Alisa Fleming ~ In recent years, home cooking has taken on a whole new value. Purchasing expensive, pre-made dinners just isn't in the budget, and gifts from the kitchen are back in style.  Of course, if you have been dairy-free for a while, then you already know that from-scratch is really the way to go ... but, how to create a festive dinner that everyone will enjoy, even your cheese-addicted sister (okay, maybe that's just my sister)? 

For starters, I recommend taking a peek at The Biggest Gathering of Dairy-Free Thanksgiving Recipes that I compiled for you last month. How convenient is it that the major holidays share so many traditional dishes? If the big day wouldn't be complete without a festive pie, check out The Huge Dairy-Free Holiday Pie Recipe Round-Up and Mission Impossible Pies (vegan and gluten-free crustless pies!). Also, for those of you scrambling for last minute, quick & easy dairy substitutes (perhaps for that cream of mushroom soup or sweetened condensed milk?), you can get Go Dairy Free: The Guide and Cookbook in an ebook format, delivered instantly.

Now, a few weeks have passed since Thanksgiving, so I have had some time to discover a few more dairy-free recipes (lactose-free, casein-free, milk-free, you name it). That's right, the recipes below are dairy-free as is; no hoping that your substitutes will work ... after all, who has time for experimentation at the 11th hour?! ...

Opening Acts

• Mrs Claus Christmas Welcome Soup
• Carrot Pate
• Artichoke Pate 
• Winter Squash Crostini
• Delicious Deluxe Deviled Eggs
• A Jolly Christmas Special Cosmo or Red Hot Lovers Cosmo
• California Wassail 
• Vegan Pumpkin Nog 
• Pumpkin Spice Soy Nog
• Banana Nog

The Main Event

• Acorn Squash with Cornbread, Apple and Sausage Stuffing
• All-the-Fixins' Holiday Veggie Burger
• Christmas Jam
• Restaurant-Worthy Creamy Potato-Leek Soup
• Creamy Baked Brussel Sprouts (pictured below)
• Baked Eggplant w/ Nutty Bulgur Stuffing
• Butternut Squash and Macaroni Casserole
• Butternut Squash & Cabbage Salad
• Roasted Sweet Potatoes w/ Tempeh
• Deb's Wild Rice Stuffing
• Quick & Easy Spiced Cranberry Sauce
• Fluffy, "Buttery", No-Fat Vegan Mashed Potatoes
• Pumpkin Cornbread
• Lemon-Ginger Pears
• Christmas Sauteed Bell Peppers
• Vegetarian Cabbage Rolls
• Wild Rice & Chestnut Stuffing
• Quick & Rich Mushroom Gravy
• Baked Pumpkin w/ Vegetable Pilaf
• Vegan Gobbler Slices
• Quick Vegan Biscuits and "Milk Gravy"
• Green Beans w/ Bacon and Hazelnuts 
• Old-Fashioned Pan Gravy w/ Red Currant Jelly
• Broccoli w/ Caramelized Onions and Pine Nuts
• Mushroom Nut Roast
• Braised Chicken w/ Fennel and Apples
• Rosemary Mustard Pesto Lamb and Orange Fig Chutney
• Rosemary Roasted Turkey
• Foolproof Rib Roast 
• Rosemary Mustard Pesto Lamb and Orange Fig Chutney
• No Basting Roasted Turkey
• Roasted Beef Tenderloin w/ Rosemary and Thyme
• Apple-Maple Country Ham
• Gluten-Free Stuffed Cornish Game Hens
• Pork Tenderloin w/ Apple & Rye Stuffing
• Pork Tenderloin w/ Orange-Chipotle Sauce
• Potato Encrusted Halibut w/ Roasted Onions & Fennel
• Apple-Plum Stuffed Pork Chops w/ Cider Glaze (use a dairy-free corn bread)

Cookies for Santa and Santa's Helpers

• A Dozen of the Best Dairy-Free Cookie Recipes
• Six Sensational Gluten-Free & Dairy-Free Cookie Recipes
• Christmas Mint Cookies
• Soft Molasses Drop Cookies
• Dairy-Free, Wheat-Free, Egg-Free Snickerdoodles
• Gluten-Free Ginger Molasses Cookies w/ Chocolate Drizzle
• No Bake Coconut Snowball Cookies
• Grain-Free Gingerbread Men

Encore, Encore!

• Gingerbread Ice Cream
• "Milk" Chocolate Mint Truffles
• Maple Pecan Apple Crisp
• Cranberries 'n Creme Tart with Chocolate Crust
• Gluten-Free Gingerbread Cupcakes
• Chocolate Peppermint Covered Marshmallows
• Pumpkin Dessert
• Candy Cane Ice Cream
• Perfect Gluten-Free and Vegan Pumpkin Bread
• Mint Cacao Cookie Truffles
• Nog Panna Cotta (pictured above)
• Hot Christmas Tea
• Jose Cuervo Christmas Cookies
• Christmas Cake
• Easy Vegan Peanut Butter Fudge
• Downeast Maine Pumpkin Bread 
• New Orleans Fruitcake
• Mom's Best Fruitcake
• Pumpkin Gingerbread 
• Christmas Rum Balls (or Bourbon Balls)
• Cake Mix Christmas Cookies
• Christmas Hard Candy
• Pumpkin Streusel Bread
• Popular Pumpkin Bread - Super Moist
• Chocolate Pecan Pie
• Hot Spiced Cider
• Vegan Holiday Fudge
• Caramel Corn
• Turkish Delight
• Roasted Applesauce Amaretti Vegan Gelato 
• Gingersnap Truffles
• Bryanna's Low Fat Vegan Carrot Fruit Cake

Article by Alisa Fleming, founder of GoDairyFree.org and author of Go Dairy Free: The Guide and Cookbook for Milk Allergies, Lactose Intolerance, and Casein-Free Living. Alisa is also a freelance writer for several publications, with an emphasis on creating recipes for various types of special diets.