Though the nights are long and dark in Germany during the holiday season, German Christmas food brings warmth, brightness, and family togetherness that staves off the cold. You can bring this warmth and time-honored culinary traditions to your own Christmas celebrations with one of the many dishes popularly enjoyed during yuletide festivities and Christmas dinners throughout Germany.
In this guide, discover the traditional festive dishes you can make at home or enjoy at a German restaurant for a more authentic experience. For that, you’ll also need to know how to order food in German.
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German Christmas food from yesteryear
Historically, German foods have had a strong ties to what was readily available to the population based on trade and what the region could produce on its own. Luckily, trade routes to Central and Eastern Europe brought ample honey and a plethora of spices to Germany, allowing for deep flavors that have lasted in tradition from Medieval times to modern cuisine.
German Christmas foods in Southern Germany, where warmer weather and even spans of terrain allowed for more established agriculture, featured rich dishes of slow-braised meats accented with potatoes and vegetables that could store well towards the winter months.
Northern Germany, however, focused more on late-season harvests and bountiful fishing for their dishes to flourish with fresh and flavorful foods. Today, worldwide trade and refrigeration have allowed these unique dishes to be enjoyed far from the locations where their ingredients are produced.
Nostalgic German Christmas market food
A German Christmas market, or Weihnachtsmarkt in German, is a Christmas-themed street market that takes place throughout Germany and some German-speaking countries. You can expect a feeling of warmth and Christmas magic at a Weihnachtsmarkt that many Germans see as a nostalgic place where they spent happy days as children. You can buy famous German Christmas market food to carry with you as you browse for potential Christmas gifts, toys, and other memorabilia.
When your tummy starts to rumble between market stalls at a Weihnachtsmarkt, take a look around for someone selling one of these classic German Christmas foods:
- Champignonpfanne (mushroom skillet): Sauteed mushrooms with onions, garlic, and herbs served in a sourdough bread bowl.
- Dampfnudeln (steamed dumplings): Pan-fried dumplings topped with vanilla sauce and a powdered sugar and poppy seed mixture.
- Flammkuchen (tarte flambée): German flatbread topped with sour cream, bacon, and onion.
- Gebrannte Mandeln (caramelized almonds): Almonds cooked over a low heat for a long period to allow the natural sugars of the nut to caramelize, leading to a sweeter taste and softer texture.
- Kartoffelpuffer: Pan-fried “potato pancakes,” served with applesauce.
- Maronen (chestnuts): Grilled or oven-roasted chestnuts that are cooked to be very soft in texture and mild in flavor.
- Nuremberg Bratwurst: Small, thin pork sausage from Nuremberg Germany, often seasoned with marjoram and other spices and grilled or pan-fried.
Festive dishes for meat lovers
For meat lovers, the highlight of traditional German Christmas food is the savory and satisfying cut of a smoked duck or Christmas goose. Let the simple, traditional German meat dishes found here be the centerpiece of your festive dinner and bring German culture to your table.
Rinderroulade
Rinderroulade, or “beef roulade” in English, is a dish of a large, flat-cut steak, such as flank steak, that has been topped with onions, pickles, and bacon. The Rinderroulade is then rolled up into a log and smothered in gravy before being cooked and cut into cross sections that resemble a pinwheel.
The term “roulade” comes from the French term rouler, meaning “to roll,” because the meat is rolled up before cooking. It’s simple to make and presents very well on the Christmas dinner plate.
Räucherente
Imagine the delicate, rich flavor of duck breast accented with a smoky flavor. This is the heart of the idea behind making Räucherente (smoked duck). Hickory is most commonly used for the smoking process, but apple wood pairs nicely with the light richness of the duck meat as well. This dish is especially popular in northern and eastern Germany and is served with braised red cabbage and dumplings.
Weinachtsgans
The Weinachtsgans is a “Christmas goose” roasted in the oven for crispy skin and tender meat. As a classic centerpiece, the Weinachtsgans is stuffed with apples, onions, chestnuts, and herbs to not only improve the flavor of the goose but also to keep the low-fat meat juicy and succulent.
Regional Christmas food favorites
Historically, different regions in Germany developed their own German Christmas food traditions independently of each other. Should you’re interested in the lesser-known gems these areas have to offer, these Christmas favorites will look and taste the best on your table. Just make sure you know how to say “thank you” in German if you’re getting them from an authentic German source!
- Erfurter Schittchen (Erfurt region): Dessert bread made with raisins, almonds, lemon, and brandy or rum. Erfurter Schittchen means “small Erfurt logs” in English.
- Grünkohl mit Pinkel (Northern Germany): “Kale with sausage,” typically made with bacon and mustard for a low-carb and high-nutrient dish.
- Lübeck marzipan treats (Schleswig-Holstein): Figures of people, fruits, Santas, or pigs carved from marzipan from Lübeck, the undisputed capital of German marzipan.
- Schlesischer Mohnkuchen (Silesia): Silesian poppy seed cake topped with sugar, butter, honey, citrus zest, and raisins, then rolled up like a log and baked until golden brown.
Warm German Christmas drinks for all ages
Due to the frigid cold of the wintertime, most of the famous German Christmas drinks are served warm. Despite the time-honored tradition of Germans partaking in hard drinks, there are options for traditional German Christmas drinks for children and anyone choosing not to drink alcohol.
Glühwein warms the stomach and spirit
Thaw out from your walk around the Weihnachtsmarkt (Christmas market) with a steaming cup of Glühwein (warm, mulled wine). This classic German Christmas drink consists of either red or white wine spiced primarily with cinnamon and cloves and typically features fruit chunks or juices for added sweetness. Glühwein directly translates to “glow wine” because it is served “glowing hot” from a Glühweinstand (Glühwein stall) to warm the stomach and spirit in the coldest months of the year.
Give guests a show with some Feuerzangenbowle
You can take your Glühwein (warm, mulled wine) a step further and turn it into a Feuerzangenbowle (fire-tongs punch). This is accomplished by setting a rum-soaked sugarloaf, or sugar cubes, on fire above the mug of mulled wine. The flame will cause the sugar to caramelize and melt into the drink, resulting in an even sweeter cup of Feuerzangenbowle. Not only is the flavor deepened, but the burning of the sugar is also a wonderful showpiece for presentation if you’re looking to impress your Christmas dinner guests.
Kinderpunsch is a kid-friendly alternative
Kinderpunsch (kid punch) is an alcohol-free version of Glühwein (warm, mulled wine) that may be enjoyed by children or anyone wanting a tasty, German-style beverage without getting tipsy. Wine is swapped in this warm, soft drink with a blend of apple, orange, cherry, or cranberry juices. Savory spices like cinnamon, cloves, and star anise, as well as sweet fruit garnishes, still adorn Kinderpunsch just like in any cup of traditional Glühwein.
Dairy-free Eierpunsch for that warm, eggnog feel
Eggnog lovers from the United States can comfortably branch into German Christmas food traditions with Eierpunsch (egg punch). It’s a mixture of egg yolk with white wine and spiced rum. This dairy-free mix, like many German winter beverages, is served warm to combat the icy chill of the December months.
To make Eierpunsch, combine these ingredients in a pan on the stove set to a medium-low heat:
- dry, white wine
- spiced rum
- vanilla extract
- lemon juice
- sugar
- cinnamon
Once your mixture is made, add in a couple of egg yolks and warm the drink on the stove above until the drink thickens. Be careful not to heat the mixture to boiling hot, or else you’ll end up with a scrambled egg punch!
German Christmas sweet treats
After a savory Christmas meal, you might be craving that little something sweet to cap off your culinary journey into tradition. If sweets are as important to the nostalgic feel of Christmas as colorful lights and Frosty the Snowman, consider one of these German Christmas sweets for your dessert:
- Apfelstrudel (apple streusel): Baked, spiced apple slices and raisins topped with a crumbly, cinnamon-sugar coating.
- Baumkuchen (tree cake): Cake baked in layers on a rotating spit that resembles the growth layers in the cross-section cut of a tree trunk.
- Lebkuchen (German gingerbread): A German-style gingerbread that features bold spices, caramelized fruit reduction glazes, and nuts.
- Pralinen (pralines): Fine chocolates or chocolate confections that are usually filled with nuts, marzipan, and fruit pastes. Often served with coffee or given as gifts during Christmas in Germany.
- Spekulatius: Crisp, spiced cookies with festive designs carved into them from Northern Germany.
- Vanillekipferl: Crescent-shaped, vanilla-almond cookies that have an airy, delicate texture with a buttery taste.
- Weckmänner (dough men): Shaped like a gingerbread man but made with a slightly sweetened, yeast-raised dough that is decorated with raisins and pearl sugar.
Rosetta Stone can flavor your life with culture
The gift of learning a new language comes with opportunities for new friendships, connections, and career advancement. However, the experience of introducing a new culture to your life through language also grants you the chance to flavor your life with dishes about which you might not have otherwise even known.
How Rosetta Stone works is by providing you not only with new language skills and education, but also by immersing you in the culture that produced the language and all the treasures it can bring. See for yourself which of the 25 languages offered through Rosetta Stone has the extra cultural flair to improve your life, or find out how to include other cultures in your Christmas celebrations by learning to say “Merry Christmas” in different languages.
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