In Northern Italy, the types of food and drinks Italians serve during Christmas and the holiday season can vary immensely from Southern Italy. There are also differences in central Italy.
But all parts of Italy tend to have a main course, first course, and second course for the festive season.
Culinary traditions in Italy are taken seriously and require dishes that need to be prepared in advance for special holidays. Some of the food often found at Italian Christmas dinners are roast lamb, meat broth, and hard-boiled eggs.
Here's the scoop on Christmas food and drinks from Italy!
Italian Christmas Traditions
Italians find the Religious holiday on December 25th to be the most important date of the year, drawing back to the time when Emperor Constantine ruled and adopted Christianity. The feast day of the Roman pagan god became the chosen day to celebrate and honor Christ.
They also find the following day, il giorno di Santo Stefano (Saint Stephen's Day) December 26th an important day for celebrations to commemorate the first Christian martyr.
After declaring that December 25th would be an important day for celebration, Christmas trees were introduced in Europe, but Italy continued to prioritize the nativity scene with baby Jesus in the manger until the early 1900s. The Italians dressed up as the characters and decorated their houses with the birth of Jesus.
They also go to midnight mass as a part of the Catholic tradition.
On Christmas Eve, Italians took on a big feast with several courses called the "big supper." In Southern Italy in particular, they would have broccoli with garlic, lemon, salted cod, and eel. The meal would end with peanuts and torrone.
The holiday celebration goes on after New Year's Day with an exchange of gifts for children based on the Catholic religion. Based on Italian folklore, January 5th is the day that La Befana comes to deliver presents to the children.
Christmas Food and Drinks from Italy
1. Roasted Veal
Roasted veal is a traditional Italian Christmas food that can be eaten with potatoes. For the best-tasting veal, most Italians spend hours letting the meat cook for a tender and juicy texture. Having veal at the dinner table is great for family celebrations like Easter.
Gather garlic, rosemary, salt, pepper, EVOO, and dry white wine for an elegant and flavorful meal. If you want to cook veal for Christmas, make sure to buy the veal loin for the utmost tenderness.
2. Bicerin (Torinese Coffee)
A traditional hot drink native to Torino, the rich beverage has three different layers, espresso, hot chocolate, and whipped cream or milk. The drink is usually served in a small glass and can complement Italian desserts and bread after the main course.
3. Panettone
A sweet bread from Milan, this delicious bread is a traditional Christmas food and is enjoyed all throughout Italy during Christmas. The bread contains eggs, water, flour, and butter with the enriching flavors of fruit, orange peel, and cedar.
The most common way to serve panettone is with sparkling wine. You can also choose a panettone recipe based on different regions in Italy like the Piedmontese glazed panettone or the Milanese panettone.
4. Zampone
Zampone is made of pork meat and rind with an assortment of flavors like pepper, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, and wine.
The dish is comprised of homemade sausage in pig trotter with a side of lentils. If you live in America, finding pig trotters can be difficult, so make sure to call butchers in advance.
5. Panforte Tuscan Christmas Cake (Christmas Bread)
A chewy dessert that used to be only for the nobles in the middle ages, panforte nero blends in fruits, spices, and nuts for a spicy treat after eating a meal. This confectionary dessert is a traditional dessert for many Italian households and family gatherings but mainly in the Province of Siena.
6. Tortellini in Brodo
One of the most known Italian Christmas foods and pasta dishes in Emilia Romagna is tortellini with the cities of Bologna and Modena claiming the dish.
During the Christmas holidays, Italian families spend time cooking this main Christmas meal made of stuffed egg pasta with an eclectic mix of ingredients like nutmeg, roasted capon, cheese, and mortadella to name a few.
The tradition with this dish is that the whole family would pitch in to make the delicious meat-filled tortellini.
7. Bagna Cauda
Originating in Piedmont, this Italian hot dish contains garlic and anchovies and is often at the forefront of Italian Christmas feasts. This sauce can serve as the main meal or an appetizer depending on the family.
Dip raw or cooked vegetables into the thick sauce and enjoy it in a manner similar to fondue. Bagna Cauda is a preferred food in Italy, especially when it's cold outside.
8. Cotechino with Lentils
Originating from Modena, Italy, cotechino is a famous dish for a traditional Italian Christmas dinner. When this dish is served at Christmas time, it means a good omen of prosperity into the new year.
The traditional dish is comprised of sausage and is served on a bed of lentils. The pork is also sliced up in a way to resemble coins.
9. Grolla
A famous Italian drink blending liquor or coffee, "the friendly pot" or in the Italian word, "grolla" is usually a tradition in Italy for holiday gatherings with two or more people.
The grolla pots come in various sizes and spouts with each person having their own spout to drink from. To add prosperity and improve your health, don't place the grolla pot down until the drink is finished.
10. Torrone
Torrone is another Italian Christmas dessert made of egg white, honey, sugar, and toasted dried fruit.
This Italian candy will awaken the taste buds and have you reaching for more. Torrone is a beloved treat in many parts of Italy with each town coming up with its own variation from the pre-medieval original recipe.
11. Seafood
Some of the main seafood dishes served around the holidays are spaghetti with tuna or lobster and scallops. These dishes usually appear on Christmas Eve but can be eaten on Christmas Day.
The Feast of the Seven Fishes (la vigilia di natale) is also a tradition and one of the best fish dishes that has been incorporated into Italian-American households since 20th-century immigration.
One of the best traditional Italian Christmas Eve dinners consists of salted cod, sword fish, and other types of fish and seafood.
The Feast of the Seven Fishes also comes with a significant symbol highlighting the number as a connection to the number of sacraments, the seven days of creation, the seven virtues, the seven deadly sins, and the seven days for Mary and Joseph to travel to Bethlehem before the birth of Jesus.
12. Cannoli
Have your taste buds show delight in this Sicilian pastry with tube-shaped shells of fried dough, filled with sweet and creamy ricotta. The traditional recipe contains sheep's milk ricotta and can sometimes have chocolate chips in the mix.
13. Cartellate
One of the best Italian Christmas foods is this delicious dessert of Apulian cuisine. The cookies are prepared with flour, sugar, virgin olive oil, and white wine. The irresistible taste stems from the special syrup made of figs or grapes.
Cartellate represents the halo that wrapped Jesus in the manger and can also be seen as the crown of thorns when he was crucified.
14. Baccala
Baccala is known as "salted cod" and can come up as an appetizer or the main dish for Italian celebrations. The preserved salt on the fish gives it an intense flavor without the fishy flavor often associated with fish.
The fish is often served in the weeks leading up to Easter and on Christmas Eve.
According to different regions in Italy, salted cod can be prepared in a variety of ways with some recipes including milk, anchovies, tomatoes, and parsley.
15. Cardoons
The best time of year to fix cardo is in the winter when the green leaves grow softer. These vegetables can be difficult to cook if the texture is hardened. To make sure the vegetables are cooked correctly, boil the cardoons for two hours in lemon juice or apple cider vinegar water.
The cardoons can be added to a variety of recipes for a healthy and delicious meal. Try the Penne with fondue and cardoons recipe as well as the cardoon parmigiana.
16. Pasta al Forno
This rigatoni pasta is a favorite among families with meat sauce and plenty of cheese to go around. This Sicilian pasta can also be substituted with different types of pasta like ziti and penne with tomato sauce. The original version also adds eggplants sliced in cubes. Have a Christmas Day lunch with this pasta delight!
17. Struffoli
Struffoli is a classic Italian dessert native to the Naples region of Italy. The deep-fried balls of dough dipped in honey are often decorated with eye-catching sprinkles or confetti.
The consistency of these traditional sweets is crunchy at first, but the inside of this puff pastry offers a journey of sweet flavors. The honey balls are about the size of marbles and can serve as a light dessert after a meal during the holiday traditions.
18. Pettole
Originating from Puglia, pettole are sweet and savory doughnuts that serve as great appetizers for Italian Christmas meals. In the Campania region, these delicious doughnuts are known as zeppole.
Depending on the region and household, pettole can be savory or sweet to include key ingredients that remind Italians of the Christian holiday.
19. Cioccolata Calda
One of the best Christmas drinks in Italy is hot chocolate or also known as cioccolata calda. The hot chocolate contains melted chocolate with less sweetness and a thicker consistency. Even though hot chocolate didn't originate in Italy, the Italians consider the beverage to be an important part of their Christmas traditions.
20. Agnolotti del Plin
The Piedmont dish is a classic pasta served during celebrations or special occasions. The egg-yolk pasta is stuffed with three-meat filling and cabbage.
Serve it with cheese and butter sauce or leftover braising liquid for enhanced taste. The pasta is also generally served with broth for the holidays.
21. Pandoro
Time to serve bread before going into the main course! Pandoro is one of the most popular traditional Italian Christmas sweets, especially in the Veneto region.
The bread is made with sweet yeast bread that takes your taste buds on a flavorful journey with a blend of vanilla, bread crumbs, lemon zest, and orange.
Pair the warm bread with cream made of eggs, cheese, sugar, and cognac. Pandoro in Italian tradition is typically served at Christmas and New Year with the bread shaped like an eight-pointed star.
22. Canederli
From Trentino Alto Adige, these big ball-shaped gnocchi are seasoned with chives, cheese, and onion. Canederli is a dish perfectly blended with simple and local ingredients to make a delicious main course. Enrich the flavor of the gnocchi by adding red turnips, spinach, or cheese.
23. Creamy Mandarin Liquor
Celebrate the holidays with a simple and fragrant liquor! This sweet drink can take some time to make but if you prepare in advance, your family can have a nice drink with mandarin peels. With the slices, Italians often use them to decorate a cream or melt them in dark chocolate.
24. Gingerbread Cookies
The Italians were influenced by the anglo-saxon to create these spicy delights during the holidays. Gingerbread cookies are a staple in Italian households with added royal icing that requires egg whites and sugar. Some even go a step further to bake a gingerbread house with the same ingredients.
25. Antipasti
Before kicking off the holiday feast and the main event, a platter of meat and cheese is served. Some regions of Italy have their very own special Christmas salamis that are cured up until the holidays. The purpose of this first course dish is to stimulate the appetite to prepare for Christmas lunch or dinner.
Best Italian Christmas Food
When introduced to an Italian family, don't be surprised when it comes to the food traditions and the number of dishes served during important holidays like Christmas.
For a sneak peek into the traditional meals served during Christmas, visit a Christmas market.
Every region and family in Italy is slightly different when prioritizing traditional dishes over others and fixing them in different ways. Some Italian families have their own Christmas traditions.
Some families may prefer to fill their taste buds with salted cod while others prefer the classic pasta dishes and sweet treats like yule log and stale bread, adding their own delicate flavors and good ideas for the Christmas season. Buon Natale! Merry Christmas!
That's the scoop on Christmas food and drinks in Italy!
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Maria says
The feast of the seven fishes is an Italian American Tradition. People in Italy have never heard of it.