12 Christmas Starter Ideas: Easy, Cold and Make-Ahead Options

Choose your Christmas starter in a minute

Pick one main starter, then a proper alternative for anyone who cannot eat it. Ask guests about requirements before shopping; a dish name alone does not establish suitability.

Cold Christmas starter ideas

1. Prawn cocktail with crisp lettuce

A familiar first course that does not need an oven slot. Serve in small bowls with bread on the side. Check the prawns and sauce ingredients, and assemble close to serving according to the product or recipe instructions.

2. Beetroot and orange salad

A colourful winter salad makes a contrast to a rich main. Keep dressing separate until assembly and offer toppings separately where appropriate. Choose the full recipe before deciding whether it meets a guest’s dietary needs.

3. Mushroom pâté with toast

A savoury spread gives you a simple plated starter. Choose a recipe that explains advance preparation, then leave toast until the day. Check butter, cream and bread rather than assuming a mushroom dish is vegan or gluten-free.

Warm starters without using the oven

4. Parsnip soup with a bread roll

A small bowl is a festive option when you want the oven for the roast. If preparing it earlier, choose a recipe with clear chilling and reheating instructions. Leave garnishes separate so plating stays simple.

5. Tomato soup with a small cheese toast

A familiar choice when you do not want an elaborate first course. The toast adds another job: serve bread instead if the grill or toaster will already be busy.

6. Broccoli and cheese soup

Choose this for a richer warm starter, then keep the rest of the course simple. Cheese, stock and accompaniments all need checking. Preparing it ahead depends on the complete recipe.

For recipes rather than ideas, Good Food’s make-ahead starter collection includes parsnip and broccoli-and-Stilton soups. Follow the selected recipe; we have not cooked or tested those recipes ourselves.

Baked starters when you have an oven slot

7. A small caramelised onion tart

Serve a slice with a little salad. Check whether your recipe is served hot, warm or cold; that determines whether it saves work before dinner. Individual tarts create more trays and assembly than one shared tart.

8. Stuffed mushrooms

Choose one filling and a recipe that fits your tray. Allow for preparing, cooking and plating before committing to them. Small portions do not make this an oven-free option.

9. A baked cheese or dip to share

This suits an informal table where people can reach the dish. Add suitable dippers and a separate starter for guests who cannot share it. Keep serving tools separate and check the exact cheese, bread and dip ingredients.

If potatoes and the main already occupy the oven, choose a different starter instead of inventing a shared cooking temperature. Our Christmas timeline tool helps organise your own recipe timings.

Simple, flexible starters

10. Hummus, bread and prepared vegetables

A small dip plate can be bought or made from a complete recipe. Check sesame in hummus, wheat in bread and other relevant ingredients. Use separate dishes and utensils where needed; removing a topping does not undo cross-contact.

11. A mini savoury platter

Choose a few complementary bites, such as a small pastry, a dip and a vegetable item, rather than buying a second buffet. Count each item separately. The buffet calculator has editable planning assumptions; it does not decide dietary suitability.

12. A shop-bought starter with simple finishing touches

A prepared soup, tart or plated starter is reasonable if it reduces work. Check the current pack size, ingredients, use-by date and preparation instructions. Avoid turning a convenience option into five extra jobs.

For babies and young children, ask their parent or carer and follow NHS age-specific food advice. Preparation, size, shape and texture matter; an adult canapé is not automatically a child’s portion.

Make-ahead starters: what to do before Christmas Day

1. Choose the complete recipe. Look for explicit make-ahead instructions covering storage, freezing and finishing. Different soups, spreads and tarts do not all keep for the same time.
2. Check the space. Fit the actual container in the fridge before making food. A tray of individual plates takes more space than one covered container.
3. Write the finishing job down. Reheating, toast, dressing and plating still happen on the day. Give each job a time and a person.
4. Keep food information with the dish. Check ingredients for each item separately, including stock, sauces, bread and garnishes. Follow FSA allergy advice and the guest’s requirements.

The FSA recommends a fridge temperature of 0–5°C, following pack storage instructions, and cooling cooked food before refrigerating it within one to two hours. Its chilling, freezing and defrosting guidance explains the details. Preparing ahead is not permission to leave chilled starters out all morning.

Example: choosing a starter for eight guests

Suppose eight people are coming: six want a starter, one is skipping it and one has not replied. The oven is already committed to dinner. This is an illustrative shortlist, not a tested menu:

Do not silently count the unanswered guest as a confirmed portion. Get their reply before finalising the order. Match quantities to the selected recipe’s yield or product’s serving information, then account for whole packs; there is no universal starter portion.

Decide where starter plates will go afterwards. The starter-to-main reset guide covers that handover if you need more detail.

Your printable starter plan

Print this page at 100% scale. Keep private dietary details off shared sheets; use a guest reference and the agreed dish here.

Still deciding dinner? See our Christmas dinner menu ideas, plan for two and guest dietary requirements guide.

Questions people ask