious side dish.
8. 8. Burrata: Burrata is a versatile semi-soft cheese that you can easily distinguish by its loose texture: small, soft cheese curds and cream packaged inside an outer shell made of mozzarella. Burrata is a great appetizer when paired with fresh tomatoes and a drizzle of olive oil for a salad or crostini.
9. 9. Butternut squash galette: Depending on your seasonings of choice, you can make butternut squash galette sweet, savory, or somewhere in between. You can put the flaky, all-butter pie crust together without too much effort. It is also customizable. Pair the butternut squash galette with a range of fillings and flavors.
10. 10. Buttery cherry almond cookies: Packed with nutty and cherry flavors, cherry almond cookies will impress your guests. Sweet, tangy, short-bread-like cookies, cherry almond cookies feature maraschino cherries, fruit juice, and almond extract.
11. 11. Champagne cocktail: The classic Champagne cocktail is an elegant drink with a fizzing sugar cube in a bubbly glass of sparkling wine, making it the ideal drink for New Year's Eve party. You can make a Champagne cocktail at home in a snap, especially since it doesn’t require a cocktail shaker or any special tools—just a Champagne glass.
12. 12. Chocolate truffles: These no-baked candies usually include baking chocolate, butter, and cream. Named after dark, round truffle mushrooms, chocolate truffles make for a great dessert for a New Year’s Eve dinner.
13. 13. Cranberry Gin Fizz: Make a fun, seasonal cocktail to offer your guests as they arrive. A Cranberry Gin Fizz is a fruity, carbonated cocktail consisting of homemade cranberry syrup, lemon juice, club soda, and gin. This refreshing cold gin cocktail is light and fizzy, making it ideal for celebrations and gatherings throughout summer and the holiday season.
14. 14. Italian meatballs: Classic Italian meatballs are simple proteins that you brown in the oven, then simmer in a traditional pasta sauce on the stovetop. Serve meatballs as a main course or as an appetizer at your party.
15. 15. Maple cheesecake: Maple cheesecake is a baked dessert consisting of a cream cheese–based filling flavored with maple syrup and set inside a thin graham cracker crust. This decadent cheesecake is a great way to round out your New Year’s Eve menu.
16. 16. Parmesan risotto: Parmesan risotto is a creamy Italian rice dish with a generous amount of grated Parmesan cheese stirred in at the end. Pair Parmesan risotto with pork chops and roasted brussels sprouts.
17. 17. Polenta: If you’re making an Italian dinner menu for New Year’s Eve, consider making polenta. Polenta is a simple Italian dish and an excellent base for ragùs, roasted or sautéed vegetables, tomato sauce, and other comfort foods.
18. 18. Pork chops: Pork chops come together quickly. Serve simple, oven-baked pork chops with olive oil, salt, and black pepper.
19. 19. Ricotta dip: Use a batch of savory whipped ricotta as a dip or spread—either way, it is a memorable dinner party appetizer. Add the whipped ricotta dip to a cheese or charcuterie board alongside goat cheese, veggies, prosciutto, and slices of crostini or a baguette.
20. 20. Roasted chicken: Roast chicken is a classic recipe that produces juicy, tender chicken with crispy skin. You can cook it in several ways and use different cuts of chicken. When using a roasting pan, you can go without a rack, but if you use a rack, place veggies, such as sweet potatoes, under the roast chicken, so they become more flavorful.
21. 21. Scallops: For an upscale New Year’s Eve main dish, serve scallops. You may think of scallops as restaurant-only fare because of the price and how easily you may overcook them. But once you know how to cook scallops—which only take about five minutes on the stovetop—they’ll become a perfect addition to your menu.

Become a better chef with the MasterClass Annual Membership. Gain access to exclusive video lessons taught by the world’s best, including Gordon Ramsay, Gabriela Cámara, Chef Thomas Keller, Dominique Ansel, Yotam Ottolenghi, Alice Waters, and more.