Healthy Holiday Recipes
The holidays are here which means it’s time to start planning! We’ve got a great list of our favorite Healthy Holiday Recipes starting with brunch and ending with dessert. These healthy but super delicious recipes will be loved by all!
Healthy Holiday Recipes
The holiday season is here, which means it is finally my favorite season for entertaining! If you are looking for healthy, flavorful, and simple meals to make this season, we have got you covered! From my favorite brunch recipes to serve a crowd and ending with all of those holiday treats. Scroll through to see our favorite LCK Holiday Recipes that everyone is going to love!
Healthy Holiday Brunch Recipes
If you are hosting family from out of town for the holiday, sometimes it isn’t just the big meal you have to think about. However, not everyone has the (space) or time to create a massive brunch. We’ve compiled a list of some easy breakfast recipes to feed a crowd!
Cinnamon Roll French Toast Bake: This Cinnamon Roll French Toast Casserole is the the absolute best holiday brunch. It literally taste just like a cinnamon roll, without all the work of making cinnamon rolls. Plus, it’s great to prepare the night before and either bake up for guests at home, or to bring along to a pot luck brunch. Trust me, you are going to love this one.
Gingerbread Muffins: Nothing says December and a comforting holiday breakfast like a warm gingerbread muffin. These gluten free muffins are easy to make and so delicious.
Sheet Pan Classic Breakfast Bake This Sheet Pan Classic Breakfast is made up of Eggs, Bacon, & Home Fries and comes together in a pinch and made using only ONE PAN. It’s a great one pan breakfast bake that is perfect for a brunch to feed a crowd with little to no mess!
Orange Cranberry Overnight Oats This Orange Cranberry Overnight Oats recipe is the best make-ahead breakfast, and you can make a big batch of it, if you need. It’s creamy (without any dairy) and bursting with seasonal orange, cranberry and pecan flavor. It’s vegan-friendly and gluten-free.
Breakfast Prep Baked Egg Cups These healthy baked egg cups make the perfect breakfast meal prep. Make the night before, and heat up as needed throughout the morning.
Chocolate Peppermint Baked Oatmeal This oatmeal bake is a perfect make-ahead breakfast to feed a brunch crowd, and it’s easy to make. It’s dairy-free, gluten-free and made without any refined sugars.
Everything Bagel Hummus Breakfast Toast Try this non-recipe recipe for an easy breakfast idea! It’s an easy way to to get a quick breakfast on the table that is full of protein and fiber and tastes SO GOOD.
Healthy Holiday Appetizers
Appetizers for everyone to love!
How to Build The Ultimate Charchuterie: A charcuterie board is a quick, delicious and beautiful appetizer idea to feed a crowd. Fill a big board (or platter) with all of your favorite meats, cheeses, and crudités, and follow my tips to make it gorgeous, for the most festive spread this holiday season!
Gluten Free Pigs in a Blanket: These Pigs in a Blanket are as perfect for a large holiday gathering as they are for game day eats. They are made using an easy gluten-free and nut-free dough that doesn’t need any chilling time. These are a sure crowd pleaser for both kids and grown-ups alike!
Crudité Platter This Crudité Platter with Dairy-Free Tzatziki Sauce makes for such a light and refreshing snack, appetizer, or side-dish! The perfect bright and colorful dish to make with any seasonal veggies you have on hand! Dairy-free, egg-free, grain-free, gluten-free, and Whole30 compliant! This will be the most gorgeous appetizer on the table, for sure!
Deviled Eggs with Bacon: These are your answer for an easy-to-make appetizer to please a crowd! They are so delicious and can even be made ahead of time! The addition of bacon and chives bump these deviled eggs up to the next level!
Potato Latkes: These Gluten Free Classic Potato Latkes are just like grandma makes them, only made without any refined white flour! They have the classic delicious flavors you want, and I guarantee that nobody will know they are gluten-free!
Buffalo Chicken Baked Hummus Dip: This 5-Ingredient Buffalo Chicken Baked Hummus Dip is the perfect lightened-up appetizer to serve for game-day or for any gathering! It is simple to prepare, made with minimal ingredients, has all of the buffalo chicken flavors you love, and it’s made with a healthy, creamy alternative: hummus
Spinach and Artichoke Dip: Bound to be a hit at your next party, this Healthy Spinach Artichoke Dip has all that creamy flavor without any dairy. This paleo, vegan and Whole30 friendly appetizer is simple to put together and nobody will know this isn’t the classic version.
Thai Meatballs: These Thai Meatballs are paleo, gluten-free, and bursting with flavor. They are a healthy meatball recipe that everybody will love. This thai meatball recipe is loaded with veggies and infused with the perfect flavor combination of ginger, chili, garlic, and more. A total crowd pleaser that gets rave reviews!
Healthy Holiday Mains
Pick that main dish before you choose what you are going to serve with it!
How to Roast a Turkey: If you’ve never roasted a turkey before, this for a Citrus Herb Turkey explains it all!
Maple Glazed Ham: Looking for a turkey alternative, or an extra protein to pair with the turkey for a large crowd? This sweet and salty Maple Glazed Hame would be perfect.
Kale and Sweet Potato Stuffed Turkey Breast: This is perfect for a dinner party or small Thanksgiving feast. A boneless turkey breast is stuffed with quick caramelized onions, kale, sweet potato and herbs, then baked in the oven in just about an hour. Double the recipe to feed a crowd! It’s also gluten-free, Paleo and Whole30 friendly.
Lamb Chops with Crispy Shallots and Pomegranate Sauce : This Lamb Chops with Crispy Shallots and Pomegranate Sauce recipe makes for a decadent meal done in under 20 minutes! It’s elegant, super flavorful, and comes together quickly and works equally as well for a romantic dinner for two, or a weeknight easy meal.
Pork Chops with Apples: This skillet Pork Chops with Apples recipe is the quintessential fall meal. The pork chops are perfectly cooked and paired with sweet and savory fall flavors like sage, apple cider and apples.
Bone-in Pork Chops with Cherries: Perfectly cooked pork chops topped with Tart Cherry Compote is the perfect festive holiday meal that will make you feel fancy in no time!
Turkey Roast with Pear Chutney: This turkey breast roast is perfect for smaller holiday gatherings and was a staple at my family holiday dinners!
Spinach Artichoke Stuffed Spaghetti Squash: Looking for a great vegetarian main that doesn’t involve tofu? This is it! All the classic flavors of spinach and artichoke dip made healthy and stuffed into a low-carb and nutrient-rich spaghetti squash! You can optionally add-in chicken to make it heartier, or leave it as a vegetarian main dish. Make it dairy-free using cashew cream, or not.
Healthy Holiday Side Dishes
Side dishes are for some the BEST part about a holiday dinner, and we’ve got quite the list for you!
Healthy Sweet Potato Casserole: This classic casserole makes the absolute perfect side dish at your Thanksgiving dinner or at your December holiday party. Do you want to know the best part? It’s lighter than your typical sweet potato casserole and free of refined sugar! Plus it’s easy to make-ahead of time and the perfect side to bring along
Classic Mashed Potatoes These Dairy Free Mashed Potatoes taste just like the classic version. They are everything you want in that comforting and warm side dish, but lightened up to include chicken broth and olive oil. They’re soft and creamy and a cinch to make. Plus they’re Whole30, paleo, and vegan friendly.
Garlic and Herb Mushrooms: This mushroom recipe is the last one you’ll ever need to look up for a side dish idea. These Ultimate Herb and Garlic Mushrooms are packed with umami flavor, are quick to make and topped with fresh herbs. Serve these at your next Thanksgiving or dinner party and everyone will rave about them!
Honey Glazed Carrots These are the perfect fuss-free side dish. They’re cooked in one pan and result in the most tender, slightly sweet glazed carrots. They are so good they are borderline addictive and both kids and adults will love them! They’re paleo friendly and easily made dairy-free.
Maple Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Bacon These addictive brussels sir outs with bacon and maple syrup is sure to make this side dish a fan favorite for everybody! This paleo-friendly recipe is sweet and savory and definitely going to be in your winter meal plan rotation!
Herb and Garlic Quinoa: This easy and delicious Herb and Garlic Quinoa is the perfect side dish to accompany just about anything. What’s even better is the recipe uses pantry staples so you can throw it together whenever you are looking for an easy side dish to pair with dinner.
Healthy Creamed Spinach (Made Without Cream!) This Creamed Spinach is a lightened up version of your favorite holiday classic and is made without cream for the perfect healthy and veggie-packed side for Thanksgiving! Creamy, flavorful and so simple to make!
Green Bean Casserole This lightened up, healthier version of a Green Bean Casserole is sure to be a crowd pleaser. It’s dairy-free, made without any soup mix, and EASY to make.
Scalloped Potatoes Creamy with just the right amount of cheese, lightened up, and baked to perfection, this au gratin scalloped potato recipe will be a favorite.
Healthy Holiday Desserts:
Even sweet treats can be lightened up, and nobody will know the difference!
Cut Out Cookies: These Gluten Free Cut Out Cookies are the best for decorating holiday cookies! They are so simple to put together, can be rolled out immediately and decorated (or not) to celebrate any holiday! These versatile cookies are made with only 5 ingredients (plus a pinch of salt!) and are a great activity to do with the kids. We’ve included tips and tricks for decorating using an easy powdered sugar icing so you can get your holiday bake on now!
Peppermint Bark: Using only 5 ingredients, this Peppermint Bark is simple to prepare and perfect for giving away to friends and family as holiday gifts. It’s as easy as melting and spreading chocolate, but truly looks fancy. Top it with candy canes for that super festive look (and taste)!
Double Chocolate Macadamia Cookies: These Double Chocolate Chunk Macadamia Nut Cookies are the perfect gluten-free and paleo-friendly cookie that everyone will love! Soft, chewy, and bursting with chocolate and macadamia nuts! A household favorite!
Cookie Truffles: These Cookie Truffles are the CUTEST gluten-free treat that you can make for any occasion. They’re made using a handful of ingredients, including our favorite gluten-free chocolate cookie, are no bake and are so easy they’d be a great activity to do with the kids! Perfect to serve up for any fun event!
Easy Slow Cooker Baked Apples: These easy-to-make “baked” apples have just the right amount of sweet, they swarm your home with the most delicious fall scent, and they are super EASY to throw together.
Creme Brûlée: This dairy-free and refined-sugar free version is just as decadent as the classic version but lightened up with a secret healthy ingredient! It’s perfectly sweetened with a blend of honey and maple sugar and despite it feeling fancy it is really easy to make.
Apple Galette This is similar to an apple pie with a buttery crust with thinly sliced juicy apple, but easier to put together! It’s the perfect dessert to serve during the holidays or a fun weekend baking project to celebrate the fall season! It’s made using unrefined sweeteners and uses the BEST gluten-free crust.
Classic Apple Pie This classic pie has a buttery crust with thinly sliced juicy apples laced with cinnamon and nutmeg. It’s made using unrefined sweeteners and uses the best gluten-free crust.
Pecan Pie: This Pecan Pie made in a tart pan is absolutely stunning, yet simple to put together. And the best part? It’s made without any refined sugar or corn syrup!
Nut-Free Pumpkin Pie This Gluten Free Pumpkin Pie is smooth and creamy (without any cream) with just the right note of spice. It’s made using our nut-free and gluten-free crust that is so simple to put together!
Grain-free Cranberry Apple Crisp This healthy apple crisp is made without oats, with a pop of color and tartness thanks to added cranberries and is sweetened just right!
Creamy Peppermint Coconut Cups: These Creamy Peppermint Coconut Cups are the perfect treat to have in the fridge! They are chocolate-y, peppermint-y, and coconut-y! They are keto-friendly, too! Perfect keto cups!
Espresso Candied Pecans: These Espresso Candied Pecans are the perfect DIY gift giving treat! They are easy to make, and you can make large batches to package up for friends and family this holiday season!
Healthy Holiday Drinks:
We’ve got your covered with both virgin and alcoholic festive drinks for the holiday season!
Apple Cider Sangria: This Apple Cider Sangria is everyone’s favorite Fall cocktail! It’s flavorful, packed with cinnamon, ginger, apple cider, and white wine for the perfect dinner party sangria! Serve it with a caramel rim (or opt out for simplicity), make a large pitcher, and enjoy this easy fall cocktail!
Pumpkin Coffee: This recipe for easy Pumpkin Spice Coffee can be made using your favorite regular coffee or made into a Pumpkin Spice Latte. It’s refined sugar-free and customizable so you can make it dairy-free if you need to!
Golden Milk Latte: This Golden Turmeric Latte with Espresso is about to become your new favorite morning pick-me-up! It’s dairy-free, packed with nutrients, and is such a fabulous alternative to your standard cup of coffee or afternoon drink!
Slow Cooker Mulled Cider: Slow Cooker Mulled Cider with a Caramel Pecan Rim will be the hit of your parties or dinner parties all Fall and Winter long! The combination of the caramel and nutty pecans with the warming cider is perfection, and made with no added sugar.. Have it without any alcohol, or spike it as desired with your favorite liquor!
Sparkling Citrus Punch: This Sparkling Citrus Punch is the ultimate holiday and New Year’s Eve lightened up cocktail! It is so delicious, it serves a crowd, and it is made with fresh, good quality ingredients you can feel good about serving!
Pumpkin Smash Cocktail: This Pumpkin Smash Cocktail, made with Stoli Gluten Free, has all the flavors of Fall in one delicious cocktail! The easy vanilla bean pumpkin syrup makes a batch large enough to whip up a number of cocktails, perfect for a dinner party
Looking for more holiday recipes, check out:
- Holiday Gift Guide
- Our Favorite Gluten Free Apple Recipes
- Healthy Pumpkin Recipes
- Edible Holiday Gifts
Healthy Holiday Recipes
These Gluten Free Cut Out Cookies are the best for decorating holiday cookies! They are so simple to put together, can be rolled out immediately and decorated (or not) to celebrate any holiday! These versatile cookies are made with only 5 ingredients (plus a pinch of salt!) and are a great activity to do with the kids. We’ve included tips and tricks for decorating using an easy powdered sugar icing so you can get your holiday bake on now!
Gluten Free Cut Out Cookies
How cute are these Gluten Free Cut Out Cookies? They’re also easy to make, taste delicious and we’ve offered a few different flavor options so they’re customizable! They can be baked and left plain, or topped with good quality colored sugar, or they can be fully decorated to match the holiday you are celebrating!
We had SO MUCH FUN making them, and honestly it didn’t take long to come to a recipe that we were happy with. The best part about these cookies is that you don’t have to wait for them to chill before rolling out! Usually with sugar cookies the dough has to set up for a few hours in order to get great cookies, but we had amazing results with rolling the dough out immediately. You can also make the dough and then chill for a few hours to days if you want to break down the steps as well! Read below for some tips and tricks on how to make the cutest Gluten Free Cut Out Cookies!
Tips for Rolling Out Dough
We may be biased but we felt this dough was SO EASY to roll out! For us it went straight from the mixing bowl to being rolled out! We didn’t have any issues moving the cut out cookies from where we rolled them out to the baking tray. But if you are a beginner cut-out cookie maker follow these tips below for best results:
- Prepare a baking sheet with a silpat or parchment paper.
- Roll out dough between two sheets of parchment or plastic wrap.
- Stamp cookies out as close together as possible to get the most out of each time you roll out the dough.
- Using a small offset spatula or knife lift up cookies and transfer to baking sheet. If you are having trouble moving the cookies and having them keep there shape, place in the refrigerator to chill for a few minutes until they are stiff.
- You can re-roll the scraps as many times as you would like because there is no gluten in these cookies so they won’t be tough from re-rolling!
Tips for Decorating with Powdered Sugar Icing
As we said above, these cookies are delicious as is! But if you’d like to make decorative cookies at any time of the year we’ve included a recipe for a stiff powdered sugar icing. We chose this over a royal icing because it is a lot easier to make and the end result didn’t look too different. If you’d prefer to use royal icing, than feel free to use that instead.
- If you want to do more intricate decorating you’ll want to make two different consistency icings. One for piping, or borders, which is more thick. And a second for flooding a border, which is thinner.
- We tried out a few different types of artificial dye free food coloring (see below) to make the most festive cookies. Once you have mixed your base icings you can divide them into smaller bowls and add the natural food coloring.
- Pipe the border details first and let it dry briefly (10 minutes or so) before filling in the flooding icing.
- We piped ours using both piping bags and also tried using squeeze bottles. We didn’t use a tip in the piping bags we just cut a small hole! Squeeze bottles would be great to use with kids! We use these Piping Bags and these Mini Squeeze Bottles!
- Let the icing harden a bit before storing (a few hours, or until dry).
- Have fun with it!
Let’s talk about natural dye options:
We’ve talked about making your own food dye with food based powders this past year. While you certainly can frost there cookies with buttercream, it’s more traditional to use an icing so we tried out a bunch of different brands of artificial dye free food coloring. We actually loved them all, but they vary in price. We tried:
- Whole Foods Market 365 Brand: This one was the most economical and worked well, except for the red which tinted more towards pink. This brand most resembles traditional dye in the sense that it comes in little liquid squeeze bottles. It is under $10 for a few different colors and offers a guide on the package to mix additional colors.
- ColorKitchen Foods: This dye free coloring comes in powder form. You can mix it with your dry ingredients to hydrate, or add in a touch of water to hydrate before adding it in the icing (which is the method we used).This one was surprisingly very potent, but it’s on the pricier side. It comes in single use packets which can be either useful, or annoying if you don’t want to use the whole amount. At the time that we tried this brand they didn’t have a red color that we found, but since we developed this recipe they are offering a red velvet color (though we have not been able to try it yet).
- TruColor: This brand works magically, but it is expensive and harder to find. It also comes in powdered form but in small jars (depending on the amount you order) so you can store any leftover right in the container. You must store it in the refrigerator. Any red coloring that you see in this post uses TruColor, and does in fact make a brilliant red.
Don’t feel like stamping out designs with these cookies? No problem! The dough can also be formed into a log, placed in the refrigerator for about 1 hour (or more) and than sliced! Bake as directed. We’ve also included a couple of different flavor options in the post to include almond, citrus and mint!
Tools we used in this recipe:
- Stand Mixer
- Sheet Pan
- Silpat
- Offset Spatula
- Rolling Pin
- Piping Bags or Mini Squeeze Bottles
- Artificial Free Food Dye
- Cleaner Sprinkles
- Additional standard equipment: bowls, whisks, etc.
If you like this cookie recipe, check out these others:
- Gluten Free Carrot Cake Cookies
- Easy Maple Meringue Cookies
- Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Sea Salt Nutella Thumbprint Cookies
- Double Chocolate Chunk Macadamia Nut Cookies
- Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookies
Watch the video:
Gluten Free Cut Out Cookies
These Gluten Free Cut Out Cookies are the best for decorating holiday cookies! They are so simple to put together, can be rolled out immediately and decorated (or not) to celebrate any holiday! These versatile cookies are made with only 5 ingredients (plus a pinch of salt!) and are a great activity to do with the kids.
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup grass fed butter, room temperature (or butter alternative, or palm shortening)
- ¼ cup honey
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1-½ cup (190g) almond flour
- ½ cup (60g) tapioca flour
- Pinch of fine sea salt
Optional Flavors (choose one)
- 1/2 teaspoon mint
- 1 tablespoons orange zest
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract
For Decorating
- 1 cup organic powdered sugar
- 1-½ to 2-½ tablespoons almond milk
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions
To Make Cookie Dough:
- In a stand mixer, or with a hand mixer cream butter, honey and vanilla, until light and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes
- In a medium bowl add almond flour, tapioca flour and salt and whisk to combine.
- Add dry ingredients to butter and combine. It may look crumbly at first, but continue to mix until the dough comes together.
- Roll out immediately (see directions below) or wrap in plastic wrap and keep in refrigerator until ready to roll, up to 3 days.
To Roll Out and Bake Cookies:
- Preheat oven to 350 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat.
- Roll out dough between two sheets of parchment paper or plastic wrap. Roll out to a thickness or 1/4" and stamp with cookie cutters. Carefully peel stamped cookies off parchment and place on baking sheet. They will not spread so you can spaces them as close as 1/4" apart.
- You can re roll scraps, chilling in between if dough is getting too warm.
- Bake for 7 minutes, until slightly golden around the edges.
- Let cool before decorating.
To Decorate:
- Whisk 1-1/2 tablespoons almond milk, vanilla and powdered sugar together until smooth. You want it to be thick enough to pipe. If you plan to flood the cookie you can make two smaller batches and add a touch more almond milk to want to make it thinner to floor the cookie in between the piping icing. Drop in some food coloring (see post for more info) depending on what color you'd like to make. Decorate using squeeze bottles of piping bags.
Recipe Notes
- Read post for more information and tips for making these cut out cookies.
Nutrition
Decorating Party:
- Share a photo of your LCK Cut-Out Cookies on Instagram or in our Private Facebook Group with the hashtag #LCKCOOKIES to be entered to win a $100 Amazon Gift Card!
- Bonus entry: Leave a review below of how the recipe went for you!
- Winner picked 12/19 at 12pm EST.
- Note: Must be public on Instagram for us to see your entries!!
Gluten Free Cut Out Cookies
This Harvest Salad has all the ingredients you’ll want in a Winter kale salad recipe! Packed with chopped kale, roasted squash, pomegranate seeds, toasted pecans and topped with a super easy & delicious Maple Balsamic Dressing for the absolute perfect holiday salad all Fall and Winter Long!
Harvest Salad with Maple Balsamic Dressing
My fabulous blogging girlfriends are here with me today bringing you healthy sides for your Thanksgiving feast. I am in love with this month’s round up because I mean… check out these recipes! Gorgeous, delicious, and good-for-you! I call it a WIN. Your family and friends will thank you, too!
You guys, I’ve been putting this dressing on EVERYTHING. It is my favorite dressing that everybody loves and it is SO easy to make. You need to make it immediately.
Want other salad recipes?
- Sriracha Lime Chopped Chicken Salad
- Candied Pecan and Herb Chicken Salad
- Steak Cobb Salad
- Melon Salad with Proscuitto
How do you soften kale for a salad?
To prepare kale for a salad, massage the kale with oil and lemon for 1-3 minutes.
Can I use anything aside from kale?
Yes, use any leafy green that you love!
Watch the video:
Harvest Salad with Maple Balsamic Dressing
Ingredients
Salad
- 1 Kabocha Squash
- 1-2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (code LEXI for 10% off) for roasting
- 4 cups kale, chopped
- 1 cup pecans, toasted
- 1/2 cup pomegranate seeds
Maple Balsamic Dressing
- 1/3 cup avocado oil
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- 2 teaspoons dijon mustard
- 2 teaspoons pure maple syrup
- Pinch of salt
Directions
- Preheat oven to 400°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Slice kabocha squash and toss with olive oil and spread across a lined baking sheet.
- Roast squash for 30-40 minutes until fork tender. Remove and set aside.
- In a blender combine all dressing ingredients and blend until smooth.
- Place pecans on a baking sheet and place in the oven for 5-7 minutes, tossing halfway through, watch to avoid burning.
- Massage kale with olive oil for 1-2 minutes.
- Assemble salad: kale, squash, pomegranate seeds, toasted pecans. Top with dressing and serve.
Nutrition
Cauliflower Stuffing from The Healthy Maven
This healthy, low-carb cauliflower rice stuffing will convince your Thanksgiving guests to jump on board the cauliflower rice train, while secretly getting them to eat more veggies! Plus it’s ready in under 20 minutes.
Green Beans with Caramelized Shallots and Almonds from Eating Bird Food
Add some green to your holiday table with this flavorful recipe for tender crisp green beans tossed with caramelized shallots, toasted almonds and fresh parsley.
5-Ingredient Slow Cooker Cranberry Sauce from Running to the Kitchen
This simple cranberry sauce is made with just 5 ingredients. Make it in the slow cooker and save the stove-top space for all the other Thanksgiving sides.
Vegan Scalloped Sweet Potatoes from Food Faith Fitness
These easy scalloped sweet potatoes are SO creamy and flavorful, you’ll have a hard time believing they’re secretly healthy and paleo and vegan friendly!
Balsamic Sea Salt Brussels Sprouts from Fit Foodie Finds
Make these delicious Balsamic Sea Salt Roasted Brussels Sprouts this holiday season for the most delicious vegan and paleo side that everyone will gobble up!
