Fresh seafood is an Australian Christmas staple. Keep the ocean’s catch front and centre with twists on traditional Christmas seafood recipes like blue swimmer crab cocktails with avocado cream and oysters with two sauces to start, salmon gravlax and lobster for centrepiece mains, and plenty of options for barbecued crowd-pleasers. We have make-ahead seafood recipes, whole fish dishes for big feasts and flavour-packed crustacean snacks galore.
“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 2024
Spiced coral trout with eggplant ezme
Seafood is the star of an Australian holiday table.
Thai-style barbecued lobster with lemongrass, makrut lime and palm sugar
A vibrant take on a classic seafood Christmas dish.
Blue swimmer crab cocktail with avocado cream
This riff on the classic prawn cocktail is dressed to impress.
How to make salmon gravlax
Set up a celebration station at your next party with this show-stopping gin-cured salmon gravlax as the hero.
Grilled lobster with beurre blanc and chives
Lobster is the ultimate show-stopping centrepiece, always.
Lobster with lemon myrtle, tarragon and crab butter
A simple and decadent way to enjoy lobster — particularly at Christmas.
Mixed grilled seafood salad with lemon mignonette
Feeling like something fresh this Christmas? Look no further.
Coral trout with saffron and Sherry-roasted onions
Is there anything more showstopping than a whole baked fish?
Grilled Balmain bugs with charred grapes and ouzo
Spring is in the air, and what better way to celebrate than with fresh Balmain bugs?
Oysters with two sauces
Add a little zing to your oysters with two vibrant mignonettes.
Scampi with green mango and fried shallots
A luxurious summertime starter.
Grilled scallops in the shell
With garlic butter too.
Louis Tikaram’s grilled Hervey Bay scallops with soy and ginger
The perfect dish to whip up after a day at the beach, according to the Stanley chef.
Sean Moran’s freshly shucked oysters with tarragon dressing
Match sea-briney oysters with the herby high notes of tarragon and chives.
Amy Hamilton’s grilled scallops with spring onion and peanuts
This modern take on the classic Vietnamese street-food dish will be ready in a flash.
Si Paradiso’s charred octopus with almonds and mandarin
Octopus might not be the easiest dish to make, especially when a hibachi is involved. But this recipe by Paul Greenham of Si Paradiso fame is worth it.
Seafood platter with chervil butter and a trio of sauces
The quintessential festive crowd-pleaser.
Fleet’s seafood platter with Marie Rose sauce
Add a squeeze of lemon and you’re set.
Crab crostini by Leonardo’s Pizza Palace
Spanner crab, avocado and toast. Is there a more Australian way to start your dinner party?
Louis Tikaram’s Mooloolaba prawn ceviche with green chilli dressing
An ideal summer starter that’s all zing and spice.
Napier Quarter’s mussels dressed with spring-onion and verjuice vinaigrette
A fresh take on steamed mussels.
Bar Alto’s mussels with chilli, garlic and white wine
Mussels steamed in white wine and spiked with chilli – it’s a combination that can’t be beat.
Phil Wood’s mussels with chilli and shiitake
The Laura chef cleverly pairs sweet steamed mussels with a spicy, super-savoury topping.
Lobster mousse
Was the ’60s the high-watermark of the savoury mousse? We’ve taken inspiration from parties of the past for our lobster mousse, served with golden oily Melba toast for dipping.
Saint Peter’s scallops with citrus dressing
“Scallops and citrus have a wonderful synergy whether they’re raw or cooked,” says Saint Peter’s Josh Niland.
Scallop crudo by Leonardo’s Pizza Palace
How best to appreciate the silkiness of scallops? Raw, and drizzled with a light citrus dressing.
Snapper crudo with roe and cucumber
Snapper crudo with roe and cucumber recipe – For buttermilk dressing, whisk ingredients together in a bowl and season to taste.
White fish crudo with avocado, herbs and cucumber-lime dressing
In this white fish crudo, the fish in question can also be marinated in a little dressing, ceviche-style – for 15 minutes or a couple of hours, depending how “cooked” you like it.
Rockmelon, lime and poppy-seed prawn cocktails
We’re saying cheers to a classic with this tweak of the unbeatable prawn cocktail. Thinly mandolined rockmelon adds a sweet touch, which you can always offset with as little or as much Tabasco as you’d like.
Prawn and pomelo salad with roasted chilli dressing
The prawns in this salad can also be left whole and barbecued in their shells for extra flavour.
Prawn cocktail tower
And that’s a wrap – the perfect self-serve summer dish.
Prawn and avocado with lime
With creamy avocado and the zing of lime juice, this Mexican-ish prawn cocktail is perfect for the summer. Just add corn chips.
Prawn tostadas with corn relish and chipotle crème fraîche
The perfect combination of fresh prawns, chipotle chillies whipped into a crème fraîche and a tangy corn relish on canape-sized tostadas.
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Prawn and avocado salad with spiced tomato dressing
How to improve on fresh prawns with avocado? Adding a smoky, spicy tomato dressing to the mix.
Jordan Toft’s dressed crab
Roasted mud crab dressed with its own juice, then enlivened even more with tangy mayonnaise – does lunch get much better than this?
Jordan Toft’s lobster tagliolini
A pasta dish that’s best served on special occasions.
Salt and pepper prawns with lemon
Australian Gourmet Traveller recipe for salt and pepper prawns with lemon.
Charred prawns on skewers with lime
Because barbecued things on sticks just taste better.
Mike McEnearney’s grilled prawn, watermelon and tomato salad
Summer’s greatest hits, all in one bowl.
Barbecue prawns
Australian Gourmet Traveller recipe for barbecue prawns.
Barbecued scallops with seaweed butter and rye bread
Emma Knowles recipe for barbecued scallops with seaweed butter and rye bread.
Barbecued prawns with honey, sesame and lemon
Time to throw a shrimp on the barbie.
Liberté’s garlic prawns with chilli and Thai basil
A tried-and-true combination.
Whole snapper with orange and pistachio sauce
Fish, orange and pistachio may seem like an unlikely combination, but Brigitte Hafner’s touch makes this dish magical.
Whole barbecued fish with chilli and peach salsa
There’s no better way to celebrate summer than firing up the barbecue and roasting a whole fish.
Barbecued barramundi with macadamia romesco
A nutty romesco is the perfect accompaniment to the smoky flavours of barbecued barramundi. And it’s an impressive looking addition to the table, to boot.
Smoked ocean trout with beans, peas and mint
If you’re not smoking your own fish, you’re missing out.
Seared tuna with dill cucumbers and potato salad
Crowd-pleasing main courses needn’t be complicated. This single piece of tuna is more than up to the job and much of the work can be done ahead of time.
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Calamari and pounded sambal with cabbage salad
Australian Gourmet Traveller fast recipe for calamari and pounded sambal with cabbage salad.
Lobster Australienne by Mary’s Underground
This decadent dish from the Sydney basement restaurant combines fine French technique with an Aussie attitude.
Barbecued lobster tails with lemon drawn butter and corn-radish salad
Keep things simple with a lemon and garlic butter that allows the sweet lobster to shine through.
Grilled lobster tails with roast chilli butter and corn salad
There’s no taste quite like sweet and succulent lobster fresh. And this grilled lobster tail recipe is a great expression of that flavour.
Tony Tan’s guide to making black pepper crab
A colourful, gutsy South East Asian favourite, this is a dish worth getting your hands dirty for. Roll up your sleeves and give it a crack.
Liberté’s whole barbecued snapper with green papaya salad
Throw this whole fish, done Vietnamese-style, on the barbie.
Baked golden trout with roe
While a baked whole trout looks impressive, it’s a pretty simple procedure. We’ve baked this one with an aromatic riesling and lemon rind to coax out fresh flavours.
Fleet’s cured mackerel with tomatoes and sourdough bread
Curing fish is easier than you think.
Amy Hamilton’s crab with fried-shallot butter and green peppercorns
Fact: fried-shallot butter makes everything taste better.
Dan Hong’s mud crab with XO sauce
Dan Hong shares his recipe for a stunning main course of crab stir-fried with Chinese flavours such as ginger, spring onion and XO sauce.
Lemongrass and lime-cured trout with rice paper crackers
This cured ocean trout is cured in a soy souce, kaffir lime, chilli and lemongrass sauce for light Southeast Asian notes. Seafood might be a Christmas classic, but we’re making this one all summer long.
Beetroot-cured ocean trout with buttermilk and soft herbs
Australian Gourmet Traveller recipe for beetroot-cured ocean trout with buttermilk and soft herbs.
Danielle Alvarez’s slow-cooked ocean trout with peas, and Meyer lemon and fennel salsa
This recipe for slow-cooked ocean trout comes courtesy of chef Danielle Alvarez.
Phil Wood’s baked snapper with pistou
Need an easy fish dish for a dinner party? Laura’s head chef shows you how.
Frank Camorra’s dorada al fondo con patatas (marinated whole snapper baked on potatoes and peppers)
The roast fish dinner that’s guaranteed to make a splash.
Three Blue Ducks’ barbecued whole fish with lemongrass and lime leaves
This might just be the best way to cook a whole fish.
Roast ocean trout with cucumber and preserved lemon salad
Excellent served warm or cold, so you could cook the trout a day ahead and just whip up the salad before serving.
Chilli, gin and orange salt-baked spanner crab
Ring in the festive season with this fun recipe for chilli, gin and orange salt-baked spanner crab served with skordalia.
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