Southern Christmas Foods You Might Have Grown Up With

Pimiento Cheese Dip

Nearly any Southerner will tell you the best pimiento cheese is the recipe they grew up devouring. But when it comes down to it, three ingredients are essential in every pimiento cheese dish: mayo, shredded cheddar, and pimiento peppers. You can add your own creative flair from there, if you like. For this holiday-worthy party dip, we call for smoked cheese to add depth of flavor and bolster the appetizer with cream cheese for a lusciously-spreadable consistency. 

Test Kitchen Tip: Serve this cheese dip with cherry tomatoes, celery sticks, and wedges of red and green peppers to make this feel ultra-festive for your Christmas menu.

Bourbon-Brown Sugar Nuts

It looks like a classic candied nut, but this is one nosh that carries a surprising kick. As a hat tip to what is quite possibly the South’s favorite spirit, bourbon, we add a splash to the base of this homemade food gift. Cayenne pepper, cinnamon, and brown sugar also join the party. The result? “Absolutely delicious,” according to one five-star reviewer. “Instructions say they can keep for a week, but the only way they'd last that long in my house is if we made a pound of them. Maybe. There's a good chance they'd still be eaten within 3 days.”

Three-Cheese Baked Mac

Whether it’s for a Thanksgiving feast, Christmas menu, or any occasion that you’d like to feel a bit more cozy, in the South, the answer is always macaroni and cheese. To make this crowd-pleasing casserole extra holiday-worty, we sneak in three different kinds of fromage: Swiss, cheddar, and Gouda. Warning: The dish is designed to serve 12, but in our homes it’s more like 6 to 8. This classic Southern Christmas recipe is just that good.

Test Kitchen Tip: For optimal melting, shred the cheese using a box grater, flat shredded, or food processor rather than purchasing pre-shredded cheese. The latter is often treated with starches to help prevent the small shreds from sticking together during transit and storage.

Shrimp and Grits

Celebrate the feast of the seven fishes on Christmas Eve Southern-style. Celebrated Nashville-based chef Sean Brock was kind enough to gift us the secret to his ultimate Shrimp and Grits, and now we’re passing them along to you. Country ham and mushrooms layer on the umami in the saucy shrimp topping. Brock’s silky stove-top grits also definitely deserve a place on your Christmas table (although we enjoy them all year long).

Brown Sugar- and Whiskey-Glazed Ham

Ham is a signature Christmas menu main dish across the U.S., including the South. For your Southern holiday celebration, we highly recommend you give this gorgeous glazed ham recipe a shot. Cola and brown sugar offer sweetness, which is complemented beautifully by the spirited caramel notes from 2 ounces of bourbon.

Crusty Corn Bread

There are countless Southern corn bread recipes, and corn bread any which way is a winner if you ask us. However, the classic Southern way is to swear off sugar and flour, and opt for cornmeal, butter, eggs, and buttermilk—unless it’s for dessert. This fantastic, Christmas menu-worthy formula follows that road map, with the addition of sour cream (for extra tang and tender texture) and finely-shredded cheddar (for flavor, richness…and because when is extra cheese ever wrong?).

Sweet Potatoes with Toasted Pecans

Did you know that one Southern state—North Carolina—grows about 60% of America’s sweet potato supply? This make-ahead sweet potato side dish stars salty pecans (another common crop across the Southern states), sweet pure maple syrup, chewy marshmallows, and plenty of butter and whipping cream for good measure. We serve this Southern celebration dish at every fall and winter gathering, including Christmas!

Oyster Stew

The coasts of Southern states like Alabama, South Carolina, and Louisiana are rich with water-filtering, iron-rich oysters. Since they’re often strong in supply, these shellfish play frequent supporting roles in stuffings, stews, and more come holiday season. With cream, onion, celery, and butter in the pool alongside the oysters, one BHG fan describes this stew recipe as “rich, creamy, hearty and delicious. Get some good quality crackers so you can eat up all that lovely broth.”

Savory Collard Greens

With pinky-red pancetta and jungle-green collards, this supremely Southern vegetable side dish is dressed up for the occasion. A full bulb of garlic (trust us!), chicken broth, a splash of balsamic vinegar, and a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes layer on the flavor. Our family members basically never fight over the last scoop of greens—unless it’s this recipe.

Southern Dressing and Gravy

Perhaps you grew up with a Southern dressing (aka stuffing) recipe that centered around biscuits? Or maybe corn bread? No need to choose; our best Southern dressing calls for both, plus the usual sidekicks like carrots, celery, broth, and sage. Oh yes, and we can’t forget the butter. Pair it with our easy homemade gravy so each diner can make their serving as wet or dry as they like.

Chocolate Chess Pie

Custardy chess pie has been synonymous with the South since the concept is said to have debuted in Martha Washington's Booke of Cookery in the mid-1700s. Washington resided in Virginia at the time, so the low-fuss pie recipe grew a following in and around that state. Chess pie recipes are common at many Southern parties and potlucks, and this one gets a glow-up for Christmas by way of cocoa powder and chopped semisweet chocolate. It’s like a mash-up between a brownie and chess pie. One home baker says, “This was delicious. I recommend eating the day after making it. This gives the chance for the flavors to really blend.”

Caramel Cracker Candy

Also ideal to prep ahead, you might also know this no-bake caramel dessert as toffee bark, Christmas “crack,” cracker toffee, or saltine cracker candy. Our friends at Southern Living explain that this cracker candy really popped up on America’s collective radar after a St. Joseph, Missouri company started selling version 1.0. Our rendition makes a giftable or party-sized 24 servings, each overflowing with chocolate, coconut, and caramel notes.

Pralines

This classic homemade candy recipe is the signature sweet of New Orleans. Just like the sweet potatoes above, Pralines also celebrate Southern pecans. Besides those nuts, you just need butter, sugar, brown sugar, and cream to make this giftable treat.

Red Velvet Whoopie Pies with Peppermint Filling

Red velvet cake’s history begins in the Victorian era in the U.S. and England. Between then and now, the subtly-chocolate-flavored cake has become somewhat of a Southern trademark. You’ll likely find the cake in its layer cake glory in many homes come holiday season; it does match Santa’s suit, after all! We like to remix the concept to make single-serving ruby-hued whoopie pies so no one has to fight over the biggest slice. The filling is festive, too, thanks to a few drops of peppermint extract.