Italian Christmas Eve Dinner
An Italian Christmas Eve dinner, otherwise known as The Feast of the Seven Fishes, is a wonderful way to celebrate with loved ones, no matter what your heritage.
The fish and seafood we’ve chosen for our family celebration include mussels, clams, shrimp, squid, scallops, cod, and scungilli (whelk). Read on to learn a bit about the tradition and our favorite recipes for the occasion.
A Brief History of The Feast of the Seven Fishes
Although gathering friends and family together for a meatless meal on Christmas Eve is common throughout Italy, The Feast of the Seven Fishes is actually an Italian-American tradition. Why the feast includes exactly seven types of seafood remains a bit of a mystery as some say it honors the seven holy sacraments of the Catholic Church, while others say it marks the seven days of creation.
The idea of a multi-course seafood dinner on Christmas Eve (La Vigilia) began in Southern Italy, an area surrounded by the sea and known for its bountiful fresh fish and seafood. Immigrants from this area brought the tradition to America, and hence, the Feast of the Seven Fishes began its rise in popularity.
Even if you’re not of Italian heritage (and we are not), an Italian Christmas Eve dinner is a deliciously special way to celebrate with loved ones during the holiday season. Buon Natale!
About Our Menu
We have a number of Italian-inspired fish and seafood recipes, but this is by far our favorite combination of dishes for a Christmas Eve feast.
- Appetizers (Antipasti): To start the meal, we like to serve an assortment of light dishes so that our guests can leave some room for the pasta and main dishes to come. Our Steamed Mussel Italian-Style, Clams Casino, and a garlicky Scungilli Salad fit that plan perfectly.
- First course (Primi): The first course in an Italian meal is usually a pasta course. For this meal we’ve chosen one with a light red sauce, Squid in Marinara Sauce over linguine, and a Sicilian-style dish of Citrus-Glazed Scallops over angel hair or spaghetti.
- Main course (Secondi): Our second, or entrée course consists of two dishes filled with Italian-inspired flavors, Baked Stuffed Shrimp and Baked Stuffed Cod.
- Dessert course (Dolci): To finish the meal, we like to serve a small assortment of cookies that includes Orange Rosemary Biscotti, soft Ricotta Cookies, and Wine Biscuits along with cups of espresso.
You can get more details on all these recipes below or, if you’re entertaining a smaller crowd, try our Linguine with Seafood (Linguine ai Frutti di Mare). It includes shrimp, scallops, squid, fish, mussels, and clams – six of your seven fishes. Add in one more dish (perhaps the Scungilli Salad) and you have your feast!
Italian Christmas Eve Menu
Mussels steamed in garlic, onion, and white wine make a light, flavorful appetizer and the perfect prelude to a full course Italian meal.
Tender, sweet, littleneck clams topped with a combination of bacon, shallots, red bell pepper, and white wine is a classic appetizer straight off the menu of many Italian-American restaurants.
If you've never tried scungilli salad before, you are in for a treat. Scungilli is actually a type of whelk that when prepared properly, is sweet, tender and perfect for tossing in a garlicky vinaigrette like in this recipe.
Calamari and linguine tossed in a light, flavorful marinara sauce is a perfect choice for the pasta course of a traditional Italian dinner.
This Sicilian-style pasta dish features bay scallops tossed in a citrus glaze made with fresh orange, lemon, rosemary, and thyme.
With a stuffing flavored with garlic, butter, dry white wine, and Parmesan cheese, these baked stuffed shrimp are a nice choice for the main course of your Italian Christmas Eve dinner.
This foolproof recipe for cod fillets topped with a buttery blend of fresh breadcrumbs, garlic, and parsley is an easy, make-ahead main dish for your full course Italian meal.
Flavored with fresh lemon zest and a bit of limoncello liqueur, our Italian Ricotta Cookies are a cake-like delight that everyone seems to love. No holiday cookie assortment should be without them!
Wonderful for dipping into a steaming cup of espresso, this delicious biscotti recipe includes toasted pine nuts, rosemary, fresh orange zest, and orange liqueur.
These delicious Italian cookies have subtle flavors of red wine, black pepper, and a touch of salt and make a nice dessert course for an Italian menu,
I’m so glad you’ve stopped by. Whether you want to make a quick weeknight meal or special holiday dinner, we’ve got hundreds of wholesome, flavorful recipes for you to try. 
2 Comments on “Italian Christmas Eve Dinner”
Hi Lynne,
Your recipes are amazing. I have a quick question regarding the Scungilli Salad. If I use canned Scungilli (La Monica) I do not have to cook it, correct?
Happy and healthy holidays to you and your family.
Thanks,
Gina
Hi Gina,
Thank you so much for the kind words. To answer your question, I’ve used LaMonica’s canned scungilli a number of times and have always found it to be a quality product. The scungilli is fully cooked, nice and tender, and easy to work with. Just drain it well and proceed with the recipe. Happy Holidays to you as well.