Make-Ahead Thanksgiving Dinner Tips
Many Thanksgiving recipes can be prepped, made or even cooked the day before, or days or even weeks ahead of time. From cakes, pies and appetizers, to stuffing, gravy, casseroles and more. Here are my Make-Ahead Thanksgiving Dinner Tips for a fabulous feast!
Living in Canada means we celebrate Thanksgiving in early October, and since ours has now passed by I thought it would be a great time to share some of my dinner prep tips! While preparing our Thanksgiving celebrations I used almost all of these tips, which helped to take away much of the stress that comes with creating a delicious dinner! I hope you find some useful ideas here for your Thanksgiving dinner.
Make-Ahead Thanksgiving Dinner Tips
Before we get started, if you need some menu ideas, make sure to read this post where I share 50+ Thanksgiving menu ideas with all the classics, as well as a printable Thanksgiving Dinner Menu! I also have this super handy Thanksgiving Dinner Grocery Checklist.
Make Ahead a Week or More Before Turkey Day:
There are many make-ahead recipes that you can prepare well ahead of Thanksgiving day. Things like stuffing, buns, gravy, salad dressings, cranberry sauce and mirepoix.
Bread Stuffing
You can make your bread stuffing up to a week ahead of time and freeze it. Letting the stuffing rest allows all the flavours to come together. Just take the stuffing out of the freezer on Thanksgiving morning (or even the night before) and allow it to thaw, then proceed with baking in the oven.
Dinner Buns
You can make and freeze buns until you want to serve them. I make these White Dinner Rolls or Whole Wheat Rolls or these Pumpkin Dinner Rolls, ahead of time and take them out of the freezer on Thanksgiving morning.
Chop Onions and Celery
One of my biggest time savers is chopping onions and celery, then freezing them in a ziplock bag. I like being able to reach into the freezer to measure out what I need. I usually chop up 1 bunch of celery and several onions, then I use them for things like stuffing. You can also make a mirepoix of chopped carrots, onions and celery ahead of time.
Gravy
If you really want to save time, or don’t wish to make gravy with the drippings, you can prepare a make-ahead turkey gravy using turkey stock, then freeze it until Thanksgiving day. Thaw and reheat on the stove. Bonus tip: if the reheated stock is too thick, add some pan drippings from your freshly baked turkey. Here is my favourite recipe for homemade gravy.
Salad Dressings
If you’re serving salad with dressing make the dressing several days ahead of time and keep it in the fridge until you’re ready to use it.
Cranberry Sauce
Homemade cranberry sauce is very easy to make ahead of time. Once it’s made you can freeze it until Thanksgiving day. This is the cranberry sauce recipe I use for all my turkey dinners.
Pie Dough
Make any pie crusts you need well ahead of time and freeze them until you are ready to assemble and bake your pies. I don’t freeze the crusts in the pie plates, I prefer to freeze the dough in discs wrapped in plastic wrap, then roll them out after they’ve thawed. This is the pie crust recipe I use.
Ice Cream
If you’re making homemade ice cream make it well ahead of time. Ice cream will last in the freezer for weeks. I make this Pumpkin Ice Cream weeks ahead of Thanksgiving.
Make Ahead the Day Before:
To save yourself some stress you can do most of the prep work and prepare most Thanksgiving side dishes the day before for the big day!
Mashed Potatoes
You can also make your mashed potatoes ahead of time with this Make Ahead Mashed Potatoes recipe. This is a 2-step recipe that helps cut your prep time for the big dinner!
Pies, Cakes and Desserts
I used to think that pies, cakes and desserts were best the day they were made, but I have since learned that they’re actually better the next day. I think the reason for this is that they have time to rest and set properly. Pumpkin pie, apple pie and pecan pie are great make-ahead pies. This pumpkin delight is also a perfect make ahead dessert. So definitely make your pies and cakes the day before the big dinner.
Whipped Cream
If you’re serving whipped cream with your desserts, make it the day before and keep it in a tightly sealed container in the fridge until it’s time for dessert. This is such a time saver.
Buns
If you don’t want to freeze buns ahead of time, you can make fresh bread dough the night before Thanksgiving dinner, and let it proof in the fridge overnight, then shape and proof once more the next morning before baking.
Pumpkin Puree for Pie
If you are making pumpkin pie from homemade pumpkin purée, you can make the purée a day or two ahead of time. Here is a simple and delicious recipe for pumpkin puree from roasted pumpkins!
Vegetable Prep
Clean, chop, dice or slice any vegetables you will be serving for Thanksgiving sides. Things like carrots, green beans and Brussels sprouts.
Sweet Potato Casserole
Make the sweet potato base for your Sweet Potato Casserole (no marshmallow topping) the day before you want to serve it. Just add the marshmallows right before you’re ready to bake. This method also works for any kind of root vegetable casserole like Turnip Puff or Butternut Squash Puff.
Roasted Squash
If you’re serving puréed roasted squash like acorn squash or butternut squash, you can roast and purée them the day before dinner. Just keep the purée in the fridge in an airtight container, then reheat either in the microwave or on the stove.
Turkey
The day before Thanksgiving dinner, get the turkey ready. Clean it, then place it into the roasting pan, baste with olive oil or butter, cover with tin foil and refrigerate overnight, so all you have to do on Thanksgiving day is season and roast.
Appetizers
You can prepare most appetizers, like dips and such, a day ahead, saving you loads of time. If you’re looking for appetizers to make, make sure to check out my appetizer collection.
I hope these tips help you to have a stress free Thanksgiving dinner! If you have any tried-and-true tips you use, share them in the comments!
If you’re looking for more delicious fall recipes, makes sure to follow me on Pinterest!
Happy Thanksgiving!
A tip for making gravy ahead and still getting the drippings: A week ahead of Thanksgiving or Christmas most supermarkets (at least in Canada) carry turkey wings and drumsticks. Buy a total of about 6 pieces. Put them in a roasting pan with about 6 4″ pieces of celery and two large onions quartered. Roast at 400 for 60-90 minutes or until the turkey pieces are golden and there is browning on the bottom of the pan. Deglaze the pan with chicken broth, scrapping up brown bits. Strain into measuring cup or gravy separator. Refrigerate. When fat has risen to top, use a few tablespoons of the fat in a saucepan with flour to make a roux and then add in stock and reserved pan drippings to make gravy. Gravy freezes! When you reheat it on the stove, it will sometimes curdle–just add a couple of tablespoons of ice cold water (like you do for curdled bearnaise sauce) and whisk vigorously. It will all come together.
This is a fantastic tip Lori! Thank you so much for sharing!
Sorry to tell you but you are way to early.
Let us enjoy the kids being back in school.and Halloween!.
It’s Thanksgiving here in Canada this weekend! Definitely not too early! 🙂