Fewer people? More for me. 😋
Hosting Christmas dinner for two people this year?
You can still treat yourself to a feast! From festive main dishes to comforting holiday drinks and desserts, you'll find all the Christmas recipes you need to put together a small but mighty holiday food menu.
1. Steak Dinner for 2
This three-course meal — a Caesar salad with bacon, garlic butter steak, and scalloped potatoes— is perfectly portioned out for two people. Don't forget to split a bottle of red!
Recipe: Steak Dinner for 2
You can definitely whip up buttery mashed potatoes without making a giant potful — and this ultra-practical version doesn't even require a masher or ricer.
Get the recipe: Mashed Potatoes for 2
This recipe makes four individually sized cakes — but you can easily halve it if you only want two. (But also, who *doesn't* want more dessert for later?) Find more air fryer holiday recipes here.
Get the recipe: Air Fryer Chocolate Lava Cakes
4. Kale and Quinoa Salad
I know Christmas is synonymous with comfort and indulgence, but this salad will be a refreshing note on the holiday table.
Get the recipe: Kale and Quinoa Salad
5. Salted Caramel Brûlée Latte
Picture this: just the two of you, sitting on the couch, a cup of salted caramel latte in your hands, watching Die Hard for the hundredth time. What more do you need?
Get the recipe: Salted Caramel Brûlée Latte
6. Pan-Seared Duck Breast With Port Wine Sauce
If you don't feel like cooking a ham or roasting a turkey, may I suggest duck? It's delicious, feels fancy, and actually not that hard to make. This pan-seared duck is brought to a whole new level thanks to a gastrique — a sweet-and-sharp sauce made with caramelized sugar deglazed with vinegar and port wine.
Get the recipe: Pan-Seared Duck Breast With Port Wine Sauce
Only a few ingredients needed to make this foolproof side: potatoes, garlic, thyme, rosemary, olive oil, and kosher salt.
Get the recipe: Fingerling Potatoes With Rosemary and Thyme
8. Cauliflower Cheese
Deb Perelman / smittenkitchen.com
This English classic (think mac 'n' cheese but with cauliflower instead of pasta) can make for a great vegetarian main dish but will also shine bright as a side dish.
Get the recipe: Cauliflower Cheese
This recipe uses thick-cut brioche bread and raspberries and blackberries — though you can sub in just about any fruit you have on hand.
Get the recipe: Berry-Stuffed French Toast for 2
10. Broiled Lobster Tails
The only tricky part in prepping this is that you need to butterfly the tails, but the recipe shows you how to do that, step-by-step. You then brush the tails with lemon-garlic butter before broiling them for a few minutes.
Get the recipe: Broiled Lobster Tails
11. Spicy Gingerbread Cookies With Lemon Icing
It is a truth universally acknowledged that gingerbread cookies will put you in a Christmas mood no matter what.
Get the recipe: Spicy Gingerbread Cookies With Lemon Icing
12. Paprika Roasted Brussels Sprouts Salad With Prosciutto and Pimentón Aioli
The recipe is for six people, but you can easily half the portions. Ready in 25 minutes, this makes for a great first course or a side dish, depending on your mood.
Get the recipe: Paprika Roasted Brussels Sprouts Salad With Prosciutto and Pimentón Aioli
13. Super-Simple Glazed Ham
Rocky Luten / food52.com
Is this recipe ambitious? Maybe. But if Christmas isn't the right time for a little bit of culinary ambition, I don't know when is.
Get the recipe: Super-Simple Glazed Ham
14. Chocolate Marshmallows
David Lebovitz / davidlebovitz.com
Homemade. Chocolate. Marshmallows. Need I say more? Alright: homemade chocolate marshmallows served in a cup of steaming-hot chocolate. You're welcome.
Get the recipe: Chocolate Marshmallows
15. Fritto Misto
Lauren Zaser / buzzfeed.com
Just because you're hosting for two people doesn't mean you can't cook your very own Feast of the Seven Fishes. This dish is a great place to start.
Get the recipe: Fritto Misto
16. Sweet and Savory Cheesy Bacon Wrapped Puff Pastry Twists
You'll only need a handful of ingredients to make these (with puff pastry, bacon, and cheese being the main ones), and you can easily adjust the portions to make fewer twists than the original recipe yields.
Get the recipe: Sweet and Savory Cheesy Bacon Wrapped Puff Pastry Twists
17. Gingerbread Truffles
All the flavors of gingerbread in delicious truffles. I'll take a dozen.
Get the recipe: Gingerbread Truffles
18. Garlic Roasted Carrots
Five ingredients, almost zero effort, and just five minutes' prep are needed to make this great side dish.
Get the recipe: Garlic Roasted Carrots
19. Panettone French Toast for 2
David Lebovitz / davidlebovitz.com
Take the ultimate Christmas morning brioche, turn it into French toast, and you're in for the best treat.
Get the recipe: Panettone French Toast
20. Seared Scallops With Herbs Salad
buzzfeed.com
The salad is just a vessel here — the stars are the scallops, and you can be assured that they'll shine bright over your Christmas meal.
Get the recipe: Seared Scallops With Herbs Salad
21. Green Beans With Bacon Bread Crumbs
Just think of green beans as an excuse to eat a ton of delicious bacon bread crumbs.
Get the recipe: Green Beans With Bacon Bread Crumbs
OK, so you might be wondering how you and your plus-one are going to eat nine cinnamon buns all by yourselves. First of all, you gotta believe in yourself! Second, you can actually freeze some of the buns before you glaze them and save for later.
Get the recipe: Overnight Brioche Cinnamon Buns
