20 Italian Christmas Foods You Need to Try

Christmas is a time for family, friends, and of course, feasting—especially in Italy.

Steeped in centuries of culinary tradition, Italian Christmas food doesn’t disappoint. From desserts to starters to main courses, there are a seemingly endless array of regional delicacies within the country. If you are looking to bring some Italian flavor to your dinner table this coming Christmas, find inspiration in the list of Italian Christmas foods presented below.

Italian Christmas desserts

Usually one saves dessert for last, but let’s start with the sweets instead. Here are just a few of the tasty desserts you can expect to find around Italy at Christmas parties and family gatherings alike.

1. Struffoli

Struffoli is a classic Christmastime Italian dessert consisting of a mountain of fried dough balls. The dessert is flavored with lemon and orange zest, as well as a touch of limoncello liqueur.

2. Italian Christmas cookies

There are actually several different types of Italian cookies served around Christmas time, including pizzelles, brutti ma buoni, and buccellati. But the quintessential Christmas cookie in Italy is anginetti, a drop cookie flavored with lemon and anise.

3. Cucidati

These Sicilian cookies offer a spiced fig filling wrapped inside a perfectly baked sugar cookie dough.

4. Pandoro

A traditional Italian sweet bread hailing from Verona, Pandoro usually comes in a frustum shape with an eight-sided star as its base. With frosted vanilla icing, this mountainous desert resembles the Italian Alps in winter.

5. Panettone

Another Italian sweet bread, this one features liquor-soaked dried fruit and almonds. This dense and delightful dessert involves many long and complicated steps, with just the proofing of the dough taking several days to complete.

6. Cannoli 

Cannoli feature a crisp pastry dough shell filled with sweet ricotta cheese. This handheld dessert is popular all year round, but especially at Christmas, as towers of cannoli are commonly served at family gatherings.

7. Torrone

A nougat confection made of honey, sugar, egg whites, and nuts, torrone is a centuries-old delight often made around Christmastime. 

8. Panforte

Associated with the Province of Siena, this dessert can be found throughout Italy during the holiday season. Meaning “strong bread,” panforte is a chewy confection made of nuts, honey, sugar, candied fruit, and spices, including pepper. It is typically topped with a dusting of icing sugar.

Seafood dishes for Italian Christmas celebrations

Seafood is an important aspect of Italian Christmas cooking, especially on Christmas Eve. That’s because in the Catholic faith, Christmas Eve is a vigil day during which one is expected to fast from meat. This practice is at the heart of the Feast of the Seven Fishes in the United States, a tradition started by Italian immigrants in the 1800s. There is no specific “seven” fish, but rather, the name refers to any selection of seafood dishes served on Christmas Eve. 

9. Baccalà

The Italian name for salted cod is baccalà, and it is a staple of Italian Natale cuisine. This preserved dried fish must be soaked in water several times before it is battered and fried or simmered in sauce.

10. Fried calamari

A popular Italian dish, fried calamari is a great starter for your own Feast of the Seven Fishes. What better way to celebrate than with rings of battered squid fried to perfection? Serve with a side of marina sauce.

11. Insalata di mare

This seafood salad is another great way to kick off your Feast of the Seven Fishes meal. A typical recipe would include a combination of shrimp, scallops, octopus, and calamari poached in a white wine broth, then dressed with olive oil, lemon juice, and tomatoes.

12. Puttanesca with anchovies

This pungent spaghetti dish features garlic, capers, olives, and anchovies in a tomato sauce. This easy-to-prepare pasta can also be served with tuna instead of anchovies. 

13. Capitone

Capitone is the Italian word for eel, and it is one of the most popular foods eaten on Christmas Eve. Serving styles vary by region. In Naples, for example, it is typically served fried. 

14. Stuffed-baked lobster

For those going all out for the Feast of the Seven Fishes, nothing beats a lobster stuffed with its own meat and other seafood and breadcrumbs.

15. Scungilli

Scungilli is Italian for whelk, also known as conch.  This Italian delicacy can be used in Insalata di mare, enjoyed on its own in a pasta dish like linguine, or simmered in tomato sauce.

16. Linguine and clams

Speaking of linguine, this Italian pasta dish is another easily prepared meal your guests will crave come Christmas Eve. Consisting of linguine, olive oil, garlic, white wine, and littleneck clams, this is Italian comfort food at its finest.

17. Bagna cauda

Here is another great starter for your Italian seafood feast. This hot dip is similar to a fondue and perfect for dipping vegetables. It consists of three main ingredients: garlic, olive oil, and anchovies. 

Other traditional Italian Christmas dishes

Of course, it isn’t all about seafood. Here are some more Italian foods for Christmas you might want to try.

18. Agnolotti del Plin

Originating from the Piedmont region, this filled pasta is usually reserved for special occasions such as Christmas. A bite-sized piece of pasta dough is wrapped around a filling of meat and vegetables, traditionally beef and cabbage. 

19. Pettole

When you fry pizza dough instead of baking it, you get pettole—crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. While pettole can be served as a sweet, it also can be made into a savory dish with the addition of chopped anchovies or olives.

20. Antipasti

A typical first course for any Italian feast, an antipasti platter of salami, prosciutto, cheese, and marinated vegetables is definitely a must-have for an Italian Christmas meal.

21. Brociolone

If Christmas Eve is for fish, then Christmas Day is for meats. One popular Italian main course is brociolone. This indulgent dish is made from a rolled piece of beef or veal, which is stuffed with a family’s favorite ingredients such as salami, eggs, cheese, herbs, and bread crumbs before being baked in tomato sauce.

Get inspired by these Italian Christmas foods

Hopefully, this list inspires you to cook up some wonderful Italian Christmas foods as you celebrate the season. Remember to use Instacart to get delivery for your Italian Christmas feast.

Grab it now on Instacart:

Boyajian Natural Anise Flavoring (1 fl oz)

Figs (36 oz)

Luigi Guffanti Sweet Buffalo Lemon Ricotta Cheese (each)

Essential Everyday Powdered Sugar, Confectioners (32 oz)

Rao's Marinara Sauce (24 oz)

Valente Pasta Sauce (24 oz)

Raley's Olive Bar Provoloni Antipasti (per lb)

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