Yay to festive feasting! We’ve rounded up our best Christmas roast recipes that deserve to get made this holiday season. From gammon to lamb, and even fish, we have all types of recipes for the Christmas spread of your dreams, plus tips for cooking them to perfection.
Duck, Chicken & Turkey Roast Recipes
Roast duck and turkey have slowly crept their way into South African kitchens. Duck and turkey are not our traditional, go-to poultry types and as such, many people fear cooking and possibly ruining them. Fear not, here are two festive bird roast recipes that are easy to follow and delicious – and won’t leave you with dry meat – no brining required.
Roast Chicken with Garlic & Roasted Red Pepper Spreado
Savour the succulence of this roast chicken, basted with garlic and roasted pepper-infused butter. The tender meat beneath crisp, golden skin is an festive showstopper!
Try this recipe for Roast Chicken with Garlic & Roasted Red Pepper Spreado
Cape Malay Spiced Roast Chicken with Apricot & Almond Couscous
A fragrant, golden-roasted chicken infused with Cape Malay spices, served with fluffy couscous studded with sweet apricots and toasted almonds.
Try this recipe for Cape Malay Spiced Roast Chicken with Apricot & Almond Couscous
Roast Duck with Cherry Citrus Glaze
A collection of Christmas roast recipes wouldn’t be complete without a whole roasted duck. We can’t decide what’s tastier – the oh-so-succulent meat or the delicious cherry citrus glaze. There’s only one way for you to find out…
Try this recipe for Roast Duck with Cherry Citrus Glaze
Turkey Roulade
This is a great recipe if you can’t get your hands on a whole turkey. To cut down on time – especially if your knife skills are lacking – ask your butcher to debone the legs and thighs, and you’ll be A-for-away for your festive feast.
Try this recipe for Turkey Roulade
Our Best Pork Roast Recipes
Crackling… it’s the ultimate gold standard of the perfect pork roast and Christmas main that really ought to be made on more occasions. And who could forget gammon? It has that amazing sweet and salty addictive flavour with the amazing addition of smokiness. Prepare gammon a day before for seamless entertaining and make the most of leftovers. You really can’t go wrong with one of these mouthwatering pork roasts.
Spiced Apple & Raisin Porchetta
What’s a special occasion without the perfect porchetta? Inspired by festive flavours and spiced desserts, this roast is stuffed with a delicious apple and raisin purée.
Recipe for Spiced Apple & Raisin Porchetta
Smoky Pork Tenderloin with Pineapple Chilli Salsa
Elevate outdoor entertaining with this smoky pork tenderloin. Enjoy it with pineapple chilli salsa for a spicy kick and crisp slaw for a cooling contrast.
Recipe for Smoky Pork Tenderloin with Pineapple Chilli Salsa
Maple Mustard Glazed Gammon with Bacon Crumble
There’s just something about a gorgeous gammon that gets us salivating. This one is succulent, and the maple-mustard glaze is the perfect balance of sweet with a hint of spicy. Don’t even get us started on the bacon crumble – this is truly a show-stopping roast.
Recipe for Maple Mustard Glazed Gammon with Bacon Crumble
Crack the Crackling Pork Belly Roll
Impress friends and family with this restaurant-worthy pork belly. The crackling is crunchy and the belly is juicy – we can’t imagine a better roast for your Christmas table spread.
Recipe for Crack the Crackling Pork Belly Roll
Festive Pork Stuffing Meatloaf
All your favourite festive flavours combined in one delicious pork meatloaf.
Recipe for Festive Pork Stuffing Meatloaf
Roast Pork Shoulder with Apple & Onion Gravy
Some pork roasts are all meat and potatoes, but not this one, it’s all about the gravy, baby!
Recipe for Roast Pork Shoulder with Apple & Onion Gravy
Pork Leg Roast with Roast Potatoes & Green Beans
A mouthwatering pork roast that makes for the ultimate Christmas table spread.
Recipe for Pork Leg Roast with Roast Potatoes & Green Beans
Smoked Pork Rashers with Fruit Mince BBQ Sauce
If you love fruit mince and rashers, this recipe is for you. Sticky, sweet and salty – we could easily eat a whole serving of these.
Recipe for Smoked Pork Rashers with Fruit Mince BBQ Sauce
Pomegranate Gammon with Za’atar Roasted Radishes
Pomegranate molasses is the secret ingredient in Middle Eastern cooking. That signature sticky sweetness makes for an incredibly delicious glaze for gammon.
Recipe for Pomegranate Gammon
Honey & Harissa Glazed Pork Neck with Tahini Pumpkin Wedges
The tasty honey-harissa basting on this roast adds a sweet and spicy kick that makes it the perfect centrepiece for your festive celebrations.
Recipe for Honey & Harissa Glazed Pork Neck
Deboned and Stuffed Rolled Pork Loin Roast with Roast Potatoes
This succulent roast has been deboned and stuffed with a sage and almond filling. Overnight air drying and salting results in literally the most perfect crunchy crackling you’ll ever make. Alongside this roast (because who doesn’t need more golden crunch in their lives) are crispy oven-roasted potatoes.
Recipe for Deboned and Stuffed Rolled Pork Loin Roast with Roast Potatoes
Honey and Cherry Roast Gammon with Knödel & Glazed Carrots
Honey roasted gammon and glazed carrots are another smashing classic Christmas combo. And no, Knödel is not a varying-pitch Swiss form of singing, it’s a dense and delicious dumpling sautéed in butter.
Recipe for Honey and Cherry Roast Gammon with Knödel & Glazed Carrots
Berry Glazed Gammon with Bacon Brussels Sprouts
This is a version that embraces the flavour and sweetness of summer berries. Cooked to perfection and then finished off with this delicious mixed berry jam glaze. And on the side, we’ve gone for traditional Brussels sprouts that have been cooked in rendered bacon fat and the result is a side of crispy and seriously tasty veggies.
Recipe for Berry Glazed Gammon with Bacon Brussels Sprouts
Apricot, Ginger & Chilli Glazed Gammon with Apple & Fennel Slaw
Gammon with a bit of a contemporary twist. We’ve sliced the fat in a classic diamond shape and glazed with a mix of sweetness from apricot jam and then added ginger, garlic and chilli for a bit of punch. And because summer days in South Africa can be hot, we’ve opted for a lighter side for this dish, a fresh and lightly dressed slaw with the addition of fennel and crunch from Granny Smith apples. Quite delicious!
Recipe for Apricot, Ginger, Garlic & Chilli Glazed Gammon with Apple and Fennel Slaw
ROAST RACK OF PORK WITH ROAST POTATOES
Let this beauty be the pièce de résistance of your festive feast.
Recipe for this Roast Rack of Pork with Roast Potatoes
FESTIVE DUKKAH CRUSTED GAMMON
Glazed with honey mustard, and then crusted with a deliciously aromatic dukkah that’s full of festive spices like cinnamon, allspice, clove and nutmeg.
Recipe for this Festive Dukkah Crusted Gammon
Our Best Lamb Christmas Roast Recipes
There is something quite ceremonious and quite frankly, holy, about lamb. Maybe it’s because every time we see it or someone mentions it, the clouds part, letting in rays of sunshine as we hear the angels sing.
Greek Style Roast Leg of Lamb
The Greeks sure know how to treat lamb, and this recipe is no exception.
Recipe for Greek Style Roast Leg of Lamb
Deboned Leg of Lamb with Stuffed Dates & Fresh Herbs
Our list of Christmas roast recipes must include a succulent lamb, done Greek-style. Stuffed with dates and lamb-loving herbs, this leg is perfectly pink and packed with flavour.
Recipe for Deboned Leg of Lamb
Our Best Beef Christmas Roast Recipes
You may think roast beef for Christmas dinner a bit vanilla. We prove the haters wrong with these over-the-top, supreme beef roast recipes.
Standing Rib Roast with Brandy Pepper Sauce
Impress your guests with this showstopping and succulent Standing Rib Roast.
Recipe for Standing Rib Roast with Brandy Pepper Sauce
Classic Beef Wellington
A beef Welly that even chef Gordon Ramsay would approve of. Serve with a mushroom duxelles sauce and watch your guests salivate.
Recipe for Classic Beef Wellington
Our Best Fish & Seafood Recipes
Okay, so maybe we went a little over-the-top with the death-by-roast recipes (FYI, it would be so worth it). For those of you looking for something on the lighter side, this is for you.
Prawn Saganaki
Saucy and grilled to perfection, everything you could want from a prawn dish.
Recipe for Prawn Saganaki
Méthod Cap Classique Mussel Pot
MCC and mussels have never tasted better. A seafood pot that will make your feast that much more delicious.
Recipe for Méthod Cap Classique Mussel Pot
Braaied Whole Yellowtail
Take a trip to the Aegean with this Greek-inspired whole fish braai.
Recipe for Braaied Whole Yellowtail
Bouillabaisse
A classic French dish and the ultimate seafood starter for your festive spread.
Recipe for Bouillabaisse
Vegetarian & Vegan Roast Recipes
Christmas roast recipes need not only be carnivore exclusive. Try some of these delish vegan and vegetarian sides and roasts.
Vegetarian Roast
This vegetarian roast is a meat-free play on the ‘vegducken’ that did the rounds on social media in years gone by. It’s basically carrots stuffed inside a courgette, stuffed inside a butternut with lots of creamy spinach, mushroom and feta filling.
Recipe for Vegetarian Roast
Vegan Cauliflower Wellington with Vegetable Jus
The classic Wellington made vegan-friendly with cauliflower.
Recipe for Vegan Cauliflower Wellington
Now that your roast is in hand, check out these amazing festive sides and salads to accompany your roast. And of course, don’t forget dessert!
