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The best way to ring in the new year is with an amazing New Year’s Eve party, and my New Year’s Eve Dinner Ideas make it easy to put together a menu no matter what your plans are. These are my most popular recipes for New Year’s Eve dinner, so you can celebrate the new year with family, friends, and great food!
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New Year’s Eve Menu Ideas Stress-Free Tips
- Prep ahead as much as possible. Many of these dinners can be made ahead of time, with the exception of seafood. Whatever you can make ahead, do it! It’s a huge time-saver. All recipes include storage and reheating instructions to make it easy for you to make them ahead of time.
- If you’re making a meal you can’t store ahead, prep your ingredients ahead of time so you have less work to do when cooking.
- Most dishes last 3-4 days in the refrigerator in an airtight container. However, seafood is best served fresh. If you’re making shrimp, fish, crab legs, or lobster, be sure to store it for only 2-3 days at most, and don’t make it ahead of time.
- Make sure to check on any allergies your guests might have. Gluten, dairy, and nuts are common allergies that should be accounted for when hosting a dinner party, and they’re easy to substitute safe ingredients for! If you can’t substitute an ingredient one or more of your guests is allergic to, just label it and make sure there’s no cross-contamination if you’re serving the dinner buffet-style.
- Pair your New Year’s eve dinner ideas with drinks and desserts, like my caramel apple sangria and strawberry swirl cheesecake!
New Year’s Dinner Ideas
New Year’s Eve Dinner
By the time holiday season rolls around, I can’t help but start planning for the new year. It’s so exciting! Reminiscing on everything you’ve achieved, setting new goals, and spending extra time with loved ones – it’s my favorite time of year.
What makes it even better is celebrating with food. Cooking is my love language, so serving a fun and festive dinner for my family and closest friends is my favorite way to get the new year started!
I know you’ll enjoy these menu ideas for New Year’s as much as I do. Let me know what you think in the comments below – and I’d love to hear from you, too! Feel free to reach out and tell me about your New Year’s dinner plans.
Round out your menu with my New Year’s Eve Appetizers and New Year’s Eve Desserts!
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New Year’s Eve Dinner Ideas
Ingredients
Check individual recipes for ingredient measurements! Popular new year's eve menu ideas include:
- pork chops
- chicken breast or chicken thighs
- lobster
- steak
- salmon
- crab legs
- shrimp
- pasta
Instructions
- Choose a recipe from the menu above.
- Gather your ingredients.
- Prep the dinner ahead of time so you can spend less time in the kitchen and more time with family and friends!
- Store leftovers for 3-4 days in the refrigerator in an airtight container. If you make seafood, it is best eaten within 2-3 days.Many of these recipes can also be frozen. To freeze, allow the dish to cool to room temp, then add to an appropriate freezer-safe container. Most recipes can be frozen for up to 3-6 months depending on the protein. Make sure to label with the storage date if freezing.
Notes
- Crab leg cracker: If you’re making crab legs and bought them pre-scored, you can easily remove the meat from them by prying them open with your hands. Otherwise, you can crack them carefully by hand or use a crab leg cracker such as a lobster cracker, nutcracker, or even a meat tenderizer. Carefully crack the crab legs with your tool of choice to avoid breaking too much of the shell and getting shell pieces in your crab meat. Once you have the crab legs open, you can easily remove the meat with a fork.
- Meat thermometer: No matter what protein you’re prepping, pick up an instant read meat thermometer if you don’t have one already. This will allow you to ensure perfectly cooked meat every time.
- A sharp knife: Make sure the knife you’re using is sharp and not dull. I recommend a nice sharp chef’s knife for most prep work. Ensure your cutting board is sturdy and stable too, without any bowing.
- Extra storage containers: If you’re having over guests, you might want to send them home with leftovers. Have a few extra storage containers on hand just in case!
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