Italian Feast of Seven Fishes, Everything You Need to Know and the Perfect Menu (2024)

Have you put together your Feast of Seven Fishes menu for Christmas Eve yet? If not, use this Guide to build your menu, plan, prep, and serve an EPIC feast, whether it's a multi-course dinner with an individual fish featured on each course, or one big pot of seven different fish and shellfish in a glorious stew. As always, absolutely perfect wine pairings included. Shall we?

Grab some ideas from this classic Italian Feast of the Seven Fishes Menu we served at home, along with favorite wine pairings.

What is Feast of the Seven Fishes

The Feast of Seven Fishes is a mostly Italian-American Christmas Eve tradition of serving seven different seafood dishes, or seven different kinds of seafood in any number of dishes. Of course, if you have the stomach for it (pun intended), you can always do more.

The origins of the Feast of the Seven Fishes are not completely clear, but like so many other traditions, it has religious roots. The Feast of Seven Fishes might have originated in southern Italy as a religious celebration to honor the Virgin Mary and to abstain from eating meat on Christmas Eve. As the tradition evolved, the number of fish dishes grew to seven, representing the seven sacraments of the church.

Today, Feast of the Seven Fishes is an opportunity to serve up a lot of showstopping seafood and fish for friends and family on Christmas Eve!

Typical Menu for Feast of Seven Fishes

A traditional menu might include in no particular order:

1. Antipasto platter with nuts, olives and tinned fish
2. Calamari or squid
3. Baccala, also known as salt cod
4. Shrimp, crab or lobster
5. Clams or oysters
6. Pasta, usually with some kind of seafood included
7. Fish

Dessert is typically a simple fruit plate or a traditional Italian pastry like struffoli, honey coated fried dough balls, or panettone.

But don't let tradition hold you back from serving your own version of Feast of the Seven Fishes. Suggestions for non-traditional and modern versions included below!

Our Perfect Feast of Seven Fishes Menu

The seven (7) dishes of fishes—count them!—in our mostly traditional Perfect Feast of Seven Fishes Menu. Use the links to skip ahead:

1. Marinated Sardines and Cannellini Bean Puree with Balsamic
2. Tuna Croquettes
3. Clams and Spicy Italian Sausage in White Wine
4. Shrimp in Tomato Sauce (Shrimp Fra Diavolo)
5. Stuffed Squid Marinara
6. Baccala in Tomato Sauce served over Polenta
7. Sautéed Sole with Olive Tapenade

There's a bonus recipe at the end for dessert. Don't worry, my Rosemary Olive Oil Cake doesn't have any seafood in it. The light, subtly sweet cake was the perfect ending to this Christmas Eve tradition!

Wine for Feast of Seven Fishes

Y'all know how I feel about multi-course tasting menus with different wine pairings for each course—that's a no from me, dawg. Nevertheless, I've included my picks for perfect wine pairings for each kind of fish or seafood, and it's not all just white wine. I wouldn't necessarily open seven different wines just to pair with each seafood dish here. These are options—pick and choose a few favorites, as most of these wines will enhance more than just one dish. As always, if you can only do one, do sparkling!

Read on for the details and wine pairings.

Feast of Seven Fishes Menu Details and Wine Pairings

1: Marinated Sardines and Cannellini Bean Puree (Italian white kidney beans) with Balsamic Bruschetta

What? Not starting the dinner party with a cheese board?! I know, but hear me out! Other than smoked salmon with cream cheese on a bagel, seafood and cheese do not mix. And since this entire menu is seafood based, there's just no place for cheese at this table. Besides, who needs cheese when the Cannellini Bean Purée has a rich, creamy texture.

This is my favorite white bean dip recipe. Spread the white bean dip on ultra toasted baguette slices, top with marinated sardines or marinated white anchovies aka "boquerones" and drizzle with balsamic reduction. If you really want to go for it, use vincotto, a syrup made from reducing the grape skins and juice leftover from winemaking, which is similar to reduced balsamic vinegar or saba.

Wine pairing for Marinated Sardines or Anchovies

Sparkling wine is just generally a great way to start an evening, and because this is an Italian menu, I love Prosecco, a lighter, brighter sparkling wine produced in the Italian DOCG of Prosecco, made from the glera grape. My favorite bottle of Prosecco is by Bisson. Here is another Prosecco that is similar.

2: Tuna Croquettes

I love croquetas of any kind and definitely would make an entire evening's meal out of these Tuna Croquettes. I have an easy recipe for croquetas here. The beauty of croquettes or croquetas is that they're usually made from canned tuna or salmon, so they're an easy pantry recipe. Fully-cooked croquettes also hold up perfectly in the freezer, requiring a quick re-heat if you're doing them for a party like Feast of the Seven Fishes.

Recipe: Croquetas

Wine pairing for Tuna Croquettes

Because they're fried, tuna croquettes are going to be great with the previously mentioned Prosecco! However, if you're going the one-for-one route with courses and wine pairings, I'd still stay with sparkling, but try something a little richer like a sparkling rosé. Let's always remember, great rosé isn't just for summer! Here's an always reliable sparkling rose, and if you can get the 2008 vintage, well, you won't need to drink anything else the whole night.

3. Clams and Spicy Italian Sausage in White Wine

Clams and Sausage in White Wine is another dish that could be an entire meal by itself! Serve the clams over pasta or with grilled bread. The grilled bread soaks up the spicy, ocean umami-laced white wine broth.

Recipe: Clams and Spicy Sausage in White Wine

Wine pairing for Clams and Spicy Sausage in White Wine

2010 Monastero Suori Cistercensi 'Coenobium', a blend of white grapes: trebbiano, verdicchio, malvasia, and grechetto. If you didn't catch it from "monastero" in the name, the wine is made in a monastery by nuns just north of Rome, Italy. Coenobium is an orange wine, or "skin contact" wine because the white wine grapes are left in contact with their skins longer than normal. The resulting wine develops a rose gold, or "orange" hue. Many orange wines fall under the "natural wine" category because they are unfiltered, but not all orange wines are necessarily organic. Coenobium is unfiltered and organic and has a subtle rustic funk that works with the clams and spice.

4. Shrimp in Tomato Sauce

No Feast of Seven Fishes is complete without at least one shrimp dish. This is a shrimp version of Lobster Fra Diavolo, but my fork didn't come within 10 feet of those histamine instigators. So if you have a shrimp allergy like I do, you can 100% leave out shrimp! There are no actual hard and fast rules about a Feast of Seven Fishes menu; we're just making this up as we go along.

Recipe: Lobster or Shrimp Fra Diavolo

Wine pairing for Shrimp in Tomato Sauce

The default wine pairing for seafood is a white wine, and with the acidic, spicy tomato sauce, a crisp, high-acid white like an Italian verdicchio (grape) is perfect. If you're unfamiliar with verdicchio, it is similar to a fruitier, citrus-forward sauvignon blanc (as opposed to grassy and herbal), but verdicchio has just a little more bite.

5. Stuffed Calamari Squid with Tomato Sauce

Stuffed Calamari is almost identical to the shrimp in tomato sauce. We could have served the two dishes together in the same bowl. But when someone has a shrimp allergy, and someone else doesn't play the squid game, we serve them separate.

Recipe: Stuffed Calamari

Wine pairing for Stuffed Calamari Squid in Tomato Sauce

The tomato sauce with this recipe includes red wine, so a red wine pairing just seems right. I love sangiovese, a slightly thinner-skinned Italian red grape used in the one Italian red wine that everyone knows, Chianti. Rather than going as far as Chianti to pair with this dish, I pick a California sangiovese grown in the Santa Barbara wine region. Stolpman Vineyards "Love You Bunches" is made via carbonic maceration, which means the whole clusters of grapes are left intact, and juice ferments while still inside the grape skins, rather than being crushed and pressed out. The resulting wine is fruitier, less tannic, and ready to drink much sooner, "fresh."

6. Fish in Tomato Sauce with Polenta

Baccala is a traditional Italian salted, dried cod. You have to prep the baccala in advance before cooking it by soaking the fish for three days to re-hydrate it, as well as changing out for fresh water a few times a day to remove the excess salt. The level of effort definitely makes Baccala a special occasion dish and perfect for the Feast of the Seven Fishes. We served this Baccala in a super flavorful tomato sauce with garlic, onion, and caper sauce similar to puttanesca, over creamy polenta.

If you don't have easy access to a whole side of Italian dried salted cod because really who does, use fresh cod, or any other firm-fleshed fish like halibut or salmon, cooked in a similarly briny, garlicky tomato sauce. Salmon in a spicy, briny Puttanesca sauce is one of my favorites.

Recipe: Fish in Puttanesca Sauce

Wine pairing for Fish in Tomato Sauce

You're going to see how much I love sangiovese because Chianti is a perfect pairing with the baccala in tomato sauce. Chianti is acidic, so it can stand up to the acidity of the tomato sauce, but also cut through the richness of the polenta. This estate is a solid producer of Chianti Classico.

The sangiovese grape is also the sole grape used to make Rosso di Montalcino, and her older, longer-aged brother Brunello di Montalcino. If I could do a Feast of the Seven Fishes with all sangiovese-based wines, I would. Brunello is pretty intense though and really drinks better with rich beefy braises and smoky grilled meats. This is one of my favorite Rossos.

7. Sautéed Sole with Olive Tapenade

You know that fish and olives love each other. The olive tapenade in this recipe for the sole fillets in the photo above is so similar to the Olive Salsa Verde I serve with salmon; it just uses intense kalamata olives instead of California green olives. Choose whatever fish looks the best at the market, and make either the fruitier, herb-forward Olive Salsa Verde, or the saltier, more intense Kalamata Olive Tapenade.

Recipe: Sole with Olive Tapenade or Salmon with Olive Salsa Verde

Wine pairing for Sole with Olive Tapenade

Would you be surprised to pair a fuller-bodied red wine with such a light, delicate fish like sole? This final dish is the absolute perfect example of one of my main philosophies when it comes to pairing wine with food, and specifically wine with fish. You will never go wrong following a tried-and-true "rule" like pairing a white Burgundy (chardonnay) with a fish like sole.

But almost more important—and more fun!—than the main ingredient of a dish, fish vs chicken vs beef, is how it is prepared and any accompanying sauce. That white burgundy will be fine with sole, but how much more interesting is it to pair a bold red wine with the super intense, briny flavors and meaty texture of the olive tapenade?

Of course, the other important rule is to stay with safe, classic wine pairings when you have dining guests who might not be as adventurous as you.

More Dishes to Consider for Your Feast of the Seven Fishes Menu

Here are some fish and seafood favorites that are great for a multi-course seafood dinner:

• Anchovy: Tri-colore Salad with Anchovy Vinaigrette Recipe
• Tuna: Tuna, White Beans, and Parsley Salad
• Sardines: Sardine Pasta aka Pasta con le Sarde

And for the main event, some showstopping seafood mains:

• Potentially cover up to five different fishes in one dish: Cioppino!
• Salmon: Salmon Puttanesca
• Salmon: Salmon with Green Olive Salsa Verde

Feast of Seven Fishes Menu: Rosemary Olive Oil Cake with Olive Oil Ice Cream and Candied Rosemary for Dessert

When it comes to dessert, keep it simple, partly because the meal itself is a lot of food, but mostly because the host/hostess could use a break! Anything you can make in advance or even buy is the best bet. We love olive oil cakes in this house, and because they actually get better with a day of "rest," they are a perfect dessert to make ahead then end Feast of the Seven Fishes.

This Rosemary Olive Oil cake and candied rosemary are homemade. No bigs.

The olive oil ice cream is also homemade. BIGS. No, HUGES. Always-reliable chef and author David Lebovitz has a recipe for olive oil ice cream.

More Desserts for Feast of Seven Fishes

If I can bake a cake, you can, too. Of course, I've already had practice with a couple of different versions, as well as some other delicious desserts:

Non-traditional Feast of Seven Fishes Menu and Recipe Ideas

While the Feast of the Seven Fishes is a traditional Italian Christmas Eve celebration, why not put your own spin on the menu, while still honoring its origins? Ideas for full menus and individual dishes for a non-traditional Feast of the Seven Fishes celebration follow.

Menus

California Feast of Seven Fishes

This is a California-forward Feast of Seven Fishes menu, inspired by local chefs, restaurants, and the seasonal produce grown here in the Golden State:

1. Tri-colore Salad with Anchovy Vinaigrette, inspired by Nancy Silverton's Mozza
2. Salmon Dip with Crudités
3. Lobster Mango Avocado Tower
4. Spicy Tuna Rolls
5. Smoked Salmon Pizza, inspired by Wolfgang Puck's Spago
6. Garlic Noodles with Dungeness Crab, inspired y Crustacean restaurant
7. Cioppino, a fish and seafood stew "invented" in San Francisco
8. Citrus-roasted Salmon

Sushi. Keep it light and tight in the midst of all the other heavy Holiday foods by serving up a sushi platter that hits all seven different fish. My favorite way to serve sushi for a party is with a DIY Sushi Hand Roll Bar that has everything from spicy tuna to uni.

Because Japanese cuisine leans heavily toward the ocean, you can serve a few pieces of sashimi of sushi as a starter, then add other Japanese dishes to round out the menu, almost like an Italian kaiseki:

1. Miso Soup (made with dashi)
2. Sashimi and sushi
3. Caviar Uni Chawanmushi
4. Sake-Braised Clams or Mussels
5. Soba with Uni, Crab, and Jalapeno Pesto
6. Nobu's Miso Cod

Chinese Feast of Seven Fishes. Woks of Life put together an awesome menu for a Chinese Feast of Seven Fishes with dumplings, fried shrimp and squid, fried rice, and whole fish, as well as a "Fusion" menu!

Caviar and Smoked Salmon Platter

For a fancy dish for a casual gathering, put together a platter with 7 different kinds of caviar, roe, and smoked fish! You can even add a fancier tin of fish or shellfish to round out the 7. Here are the caviar and smoked fish options we love:

1. Sturgeon caviar, the black caviar that everyone knows, comes in a dizzying variety of types and grades
2. Salmon roe (aka Japanese "ikura"), Smoked Trout roe, and other fish roe like masago and tobiko
3. Smoked salmon, the classic "cold smoked" salmon that's silky and usually thinly sliced
4. Hot smoked salmon, usually presented as a piece of fish that easily flakes apart
5. Monet's Smoked Salmon and Goat Cheese Spread or my sister's World Famous Smoked Salmon Dip
6. Whitefish Salad or Whitefish Paté

Tinned Fish "Seacuterie" Board

Tinned fish might have been trending on tik tok the last couple of years, but in this house, tinned fish has been a way of life since kids at school who teased me for my "stanky" tuna salad sandwiches and I ate and enjoyed my lunch anyway! You can make an entire meal of tinned, canned and preserved fish for a casual evening with a smaller group, or make a tinned fish board the starter for a larger Feast of Seven Fishes!

Serve the fish right out of the containers, plate them on individual dishes, or even make a few into salads, dips and spreads. Here are the favorites to include:

1. Anchovies. The big, fancy kind
2. Sardines
3. Tuna
4. Salmon
5. Smoked mussels
6. Smoked oysters
7. serve with softened or whipped butter, hummus, crunchy vegetables, little pickled things, crackers, and bread

Feast of the Seven Fishes Recipe Ideas

Salads

• Tri-Colore Salad with Anchovy Vinaigrette
• Caesar Salad with Marinated Anchovies

Cold Appetizers and Snacks

• Lobster Mango Avocado Tower
• Caviar and Smoked Salmon Platter
• Classic Smoked Salmon Platter
• Smoked Salmon Goat Cheese Spread
• World-Famous Salmon Dip
• Ceviche, raw fish marinated in citrus juice, mixed with onions and herbs
• Oysters on the Half Shell with Pomegranate Mignonette {recipe}
• Caviar and Uni on Cucumber
• Tuna Crudo with Lemon, Olive Oil, and Black Salt

Hot Cooked Appetizers and Snacks

• Tuna or Salmon Croquettes
• Smoked Salmon Pizza
• Shrimp in Spicy Tomato Sauce
• Gambas al Ajillo, Spanish Garlic Shrimp
• Anchovy Caramelized Onion Puff Pastry Tart

Pasta and Noodles

• Sicilian Sardine Pasta
• Garlic Noodles with Dungeness Crab
• Soba with Crab, Jalapeno, and Uni

Main Dish Fish and Seafood

• Cioppino San Francisco Seafood Stew
• Baked Whole Salmon with Citrus, Garlic and Herbs
• Salmon Piccata
• Salmon Puttanesca, which has anchovies in the sauce so it counts for 2!
• Salmon with Olive Salsa Verde