14 Classic Dishes for a Festive Noche Buena Feast

Noche Buena—the festive Christmas Eve feast celebrated across Latin America, the Caribbean, Spain, and the Philippines—marks one of the most anticipated meals of the year. Families gather late into the night (many traditions begin right at midnight) to share platters of slow-roasted meats, fragrant rice dishes, tamales of every style, comforting soups, and sweet holiday treats.

While menus vary by region and household, certain dishes show up again and again: Puerto Rican pernil and arroz con gandules, Mexican pozole and tamales, Cuban mojo-marinated pork, Filipino bibingka and chicken sotanghon, plus celebratory drinks like coquito and rompope.

The recipes in this roundup capture just a slice of the foods you might find at a Noche Buena celebration—but they highlight the warmth, generosity, and abundance that define the tradition.