A Comprehensive 7 Part Guide to Traditional Italian Christmas Food

As with almost everything in Italy —from language to pasta shapes— traditional Italian Christmas food varies regionally. But you generally find seafood dishes on Christmas Eve, while roasted meat, pasta, and soup or vegetable sides are served on Christmas Day. And, of course, there are desserts aplenty!

Pasta

Traditional Italian Christmas meals in Italy contain several courses, and, after the appetizers of antipasti, pasta or risotto is the first course. 

Northern Italy

In Piedmont, you’ll find classics like agnolotti in broth or tajarin served with pancetta or mushrooms along with crowd-pleasers like ravioli (often a spinach pasta or filled with meat). 

Meanwhile, in Trentino-Alto Adige, the local dumpling known as canderli made with cheese,  butter, Parmigiano Reggiano, and sage are more common. 

In Lombardy, you’ll encounter the classic Mantoan pasta of pumpkin and amaretti Tortelli or find casoncelli from Bergamo served in broth. 

Because rice is a significant crop in Northern Italy, risotto also abounds, especially in Venice, where risi e bisi (rice with peas) is served.

Central Italy

As one of the food capitals of Italy, it’s no surprise that most in Emilia Romagna serve traditional pasta dishes like lasagna Bolognese. 

Throughout central Italy, from Bologna through Tuscany and in Le Marche, you’ll find tortellini o cappelletti served in a rich, slow-cooked broth. Also, in the Marche, they often serve the tomato and meat pasta known as maccheroncini di Campofilone.

Southern Italy

Almost every corner of Southern Italy has a classic pasta dish they make on Christmas. 

In Campania, you’ll encounter spaghetti with clams (some things with fish roe or bread crumbs added. In Puglia, the classic orecchiette con Cime di Rapa (ear-shaped pasta with broccoli rabe) gets a twist with anchovies or tuna. Meanwhile, in Sicily, the iconic pasta con le sarde, pasta with sardines, is typical.

Finally, baked pasta in Calabria is just one of 13 courses served on a traditional Christmas Day menu, along with sausage and broccoli rabe, meatballs, and ‘nduja salame.

Fish 

You may have heard of the Feast of the Seven Fishes. But the meal is an Italian-American concept and not one of the traditions in Italy. Many people visiting Italy during Christmas expect Italians to eat the meal on Christmas Eve. Even so, you find seafood served on Christmas Eve in Italy.  

Northern Italy

Though seafood is more common in the South this time of year, there are a few traditional dishes. For example, eel is cooked on parchment paper in Lombardy, while there is often polenta with salt cod in the Veneto region. 

Central Italy

Like in the Veneto, in nearby Emilia Romagna, you find a few types of baccala or salt cod dishes where it’s steamed or even fried. Down in Lazio, make salt cod and eel; over in the Molise, there is a twist on salt cod made with bay leaves, oregano, pine nuts, and raisins.

Southern Italy

Residents in urban areas like Naples like to make eel dishes. They may grill their eel, deep-fry it, or roast it. As mentioned earlier, many kinds of pasta use seafood, from mussels to clams to salted cod and calamari. Others prefer anchovies. In addition to making pasta with anchovies, some Italians bake anchovies with bread crumbs and capers. 

Poultry and Meat

On Christmas Day, roasted and braised poultry and meat take center stage of the traditional Italian Christmas food.

Across Italy

Many families in Italy like to serve a roasted capon as their main course on Christmas Day. A capon is a rooster that a farmer castrates before it becomes mature. This makes the meat more flavorful, even as the rooster gets older. 

Some families serve two capons, boiling one and roasting the other. You can stuff your capon with walnut stuffing and then eat it with its natural juices spooned over its top. 

A holiday dish known to Italians but not Americans is quaglie con melograno or quail with pomegranate. Pieces of quail are marinated in pomegranate juice and then braised or roasted. You can also find guinea fowl roasted and stuffed with ground meat and spices. 

Regional

In the Val D’Aosta region, you’ll encounter carbonade, a meat dish cooked in red wine and often served with goat salumi. In Piedmont, the classic bollito misto often makes an appearance. In Friuli, there is a dish made with broccoli rabe and cotechino pork sausage though tripe is also very common. 

True to form, the Tuscans serve the classic chicken liver crostini and dishes like roast guinea fowl,  duck, or even bardiccio, a sausage made with spiced pork and fennel. The Umbrians usually roast guinea fowl or pigeon, while roast lamb or braised beef is typical in Abruzzo.