The first time you try to order Christmas dinner in Portugal, a very specific kind of confusion can set in. The supermarkets are packed, half the dishes have names you may never have seen before, and preparing a complete Portuguese Christmas table can feel like a second job in an already exhausting month.

So a couple of years ago, I stopped. I ordered most of our Christmas dinner from the Pingo Doce Comida Fresca service instead, and I have done it ever since.

This guide is the practical version of what I learned. How to order, what is usually on the menu, how collection and delivery work, when orders close, and roughly what it costs. The food itself, how it tasted and how the delivery went, I cover separately in my full review.

2026 update: Pingo Doce has not yet released its Christmas 2026 menu, deadlines or delivery conditions. The figures and dates below come from the 2025 campaign and my own order. I will update this guide once the new campaign opens.

Can you actually order Christmas dinner in Portugal?

Yes, and more easily than you might expect. Supermarkets, restaurants, hotels and catering companies all take Christmas food orders here.

Pingo Doce is one of the simplest routes through its Comida Fresca service. During the Christmas campaign you can order individual dishes and build a meal around the size and tastes of your own table, rather than committing to a fixed menu.

The selection usually runs from Portuguese starters and salgados through fish, meat, sides, desserts and Christmas pastries. That means you can order the whole meal, or just the dishes that eat up the most time when you make them yourself.

How the Pingo Doce Comida Fresca service works

Pingo Doce publishes a seasonal Christmas catalogue each year. It lists the available dishes, the prices, how many people each one serves, the ordering deadline and the collection or delivery dates.

During the 2025 campaign, you could place an order in four ways:

• At a Pingo Doce Take-Away counter
• Through the Pingo Doce website
• Through the O Meu Pingo Doce app
• By telephone

From there you pick your dishes, choose collection or home delivery where it is offered, and book a date and time slot.

The menu and the conditions change from one year to the next, so the dates and prices below are a guide, not a promise. The confirmed details always sit on the official Pingo Doce Christmas menu page once the seasonal campaign opens. The general Comida Fresca ordering page is worth a look too, since the service runs all year for birthdays, dinners and other occasions, not only Christmas.

How to order, step by step

1. Open the Christmas menu

Start with the seasonal catalogue. It comes with photographs, prices, portion sizes and a note on how each dish is served or reheated.

I always read the whole thing before adding a single item. Christmas food gets tempting very quickly, and before you know it you have ordered enough to feed half of Lisbon.

2. Choose your dishes

The whole point of the service is that you can mix and match. A typical order might pull from:

• Salgados and other starters
• Soup
• Bacalhau dishes
• Octopus or other fish
• Turkey, lamb, cabrito or leitão
• Vegetarian options
• Rice, potatoes and vegetables
• Arroz doce
• Bolo-rei and other Christmas pastries

The exact recipes shift between campaigns, so treat this as the shape of the menu rather than a fixed list.

3. Check the portions

The catalogue tells you how many people each dish feeds. This matters more than it sounds, because once you start adding starters, a main, sides and a dessert, the numbers add up fast.

My 2025 order fed four of us comfortably and still left food for the next day.

4. Pick collection or delivery

Store collection is usually available from participating Pingo Doce locations. Home delivery depends on the campaign and on where you live.

In 2025, delivery covered Greater Lisbon, Greater Porto, Braga, Coimbra and the Algarve, with free delivery on orders above 100€. The charges, the free-delivery threshold and the areas covered can all change, so check them at the time.

5. Book your date and time

The available dates and slots show up during the order. They fill quickly as Christmas gets closer, so the earlier you book, the more choice you get. If a delivery window matters to you, do not leave it to the last week.

6. Pay and keep the confirmation

If you order online, payment is completed when you finish the order. The confirmation includes the selected dishes, payment details and collection or delivery information.

When do Christmas orders close?

Christmas orders usually close around the middle of December, though the exact day moves every year.

In 2025, the deadline was 17 December, with collection and delivery running between 22 and 28 December, closed on the 25th. The year before, the cut-off landed a day later. So treat mid-December as your mental deadline, and confirm the real date on the official menu page once it goes live.

Leaving it to the final day does not only risk the deadline. It also thins out the collection points and delivery slots still available.

What I ordered and what it cost

For Christmas 2025, my order looked like this:

• Salgados para a Família: €9.99
• Bacalhau com Natas: €24.99
• Cabrito Assado com Batatinha: €34.99
• Arroz Doce: €5.99
• Bolo-Rei Pingo Doce Versailles: €9.99
• Home delivery: €5.00

That came to €90.95. The delivery fee applied because my order sat under the 100€ free-delivery threshold.

It fed four people with leftovers for the following day. My sister is vegan and brought her own dishes, which became part of the table too.

Prices and items will look different in future campaigns, but this gives you a realistic sense of what several prepared Christmas dishes actually cost in Portugal.

Collection or home delivery?

Collection opens up more locations and takes away the uncertainty of waiting on a delivery during the busiest week of the year. You know exactly when you will have the food.

Home delivery is the easier option when December is already full of work, children, shopping and family. It also saves you carrying several large trays from the shop to the car and into the house.

I chose home delivery for my 2025 order. An earlier time slot leaves a wider margin before Christmas Eve, particularly during a busy delivery period.

For everyday shopping outside the Christmas rush, I lean on collection services too. I walk through how that works in my guide to online grocery pickup in Portugal.

Who the Pingo Doce Christmas Service May Suit

The service can be particularly useful for smaller families, busy parents, people hosting their first Christmas in Portugal and anyone who wants to include traditional Portuguese dishes without preparing the entire meal at home.

It also allows families to order only the parts of the meal that require more preparation, while keeping their own recipes and traditions on the table.

I have used the service for two consecutive years. For my assessment of the delivery, individual dishes, portions and overall quality, read my full Pingo Doce Christmas dinner review.

Frequently asked questions

Can I order Christmas dinner online in Portugal?

Yes. Pingo Doce normally takes online Christmas orders during its seasonal campaign, and restaurants, hotels and catering companies often offer Christmas takeaway menus too.

Does Pingo Doce deliver Christmas dinner?

Home delivery has been available in selected areas in recent campaigns. The exact coverage and the delivery conditions are published with each year’s Christmas menu.

When do Pingo Doce Christmas orders close?

Usually around mid-December. In 2025 the deadline was 17 December. The 2026 date has not been published yet.

Can I collect my order from a store?

Store collection is normally available at participating Pingo Doce locations, and the shops you can choose from appear while you place the order.

Is the food delivered hot or ready to reheat?

My order arrived prepared, packaged and ready to reheat, with reheating instructions included. It is not served hot at the door.

How much does a Pingo Doce Christmas dinner cost?

It depends on the dishes and the number of guests. My 2025 order came to €90.95, including €5 delivery, and fed four with leftovers.

Can I order only part of the meal?

Yes. The menu is built around individual dishes, so you can order just the starters, the main, the sides or the desserts on their own.

More Christmas ideas

Once the food is sorted, the rest of Christmas gets much easier to enjoy. My Christmas tree guide covers the decorating routine I follow at home.

Still working through presents? I have separate guides with Christmas gift ideas for kids, for him and for her.

Would you order your Christmas dinner, or is cooking it from scratch too much a part of the day to give up?