30 Celebrity Holiday Recipes to Impress Your Guests

This holiday season, you may pull out your great aunt’s chocolate cake recipe for Christmas dinner or go for that complicated French recipe you’ve been eying, but why not try a recipe from your favorite celebrity? Here are 30 that are delicious and in some cases healthy and surprisingly simple. Now there’s no need to stay in the kitchen all day to dazzle your loved ones.

Singer Beyonce has had one recipe published, and it’s for guacamole. The recipe is delicious, simple, and perfectly balanced.

Recipe: The Chew 

A genius recipe that’s also pretty healthy, Oprah Winfrey’s Unfried Chicken is a stand-out from her cookbook. Think tender, juicy meat inside, with a perfect crunch on the outside. It’s tasty enough for a special dinner with guests, but easy enough for a weeknight dinner.

Recipe: Pop Sugar 

Most of us don’t associate actor Matt Damon with risotto, but when he was slimming down for a role he hired a chef to help him come up with delicious, lower-calorie dishes and this was one of them. His Saffron Risotto with Steamed Asparagus will quickly become one of your favorite recipes too, and is so perfectly elegant for holiday entertaining.

Recipe: People

This Italian recipe is four ingredients (including a cup of water) and is basically just slow-cooked zucchini, broken down to the most flavor-packed version of itself, with pasta. Also, it is a recipe by an actual royal. What could be more elegant?

Recipe: Buzzfeed

The cheerful newscaster has a recipe for lemon chicken that is the perfect main to delight your guests. Classic flavors, put together skillfully, will never go out of style, nor will a recipe as scrumptious and simple as this one.

Recipe: Genius Kitchen

Snoop Dogg is not just an adept rapper, he also has a cookbook out plus a cooking show with Martha Stewart. Make his Ain’t No Jive Herbed Turkey and Gravy for any special holiday dinner. It’s pretty straightforward and gets much of its sumptuous flavor from an herb compound butter.

Recipe: Delish 

Avocado toast is getting a bit too big for its britches, but it’s easy to see why it got that way — it’s filling but healthy. Actress Drew Barrymore offers a delicious customization by adding heirloom tomatoes for an extra kick of savory goodness.

Recipe: Well and Good 

Actress Jennifer Garner, swears by this Roast Lemon Chicken Soup recipe originally from Martha Stewart. You can use homemade broth or make your own. Or, in a pinch, eat the chicken on its own, as it’s tender, flavorful, and satisfying.

Recipe: Food Network 

Actress Jessica Alba likes to make a big batch of her Turkey Meatballs and serve them with different side dishes throughout the week. All the reviews are glowing — everyone (including Alba’s husband and their picky four-year-old) loves them. Consider making a double batch.

Recipe: Martha Stewart 

Maya Angelou is mostly known for her poetry and civil rights activism. What you may not know is that she also wrote some cookbooks. Give her recipe for Buttermilk Biscuits a try. They are a delicious tribute to her Southern roots and perfect for a holiday dinner or brunch. Have them with gravy or swipe some butter and jam over them.

Recipe: People 

Eva Longoria is one of the world’s most glamorous women and known for her work on “Desperate Housewives.,” but there are few places she’d rather be than her kitchen. Her Mexican rice is the perfect side for a Mexican dinner, or even for a simple roast chicken.

Recipe: Good Morning America 

Reality TV star Kylie Jenner has a ramen recipe, by which we mean she offered a cool way to customize instant ramen with a little butter, garlic powder, and an egg. Make it for friends coming over to celebrate the holidays (and maybe garnish it with a few chives, just to guss it up a bit).

Recipe: Buzzfeed 

Sheryl Crow’s cookbook is called “If It Makes You Healthy,” and her delicious bruschetta recipe fits the bill. Not only is it a healthy snack, the bruschetta is a perfect appetizer for any holiday gathering.

Recipe: Pop Sugar 

We all know and trust journalist and TV personality Al Roker, plus we all love wings. https://blog.cheapism.com/best-chicken-wings/ His recipe for Spicy Chicken Wings is six ingredients and couldn’t be simpler.

Recipe: Genius Kitchen

This recipe for Chicken And Leek Pie from actress Blake Lively is cozy and packed with flavor. Your guests will be so impressed by the inclusion of leeks they’ll forget they’re really just eating a chicken pot pie.

Recipe: People 

The singer Patti Labelle has another claim to fame — her macaroni and cheese recipe. is internet famous. Furthermore, those who have made it say it’s the best mac and cheese they’ve ever had. No wonder—it has five cheeses in it, plus butter and half and half! Maybe serve with a salad?

Recipe: Epicurious 

Antoni Porowski, food expert on the TV show “Queer Eye,” is known for his love of quick, healthy, crowd-pleasing recipes. His recipe for Roasted Cauliflower with Green Goddess Dip from the show is quick, healthy, and beautiful.

Recipe: The Every Girl

Sauerkraut soup may not sound like the most glamorous of dishes, but since the recipe for this one is from model and TV personality Heidi Klum, that gives it some extra pizzazz. It’s rich and tasty, flavored with beef, pork, mushrooms, onions, and more. Serve it with an elegant crostini.

Recipe: Genius Kitchen 

Pecan pie for the holidays is a classic. Why not go one step further and make the late actor Paul Newman’s recipe for maple pecan pie? It’s still classic, still wonderful, and has a bit of a modern twist. Maple syrup and brown sugar add depth to the filling, and the crust has whole wheat flour. This is perfect with ice cream, whipped cream, or a post-dinner coffee.

Recipe: Epicurious 

Food writer Ruth Reichl calls actress Katharine Hepburn’s brownie recipe “the best recipe I have for brownies.” With all the butter and sugar that it calls for, that’s no surprise.

Recipe: Epicurious 

Actress and lifestyle influencer Gwyneth Paltrow is known for her emphasis on healthy living, but her Strawberry Shortcake Sliders are just healthy enough to feel virtuous without scrimping on flavor. The addition of balsamic vinegar to the strawberry filling gives it extra richness.

Recipe: Bon Appétit 

Blueberry Crunch Cake from actor and singer Justin Timberlake starts with a base of yellow cake mix, then some blueberries, pecans, and pineapple add flavor and texture. This is a great recipe to add to your holiday baking repertoire.

Recipe: Good Morning America 

This tasty dessert from the model, author, TV show host, and wife of singer John Legend feels very fancy, but couldn’t be simpler — it’s 3 ingredients (plus some for the optional-but-delicious crackle topping) and takes 15 minutes. Pro tip: Make the crackle. It’s worth it.

Recipe: The Kitchn 

Wrestler and actor The Rock’s World Famous Pancakes recipe is basically just pancake mix with milk chocolate chips and whipped cream. Stupidly simple? Yes. Foolproof? Also yes. But if you tell your guests that you’re treating them to breakfast for dinner courtesy of The Rock, they won’t care how simple the recipe was.

Recipe: Men’s Journal 

This strawberry rhubarb pie recipe, originally from Saveur, is a favorite of supermodel Cindy Crawford and her husband Rande Gerber. The recipe includes a crust, but if you need a bit of a shortcut use a pre-made crust.

Recipe: Oprah 

Reality star Lauren Conrad’s apple pie is a favorite recipe of hers, so much so that she served it instead of cake at her wedding. While you may not want apple pie for your nuptials, this is still a tasty pie recipe.

Recipe: Lauren Conrad 

Should a blueberry crumble recipe by reality TV star Kris Jenner be called a crumble or a krumble? Either way, this is an easy, tasty recipe that’s pretty flexible — feel free to sub in other fruits.

Recipe: The New Potato 

We love actress Ashley Tisdale’s Candy Cane Sugar Cookies recipe. She apparently makes them for her family every year around the holidays, and you might want to do the same.

Recipe: People

If Cream Cheese Flan isn’t tempting enough for you, this recipe is also one of actor Andy Garcia’s favorite dishes that his wife Marivi makes. It originally ran in Bon Appetit magazine in 2006, but it’s just as tasty 12 years later.

Recipe: Epicurious 

If you’re looking for lighter, healthier holiday recipes, this Matcha Chia Pudding recipe from actress Cameron Diaz is easy, simple, and feels very virtuous. Who’d have thought that a sugar-free, vegan dessert would be so good?

Recipe: Our Body Book