New Year's Eve dinner: what to cook for December 31st
New Year's Eve dinner is eaten late, in the middle of the Chilean summer, with the midnight toast as the finish line. That calls for a menu with plenty of cold dishes, food made on the 30th or in the morning, and a single main cooked at the last minute without repeating the Christmas turkey. This guide orders thirteen recipes from the site that way: something to start and toast with, a main without turkey, cold salads for the heat, and a chilled dessert before the lentils and the twelve chimes.
New Year's Eve dinner, in short: to start, a pisco sour (10 minutes, 3:1:1 ratio) or an Aperol Spritz (5 minutes) with garlic shrimp (18 minutes). For the main, no turkey: baked salmon with lemon and butter (25 minutes), arrollado huaso made the day before (2 hours 40 minutes) or pan-seared pork chops (30 minutes). On the side, papas mayo, Chilean salad and a warm quinoa bowl, all cold or warm. For dessert, mote con huesillo made the night before, Greek yogurt pots or lemon tart, and at midnight a spoonful of lentils from the lentil and tuna salad.
To start and to toast
The night is long and the heat asks for something cold in hand from the start. Two cocktails with exact ratios that come together in minutes, and garlic shrimp ready in under twenty minutes to eat with bread.
Work out how many appetizers and drinks to prepare →
Pisco sour
The 3:1:1 ratio of pisco, pica lime juice and syrup, shaken with ice in 10 minutes. Makes 4 glasses, and the recipe explains how to make it by the pitcher for a crowd.
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Aperol Spritz
The 3-2-1 rule: 90 ml prosecco, 60 ml Aperol and 30 ml soda water over ice, ready in 5 minutes. About 8% alcohol, less than a glass of wine: right for a long night.
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Garlic shrimp
500 g of shrimp sautéed 3-4 minutes with golden garlic, olive oil and a touch of butter. 4 servings in 18 minutes; serve with crusty bread for the sauce.
View recipeThe main course, without repeating the turkey
After the Christmas turkey, the main on the 31st can be lighter and faster. The salmon bakes in 15 minutes and goes straight to the table; the arrollado huaso is cooked the day before and sliced cold; the quick-brined pork chops come out juicy in half an hour.
Grilling instead? Work out how much meat to buy →
Baked salmon
Skin-on fillets at 200 °C for 12 to 15 minutes with lemon, butter and garlic. 4 servings in 25 minutes; the center should be just opaque so it stays moist.
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Arrollado huaso
Pork marinated in garlic, cumin and vinegar, wrapped in pork skin and simmered 2 hours. Make it on the 30th and serve it cold in slices or in a sandwich; 4 servings.
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Juicy pork chops
A 15-minute quick brine, a hot pan 3-4 minutes per side and a 5-minute rest. 4 servings in 30 minutes, with oven and sauce variations.
View recipeCold salads for the December heat
December 31st in Chile is summer: the salads carry the sides and are made in the afternoon. Papas mayo and the Chilean salad are dressed at the last minute; the quinoa bowl can be made ahead, and the lentil salad is the midnight one.
Papas mayo
Potatoes boiled in their skins, cubed and folded warm into homemade lemon mayonnaise with spring onion and parsley. 4 servings in 45 minutes; the recipe says how much to make per person.
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Chilean salad
Peeled tomato wedges and thin-sliced onion soaked 10 minutes in salted water, with cilantro, oil and salt. 20 minutes, no cooking, 4 servings; dress it just before serving.
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Warm quinoa bowl
Quinoa cooked 12 minutes with pan-roasted red pepper, zucchini and red onion, avocado and a lemon-cumin dressing. 2 servings in 20 minutes; good warm or cold and can be made ahead.
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Lentil and tuna salad
Cooked lentils with tuna, cucumber, tomato, red onion and olives in a lemon and mustard dressing. 4 servings in 25 minutes and better the next day: the midnight spoonful of lentils.
View recipeChilled dessert and the midnight toast
Nobody wants to turn on the oven at eleven at night. All three desserts are made earlier and served cold from the fridge: mote con huesillo the night before, the yogurt pots in 15 minutes in the afternoon, and the lemon tart with its hours of chilling.
Mote con huesillo
Dried peaches simmered in a cinnamon syrup and served very cold over wheat berries. An hour of work plus 2 hours of chilling; best made the day before. 4 servings.
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Greek yogurt pots
Layers of Greek yogurt with honey and vanilla, berries and granola, no oven and no cooking. 4 pots in 15 minutes; add the granola at the end so it stays crunchy.
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Lemon tart
A buttery biscuit base with a lemon cream of eggs, sugar, lemon and heavy cream set at 160 °C. 55 minutes of work plus 1 hour of cooling and at least 2 in the fridge: make it in the morning. 4 servings.
View recipeWhat is served cold, what is served hot, and when to make it
The dinner on the 31st works when almost everything is done before the guests arrive. This table sums up how each dish is served and when it is best made, following each recipe.
| Dish | Served | Made |
|---|---|---|
| Pisco sour | Cold | At the last minute (or by the pitcher 1 hour ahead) |
| Aperol Spritz | Cold | At the last minute |
| Garlic shrimp | Hot | At the last minute, 18 minutes |
| Baked salmon | Hot | At the last minute, 25 minutes |
| Arrollado huaso | Cold | The day before |
| Pork chops | Hot | At the last minute, 30 minutes |
| Papas mayo | Cold | In the afternoon; mixed warm, then chilled |
| Chilean salad | Cold | 1 hour ahead; dressed at serving |
| Warm quinoa bowl | Warm or cold | In the morning |
| Lentil and tuna salad | Cold | The day before |
| Mote con huesillo | Cold | The day before |
| Greek yogurt pots | Cold | In the afternoon; granola at serving |
| Lemon tart | Cold | In the morning |
The times in each row are those of the linked recipe; if you scale the yield, check the recipe page again.
Work plan to reach midnight without cooking
With this order, by ten at night all that is left is baking the salmon or searing the chops and taking everything else out of the fridge.
- December 30: Cook the arrollado huaso (2 hours on low heat) and chill it whole. Make the mote con huesillo and the lentil and tuna salad: both improve with resting.
- Morning of the 31st: Bake the lemon tart and give it its hour of cooling and 2 hours in the fridge. Cook the quinoa and sauté the vegetables; keep them covered and finish with the avocado and dressing at serving.
- Afternoon of the 31st: Boil the potatoes in their skins and make the homemade mayonnaise for the papas mayo; mix them warm and refrigerate. Assemble the yogurt pots without the granola. Peel the tomatoes and soak the onion for the Chilean salad.
- 8:00 pm: Squeeze the pica limes and keep the pisco sour in a pitcher in the fridge. Chill the prosecco, the soda water and the glasses. Take out the arrollado and slice it.
- 10:00 pm, dinner: Serve the cocktails and sauté the garlic shrimp while the oven heats up. Bake the salmon 12 to 15 minutes (or sear the chops 3-4 minutes per side) and serve with the freshly dressed salads.
- 11:50 pm, the toast: Take the mote con huesillo and the desserts out of the fridge and add the granola to the yogurt pots. At midnight, the spoonful of lentils and the toast.
New Year's Eve dinner: frequently asked questions
What do people cook for New Year's Eve in Chile?
A late, fresh dinner built for summer and for waiting until midnight: a cocktail to start, such as the pisco sour, a main lighter than the Christmas one, such as baked salmon or cold arrollado huaso, salads such as papas mayo and the Chilean salad, and a chilled dessert. At twelve, lentils and a toast.
What if I do not want turkey again?
Three mains that are not turkey and take half an hour or can be made ahead: baked salmon with lemon and butter (25 minutes, 4 servings), quick-brined pork chops (30 minutes) and arrollado huaso, cooked on the 30th and served cold in slices. If you would rather grill, the asado calculator tells you how much meat to buy.
What time is New Year's Eve dinner?
Later than Christmas: people usually sit down between ten and eleven at night so dessert lands with the midnight toast. That is why this guide's plan has everything cold done in the afternoon and leaves only the last-minute main for ten o'clock.
Why are lentils eaten on New Year's Eve?
It is a popular custom in Chile and other countries: a spoonful of lentils at midnight, or a handful in the pocket, as a wish for abundance in the year ahead. The lentil and tuna salad keeps the tradition without turning on the stove: it is made the day before and tastes better after resting.
What can I get done on the 30th?
The arrollado huaso (2 hours of simmering, served cold), the mote con huesillo (needs at least 2 hours of chilling and improves overnight) and the lentil and tuna salad. The lemon tart and the quinoa are made on the morning of the 31st.
The other holiday guides
For Christmas Eve, the Chilean Christmas menu with turkey, cola de mono and pan de pascua; for the sweet table, the Christmas desserts; and to open the night or host visitors, the Christmas and New Year's Eve appetizers and cocktails.