27 Elegant Recipes to Celebrate New Year’s Eve at Home
It’s time to welcome a fresh new year, but first, why not close this year out with a festive and elegant New Year’s meal at home. Whether you’re hosting a small gathering or enjoying an intimate dinner at home, you’ll love these recipes that feel a bit fancy, but are totally doable for home cooks. We have everything from rich seafood dishes to smaller bites and gourmet pastas. Happy New Year and cheers to 2025!
Shrimp Linguine
Shrimp linguine with lemon garlic breadcrumbs is perfect for a New Year’s Eve dinner. This shrimp and linguine starts with a base of chewy linguine, is topped with buttery garlic shrimp, and finished with crunchy garlic breadcrumbs for big-time flavor and texture in each bite.
Get the Recipe: Shrimp Linguine.
Antipasto Board Appetizer
An antipasto platter is the ultimate party food offering to share with guests. With artichokes, olives, tomatoes, cheese and deli meats, this spread has something for everyone at a party. You can add your favorite meats and cheeses to this platter to make it your own.
Get the Recipe: Antipasto Board Appetizer.
Easy Lemon Risotto
You are going to love this creamy, risotto that is just bursting with fresh lemon flavor. This elegant dish is perfect for serving alongside roast chicken, your favorite steak, or even lobster tails. Asparagus would make a tasty side dish to go along with this meal!
Get the Recipe: Lemon Risotto.
Bucatini Cacio e Pepe
Bucatini Cacio e Pepe is a delicious dish that is pretty humble in its prep and ingredients but always feels special and delicious. It’s worthy of a date night at home but is also incredibly simple to make.
Get the Recipe: Bucatini Cacio e Pepe.
Air Fryer Lobster Tail
New Year’s Eve is the perfect time to go all out for dinner, so why not have something super special like lobster tails? Believe it or not, this is my favorite way to cook lobster tails! Easy, quick, and always special.
Get the Recipe: Air Fryer Lobster Tail.
Smoked Salmon Dip
Smoked salmon, fresh dill, red onion, cream cheese, and of course plenty of cold smoked salmon are combined for a delicious and savory salmon dip that everyone is sure to love. Serve it with an assortment of crackers. It’s light, bright, and always a hit.
Get the Recipe: Smoked Salmon Dip.
Best Lobster Grilled Cheese
This lobster grilled cheese is both bougie and simple and all kinds of decadent and rich. A thick layer of lobster meat is sandwiched between to melty layers of cheese and a simple lemon mayo mixture brings everything together.
Get the Recipe: Lobster Grilled Cheese.
Air Fryer Crab Cakes
Air Fryer crab cakes are crispy and delicious and ready in minutes! They are the perfect item for your New Year’s Eve menu and you can have them on the table in just ten minutes!
Get the Recipe: Air Fryer Crab Cakes.
Bay Scallop Linguine
Think chewy, al dente linguine, tender and sweet bay scallops, a simple garlic butter sauce, and a crunchy bread crumb and pine nut topping . Not only is this scallop scampi delicious, but it’s also easy to make!
Get the Recipe: Bay Scallop Linguine.
Lobster Risotto
This easy lobster risotto recipe has rich lobster flavor, chunks of lobster tails, and perfectly cooked rice for a dreamy date night meal that you are sure to fall in love with. Serve it with an easy veggie side and a glass of wine (or NA wine) for a special meal at home.
Get the Recipe: Lobster Risotto.
French Onion Soup
There is nothing like French onion soup! This recipe makes it at home, the easy way. You will love the rich base, complete with plenty of melted cheese over the top. You can have this on the table in just an hour for a great dinner any night of the week.
Get the Recipe: French Onion Soup.
Fresh Oyster Champagne Mignonette
Fresh oysters, champagne, blood orange juice, and fresh basil are all you need for this delicious dish! It’s light, special, and so so festive, perfect for your New Year’s menu. Head to the fish market for high-quality oysters.
Get the Recipe: Champagne Mignonette.
Cowboy Caviar
This isn’t necessarily elegant, but it is perfect for the New Year as it’s thought that eating black-eyed peas will bring you good luck for the year to come! This delicious dip is made with a colorful mix of fresh vegetables, two types of beans, and a tangy dressing, it’s hard to stop eating! Serve with tortilla chips or crackers for a scoopable snack that everyone always adores.
Get the Recipe: Cowboy Caviar.
Cranberry Jalapeño Dip
This cranberry jalapeño dip is just what your party needs this holiday season! It’s festive, flavorful, and easy to make, which means you can whip it up for last-minute parties. A spicy and tart mixture of fresh cranberries, jalapeños, onion, and sugar are all spread over cream cheese for a creamy dip with the perfect balance of flavors.
Get the Recipe: Cranberry Jalapeño Dip.
Date Night Gnocchi
Date night gnocchi looks beautiful and tastes amazing and it only takes 30 minutes to prepare. Butternut squash, chicken, fresh kale, and gnocchi with a creamy alfredo sauce to top it all off. Your family will love this tasty dish!
Get the Recipe: Date Night Gnocchi.
Old Bay Steamed Shrimp
This Old Bay steamed shrimp recipe is a great way to give a classic shrimp cocktail a little upgrade and extra flavor. It’s mild in flavor, but everyone will wonder how you made it because it tastes so good! Serve this shrimp as a peel-and-eat appetizer along with a snack-y spread.
Get the Recipe: Old Bay Steamed Shrimp.
Instant Pot Coq au Vin Blanc
This Instant Pot recipe can be on your dinner table quickly and it’s delicious too. Traditionally coq au vin uses a red wine, but trading it out for white wine gives it a beautiful flavor that you are going to love. Serve the juicy, tender chicken over easy smashed potatoes for a special meal at home.
Get the Recipe: Instant Pot Coq au Vin Blanc.
Herb Crusted Pork Tenderloin
This delicious dish is easy enough to make that it could be a weeknight dinner, but it is also “fancy” enough to pull out for special occasions. This juicy, pork tenderloin served over a creamy polenta with roasted cherry tomatoes is BIG on flavor without a lot of effort.
Get the Recipe: Herb Crusted Pork Tenderloin.
Mediterranean Charcuterie Board
This Mediterranean board features meat, cheese, olives, pita, veggies and so much more. It’s a great spread to put out and will be a welcome reprise from the sweets and candy. Make your own hummus or lean on store-bought, no one will even know!
Get the Recipe: Mediterranean Charcuterie Board.
Black Truffle Pasta
Black truffle pasta is an elegant and simple vegetarian dish that you can have on the table in a matter of minutes! The pasta sauce is actually a cashew cream sauce. It gets a lot of big flavor by adding truffles to this pasta dish.
Get the Recipe: Black Truffle Pasta.
Smoked Salmon Vol au Vents
Puff pastry shells stuffed with mustard, cream cheese, and smoked salmon make a delicious appetizer or main dish for your New Year’s Eve dinner! They are so tasty and you can make enough, even for a crowd in just a few minutes with a handful of ingredients.
Get the Recipe: Smoked Salmon Vol au Vents.
Creamy White Crab Chili
This is the most unique and delicious take on chili! With chunks of buttery crab in the creamiest base. Add chunks of corn and sliced jalapenos to spice things up and make a great soup to share with the family for dinner, or to serve at your next game day party.
Get the Recipe: Creamy White Crab Chili.
Whipped Feta Dip
This whipped feta dip is perfect for parties or celebrations! It’s SO delicious and always a huge hit! Made with flavor boosters like salty feta, savory garlic, and bright lemon, this creamy dip is incredibly flavorful. and can be enjoyed in so many ways. Serve it with plenty of pita chips, veggies, and kalamata olives on the side.
Get the Recipe: Whipped Feta Dip.
Baked Brie with Fig Jam
Looking for a fancy but tasty appetizer that your everyone will adore? Then try this easy recipe for baked brie with fig jam. It has a thick layer of savory and gooey brie cheese that’s topped with a layer of sweet fig jam and it’s perfectly delicious spread on a slice of baguette.
Get the Recipe: Baked Brie with Fig Jam.
Cioppino
Cioppino is actually a fancy way of saying fish stew, but a dish this delicious needs a fancy name! Lobster tails, mussels, shrimp, and fresh fish filets come together with a few other ingredients for an amazing meal that you are going to love. Serve with a fresh loaf of bread for dipping!
Get the Recipe: Cioppino.
Sheet Pan Crab Legs
Ring in the New Year with some tasty crab legs! You can cook your crab legs quickly and easily on a sheet pan in your oven. You can serve these crab legs as an appetizer or a main dish and it is sure to be a dish that everyone loves!
Get the Recipe: Baked Crab Legs.
Dirty Martini Dip
Despite the name, this amazing dip is alcohol-free, and full of delicious flavors and just feels festive. The name comes from the inclusion of stuffed olives like those you would use in a dirty martini. This dip is perfect for a party and you can serve it with a variety of crackers, chips, and veggies.
Get the Recipe: Dirty Martini Dip.
