Make-ahead Thanksgiving sides are the secret to a calm holiday. Here are 15 of my favorite side dishes you can prepare days in advance, with exactly how far ahead to make each one and how to reheat it.
Thanksgiving dinner comes down to a few hours, one oven, and a lot of dishes that all want to be hot at the same time. The turkey needs the oven most of the day, so the more sides you can prep ahead, the smoother the day goes. That’s why I plan my menu around dishes that hold well in the fridge or freezer.
Every recipe here comes with make-ahead instructions I’ve tested, so you know what you can do a week out, what’s best assembled the day before, and what to bake just before dinner. Some sides, like cranberry sauce and gravy, actually work in your favor when made early. Others, like casseroles, simply need a little extra time in the oven when they go in cold.
Use the timeline below the recipes to map out your week, and Thanksgiving Day becomes mostly reheating, baking, and enjoying the people at your table.
Potatoes and Sweet Potatoes
Make Ahead: Cool, then refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 3 days, or freeze for about 1 month. Reheat on the stovetop over medium-low heat or in the microwave in 30-second intervals.
Make Ahead: Assemble the casserole, press plastic wrap against the surface, and refrigerate for up to 1 day before baking.
Make Ahead: Assemble, cover, and refrigerate up to 2 days before baking. Since the dish goes in cold, plan on a longer bake time. You can also freeze it for up to 1 month and thaw it in the fridge the night before.
Make Ahead: Bake the sweet potatoes up to 3 days ahead, and mix the dry topping ingredients up to 2 days ahead. Add the melted butter to the topping and bake on Thanksgiving Day.
Stuffing and Dressing
Make Ahead: Cut and dry the bread up to 5 days ahead. Assemble the stuffing, cover, and refrigerate, then bake within 1 day. A cold dish may need a little longer in the oven.
Make Ahead: Dry the bread up to 5 days ahead, and assemble and refrigerate up to 1 day before baking. Baked stuffing keeps for 4 days in the fridge or 3 months in the freezer.
Make Ahead: This one is made for planning. Bake the cornbread up to 3 days ahead and toast the cubes up to 5 days ahead. Assemble the whole dressing up to 2 days ahead and bake when ready, or freeze for up to 3 months.
Vegetables
Make Ahead: Refrigerate the cooked green beans and the cooled mushroom sauce separately for up to 5 days. Combine them in the casserole dish and bake until hot and bubbly, about 20 minutes. Add the onions right before baking.
Make Ahead: Make them up to 5 days ahead and reheat before serving. Or blanch the carrots up to 3 days ahead and finish them in the glaze on Thanksgiving Day.
Sauces and Rolls
Make Ahead: Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 1 week, or freeze for up to 3 months and thaw in the fridge overnight. Serve warm or at room temperature. Prefer a citrus twist? Try my orange cranberry sauce.
Make Ahead: Refrigerate for up to 4 days or freeze for up to 4 months, then reheat on the stovetop and add a splash of stock if it’s too thick. No drippings yet? The recipe includes a butter and stock option, so you can make it before the turkey is roasted.
Make Ahead: Bake the rolls, wrap them in plastic, and freeze in a freezer bag for up to 1 month. Rewarm frozen rolls on a sheet pan at 300°F (149°C) for 15 to 20 minutes, or in the microwave for 60 to 75 seconds.
Slow Cooker Sides
When the oven is full, the slow cooker takes over. These three sides cook hands-off on the counter, so the oven stays free for the turkey and the stovetop for the gravy.
Make Ahead: Store the dried bread cubes in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Assemble the stuffing in the slow cooker insert, cover, and refrigerate, then cook within 1 day. Once it’s done, keep it covered on the warm setting until dinner.
Make Ahead: Refrigerate the mashed sweet potatoes in the cooled slow cooker insert for up to 3 days. You can also freeze the mashed sweet potatoes and the pecan topping separately, then thaw and reheat in the slow cooker.
Make Ahead: Make it up to 1 week ahead and refrigerate in an airtight container, or freeze for up to 3 months and thaw the day before serving. It thickens as it cools.
Make-Ahead Thanksgiving Timeline
Here’s how I spread the work across the week. Every timing below comes from the recipes above. For the full countdown, including when to thaw the turkey and an hour-by-hour Thanksgiving Day schedule, see my Thanksgiving game plan and its free printable planner.
Up to 1 month ahead
- Bake and freeze the Hawaiian rolls.
- Freeze the gravy, cranberry sauce, or cornbread dressing if you want to get a head start.
Up to 1 week ahead
- Make the cranberry sauce, on the stovetop or in the slow cooker.
4 to 5 days ahead
- Cut and dry the bread for the stuffing (including the Crock Pot stuffing), and toast the cornbread cubes for the dressing.
- Make the turkey gravy (up to 4 days) and the glazed carrots (up to 5 days).
2 to 3 days ahead
- Make the mashed potatoes.
- Bake the sweet potatoes (up to 3 days), and mix the dry pecan topping (up to 2 days). Making the slow cooker version? Mash the sweet potatoes in the insert and refrigerate (up to 3 days).
- Cook the green beans and mushroom sauce for the casserole.
- Assemble the cornbread dressing and the potatoes au gratin.
1 day ahead
- Assemble the stuffing and the hashbrown casserole. Assemble the Crock Pot stuffing in its insert and refrigerate.
- Thaw anything frozen in the refrigerator overnight.
Thanksgiving Day
- Bake the casseroles, stuffing, and dressing while the herb roasted turkey rests, adding extra time for dishes coming straight from the fridge.
- Top the sweet potato casserole and green bean casserole just before baking.
- Start the Crock Pot stuffing about 3 hours before dinner, and keep slow cooker sides on the warm setting until serving.
- Rewarm the mashed potatoes, gravy, carrots, and rolls on the stovetop or in the microwave to save oven space.
Frequently Asked Questions
It depends on the dish. Cranberry sauce keeps for up to a week, gravy for 4 days, and mashed potatoes for 3 days in the fridge. Casseroles like stuffing and hashbrown casserole are best assembled no more than a day ahead and baked fresh.
Cranberry sauce, turkey gravy, herb sausage stuffing, cornbread dressing, potatoes au gratin, glazed carrots, mashed potatoes, and Hawaiian rolls all freeze well according to their recipes. Thaw them in the refrigerator overnight before reheating.
Yes. A casserole that goes into the oven straight from the refrigerator starts cold, so it needs extra time to heat through. Check that the center is hot before serving.
Use gentle heat and a little liquid. Rewarm mashed potatoes over medium-low heat, thin gravy with a splash of stock, and add a little water to glazed carrots so the glaze doesn’t burn.
Save the oven for casseroles, stuffing, and anything that needs to brown, and reheat everything else on the stovetop or in the microwave. Many of these dishes can bake while the turkey rests. The slow cooker sides, Crock Pot stuffing, sweet potato casserole, and cranberry sauce, skip the oven entirely.
With a little planning, Thanksgiving Day becomes about enjoying the meal, not racing the clock. Pair these sides with my roast turkey and finish with one of my Thanksgiving pies. Which make-ahead side are you starting with this year? Let me know in the 📝 comments below!
Diane says
Jessica, what wonderful, healthy, delicious recipes! I will absolutely use some this Thanksgiving! Thank you!!!
Donna says
Thanks for some great suggestions! I don’t know which ones, but I plan to use some of these!
Donna
Karen Pulcinella says
Thank you for these great ideas and recipes!
Ronald F. Seto says
My father made this turkey stuffing for Thanksgiving and I have been making the same stuffing for the past 65 years. Everyone who has had it have always raved over it and many copies of the recipe have been given out. Basically, its mashed potatoes, day old bread, pork sausage, lop chon sausage, onion, sage, salt and pepper. I used to stuff the turkey with it as the stuffing would keep the turkey meat moist, but lately, I just make it as a stove top dish. I have never tasted a stuffing that was better than mine. It is never dry, just moist with the right texture. My father was a cook, then vice president of the House of Chan restaurant in New York City, where I also picked up some of my culinary skills. If you are interested in the recipe, I can send you a copy.
Pam Miller says
I would love a copy of your Dad’s stuffing, it sounds delicious.
Thank you
Pam Miller pammiller247@msn.com
Donna says
Oh My Goodness! I would love to have this recipe!
I hope you receive this . I see that it was published a year ago.
Thanks in advance!
Donna
Donnaconfection@gmail.com