Photographer: Benjamin Dearnley
Is an Australian Christmas spread really complete without an array of seafood recipes? Proximity to the ocean and our balmy Christmas days make for the perfect combination to knock back fresh oysters (with your choice of oyster dressings), raw prawns or your own salmon gravlax. Whether fresh, baked or barbecued, having a seafood entree or centrepiece dish will enhance your Christmas feast. If you’re looking for crowd pleasers, check out our collection of the best Christmas seafood recipes to try this year.
Looking for something specific? Try our other seafood recipe collections:
“Selecting sustainable seafood is important when it comes to fish. While nine in 10 Australians say that they’re concerned about fish sustainability, only a fraction of us put our money where our mouth is. So, Gourmet Traveller created a sustainable seafood guide to shine a light on the ways you can be a better fish eater, from buying local and lesser-known fish species to handy online tool Good Fish Bad Fish. Or check out Australia’s independent sustainable seafood guide, Good Fish.”
A note on buying sustainable seafood
Best Christmas seafood recipes for 2025
Neil Perry’s king prawn, mango and hazelnut salad
How to make salmon gravlax
Salmon skewers with za’atar and walnut salsa
Mediterranean-style whole flounder recipe with green olive salsa
Roast baby snapper with potatoes, lemon and capers
Grilled lobster with beurre blanc and chives
Ultimate fish sandwich
Oysters two ways, with cucumber-lime dressing and cabbage-ginger tsukemono
Spiced coral trout with eggplant ezme
Thai-style barbecued lobster with lemongrass, makrut lime and palm sugar
Oysters with pickled pineapple and pink peppercorn granita
Blue swimmer crab cocktail with avocado cream
Lobster with lemon myrtle, tarragon and crab butter
Mixed grilled seafood salad with lemon mignonette
Grilled Balmain bugs with charred grapes and ouzo
Seared tuna salad with radish, finger lime and citrus vinaigrette
Coral trout with saffron and Sherry-roasted onions
Oysters with two sauces
Scampi with green mango and fried shallots
Grilled scallops in the shell
Louis Tikaram’s grilled Hervey Bay scallops with soy and ginger
Sean Moran’s freshly shucked oysters with tarragon dressing
Amy Hamilton’s grilled scallops with spring onion and peanuts
Si Paradiso’s charred octopus with almonds and mandarin
Seafood platter with chervil butter and a trio of sauces
Fleet’s seafood platter with Marie Rose sauce
Crab crostini by Leonardo’s Pizza Palace
Louis Tikaram’s Mooloolaba prawn ceviche with green chilli dressing
Napier Quarter’s mussels dressed with spring-onion and verjuice vinaigrette
Bar Alto’s mussels with chilli, garlic and white wine
Phil Wood’s mussels with chilli and shiitake
Lobster mousse
Saint Peter’s scallops with citrus dressing
Scallop crudo by Leonardo’s Pizza Palace
Snapper crudo with roe and cucumber
White fish crudo with avocado, herbs and cucumber-lime dressing
Rockmelon, lime and poppy-seed prawn cocktails
Prawn and pomelo salad with roasted chilli dressing
Prawn cocktail tower
Prawn tostadas with corn relish and chipotle crème fraîche
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Prawn and avocado salad with spiced tomato dressing
Jordan Toft’s dressed crab
Salt and pepper prawns with lemon
Charred prawns on skewers with lime
Mike McEnearney’s grilled prawn, watermelon and tomato salad
Liberté’s garlic prawns with chilli and Thai basil
Roast ocean trout with cucumber and preserved lemon salad
Christmas seafood FAQs
If you’re pulling together a summer seafood platter, remember that variety may not be as important as generosity! (I.e. make sure there’s enough to go around!) An easy way to think about your seafood platter is to stock up on only a few different types of seafood, and then prepare them differently (cooked vs. raw, crumbed vs. grilled). An array of sauces can also aid in the feeling of variety.
Start with your shellfish and molluscs (prawns, Balmain bugs, oysters, scallops). If you’re looking for hot seafood recipes to add to your platter, consider small pieces of crumbed fish, fish skewers, calamari, or grilled scallops.
Read more and discover recipes:
– How to put together an impressive seafood platter
– Seafood platter with three sauces
– Fleet’s seafood platter with Marie Rose sauce
If you’re looking to grill a whole fish this Christmas, snapper and barramundi could be a good place to start, especially if you’re a beginner. For an Asian flavour, consider barbecued snapper with a simple papaya salad accompaniment. Also, here’s our most basic whole fish with lemon recipe, which you can jazz up with your own dressings or salads. Read more of our favourite whole fish recipe ideas.
An example Christmas seafood lunch menu
So, you’re hosting Christmas lunch this year! If you’re wondering what to make for your guests, allow us to recommend the ultimate lunch menu, complete with some seafood mains and entrees:
Christmas seafood entrees or sides:
The fun part of Christmas lunch is having a wide selection of dishes from which you can pick and choose. You can begin your Christmas lunch with some low-maintenance starters, like raw prawns and oysters, with a dressing or dipping sauce to make them sing. Then, your guests can pile those plates high with salads, barbecued scallops or other seafood starters and sides:
- Neil Perry’s king prawn, mango and hazelnut salad
- Watermelon, Persian feta, prawn and herb salad
- Prawn and crab toast with herb salad
- Prawns with basil verde and seared scallops seafood platter
- Ultimate fish sandwich
Christmas seafood mains:
For your main, consider a whole fish recipe, grilled lobster or even a seafood platter to please one and all. We’ve offered some seafood platter and ideas above, but if you’re looking for a Christmas main fish course, consider the following:
- Barbecued whole fish with lemongrass and lime leaves
- Whole barbecued fish with chilli and peach salsa
- Grilled lobster with mustard and burnt butter
- Whole roasted fish with potatoes
- Grilled salmon with asparagus and lemon
- Barbecued barramundi with macadamia romesco
- Whole barbecued snapped with papaya salad
Dessert:
To complement a seafood lunch, keep your desserts light and summery. Think: a traditional pavlova or fruity trifle.
Merry Christmas and happy cooking!
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