Traditional sicilian foods for Christmas: the 30 (and more) tastiest dishes

Can a dish tell a story? Can it bring someone to a special place even if living on the other side of the world? In other words, can you feel you are in Sicily without having to move, not a single step, from London, Berlin or New York? 

The answer is yes, absolutely. A dish can do this and many other magic things, especially at Christmas time.And we have more than 30 tasty dishes to take you to Sicily and to bring Sicily to your tables, wherever you are.

So, spoon, paper and pen in hand, let’s see what are the traditional Sicilian Christmas foods and how to prepare them to bring to the table all the magic of Christmas!

Sicilian Christmas traditions (old and new) 

We left behind an intimate and less noisy Christmas than in previous years. This Christmas 2021, perhaps, will be warmer, with more people and noisier (with all the necessary precautions). The important thing is to surround ourselves with the people we love and enjoy good food together in an atmosphere of conviviality and joy. 

But before talking about the dishes, what about creating together the right atmosphere of Sicilian Christmas? Imagine the scent coming from the kitchen, the lighted candles that make everything warmer and cozier, a big tree overhanging dozens of colorful gifts and a table dressed in red and gold details. 

Well, candles or red tablecloth aside, the thing that most characterizes the true Sicilian Christmas is one: you sit down at the table at lunchtime and get up at aperitif time. No exceptions.

A perfect Sicilian Christmas table is full of appetizers and there is no space to add another glass. Before sitting down, at the first glance, you already lick your lips. The menu is so varied and complex that there is always someone who exclaims the usual phrase: “Okay, for the next three days I won’t eat anything!”. 

Actually, between laughter, stories and sweet hugs, we allow ourselves a little break around 5 pm and the most daring (usually uncles and dads) return to the table after a game to eat what is left over from lunch. 

Grandmothers, by now social addicts, have also welcomed their vegetarian and vegan grandchildren, giving up a bit of the tradition of the meat-only menu and also adding different dishes such as cannelloni with spinach and ricotta cheese and hummus strictly veg. 

Roast lamb with potatoes? Not necessarily. Sicilian Christmas 2021 is tradition but also innovation, mixing of flavors, big change. 

So, let’s get ready for a rich menu to delight all, but really all, palates.

The typical dishes of Christmas in Sicily 

As we said, traditional Sicilian Christmas foods are mixed with new dishes and new recipes in a perfect harmony of flavors, traditions and new gastronomic delights. 

From Trapani to Syracuse, the menu looks like a shopping list to prepare for the apocalypse. Nope. In fact, there is no need to be afraid, all this food is synonymous with so much love to give and receive. And to start off on the right foot, let’s start with the appetizers! 

Sicilian Christmas appetizers

Vegetables, fish or meat? Well, everything of course! In Sicily, the menu is so rich that you don’t need to choose and it’s impossible to stand by and watch. 

In Palermo, the table is laid with fried red pumpkin in sweet and sour sauce, eggplant caponata, fried cardoons and battered broccoli, sfincione of Palermo made with anchovies, onion, tomato and caciocavallo cheese and bagherese sfincione with anchovies, ricotta cheese and onion.  

In the Catania area, especially on Christmas Eve, people delight in crispelle stuffed with anchovies and ricotta cheese, but also in scacciate stuffed with vegetables, cheese or meat of their choice. In the area of Ragusa, people eat something similar: scaccia with broccoli or with other toppings. 

But there are also similar Sicilian dishes which take different names according to the province: pastizzi ragusani, ‘mbriulati or la Nfigghiulata.

A variant of the classic scaccia ragusana is the impanata di baccalà (breaded codfish), a delicious salty cake or focaccia which, in Modica, is called cudduruni.

A delicious vegetarian appetizer, then, is found in Messina with the focaccia with curly escarole, tuma, anchovies and fresh tomatoes. They can not miss then, to accompany each bite, fresh mozzarella, black and green olives and dried tomatoes seasoned with oil and garlic. 

Remember to serve some homemade bread as well!

“We’ll stop here”, you’ll think. No dude, this is just the appetizer.

Sicilian Christmas main courses

When the main course arrives at the table, everyone is already full (of food). But it’s Christmas and you eat everything (otherwise grandma gets angry!). What are the traditional Sicilian Christmas foods? 

Here too, you can propose meat, fish or vegetable main courses, all equally delicious and tasty. From the classic baked anelletti with ragù (meat souce) to the delicious pasta with sardines. And why not, a spaghettata of “mari e monti” with fresh seafood and mushrooms.  

In Messina must be tasted pasta alla ghiotta (or a’gghiotta) with onions, tomatoes, wine, olives, capers and swordfish or stockfish. A delicious sauce which can also be used for a tasty second course.

Other classic main courses, present in the tables of Sicilians not only at Christmas, are pasta ‘Ncasciata, known as Commissioner Montalbano’s favorite, homemade ravioli stuffed with ricotta cheese, meat sauce or fish of choice, pasta alla Carrettiera or eggplant and spaghetti rolls. It never goes out of fashion, then, the fresh pasta with pork sauce.  

And to the cry of “Enough, I’m full!“, we respond with a fantastic second course.  

Enjoy the silence.

Sicilian Christmas second courses (yes, we have)

As if that wasn’t enough, we also have “second” courses. We call them seconds because yes, they come after the first courses. 

Probably, the second most loved by Sicilians today, is fish based. For those who have rejected the Messina pasta alla ghiotta, they can opt for a second course of swordfish or stockfish alla ghiotta. 

Then stand out the timeless sardines “a beccafico” with muddica cunzata, that is with bread crumbs with oil, lemon peel, garlic, raisins, pine nuts and – if you want – pecorino cheese. For a more delicate and tasty second course, we suggest the Sicilian swordfish rolls or swordfish meatballs. 

Meat lovers can serve roasted stuffed pork loin or the classic falsomagro, a dish which can also be served at the end of the year dinner. 

Sicilian Christmas side dishes 

To make the second courses tastier, there are also baked or stewed potatoes with a sprinkling of fragrant rosemary. In the province of Palermo, cardoons (or better, carduna) are also served, simply boiled in water with lemon juice and seasoned with oil or fried cardoons in batter. 

If you do not like the bitterness of cardoons, the alternative is to serve vegetables or fried codfish (salted) in batter, also known as sfinci with anchovies and ricotta cheese.  

For those who want to keep in line and not fall into the trap of “Christmas is fattening at all costs”, why not serve a tasty salad of oranges, black olives and fennel? A fresh, light side dish that everyone really likes.

Sicilian Christmas desserts 

It is time to close the big Christmas banquet with a good dessert. Usually, in addition to the three varieties of dessert prepared by the host for the guests, there are also desserts brought by the guests as a sign of respect and gratitude. 

Thank you, indeed.

So, at the dreaded “Who wants dessert?” everyone gets up groaning and holding their bellies with disapproving looks. But once the table is covered with trays, panettone cakes and homemade cakes, no one refuses a small taste. And it’s back to eating! 

Sicilian Christmas sweets represent, without any doubt, the heart of Sicilian tradition and it is difficult to accept reinterpretations or desserts that do not respect this tradition.

From cannoli with ricotta cheese to almond paste desserts such as “ricci” (sicilian almond cookies), buccellati or cucciddati, cubbaita, cassata from Palermo. 

Less known, but very appreciated in the provinces where they were born, are the Jadduzzi of Scicli, the nucatoli of Ragusa, the sfoglio of Madonie or the collorelle of Caltagirone. 

And now, who wants a slice of panettone cake?

Traditional sicilian dishes for Christmas (yes, is over)

We have reviewed some of the traditional Sicilian dishes served from Palermo to Ragusa during the Christmas holidays. 

Yet, a Christmas lunch or dinner cannot be defined as complete without a bitter or a watermelon pudding (also lemon, orange or cinnamon). All excellent digestives that we highly recommend to anyone surviving such an odyssey. 

We hope we have given you a lot of great ideas to prepare your Christmas lunch or dinner. And if you have other tasty recipes to share with us, let us know in the comments!

Clara Amico

A full-time content creator. I create text that Google likes, but mostly people like.