One of the best tricks for serving Thanksgiving dinner is learning which dishes you can make ahead of time. There are dishes that are work well to make ahead for Thanksgiving and others that don’t. So plan your menu with both make ahead of time dishes and dishes to make Thanksgiving day, so you aren’t crazed in the kitchen and have some time to enjoy the holiday with family and friends.
MAKE THESE THANKSGIVING DISHES AHEAD OF TIME
Cranberry Sauce Make a day or two before and keep in the refrigerator. I think it tastes better if it sits in the fridge for a day or two.
Jello If your family is like mine and serves Jello, it is best to make the day before so it has plenty of time to set. Orange Jello in a glass pumpkin is a family favorite.
Chop Veggies Onion, celery, carrots can all be easily chopped ahead of time. Just make sure with onion, you seal it really well otherwise your whole fridge and everything inside will smell like onions. I double bag in zip-lock bags and then put it into a tightly sealed glass container. Use glass if you have it, plastic containers will absorb the onion smell.
Cocktails Will depend on what type of cocktail you are serving, but many of them can be mixed up before hand. I make this Cranberry Margarita, that is easy to mix up before hand.
Cookies, Pies, or Cakes You definitely don’t want to be dealing with more baking when you already have a turkey in the oven. I make these frosted pumpkin cookies, actually a week before and freeze them. They are so moist I have found they do better in the freezer and then I just take them out an hour or so before serving.
Do NOT make these dishes ahead of time
Turkey It is difficult to reheat without drying it out. I’ve head of some methods of pouring broth on the meat while reheating. But the turkey is the centerpiece of Thanksgiving. Make it the day of and serve it freshly cooked.
Mashed Potatoes I’ve tried cutting & pealing them ahead of time, they turn brown. I’ve tried cooking and mashing them ahead of time, then reheating. They don’t turn out the same, they are littler runnier and just not as good. I recommend cooking & mashing Thanksgiving day.
Stuffing I think stuffing is best made the day of because of the bread. The longer is sits the more time the moisture has to break down the bread. Not that it doesn’t make great leftovers but I suggest making it the day of.
to make ahead or to not make ahead?
Rolls or Biscuits I prefer to serve rolls or biscuits fresh from the oven. However if making them from scratch, you may have to make them ahead of time. They take time and oven space which you may not have right before serving dinner. You can reheating them, but I have not found the perfect method yet. In the oven they tend to dry out a little. I tried wrapping them in foil with a sprinkling of water for moisture, which just left the tops a little soggy. Another option is you can par bake your rolls, basically pre-bake them and then finish the baking process right before dinner. I haven’t tried it yet but I definitely want to do a practice batch first. According to this source, with all purpose flour, the final internal temp of the rolls should be par baked to 155 degrees and finish making at 175 degrees. It also mentioned covering the par baked rolls with buttered plastic wrap while storing them between the par baking and the final baking so they don’t stick. I definitely want to try this but I recommend doing a practice batch ahead of time to see how it works for your recipe.