Are you spending the holidays in France or just looking for popular French Christmas food to partake in for the holidays?
Christmas in France is a time for family gatherings and feasting. There are many traditional French Christmas dishes that are popular in the country, such as roast turkey with chestnut stuffing and cranberry sauce, and the famous Christmas chocolate log.
Many French families also enjoy traditional Christmas fare such as Christmas ham, Christmas sausages, and Christmas wine during réveillon de Noël or Christmas Eve meal.
These dishes are often served as part of the celebration of this special occasion, but these are just the tip of an iceberg – a reflection of how the French take their Christmas meals seriously.
Whether spending Christmas in France or simply preparing French-inspired dishes for your holiday meals, we’ve got your back. Let’s get to know more about the popular French Christmas dishes in France in the list that follows.
You can also check out our other French food articles below:
- French Dishes For New Years Eve
- Most Popular Traditional French Food
- Popular French Food Facts
- Baguette Fun Facts
- Interesting Facts About Foie Gras
- Weird French Foods To Try
- Popular French Breakfast Dishes
- Popular French Dinner Dishes
- Popular French Desserts
Things you'll find in this article
- 12 Most Popular French Christmas Food
- 1. Christmas Turkey
- 2. White Sausage
- 3. Beef Burgundy
- 3. Foie Gras
- 4. Escargot
- 5. Wild Game
- 6. Les Huitres
- 7. Coquilles Saint Jacques (Scallops)
- 8. L’aigo Boulido
- 9. Gratin Dauphinois
- 10. Saumon Fumé (Smoked Salmon)
- 11. Thirteen Desserts
- 12. Bûche de Noël (Christmas Chocolate Log)
12 Most Popular French Christmas Food
Here are the most popular French Christmas food in France you can expect to eat if you’re in the country for the holidays – or try at your own home for a real French Christmas treat.
1. Christmas Turkey
Similar to America’s Thanksgiving, a French Christmas meal almost always involves a large roasted turkey.
Roasted turkeys – served whole – are literally and figuratively the biggest mainstay on the French Christmas table. These birds are usually reserved for this special occasion.
Called “Dinde de Noël” in French, turkey for Christmas in France is traditionally made with a delightful chestnut stuffing. It has been part of the French Christmas tradition since the 19th century.
Dinde de Noël is served with roasted potatoes and sometimes cooked apples around it.
2. White Sausage
White sausage, or boudin blanc in French, is a speciality from the northern French town of Rethel.
Boudin blanc is a traditional sausage that is fine in texture and is a staple food for Christmas in France.
It was originally eaten for the occasion in the French region of Champagne up north, but its popularity grew and is now a regular Christmas dish served on the dinner table all over France.
3. Beef Burgundy
Boeuf bourguignon, or beef burgundy, is perfect for anyone who loves the bold flavors of French cuisine.
A popular Christmas food in France, this beef dish is traditionally served with potatoes – boiled, steamed, or mashed. These potatoes soak up all the mouth-watering sauce so they are a must.
Boeuf bourguignon tastes best after 2 to 3 days, so if you’re preparing this mouth-watering dish for Christmas, try to make it at least a couple of days ahead.
3. Foie Gras
Foie gras is an essential part of every French Christmas dinner – and it also shows up at the New Year’s Eve table.
Along with the traditional dinde (turkey), foie gras is an extra-special culinary delight – Christmas or not. There’s no other Christmas treat that compares to the sheer luxury of a good foie gras since it is one of those foods you do not get to eat every day.
Foie gras – “fatty liver” in English – is a luxury food made from the liver of a duck or goose that has been force-fed to achieve the abnormally large organ.
For Christmas, foie gras is best served as topping for a tasty lentil soup – a truly festive treat!
4. Escargot
Along with foie gras, escargot (snail) is not something that is consumed on a daily basis. Even in France, it’s not eaten as often as many people think.
However, snails do make a special appearance in the Réveillon feast. This is especially popular in the region of Burgundy, which is the birthplace of the escargot de Bourgogne (Burgundy snails).
Escargot is typically served up as an appetizer, accompanied with garlic and parsley butter to bring out the dish’s smooth texture and flavor.
5. Wild Game
It’s not very often you get to eat wild game during the rest of the year – even in France. The case is only different if you have a hunter in the family.
This treat is on the spotlight when the Yuletide arrives in France. It’s the time of year when wild game makes it onto every French family’s Christmas table.
Common choices of wild game include wild boar, pheasant, and venison. They are marinated in red wine and often served with cranberry sauce.
6. Les Huitres
Les huitres – or oysters on the half shell – goes hand in hand with French Christmas.
This is a rather expensive dish, but as already stated, the French take their Christmas meals seriously. Christmas food is serious business in France.
If you’re spending the holidays in France, you will almost always find les huitres being served at a French Christmas table.
Oyster recipes abound, but for Réveillon they are most often simply served raw – in their shell, on a bed of crushed ice.
Les huitres come with a twist of lemon and usually a white wine such as a Chablis or a Sancerre to bring out the flavor.
7. Coquilles Saint Jacques (Scallops)
Scallops are a real mainstay of the French Christmas foodfest.
Served as a starter, there is more than one way to cook coquilles Saint Jacques. The most popular, however, comes with a simple creamy sauce.
This French Christmas food is simple but essential on the table during this very special occasion.
8. L’aigo Boulido
L’aïgo boulido is a broth made with garlic, thyme, and sage, and traditionally served with slices of garlic bread. It is enriched with eggs and topped with cheesy toasts.
Widely consumed in the south of France, aïgo boulido is believed to have powerful curative properties and aids digestion. It also wards off winter ills and is popularly consumed as part of a hefty Christmas feast because it serves as a detox soup and as a salving cure for hangovers as well.
9. Gratin Dauphinois
Gratin dauphinois is a rich and creamy side dish made of sliced potatoes baked in a creamy garlic sauce and Gruyère cheese, using the gratin technique.
This classic French Christmas food pairs best with ham, duck, or goose. This will complete every French Christmas meal.
10. Saumon Fumé (Smoked Salmon)
Saumon fumé is one of the best dishes that comprise a classic French Christmas feast. It is best served on blinis or thin white sandwich bread slices. This is an essential part of every French family’s Christmas celebration.
Smoked salmon is also eaten all year-round and appears in many fancy recipes.
11. Thirteen Desserts
Once you’ve eaten all the meat and seafood, get ready for 13 desserts waiting for you at the end of the Christmas meal.
These French desserts are usually made up of dates, figs, and other dried fruits, as well as a traditional French cake called “pompe a l’huile.”
Popular in Provence, the 13 desserts symbolize Jesus Christ and his 12 apostles.
12. Bûche de Noël (Christmas Chocolate Log)
Bûche de Noël is a popular Provencal pastry that is traditionally served during the Christmas Eve meal.
Bûche de Noël, or Christmas chocolate log, is basically a rich chocolate cake wrapped up to form the shape of a Yule log.
If you’re spending Christmas in France, make sure to leave some space in your tummy for this delectable Christmas cake for dessert.
Hi, I’m Christine – a full-time traveler and career woman. Although I’m from the Philippines, my location independent career took me to over 40 countries and lived in 4 continents in the last 10 years, including France. A self-proclaimed Francophile, I love everything France.