The lights, the gifts, the Christmas carols. We love these moments of the holiday season. But the food? That’s really what it’s all about for us.

The main dishes, sides, and finger foods we love to eat this time of year taste like coming home. They gather friends and family around a table for time to catch up, remember, and soak up every moment.

The first step toward the Christmas dinner of your dreams is a solid plan. Use our list of holiday centerpieces, side dishes, and appetizers here to pick your winners. You’ll find all the ingredients you need for these at your local grocery store—nothing too fancy here—and everything is do-able for the beginning cook. Our step-by-step instructions show you how.

On the big day, make your ingredients handy. Set out the cooking dishes and tools you’ll need and the serving plates that will make your hard work shine. Pour yourself your favorite drink. Enlist the help of friends and family, including the kids.

After just a bit of time together in the kitchen, your holiday table will be stacked with all your favorite flavors. Your only worry? When the dinner is this good, leftovers are never guaranteed. Plus, your family might decide that you’re on Christmas dinner duty from now on.

Prime Rib, Ham, Turkey & More: Our favorite holiday mains

Smoked Prime Rib Roast

Prime Rib Roast is a great holiday treat and always makes a show-stopping presentation for guests. This one features smoke, fire, and our All-Purpose Premium Marinade. Choose the bone-in roast to inspire everyone to snap a photo or two.
Uses: Head Country Premium All-Purpose Marinade, Head Country Original Championship Seasoning
FULL RECIPE: Smoked Prime Rib Roast

Classic Smoked Ham

Let your grill or smoker take care of the ham and start your get-together with a clean kitchen and a moist, deeply flavor centerpiece. Pick a glaze to try, then save the rest to play with later.
Uses: your favorite flavor of Head Country Bar-B-Q sauce
FULL RECIPE: Classic Smoked Ham

BBQ Glazed Smoked Turkey Breast

We love the flavor of a smoked bird. Plus, it’s fun and easy, and cooking the bird on the grill or smoker saves oven space for your favorite sides and pies. This recipe for turkey breast is perfect for smaller holiday gatherings and delivers moist, flavorful meat and skin your guests will fight for.
Uses: Head Country Championship Seasoning in Original and High Plains Heat, plus your favorite flavor of our Bar-B-Q sauce

FULL RECIPE: Smoked BBQ Glazed Turkey Breast

Marinated Smoked Beef Tenderloin

Oh-so-tender, show-stopping beef tenderloin comes mostly pre-trimmed. Be sure to remove all silverskin, however. Leave a little fat on—it adds to the flavor.
Uses: Head Country Premium All-Purpose Marinade
FULL RECIPE: Marinated Beef Tenderloin

The Christmas side dishes that line ’em up for seconds

BBQ Bacon Scalloped Potatoes

Thin slices of potato are layered with a rich sauce, cheese, and bacon in this twist on simple scalloped potatoes. Before serving, slice in half down the length of the casserole and then in strips crossways. Now everybody gets a serving of creamy scalloped potatoes with a golden top and a crusty edge.
Uses: Head Country Original Championship Seasoning, Head Country Original Bar-B-Q Sauce
FULL RECIPE: BBQ Bacon Scalloped Potatoes

Hasselback Sweet Potatoes with Spicy Herb Drizzle and Candied Bacon

Sweet potatoes are a wonder of the food world. Add sugar and marshmallows and you have pie and casserole. Add candied bacon and herb butter and you have the makings of these sweet-and-salty hasselback sweet potatoes, sure to earn top marks amongst your favorite savory sweet potato recipes. Be sure to start with a cold oven when baking the candied bacon, and don’t forget to brush the potatoes twice with the herbed butter—a crispy skin is an unforgettable payoff.
Uses: Head Country High Plains Heat Championship Seasoning
FULL RECIPE: Hasselback Sweet Potatoes with Spicy Herb Drizzle and Candied Bacon

Scratch Dinner Rolls

The easiest way to get the family to dinner? A tray of these dinner rolls. This dinner roll recipe, which features just a few ingredients and a dab of time to rise, is the perfect side to a main dish like roasted chicken or smoked turkey, with fluffy, sweet centers and buttered tops. Plus, they smell divine.
FULL RECIPE: Scratch Dinner Rolls

Grilled Sausage Stuffing

A full grill is a happy grill, especially during the holidays. Make room on your grates for this Thanksgiving sausage stuffing, packed with all your favorite and traditional flavors, with one serious upgrade: a kiss of smoke. Use Italian sausage if you like spice, depth, and what just might be the best Thanksgiving stuffing recipe to ever hit your table.
Uses: Head Country Original Championship Seasoning
FULL RECIPE: Grilled Sausage Stuffing

BBQ Glazed Smoked Brussels Sprouts

Add zest to your line-up of side dishes with these sweet-and-savory glazed Brussels sprouts on the grill and watch everyone come back for seconds.
Uses: Head Country Original Championship Seasoning, our Apple Habanero Bar-B-Q sauce
FULL RECIPE: BBQ Glazed Smoked Brussels Sprouts

Cast Iron Buttermilk Cornbread with Spicy Honey

This cornbread recipe sizzles in pre-heated cast iron for a show-stopping, soul-satisfying side dish. Crust and crumb are sweetened with a hearty drizzle of honey mixed with a kick of our High Plains Heat Championship Seasoning. Add plenty of butter while still piping hot.
Uses: Head Country High Plains Heat Championship Seasoning
FULL RECIPE: Cast Iron Buttermilk Cornbread with Spicy Honey

Cheesy BBQ Bacon Cauliflower

Sure, bacon plays big in this recipe, but it’s the creamy, smoky flavor of grilled cauliflower that takes centerstage here. Loaded with toppings, this bowl is satisfying like a big baked potato—and that cheese pull? You’ll want to ‘gram it.
Uses: Your favorite flavor of our Bar-B-Q sauce
FULL RECIPE: Cheesy BBQ Bacon Cauliflower

Instant Pot Homemade Mashed Potatoes

These Instant Pot mashed potatoes are our go-to recipe for when we need to get everybody’s favorite side dish on the table, stat (and when is that ever not the case?). After just a few minutes in the pressure cooker, we mash the potatoes over low heat before adding everything you need to make creamy, out-of-this-world good mashed potatoes for a crowd. Leave the skin on or off, it’s up to you, and top with extra butter or our classic brown gravy.
Uses: Head Country Original Championship Seasoning
FULL RECIPE: Instant Pot Homemade Mashed Potatoes

Classic Brown Gravy

A good gravy recipe is a mainstay in every cook’s arsenal. We love how easy our brown gravy recipe is to pull off: start with a roux, add the juices and drippings from roasted turkey, chicken, or roast beef, and simply bubble to perfection. Swap salt for our Original Championship Seasoning to add depth and flavor before you drizzle this gravy over your mashed potatoes, your main dish, or…let’s be honest, whatever will stand still.
Uses: Head Country Original Championship Seasoning
FULL RECIPE: Classic Brown Gravy

Our go-to Christmas appetizers and holiday finger foods

BBQ Short Rib Chipotle Fondue

We love to dip our dinner. This fondue set-up, which features the bold, deep flavors of short ribs and our Chipotle sauce, makes dinner fun, easy, and richly satisfying—without being overly filling. The hardest part? Stopping once you start.
Uses: Head Country High Plains Heat Championship Seasoning, our Chipotle Bar-B-Q sauce
FULL RECIPE: BBQ Short Rib Chipotle Fondue

Charcuterie Board with Smoked Brisket and BBQ Pulled Pork

Shake up your appetizer game with this how-to for the perfect charcuterie board featuring smoked brisket and BBQ pulled pork.
Uses: your favorite flavor of Head Country Bar-B-Q sauce
FULL RECIPE: Charcuterie Board with Smoked Brisket and BBQ Pulled Pork

BBQ Bacon Wrapped Shrimp

Nothing stops the line at the appetizer table like these BBQ Bacon Wrapped Shrimp. The sticky, sweet-and-savory glaze comes together in just a few ingredients, and our instructions show how to keep shrimp tender while getting the bacon crispy. As far as holiday appetizers go, this one promises to please a crowd (good thing this recipe doubles and triples easily) and is ready in just 30 minutes.
Uses: Our Apple Habanero Bar-B-Q sauce
FULL RECIPE: BBQ Bacon Wrapped Shrimp

BBQ Bacon Ranch Cheese Ball

It’s not a party until there’s a cheese ball. This classic cheese ball recipe is our favorite, easiest way to big cheese-ball flavor, complete with two kinds of cheese, a crust of bacon and pecans and herbs, that kick from ranch that pleases a crowd, and a boost from our Original Championship Seasoning. Serve with crackers, pita chips, or pretzels. Pro tip: Maybe make two.
Uses: Head Country Original Championship Seasoning
FULL RECIPE: BBQ Bacon Ranch Cheeseball

BBQ Chicken Puffs

With the help of a few sheets of puff pastry and an Instant Pot, these saucy chicken appetizers are just as quick and easy as they are mouth-watering. Serve piping hot for maximum cheese-pull action and to get the most from the savory, flaky crust. We love adding a double batch of these to our New Year’s Eve appetizers menu.
Uses: Our Sweet & Sticky sauce, Head Country High Plains Heat Championship Seasoning
FULL RECIPE: BBQ Chicken Puffs

Fried Mashed Potato Balls

There’s nothing quite like that hero feeling you get when you know you’re passing around leftovers from dinner as brunch finger foods. These fried mashed potato balls take your all-time favorite side and transform them into crispy, golden-brown bites that are the perfect size for dunking and dipping. Because this recipe uses all your favorite flavors and what you already have on hand, you can file it under easy, crowd-favorite, and party finger food ideas on a budget.
Uses: Head Country Sweet & Spicy Championship Seasoning
FULL RECIPE: Fried Mashed Potato Balls