New Year's Eve
Latin New Year's Eve dinner, recipes for the 31st and January 1
What Mexico, Colombia and Venezuela eat on New Year's Eve, what to cook ahead and what to make the morning after.
In much of Latin America the New Year's Eve dinner looks a lot like Christmas Eve, and in Venezuela it is the same meal served a week later: hallacas (tamales wrapped in plantain leaf), roast pork leg, ham bread and chicken salad. Mexican families serve turkey, roast pork leg or loin, salt cod stew and romeritos, with a creamy apple salad, and tamales or pozole depending on the region. In Colombia the dinner on the 31st often centers on lechona, a whole pork skin stuffed and roasted, or tamales.
The next morning has its own food. In Mexico January 1 is the day of the recalentado, the reheated leftovers, and of a big pot of pozole or menudo, a tripe soup with a reputation as a hangover cure. Many Colombian families drive to a river for a *paseo de olla* and cook a sancocho over a fire.
At midnight, in all three countries, people eat twelve grapes, one for each stroke of the clock and a wish for each month. Lentils stand for money in the year ahead: in Mexico a small bowl is eaten before or during dinner on the 31st, while in Colombia many people keep a few raw ones in a pocket or wallet.
If you cooked a Latin Christmas, New Year's Eve is easier, because the same formula works: one main dish you prep the day before, one or two cold sides, a dessert made days ahead and something to toast with. Add a pot of soup for January 1 that you can mostly cook on the 30th.
A day-by-day plan for New Year's Eve
Built around dinner at 9 p.m. on December 31 and soup at midday on January 1. Keep only the lines for the dishes you are making; every time comes from the recipe itself.
- December 26 to 28. Settle the menu and order what will be gone from the shelves by the 30th. Venezuelan pernil needs a bone-in fresh ham (raw, uncured pork leg; in the UK a skin-on leg of pork, not gammon), which is often sold only to order at this time of year, and the pork skin for lechona should be ordered two or three days ahead. A frozen turkey goes into the fridge on the 28th: it needs three days to thaw. If you froze hallacas at Christmas, the Venezuelan plate is already done; they keep 3 months.
- December 29. Start soaking the salt cod in the fridge (36 to 48 hours, changing the water), and move a frozen pork leg to the fridge (about 48 hours). Score and marinate the pernil, a 25-minute job, since it needs 24 to 36 hours in the marinade. Bake the panettone from dough mixed the night before, and fry the buñuelos de viento, which are made two or three days ahead and kept in a tin.
- December 30, the day before. This is the long day. In the morning, rub the Mexican pork leg with its dried-chile adobo (40 minutes, then 12 to 24 hours in the fridge), salt the turkey and make its butter (15 minutes), and leave the pernil uncovered in the fridge so the skin dries. Cook the cod stew, the mole and vegetables for the romeritos, the sauce for the white spaghetti, the macaroni salad, and the hen and vegetables for the chicken salad. The egg liqueurs are made today too: rompope, ponche crema and sabajón need 4 hours in the fridge. If you want pozole or menudo on January 1, cook the meat and sauce or the tripe now: on the 31st the stove will be full.
- December 31, morning and afternoon. Mix the apple salad; it holds until the next day. After that the oven runs the schedule, and with only one oven you should pick one roast. For dinner at 9, the pernil goes in at 2:30 and the adobo pork leg around 3 (about 6 hours of oven and rest). A 5.5 kg (12 lb) stuffed turkey goes in around 4, after about 45 minutes of making the stuffing and buttering the bird, and needs 3½ to 4 hours at 165 °C (325 °F) plus 30 minutes of rest.
- December 31, the last hour. Reheat the cod over low heat for 25 to 30 minutes and the hallacas in boiling water to 74 °C (165 °F) in the center (30 minutes straight from frozen). The romeritos take about 45 minutes with the sauce made the day before. Toss the chicken salad (15 minutes), boil the pasta for the spaghetti, and mix the clericot an hour before serving. Before midnight, set out twelve grapes per person.
- January 1. Nothing from scratch. With the meat and sauce cooked on the 30th, pozole rojo takes 50 minutes and menudo 40. Leftovers that went into the fridge within 2 hours keep 3 to 4 days: last night's rice and beans become a Colombian calentado in 20 minutes, and the pork goes into sandwiches.
- January 4 to 6. To close the season, the Three Kings bread: the sugar paste topping keeps up to 2 days, the dough is mixed on the night of the 5th and rests 8 to 14 hours in the fridge, and on the 6th you only shape, proof and bake.
Main dishes for New Year's Eve dinner
Roasts are the most common centerpiece, and all three are seasoned the day before. The Venezuelan pernil is the easiest way to feed a crowd: with several dishes on the table, plan on 400 g (14 oz) of bone-in pork per person, so a 3.5 kg (7¾ lb) leg feeds 8 with leftovers for the 1st. The Mexican adobo pork leg is coated in a paste of guajillo and ancho chiles and barely needs touching in its 6 hours. The stuffed Latin turkey asks for the most planning because of the thawing. For fewer than 8 people, or with no free oven, the pork loin in prune sauce is cooked the day before and reheated in its sauce.
Without an oven, the Mexican salt cod stew and romeritos, a wild green cooked in mole with dried-shrimp patties, both taste better the next day. Hallacas from the freezer only need boiling, and Colombian lechona is a party dish for about 20. Each country's full holiday menu is in our Mexican Christmas, Colombian Christmas and Venezuelan Christmas guides.
DinnerVenezuelan Pernil, Christmas Pork Leg with a 3-Day Plan
Venezuelan pernil is a bone-in pork leg marinated 24 hours and roasted almost 6 hours to 175-195°F (80-90°C), for 8 people. A 3-day plan to Christmas Eve, US and UK cuts, crisp skin, scaling to 20 and leftovers.
DinnerMexican Adobo Pork Leg, Pierna Adobada for Christmas
Mexican adobo pork leg, or pierna adobada, is a bone-in fresh ham rubbed with guajillo, ancho and orange adobo and roasted under foil at 325°F (160°C). What to buy in the US or UK, a Christmas Eve timeline and leftover tortas.
DinnerLatin Christmas Turkey with Picadillo Stuffing
Latin Christmas turkey with a Mexican-style picadillo stuffing of pork, beef, apple, dried fruit and nuts, roasted at 325°F (165°C) to 165°F (74°C). Times by the pound, thawing, gravy and a Christmas Eve plan for 10.
DinnerPork Loin in Prune Sauce, a Mexican Christmas Roast
Mexican pork loin in prune sauce, seared and braised at 350°F (180°C) in prunes, orange juice and red wine until the center hits 145°F (63°C). Which roast to buy, how much per guest, a make-ahead plan and reheating, for 8.
DinnerMexican Christmas Bacalao, Salt Cod in Tomato and Olives
Mexican Christmas bacalao is salt cod stewed with tomatoes, olives, capers, baby potatoes and pickled peppers, 120 minutes for 8. How long to soak it, what 2.2 lb yields, the cost, and a plan for Christmas Eve.
DinnerMexican Romeritos in Mole with Dried Shrimp Cakes
Mexican romeritos, a salty seepweed simmered in mole with potatoes, nopales and puffy dried shrimp cakes, 90 minutes for 8. What romeritos are, samphire and other US/UK substitutes, a Christmas Eve plan, allergens and storage.
LunchVenezuelan Hallacas, the Christmas Tamal Wrapped in Leaves
Venezuelan hallacas the family way: beef, pork and chicken marinated a full day, corn dough colored with annatto lard. Olives, capers and raisins, tied in plantain leaf and boiled, with US substitutions and a two-day plan.
LunchColombian Lechona, Roast Pork With Crackling Skin
Lechona tolimense is pork skin stuffed with marinated pork and yellow split peas, roasted 3 hours at 320 °F and 40 minutes at 390 °F so the skin puffs. The two temperatures, what to order from a butcher and how to carve it.
Sides and salads
Next to a roast, one hot side and one cold one is plenty. For hot: Mexican white spaghetti in a creamy sauce made the day before, Mexican Christmas rice, which can be cooked on the 30th and reheated covered in the oven while the meat rests, and Latin-style mashed potatoes, made ahead with a splash of milk held back for reheating. For cold: the sweet, creamy Mexican apple salad and the macaroni salad, which needs neither oven nor stove on the 31st.
For the Venezuelan plate, the chicken salad comes together in 15 minutes once everything is cooked the day before. Ham bread keeps 3 to 4 days in the fridge, so a Christmas loaf will not last; bake a fresh one on the 30th or freeze it whole for up to a month. Salads made with mayonnaise should not sit out more than 2 hours.
DinnerMexican White Spaghetti (Espagueti Blanco) for Christmas
Mexican white spaghetti is pasta in a blended sauce of crema, cream cheese and butter, the creamy side next to the holiday ham or turkey. How much sauce keeps it loose, how to make it ahead for 20 and how to reheat it without it drying out.
DinnerMexican Christmas Rice with Pecans and Raisins, for 8 to 20
Mexican Christmas rice (arroz navideño) cooked in butter and chicken stock, with plump raisins and pecans toasted separately so they stay crisp. Amounts for 4 to 20, a creamy corn version, and how to make it the day before and reheat it.
DinnerCreamy Mashed Potatoes, Made Ahead for a Latin Christmas
Creamy mashed potatoes made with floury russets or Maris Pipers, started in cold salted water and mashed by hand so they never turn gluey. How much to make for 6, 12 or 20, how to make them the day before Nochebuena and reheat them soft.
DessertsMexican Apple Salad (Ensalada de Manzana) for Christmas
Mexican apple salad with media crema, condensed milk, pineapple, pecans and raisins, ready in 90 minutes for 10 servings. Which apples to buy, how to stop browning, how far ahead to make it, a less sweet version and amounts for 20 and 30.
SaladsMexican Macaroni Salad (Ensalada de Coditos) for a Crowd
Mexican macaroni salad with crema, mayo, ham, corn and pickled jalapeño, ready in 100 minutes (an hour of chilling) for 10. How much dressing to hold back so it never dries out, amounts for 20 and 40, food-safety times and swaps.
SaladsVenezuelan Chicken Salad, Ensalada de Gallina for Christmas
Venezuelan chicken salad, or ensalada de gallina, is shredded hen with firm potato, carrot, peas and apple in mayo, ready in 200 minutes for 8. Hen vs chicken, US and UK swaps, buffet safety and a December 23 make-ahead plan.
SnacksPan de Jamón, Venezuelan Christmas Ham Bread
Venezuelan pan de jamón: an enriched dough rolled around ham, bacon, raisins and green olives, baked at 356 °F. The filling ceiling that keeps the seam closed, US ingredient swaps and how to freeze it.
Desserts for New Year's Eve
Nobody wants to bake on the 31st, so pick desserts that are made days ahead. The homemade panettone is baked two or three days early and keeps 5 days in a sealed bag. Decorated Christmas butter cookies last 10 days in a tin, so a batch from the 22nd still makes it, and the crisp, cinnamon-sugar buñuelos de viento are fried on the 29th. If you made Venezuelan black cake for Christmas, what is left is tonight's dessert.
The Colombian Christmas sweets work again too: natilla, a firm spiced custard, is made the day before, and the cheese buñuelos are fried at the last minute because they lose their crunch in about 20 minutes.
DessertsHomemade Panettone with Instant Yeast, No Starter Needed
Homemade panettone made with instant yeast instead of a sourdough starter, baked in two small paper molds at 350°F (175°C) to 197°F (92°C) inside. How to knead to the windowpane, timing rises in a cool kitchen, hanging and storing.
DessertsChristmas Butter Cookies That Hold Their Shape
Christmas butter cookies made with powdered sugar, egg yolks and no baking powder, rolled a scant ¼ inch thick and baked cold at 325°F (160°C). About 40 cut-outs, royal icing three ways, decorating without piping tips and drying times.
DessertsBuñuelos de Viento Recipe, Crisp Mexican Rosette Cookies
Buñuelos de viento are Mexican rosette cookies, a thin milk and egg batter fried on a rosette iron heated in 365°F (185°C) oil. How to season the iron, fix sticking or greasy rosettes, keep them crisp and make 40 ahead.
DessertsVenezuelan Black Cake (Torta Negra), Rum-Soaked Fruit Cake
Venezuelan black cake (torta negra) is a Christmas fruit cake with rum-soaked fruit, papelón and dark caramel, baked at 300°F (150°C). One 9-inch cake serves 20: how it differs from Caribbean black cake, feeding schedule, swaps, storage.
DessertsColombian Natilla, the Eggless Christmas Custard
Colombian natilla, the firm eggless Christmas custard of milk, cornstarch, panela and cinnamon, made for 10 people. Fifteen minutes of work plus 4 hours chilled, how much cornstarch per quart and why it will not set.
DessertsColombian Buñuelos, the Christmas Cheese Fritters
Colombian buñuelos, the salty cheese fritters of Christmas, made with cotija or queso costeño, cornstarch and tapioca. Fried at 300-330 °F so they puff without splitting, 20 of them in 57 minutes. Cheese swaps and why they burst.
Drinks for the toast and for kids
For toasting, clericot is the lightest choice: red wine, chopped fruit and soda, 20 minutes of work and 1 hour in the fridge, and it holds for up to 4. The egg liqueurs are made the day before because they need 4 hours of chilling, and they keep 3 to 4 days in the fridge: Mexican rompope, Venezuelan ponche crema and Colombian sabajón. Think of them as richer, homemade cousins of eggnog.
For kids, the hot Mexican Christmas punch comes out of the same pot as the adults' version, just without the spirits, and you can set aside a bottle of rompope or ponche crema before adding the liquor. If the kids join in the midnight grapes, cut them lengthwise into quarters for anyone under 5.
DrinksClericot Recipe, Mexican Red Wine Punch by the Pitcher
Clericot is Mexico's party wine punch, red wine with diced fruit topped up with lemon-lime soda and sparkling water. One bottle makes a 3-quart pitcher for 8, with amounts for 20 to 30 guests, soaking times and a kid-safe version.
DrinksRompope Recipe, Homemade Mexican Eggnog Without Lumps
Rompope is Mexican eggnog made with reduced cinnamon milk and egg yolks only, cooked to 160°F (71°C) so it thickens without curdling. Makes about 5 cups in 70 minutes, with an alcohol-free version, fridge life and gifting tips.
DrinksVenezuelan Ponche Crema, the Rum Eggnog Cooked to 160°F
Venezuelan ponche crema is a thick rum eggnog of condensed and evaporated milk cooked to 160°F (71°C), ready in 40 minutes for two 750 ml bottles. Its alcohol content, a kid-safe version, how long it keeps in the fridge and gifting.
DrinksColombian Sabajón, the Aguardiente Eggnog That Stays Thick
Colombian sabajón is a cold eggnog of whole milk, 6 yolks and cornstarch, boiled for 1 minute so it stays thick, then spiked with aguardiente. It makes two 750 ml bottles in 50 minutes, with a kid version, ABV and fridge life.
DrinksMexican Christmas Punch, Ponche Navideño with Tejocotes
Mexican Christmas punch (ponche navideño) is a hot fruit punch of tejocotes, guava, sugarcane and hibiscus, simmered in order of firmness. Ready in 90 minutes for 20 cups, with 40-cup amounts, spiked ratios, swaps and keep-warm tips.
An easy Latin New Year's Eve dinner
For a first New Year's Eve dinner or a small table, cook one main that does not depend on the oven: the pork loin in prune sauce or the salt cod stew, both made the day before. Serve it with the apple salad and the white spaghetti, buy good bread, and bring out whatever dessert is left from Christmas. On the 31st that leaves an hour of cooking and a pitcher of clericot.
For a big crowd, a pot goes further than a roast: pozole rojo for 10 sits happily on the stove for hours and everyone adds their own toppings. Canned hominy from the Latin aisle works fine. More ideas by occasion, including dinners for a crowd, are in our Latin Christmas recipes.
What to eat on January 1
After a late night, the best plan is a pot that is nearly done. Menudo is the morning-after classic in many Mexican and Mexican-American homes; look for honeycomb tripe at Mexican or Latin grocers, often frozen. With the tripe cooked on the 30th it takes 40 minutes, and pozole rojo works the same way in 50. In Colombia, chicken sancocho is the pot of the January 1 river outing; at home it is about 2 hours and 20 minutes, most of it simmering.
If nobody feels like cooking, a Mexican chicken soup made with broth from the day before takes 35 minutes, and Colombian lentils with chorizo cooked on the 30th keep 4 days in the fridge. Leftover rice and beans become a calentado in 20 minutes; reheat them once, until steaming.
SoupsMexican Menudo, Red Tripe Soup with Guajillo and Hominy
Mexican menudo is a red tripe soup with honeycomb tripe, beef feet, hominy and guajillo chile, ready in 270 minutes (90 hands-on) for 10 bowls. How to clean tripe, a 50-minute pressure cooker method, US and UK swaps and storage.
SoupsPozole rojo, Mexican pork and hominy stew for a crowd
Pozole rojo is Mexico's red chile pork and hominy stew, ready in 150 minutes (80 hands-on) for 10 bowls from guajillo and ancho chiles. Canned vs dried hominy, US and UK swaps, scaling to 25, make-ahead plan and freezing.
SoupsColombian Sancocho de Gallina, the Hen and Plantain Soup
Colombian sancocho de gallina, the Valle del Cauca soup of stewing hen, green plantain, corn, yuca and culantro. Ready in 140 minutes for 8. Hen or chicken and what changes, US swaps for every root, why the broth goes thin, storage.
SoupsCaldo de Pollo, Mexican Chicken Soup with Vegetables
Caldo de pollo is Mexican chicken soup, bone-in legs simmered with corn, carrots, potato, chayote and zucchini, ready in 90 minutes for 6 bowls. Which cuts to buy, a clear broth, US and UK swaps, Instant Pot, costs and freezing.
LunchColombian Lentils with Chorizo
Colombian lentils with fresh chorizo, potato and carrot, cooked from dry with no soaking and with the tomato held back until minute 55. Why acid toughens lentils and salt does not, and which lentil to buy. Six bowls in 70 minutes.
BreakfastColombian Calentado, Yesterday's Beans and Rice
Calentado paisa: leftover beans and rice fried with chorizo until a crust forms, topped with a fried egg and an arepa. The 2-hour rule, the 165 °F reheat and why Colombians cook extra beans on purpose.
January 6, Three Kings bread
The season ends on January 6 with rosca de Reyes, an orange-scented sweet bread ring cut that day (some families cut it on the 5th). A small figurine is hidden inside, and whoever finds it in their slice hosts a tamale party on February 2, Candlemas. With the dough mixed the night before, on the 6th you only shape it, let it rise for 1 hour and bake it for about 30 minutes at 180 °C (350 °F).
Frequently asked questions
What do Latin Americans eat on New Year's Eve?
It depends on the country. In Mexico: turkey, roast pork leg or loin, salt cod stew and romeritos, with apple salad, and tamales or pozole in some regions. Venezuela repeats the Christmas plate of hallacas, roast pork leg, ham bread and chicken salad. In Colombia, lechona or tamales. At midnight, in all three, twelve grapes.
What is an easy Latin New Year's Eve dinner?
One main you make the day before and only reheat, such as pork loin in prune sauce or salt cod stew, a cold side like Mexican apple salad, a dessert that is already made and a pitcher of clericot. That leaves about an hour of cooking on the 31st.
Why do people eat twelve grapes at midnight?
Each grape stands for one month of the coming year, and you make a wish with each one as the clock strikes twelve. Seedless grapes are easier to get through in time; for young children, cut them lengthwise into quarters.
Why do people eat lentils on New Year's?
Their coin shape links them to money and abundance in the year ahead. In Mexico a bowl is eaten before or during dinner on December 31, not on January 1; in Colombia many people carry a few raw lentils in a pocket or wallet instead. If you want the tradition on the table, lentils with chorizo can be made on the 30th and reheated.
What can I make ahead for New Year's Eve dinner?
The marinade for the pork leg or pernil, salting the turkey, the cod stew, the mole for the romeritos, the white spaghetti sauce, the Christmas rice, the mashed potatoes, the macaroni salad, the hen for the chicken salad and the egg liqueurs. Leave the roasting, tossing the salads, boiling the pasta and the clericot for the day.
How long do New Year's Eve leftovers keep?
3 to 4 days in the fridge if they went in within 2 hours, spread in shallow containers so they cool fast. Reheat them once, until steaming or 74 °C (165 °F).