Christmas, Gen Z-style: Bye bye mashed potatoes and green beans, hello loaded fries and crispy chicken!

Ever wondered what the ideal Gen Z Christmas would look like? Well, not only do we have some research vetted answers, but also a concise recipe list

What can we say, it's less about the labour all about the vibes. That being said, we double dare you to come up with a sentence that better captures the reckless, wholesome, and blissfully chaotic energy of Gen Z. They're notorious, not only for their OTT whack energy, but also equally nose-scrunching opinions. And now they've come for the OG Christmas dinner too.

Loaded fries to crispy fried chicken: The perfect recipe dump to cater to Gen Z's minimal Christmas aesthetic

For them, it's not at all about a painstakingly roasted turkey or chicken, fluffy yet crunchy potatoes, crisp green beans and mashed potatoes so soft you'd want to drown in it. As per an Aldi news survey, loaded fries, crispy fried chicken and cheesecake is what makes the cut. So...recipe time we guess?

Loaded fries

Channel your inner Gen z and use your vibes for ingredient measurements.

Ingredients: Frozen fries - a bag, chopped and cooked bacon, chopped scallions, pickled jalapenos, sour cream, salt; For the cheese sauce — Unsalted butter - 3tbsps, maida - 3tbsps, whole milk - 2 cups, cheese (as much as you'd like), pickle juice - 3tbsps, cayenne pepper - a pinch, salt to taste

Method: Set the fries to bake. Mix all the cheese sauce ingredients on heat and layer on with remaining ingredients. And you're done!

Ingredients: Bone-in chicken - 8 pieces (drumsticks and thighs), salt - 1tbsp and to taste, smoked paprika - 1tbsp, ground white pepper - 1tbsp, garlic powder - 1.5tsps, ground ginger - 1.5tsps, celery salt - 1.5tsp, ground black pepper - 1.5tsp, ground mustard - 1.5tsp, dried thyme - 1tsp, dried basil - 1tsp, dried oregano - 1/2tsp, flour - 1.5 cups, cornstarch - 1tbsp, buttermilk - 1 cup, egg whites - 2, vodka - 2tbsps; vegetable oil for frying

Method: Salt the chicken and let it sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes. Mix all the remaining spices together and rub onto the chicken. Mix the flour and cornstarch with some salt while you whisk together the buttermilk with the egg whites and vodka. Dip the chicken pieces into the wet mixture, then dredge in the dry mixture. Let it rest for 10 minutes before frying in hot oil.

(recipe from The Kitchn)

Cheesecake

Ingredients: For the crust — Graham crackers - 190gms, sugar - 35gms, melted unsalted butter - 35gms; For the cheesecake — Full fat cream cheese - 4 blocks, granulated sugar - 1.5 cups, salt - 1/2tsp, vanilla essence - 1tsp, large eggs - 4, heavy cream - 1/2 cup, sour cream - 1 cup, cornstarch - 1tbsp, lemon juice - 2 to 3 tbsps

Method: Preheat oven to 160C. Grind the crust ingredients and then mix in the butter to achieve a sand-like texture. Pack this onto a buttered tin and bake for 8 minutes. Whisk the cream cheese, sugar, salt and vanilla for 3 to 5 minutes, till creamy. Break the eggs in to whisk followed by remaining ingredients. Layer this over the crust and bake for 75 to 80 minutes in a water bath. Cool for 15 minutes before serving.

(recipe from Bake with Zoha)

Will you be Gen Z-coding your Christmas feast this year?