Paige Knight - 13 / Dec / 2024

Traditional New Year's Eve Dinners

Celebrate New Year’s Eve with dishes from around the world. These 3 traditional New Year’s Eve dishes can help us to manifest luck in 2025.

All around the world, the New Year is celebrated with unique customs that reflect different cultures and beliefs. Lots of New Year’s celebrations center around food, with each traditional New Year’s Eve dinner reflecting the varying customs and superstitions of our friends around the globe.

Though our cuisine and customs might differ, we all share one common goal: to manifest good fortune in the year to come. I’m not usually the superstitious type, but some extra luck wouldn’t go amiss as we enter 2025. So, why not take some tips from our neighbors around the world? Let’s appreciate different cultures and welcome in the New Year by trying these traditional New Year’s Eve dishes from around the world.

Our Top 3 Traditional New Year’s Eve Dishes From Around the World

There are simply too many cultures and cuisines to fit into just one blog post, but here are some of our favorite traditional New Year’s Eve dishes. Serve these at your next New Year’s Eve party or include them in a small, intimate NYE dinner.

Toshikoshi soba noodles sit in a decorative blue bowl on a black tabletop.

^{Toshikoshi soba is perfect for those craving warmth, comfort, and good health this new year.}

Japanese Toshikoshi Soba

A traditional Japanese New Year’s Eve dinner, Toshikoshi Soba features long, thin buckwheat noodles, which represent longevity. This dish is meant to represent good health and a smooth transition into the new year. Warm, simple, and comforting, this is a must-try New Year’s Eve dish.

Ingredients

Instructions

6 oz dried soba noodles
2 cups dashi broth
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons mirin
½ teaspoon sugar
1 green onion, finely sliced
Toasted sesame seeds

Cook your soba noodles
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
- Add your soba noodles and cook according to package instructions.
- Drain and rinse your cooked noodles under cold water.
Prepare your broth
- In a medium saucepan, combine your broth, soy sauce, mirin, and sugar.
- Heat the broth over medium heat and bring it to a simmer.
- Taste and add more mirin and/or soy sauce according to taste.
Assemble your dish
- Divide your noodles amongst two serving bowls.
- Pour your hot broth over the noodles.
- Garnish with green onions and sesame seeds.
Serve
- Serve immediately with other toppings of choice, like tempura shrimp, nori, or blanched spinach.

Reddish-brown lentils sit in a large bowl with a wooden scoop.

^{Not only are lentils hearty and nutrient-dense, they’re also symbols of wealth and good fortune!}

Italian Cotechino con Lenticchie

This is a classic Italian New Year’s Eve dinner, featuring cotechino sausage and lentils. The coin-like shape of the lentils represent wealth, paired with sausage meant to represent abundance. This dish is traditionally eaten at midnight on New Year’s Eve to welcome good fortune as the new year begins.

Ingredients

Instructions

1 fresh cotechino sausage
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
2 cups dried lentils, rinsed
4 cups vegetable broth
2 bay leaves
Salt & pepper, to taste
Fresh parsley, finely chopped

Prepare your sausage
- Prick your cotechino all over with a fork.
- Place your sausage in a saucepan full of cold water and bring to a simmer.
- Let your sausage simmer for about 2 hours, until it’s tender and fully cooked through.
- Remove your cooked sausage from the water, allow it to cool slightly, and slice it into thin rounds.
Cook your lentils
- In a large saucepan, heat your olive oil over medium heat.
- Add your chopped onion, carrot, and celery, cooking for 5-7 minutes.
- Add your lentils, broth, and bay leaves.
- Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low.
- Simmer, uncovered, for 30-40 minutes, until your lentils are tender.
- Season with salt & pepper to taste and remove your bay leaves.
Combine and serve
- Arrange your lentils on a large serving platter and place your sliced cotechino on top.
- Garnish with fresh parsley and serve warm at midnight.

A round cake covered in powdered sugar sits on a white plate on a white countertop.

^{Similar to a Mardi Gras King Cake, Greek Vasilopita has a coin hidden inside.}

Greek Vasilopita

Also known as Saint Basil’s Cake, Vasilopita is a Greek cake that’s traditionally baked on New Year’s Eve. Similar to a Mardi Gras King Cake, this cake is baked with a coin hidden inside. Whoever gets the slice with the coin gets luck in the new year. This is a fun dish to enjoy with friends at a New Year’s Eve party.

Ingredients

Instructions

3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 ½ cups sugar
4 large eggs
½ cup milk
¼ cup fresh orange juice
1 tablespoon orange zest
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Powdered sugar, for dusting
1 clean coin

Preheat your oven
- Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C).
- Grease and flour a 10” round cake pan.
Combine your dry ingredients
- In a medium bowl, whisk together your flour, baking powder, and salt.
Cream your butter and sugar
- In a large mixing bowl, beat your butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes.
Add your other wet ingredients
- Add your eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
- Mix your milk, orange juice, orange zest, and vanilla extract until combined.
Add your dry ingredients to your wet ingredients
- Gradually mix your dry ingredients into your wet ingredients.
- Use a silicone spatula to fold together until just combined.
Add your coin
- Pour half of your batter into your prepared cake pan.
- Place the coin into the batter, then cover it with the remaining half of your batter.
Bake your cake
- Bake for 45-55 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Cool and decorate
- Allow your cake to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
- Once cooled completely, dust the top with powdered sugar.

Ring in the New Year With Blackstone’s

Blackstone’s of Beacon Hill has you covered in 2025. Whether you’re looking to revamp your kitchen or spruce up your home decor, we’ve got everything you need to make the most of the new year. Stop by our Beacon Hill location to shop specialty knives, kitchenware, home decor, and gifts. You can also visit our website to shop online, read our blog, and book knife sharpening services.