7 Meal Ideas For a New Year's Eve Party

Key Takeaways

• Delicious New Year's Eve meal ideas include fried turkey, fried fish, chicken wings, chili, and baked pasta.
• For a communal Southern New Year's Eve dinner, consider preparing a Louisiana crawfish boil or Low Country boil.
• For a classic Southern New Year’s meal, make pork, greens, and Hoppin’ John (black-eyed peas and rice). This meal is traditionally eaten on New Year’s Day, so wait until midnight!
• These entrees and countless others can be prepared with multi-use High Performance Cookers.

Coming up with tasty New Year's Eve dinner party ideas for your guests can be tricky. You want dishes that are special and memorable, but it’s also important that even picky eaters can enjoy the celebratory feast.

In this guide to New Year's Eve meal ideas, we’re going to highlight 7 mouthwatering dishes that you can make with High Performance Cookers. Some are inspired by Southern traditions, while others are simply holiday-worthy favorites. Let’s get started!

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the traditional Southern New Year's Day dinner?

The traditional New Year’s Day dinner in the South is Hoppin’ John, which is a dish made of rice, black-eyed peas, and pork (usually ham hocks or bacon). The dish is typically served with slow-cooked collard greens and cornbread.

Hoppin’ John is traditionally enjoyed on New Year’s Day to ring in the year with a delicious dose of good luck, so we recommend serving it after midnight if you plan on adding this New Year's Eve meal idea to your menu!

What does cornbread mean for New Year’s?

Besides being the perfect accompaniment to a Southern New Year's Eve dinner, the cornbread’s yellow color represents gold and prosperity.

How to celebrate New Year’s in a unique way?

Serving seafood for New Year's Eve is a fun way to change things up. Specifically, we recommend a traditional communal feast like a Louisiana crawfish boil or Low Country boil.

Both beloved Southern meals combine delectable cuisine with a social element that really brings people together. You might even end up starting a new tradition that lasts for many years to come!

7 Delicious New Year’s Eve Entree Ideas

From hearty Southern comfort foods to regional seafood dishes, here are the best New Year's Eve dinner party ideas for an unforgettable night.

1. Prepare a Deep-Fried Turkey

Although most people associate turkey with Thanksgiving, a large bird (or two or three) is a festive centerpiece for any holiday table. It’s a great way to feed a lot of people and enjoy the communal feeling of digging in together.

Of course, this is New Year’s Eve, not Thanksgiving, so change up the usual fare by deep-frying your turkey. It's easy with one of our turkey frying kits. With succulent, juicy meat and perfectly crispy skin, deep-fried turkey is truly a standout.

If you’re considering this New Year's Eve meal idea, remember that propane burners should only be used outdoors, and frying during windy, snowy, or rainy winter conditions can be dangerous.

2. Host a Fish Fry

For a classic Southern New Year's Eve dinner, you can’t go wrong with a fish fry. Not only is it a very tasty meal, but fish like haddock, cod, catfish, perch, and tilapia tend to be budget-friendly options.

Simply batter up the fish and fry them in an HPC fish fryer. Serve the fish with tartar sauce and various Southern sides, like coleslaw, hush puppies, fried okra, slow-cooked collard greens, macaroni and cheese, and cornbread.

3. Offer a Medley of Wings & Sauces

New Year's Eve meal ideas don’t need to be fancy! A heaping pile of chicken wings with various sauces is easy to make, and guests can’t get enough.

From Buffalo and barbecue to hot honey and Cajun mustard, wings are ideal finger foods for munching while socializing. Just make sure to have plenty of napkins available!

4. Prepare a Traditional Louisiana Crawfish Boil

Ring in the new year with a communal feast! As a company based out of Louisiana, this New Year's Eve dinner party idea is near and dear to our hearts. Here in the South, seafood boils and holidays/special events go hand-in-hand. They’re not only for Mardi Gras!

A Louisiana crawfish boil is another one of those New Year's Eve meal ideas typically prepared outdoors with a powered crawfish cooker, so it may not be the best choice for winter festivities. However, if your kitchen burner is powerful enough, you can still use a non-powered stock pot.

In addition to your HPC crawfish cooker, be sure to grab some authentic Cajun seasonings and Boil Boss seafood boil tools for the best results.

Follow these instructions: How to Cook a Louisiana Crawfish Boil: A Beginner’s Guide.

Need crawfish delivered directly to you? Check out Louisiana Crawfish Co.

5. Enjoy a Low Country Boil

Like the Louisiana crawfish boil, the Low Country boil is a communal seafood feast best enjoyed outdoors with friends and family. You may be able to make this New Year's Eve meal idea on the stove if your burner gets hot enough, but be sure to do a test run before the party.

This Southern New Year's Eve dinner originated in the coastal regions of Georgia and South Carolina. It has similar ingredients to a Louisiana crawfish boil, but shrimp is the star of the show, and the stock is often flavored with Old Bay seasoning.

6. Dust Off Your Secret Chili Recipe

A huge pot of slow-cooked chili is such a cozy dish that can serve a large crowd. You could even turn it into a cook-off!

To take this New Year's Eve meal idea to the next level, provide a table stocked with sides and toppings, like cornbread, tortilla chips, sour cream, cheese, and chopped onions.

7. Make an Ooey-Gooey Baked Pasta Dish

Last but certainly not least, add some Italian-American comfort food to the menu. With one of our 4-way pasta cookers, you can make ziti, penne, rigatoni, and shells at the same time and turn them into four totally unique pasta dishes!

Order Your Multi-Use Cookers Today

HPC cookers can handle these New Year's Eve dinner party ideas and so many others!

Whether you’re preparing fried comfort foods, slow-cooked chili, or boiled seafood for New Year's Eve, High Performance Cookers deliver perfectly cooked food, thanks to our patented Tunnel Tube Technology. Shop now, and enjoy these New Year's Eve meal ideas and more.