How to Make Thanksgiving Side Dishes Ahead of Time
How to make Thanksgiving side dishes ahead of time is life’s simple pleasure! Here’s how to have a pecan pie, homemade cranberry sauce, creamy mashed potatoes, and your dinner rolls ready to bake BEFORE the Thanksgiving table is set!
How early can you make Thanksgiving sides?! I’ll help you stock your freezer with all the side dishes you can make before Thanksgiving day. Leaving you stocked and ready for the big day!
Have you ever wanted to make green bean casserole, sweet potatoes, pumpkin pie, and as much as you can ahead of time for your Thanksgiving menu?!
Me too, friend! I’ve found the best way to get your Thanksgiving Dinner prepped ahead of time and ready for the holiday season.
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Let’s learn how to make Thanksgiving side dishes ahead of time!
How to Make Thanksgiving Side Dishes Ahead of Time
Let’s chat about how chaotic Thanksgiving day can be! Especially if you are the one making the whole meal!
With a little bit of prep work each week leading up to Thanksgiving, you’ll have your entire Thanksgiving meal ready for Turkey Day! Woo hoo!!
Don’t worry; I’ve got a full email series, ready to go if you need one. Print it out, and follow along in October and November! You’ll be ready for Thanksgiving one step at a time!
The best Thanksgiving side dishes are made with love from the heart. Let’s take the easy way and prep them beforehand so you have more room to go around the dinner table.
Before we start on the timeline of making what and when, you read through all the instructions you’ll need for freezing, thawing, and baking… Let’s get the proper materials to make this work well!
If you’re a member of Sam’s Club (I would assume Costco has something similar!) pick up the Steam Table Aluminum Foil Pans! They sell a pack of 36 for $11. I love keeping these on hand when I’m taking something to go, making someone a meal, or prepping food beforehand. They’re the perfect size!
You could also order these from Amazon; they’re a bit more expensive, but they come to your home, and you don’t have to think about it!
Get a roll of heavy-duty aluminum foil and some plastic wrap with the dispenser. We’ll wrap the tops of the casseroles in foil and then the entire thing in lots of plastic wrap so it’s ready for the freezer.
P.S. That dispenser with plastic wrap is amazing if you’re like me and a one-lady show! Wrapping these casseroles in plastic wrap is difficult if you’re by yourself!
After these key items, you’ll need the usual kitchen equipment for your big Thanksgiving feast.
Don’t worry! In the email series, you’ll see you’re not making all the dishes in one day unless you want to! Each week, you’ll make two make-ahead Thanksgiving side dishes. A little at a time, people!
Make-Ahead Thanksgiving Recipes
I love the delicious side dishes that are served with our Thanksgiving turkey!
Classic Sweet Potato Casserole, Thanksgiving Mashed Potatoes, Green Bean Casserole, all the good things.
I’ve started making these three ahead of time, so my Thanksgiving day will be smooth sailing!
Other things I’ll make ahead are apple pie and pumpkin pie. I’ll make up the dinner rolls but leave them unbaked, and I’ll chop all the veggies I need for Grandma’s dressing recipe.
I’ve learned a few hacks that make it helpful and feel “freshly” made with the casserole dish recipes.
For the recipes with toppers, such as green bean and sweet potato, I’ll hold the toppings back and add them when I bake them. Instead of adding these casseroles to a foil pan, I’ll store them in a ziplock baggie, freezing flat, so they thaw easily. Then, you open the bag and plop it into your baking dish.
Of course, if you don’t want to use a zip-top bag, you can use an airtight container that freezes.
Maybe you want to roast Brussels sprouts for your big menu!
You can make these ahead of time.
I’ve never had success freezing blanched Brussels sprouts and then roasting them. I have successfully sliced and diced the sprouts a few days ahead, then roasted them with bacon and balsamic glaze, like in my favorite Brown Sugar Balsamic Brussels Sprout recipe!
Some “last-minute” recipes, like Grandma’s Dressing, must be made on the day of Thanksgiving because they require the giblets to create a broth for the bread stuffing.
But when you’ve made several items ahead of time, you’ll have plenty of time to make a couple of last-minute recipes! Woo hoo!
When you’re crafting your holiday menu, consider your oven space.
Do you have one oven, and you’ll be fighting for space?
That is okay!! The make-ahead dishes must fit in your oven and bake at the same temperature.
You’re in luck with my Make Ahead Thanksgiving Printable! The baked goods bake the day before, and the casseroles all bake at the same temperature. Follow the Cooking Game Plan inside the Email Series and a few tips and tricks to make Thanksgiving Day the best ever!
Classic Thanksgiving Recipes to Freeze
Thanksgiving Mashed Potatoes are an excellent side dish to make ahead and freeze. I freeze the creamy mashed potatoes directly in a foil pan and bake the day of dinner.
Any leftover mashed potatoes get refrozen in Souper Cubes for a night when I need individual servings!
Fun Fact: I make two pans of mashed potatoes and save one for Christmas dinner.
Besides adding pats of butter on top of your mashed potatoes before baking them, sometimes I like to add a little light sprinkling of parmesan cheese! This creates the most delicious topping that gets golden brown and scrumptious on top!
Green Bean Casserole is one of those make-ahead recipes that is so easy! You open the canned goods, mix the sour cream and green beans, and then plop it into a freezer-safe bag. Freeze it flat and store it ready to go into the casserole dish.
I store the can of onions in another place so no one uses them for the French onion topping for the green bean casserole!
For the sweet potato casserole recipe, I follow the same steps as the green bean casserole. I’ll make the sweet potato portion, freeze it in a baggie, and then plop it into the casserole dish. Then, I can top it with either marshmallow or pecan brown sugar streusel.
Southern Sausage and Cornbread Stuffing is another easy recipe to make ahead, freeze, and bake on the day. I like to pour extra turkey stock over my thawed casserole so it’s not dry.
Now, as far as make-ahead turkey gravy, I’ve never done it.
The most important thing on the table for me is the gravy. And I love making it from the turkey I roasted, ensuring all the flavors are the same and cohesive.
While we love to get a jump start on our holiday cooking, turkey dinner should include a few freshly made items, including gravy!
Easy Thanksgiving Side Dishes to Prep Ahead
Now, let’s chat about the side dishes you can prep components of on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.
If you like to serve a Thanksgiving Salad Recipe, chop and slice all your salad components earlier in the week. Wash your lettuce and wrap it in paper towels in an air-tight container.
This Autumn Chopped Salad is the best recipe, and it is so easy! You can roast the sweet potatoes on Tuesday, slice the grapes, make the croutons, and wash/dry and chop the lettuce all well before Thursday!
Fresh green beans can be blanched as early as Monday morning and roasted or sauteed on Thanksgiving Day.
The onions and celery can be chopped on Tuesday for Grandma’s Dressing recipe. (I chopped these earlier in the month and frozen them, but it’s not quite the same.)
The bread for my Grandma’s Dressing Recipe can be torn on Tuesday and stored in an air-tight container, ready for the big bowl and buttery stock on Thursday.
Tips for Cooking Make Ahead Side Dishes
Alright! Woo hoo!! You’ve made your casseroles; you have them in your freezer.
It’s the Monday before Thanksgiving, and you’re ready to start the show!
First, remove your frozen items from the freezer and thaw them in the refrigerator.
I will say this: because you will be taking several frozen items out of the freezer, adding them to your refrigerator, and waiting for everything to thaw, your fridge temperature will drop, and it will take a long time to thaw.
The safe way to thaw frozen things is to thaw them slowly in the refrigerator.
In the past, I have left a few of my casseroles on the counter on Wednesday, let them thaw for a few hours, and then added them to the fridge.
Another option is to thaw all the casseroles in a cooler if the temperature stays under 41 degrees F.
You’re also thawing a turkey, so space is limited in the fridge, y’all!
On the morning of Thanksgiving, or an hour before you need to cook your casseroles, remove them from the fridge and let them come as close to room temperature as possible.
Your oven will likely have just roasted your turkey, so it will be around 325 325˚-350˚ degrees Fahrenheit.
Heat your casseroles in a cold oven if you’re not baking a turkey. This is my favorite way of heating a thawed casserole!
Otherwise, ensure your casseroles are near room temperature and place them in the oven. I prefer to place them on a baking sheet in case anything bubbles.
For me, I can fit two aluminum foil pans on a half-sheet pan and fit two pans in my oven with two racks. This means I can bake four casseroles at once.
Regarding baking your Thanksgiving dessert recipes, I like to bake pies on Wednesday or while we are eating.
People enjoy the main course, so you have plenty of time to bake your desserts.
Depending on your timeline in life, knowing how to make Thanksgiving side dishes ahead of time will serve you well for years to come!
You’ll always be ready to prepare your Thanksgiving menu ahead of time, and you’ll learn what works for you, your freezer/fridge space, and your oven space.
While this guide walks you through how to make Thanksgiving side dishes ahead of time, make your adjustments as needed for your preference!
