15 New Year's Eve Dinner Ideas for an Elegant Night at Home
Avoid the crowds and save your pennies by planning a festive night in with these festive New Year's Eve dinner ideas. From elegant seafood to comforting casseroles, there's something for every table and appetite.
Whether you're hosting a big family gathering or keeping it low-key with just a few special friends or your one special someone, these New Year's Eve dinner ideas make it easy to create a memorable meal for wishing a festive goodbye to the year behind us.
From a cozy roasted chicken with vegetables that feels light and tasty after the rich holiday dishes we just enjoyed to an easy prep-ahead macadamia halibut that is elegant enough to be served at any restaurant but is easy to make at home, this list has just what you need for your menu.
Pick your favorite main dish and then choose one or two simple side dishes from my easy pairing suggestions below to mix and match the perfect New Year's Eve dinner for your table.
New Year's Eve Table Setting Ideas
For a special evening, I pull out my pretty silver-rimmed white china for dinner and add white candlestick tapers to the centerpiece. These quick fixes immediately set the mood at our table.
Want to keep it more casual? Plain white dishes paired with silver and/or black paper napkins is always a fun and festive look for the evening.
Either way, adding metallic accents in hues of silver or gold make your table sparkle!
Pro Tip: I always buy red and white flowers for Christmas centerpiece. For New Year's Eve I can quickly update them by plucking out the red flowers and going with a pretty white and green centerpiece! Of course, there's nothing wrong with including red in your table setting for New Year's, but I love that clean, white look for the new year.
Easy New Year's Menu Ideas
Now comes the fun part, picking your dinner menu! For each main dish below, I've included suggested side dishes but of course you can mix and match to fit your family's needs.
Many of these are prep ahead but they won't take long to cook if you want to do all the work at dinner time.
Roasted Chicken with Vegetables
My cozy roasted chicken with vegetables is a one-pan wonder. Tender carrots and potatoes roast under that buttery chicken and the lemon and onion that stuff the bird make a delicious and easy pan gravy.
Serving Suggestions:
Technically everything you need for dinner cooks up in the one skillet but I would recommend adding:
- Fresh Bread: Pair this with warm brown and serve dinner rolls or a sliced Italian bread with butter.
- Warm Applesauce: You can make my homemade microwave applesauce in 10 minutes. Leave it extra chunky and add a heavy hand of cinnamon and sugar for a delicious treat.
Cranberry Blue Cheese Stuffed Pork Tenderloins
Dress up your roasted pork by prepping my rolled cranberry blue cheese stuffed pork tenderloins in advance. You can bake it just before dinnertime.
Serving Suggestions:
- Wild Rice Pilaf: my wild rice pilaf is loaded with tender veggies.
- Roasted Green Beans: fix a pan of fresh air fryer green beans and add just a dash of fresh lemon zest to brighten them up.
Rum Glazed Pork Tenderloin
For a tropical twist, try making my easy rum glazed pork tenderloin. I love to serve it with caramelized peaches in the summertime but it would taste amazing with roasted pineapple and peppers in winter.
Serving Suggestions:
- Roasted Pineapple and Peppers
- Cornbread: You could bake this classic grandma's buttermilk cornbread or try my cheesy cast iron cornbread with green chiles in the mix.
Oven Roasted Pork Loin
You can make my oven roasted pork loin in advance and slice it. Then reheat it gently in the green peppercorn sauce before serving.
Serving Suggestions:
- Mashed Potatoes: Layer the pork slices and a drizzle of the sauce over a scoop of crockpot mashed potatoes.
- Roasted Carrots: These sweet oven roasted carrots are a lovely veg to serve on the side.
"Steak and Tubes"
My mom set the holiday standard and served "steak and tubes" for Christmas Eve most of my childhood. This is the best steak marinade and I serve this meal for most special family celebrations!
Serving Suggestions:
- Buttered Penne Pasta: This is the "tubes" part of mom's favorite recipe. Be sure to add some garlic salt to season them.
- Glazed Baby Carrots: This glazed baby carrots recipe is the essential veggie side, it was the only time we got veggies in a buttery brown sugar glaze!
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Crab Cakes with Remoulade Sauce
Buy a box of your favorite frozen crab cakes or buy them fresh from your local seafood shop. Then quickly mix up my homemade remoulade sauce for dipping and serve them with fresh lemon wedges.
Serving Suggestions:
- Crab Cake Salad: Turn them into an entree by serving on a bed of leafy greens. The remoulade sauce works as a dressing, too.
- Baked Red Rice: For a starchy side, serve them with my baked red rice with bacon!
Slowcooker Jambalaya
Let the slowcooker jambalaya cook away all day while you prep for your party. Then simply scoop and serve at dinner time!
Serving Suggestions:
- Rice: You could spoon the jambalaya over bowls of jasmine rice or this easy herb butter rice for soaking up all the sauce.
- Cornbread: You could bake this classic grandma's buttermilk cornbread or try my cheesy cast iron cornbread with green chiles in the mix.
Oven Baked Salmon
This elegant oven baked salmon is both easy and effortless. It could be served countless ways and is a perfect lighter option for your menu.
Serving Suggestions:
- Rice: We prefer herb butter rice but this rice pilaf is a perfect option, too.
- Couscous: A fun alternative to rice would be to make my warm couscous salad with oranges. It can be served warm or room temperature.
- Roasted Asparagus: This parmesan roasted asparagus is perfect with salmon.
Bolognese Sauce
You can prep a big pot of my rich and hearty bolognese sauce in advance and even freeze it for using during the holidays. Warm it on the stovetop for pairing with pasta or gnocchi.
Serving Suggestions:
- Pasta or Gnocchi: Prepare your favorite pasta shape. I recommend a thick rigatoni for this sauce. You could also prepare gnocchi and spoon the sauce over the top in individual oven-proof serving dishes. Sprinkle a little mozzarella over the top and put them under the broiler to melt.
- Garlic Bread: Bake a batch of homemade garlic bread using a store bought loaf.
- Caesar Salad: Stir together an easy green Caesar salad for the side.
Instant Pot Apricot Chicken
Instant Pot apricot chicken is a quick and easy sweet-and-savory main dish that pairs really with with rice or noodles.
Serving Suggestions:
- Herb Butter Rice: My favorite pairing is this easy herb butter rice that perfectly complements the sweet sauce.
- Roasted Veggies: Make a pan of these easy roasted broccoli and carrots for a pop of color on the plate.
Easy Alfredo Sauce
You can make my easy alfredo sauce with cream cheese and use it to make a delicious fettuccine alfredo at home.
Serving Suggestions:
- Chicken Alfredo Pasta: Add sliced baked chicken breasts on top of each bowl
- Shrimp Alfredo Pasta: Add air fryer shrimp to each bowl.
Crock Pot Shepherds Pie
This cozy Crock Pot shepherds pie is a perfect chilly night dinner to serve at home. Hearty beef in a rich tomato sauce topped with mashed potatoes is a stick-to-your-ribs classic.
Serving Suggestions:
- Fresh Bread: Serve this with my easy herb butter biscuits (shh: no one needs to know they start with canned biscuit dough!)
Split Pea and Carrot Soup with Ham
My hearty split pea and carrot soup with leftover ham is the perfect New Year's Eve dinner if you cooked a spiral ham for Christmas and have extra ham to use up!
Serving Suggestions:
- Soup & Sandwich: Pair the bowl of soup with your favorite grilled sandwich.
- Fresh Bread: Bake a loaf of this bread machine sourdough white bread or these easy potato rolls and serve with softened butter.
Baked Shrimp Scampi with Breadcrumbs
While my baked shrimp scampi with breadcrumbs feels fancy, it is shockingly easy to make. You can serve it as a hot appetizer or plan to use the generous amount of garlicky butter sauce to pair with linguine and baby spinach.
Serving Suggestions:
- Pasta Dish: Prepare your favorite long pasta like linguine and spoon the shrimp scampi over the top. You can add a handful of baby spinach and the heat from the pasta and shrimp will wilt it just enough.
- Green Veggie: Or you could make a pan of roasted asparagus or roasted green beans for a green veggie on the side.
Macadamia Crusted Halibut
Perhaps the most elegant item on this entire list, my easy prep-ahead macadamia crusted halibut has been a reader favorite for years and years. This dish is inspired by our favorite date-night restaurant and was our go-to dinner order for so many years. Once I learned how to make it at home, it started to appear during all kinds of holiday celebrations!
Serving Suggestions:
- Lemon Cream Sauce: This easy lemon cream sauce gets drizzled over each filet.
- Rice: I've made this with just a simple box of wild rice but it would pair well with herb butter rice or this rice pilaf, too.
- Roasted Asparagus: You've got to have that pop of green and roasted asparagus is perfect with this delicate fish.
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