What is the Feast of the Seven Fishes?

An Italian-American Christmas Eve dinner of many seafood courses, rooted in the southern Italian custom of avoiding meat on the Christmas Eve vigil.

There are many explanations, including the seven sacraments, and many families serve more or fewer than seven. The tradition matters more than the number.

What fish are traditional?

Baccala (salt cod), smelts, calamari, clams, shrimp, mussels and eel are among the most common.

Can I make it easier?

Yes. A big pot of cioppino covers several fishes in one dish; add shrimp cocktail, fried calamari and linguine with clams for a smaller feast.

Feast of the Seven Fishes

The Feast of the Seven Fishes is the Italian-American Christmas Eve dinner: course after course of seafood, from fried smelts and salt cod to clams, calamari and shrimp. It comes from the southern Italian tradition of the Vigilia, the Christmas Eve vigil, when Catholic families went without meat, and it grew into one of the great family meals of the holiday season.

No one agrees on what the seven fishes must be, or even that there must be exactly seven; some families serve nine, twelve or thirteen. Here is one complete menu from the recipes on our site, with swaps for each course.

#	Fish	Recipe	Why it is on the table
1	Baccala salad	Baccala Salad (Salt Cod Salad)	Salt cod soaked for two days and dressed with olive oil, lemon, garlic and parsley: the dish many families say Christmas Eve is not complete without. Start it on December 22.
2	Fried smelts	Fried Smelts	Little fish dusted in flour and fried crisp, eaten whole with lemon.
3	Fried calamari	Fried Calamari	Tender squid rings in a light coating with marinara for dipping.
4	Shrimp	Shrimp Fra Diavolo	Shrimp in a spicy tomato sauce. For a cold course, set out shrimp cocktail instead.
5	Clams	Linguine with Clams (Linguine alle Vongole)	Linguine with clams, garlic, white wine and parsley, often the pasta course.
6	Cioppino	Cioppino (San Francisco Seafood Stew)	A tomato and wine seafood stew with fish, clams, mussels and shrimp, which can count as several fishes on its own.
7	Lobster or crab	Baked Stuffed Lobster	Baked stuffed lobster for a showpiece, or crab cakes for something easier.

Baccala Salad (Salt Cod Salad)2 days 35 min total | 8 servings
Soaked and gently poached salt cod flaked and tossed with celery, black olives, roasted red peppers, parsley, garlic, lemon and olive oil. A Christmas Eve classic. Serves 8.
Fried Smelts35 min total | 6 servings
Whole small smelts dredged in seasoned flour and fried until golden and crisp, eaten bones and all with lemon. A Feast of the Seven Fishes favorite. Serves 6.
Fried Calamari55 min total | 4 servings
Tender squid rings and tentacles soaked in buttermilk, tossed in seasoned flour and fried crisp and golden in under two minutes. Served with marinara and lemon. Serves 4.
Shrimp Fra Diavolo40 min total | 4 servings
Shrimp seared and simmered in a spicy tomato sauce with garlic, white wine, oregano and red pepper flakes, served over linguine. Serves 4.
Linguine with Clams (Linguine alle Vongole)1 hr 5 min total | 4 servings
Fresh littleneck clams steamed open in garlic, white wine and olive oil, tossed with linguine, parsley and a pinch of red pepper. A classic Italian seafood pasta; serves 4.
Cioppino (San Francisco Seafood Stew)1 hr 10 min total | 6 servings
The Italian-American fisherman's stew of San Francisco: clams, mussels, shrimp and firm white fish simmered in a garlicky tomato and white wine broth. Serve with sourdough. Serves 6.
Baked Stuffed Lobster55 min total | 2 servings
Whole lobsters split and filled with a buttery cracker-crumb stuffing with scallops, baked until golden. A New England special-occasion classic. Serves 2.

Swaps and extras

Classic Shrimp Cocktail55 min total | 6 servings
Large shrimp poached in a lemony court bouillon, chilled on ice and served with a zesty homemade horseradish cocktail sauce. Serves 6.
Crab Cakes with Lemon Remoulade1 hr total | 8 crab cakes, 4 servings
Crab cakes packed with lump crab and just enough crackers and mayonnaise to hold them together, chilled, then pan-fried golden and served with a quick lemon remoulade. Makes 8.
Pan-Seared Sea Scallops with Lemon Butter18 min total | 4 servings
Sea scallops seared in a very hot skillet until deeply golden, then finished with a quick lemon, garlic and butter pan sauce. Ready in about 20 minutes; serves 4.
Steamed Crab Legs with Garlic Butter15 min total | 4 servings
King or snow crab legs steamed just until hot, then served with lemon and a warm garlic butter for dipping. Ready in 15 minutes; serves 4.
Fried Whole-Belly Clams30 min total | 4 servings
Shucked whole-belly clams soaked in evaporated milk, dredged in a corn flour and flour mix and fried crisp and golden. A New England clam shack favorite. Serves 4.
Hot Clam Dip40 min total | 2 (12 ounce) crocks
A baked clam dip of minced clams, crushed Ritz crackers, melted butter, onion and lemon juice, baked at 350°F for 30 minutes and served hot with crackers.

Planning the feast

December 22: start soaking the salt cod; it needs about two days of cold water, changed several times a day, in the refrigerator.
December 23: shop for the fresh seafood, make the marinara for the calamari and the cocktail sauce, and make the cioppino base, which tastes better a day later.
Christmas Eve morning: finish the baccala salad, clean the squid and smelts and keep everything very cold.
At dinner: serve the cold courses first, fry the smelts and calamari just before serving, then the pasta, then the cioppino and lobster.

Buy seafood from a fishmonger you trust, keep it on ice and cook clams and mussels only if they are alive (closed, or closing when tapped). Cook fish and shellfish to 145°F.

Frequently asked questions

What is the Feast of the Seven Fishes?: An Italian-American Christmas Eve dinner of many seafood courses, rooted in the southern Italian custom of avoiding meat on the Christmas Eve vigil.
Why seven fishes?: There are many explanations, including the seven sacraments, and many families serve more or fewer than seven. The tradition matters more than the number.
What fish are traditional?: Baccala (salt cod), smelts, calamari, clams, shrimp, mussels and eel are among the most common.
Can I make it easier?: Yes. A big pot of cioppino covers several fishes in one dish; add shrimp cocktail, fried calamari and linguine with clams for a smaller feast.

Feast of the Seven Fishes

A seven-fish menu

Swaps and extras

Planning the feast

Frequently asked questions