Make Ahead Thanksgiving Recipes

Making most of the dishes weeks or months ahead of your Thanksgiving feast ensures that you can truly enjoy that day. Instead of being in the kitchen cooking, you can be visiting with guests. Make ahead Thanksgiving recipes can really take the stress out of the day.

When you think of holiday meals, likely classic dishes such as sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole, and mashed potatoes covered in delicious gravy come to mind. Good news… These are exactly the sort of recipes that can be made ahead! A little bit of prep ahead of time can take so much pressure off for the big day.

Freezer Stuffing

stuffing (bread cubes with bits of onion) on a plate next to sweet potatoes and mashed potatoes and gravy

Make your dressing ahead with this easy stuffing recipe. Customize it according to your preferences or holiday traditions.

Make Ahead Mashed Potatoes

casserole dish with mashed potatoes and a large spoon

What would a Thanksgiving dinner be without mashed potatoes?! One of the most time consuming side dishes to make for your holiday feast is always the mashed potatoes.

Being able to make this weeks ahead ensures you’ll have more time (and less dishes) on the big day.

Sweet Potato Casserole

It wouldn’t be Thanksgiving at our house without this delicious make ahead Sweet Potato Casserole that has a hint of sweet and a hint of spice for just the right balance of delicious goodness.

Maple Glazed Carrots

sliced carrots with dill on a plate next to rice and chicken

Carrots are an easy side dish to add to your menu. Being able to take these Maple Glazed Carrots with Dill out of your freezer to cook up is an easy addition to your meal.

We recently celebrated Thanksgiving and everything but the turkey was made ahead of time and I can tell you that it took a huge weight off me. I enjoyed the day so much more because I didn’t have to think much about the meal. I was able to hold my grandbaby and visit with my kids while dinner took care of itself.

Watch us prepare our entire Thanksgiving dinners (aside from the turkey) for the freezer in the video below. I think my favourite dish of all was the homemade creamed corn.

Homemade Creamed Corn

white casserole dish with creamed corn baked inside

This homemade creamed corn can be made well advance of the holidays so that you have less cooking to do that day and can do more visiting.

Cranberry Sauce

My husband believes that turkey should never be served without cranberry sauce. I know this is a sentiment shared by many. Having this easy version ready to go ensures that you can have the taste of a homemade cranberry sauce with the convenience of it ready-made.

Glazed Ham

While turkey may be more traditional for Thanksgiving, I often serve this Glazed Ham as well. It cooks up easily in the slow cooker and is a great addition to your holiday feast.

Mac and Cheese

Cozy and full of fall vibes, homemade Mac and Cheese is a great side dish to serve alongside your meal.

How far in advance can you make ahead Thanksgiving side dishes?

Thanksgiving side dishes can be made up to three months in advance and frozen. Not all side dishes freeze well of course. You should never make a lettuce salad ahead for example because under no circumstances does lettuce freeze well. But there are many traditional holiday sides that freeze beautifully.

And on that salad note, last Thanksgiving, I did peel and quarter some beets ahead, add a bit of olive oil, and freeze them so that I could make easy roasted beets for a beautiful beet salad.

Can turkey stuffing be frozen?

After extensive testing in our kitchen, we are happy to be able to report that stuffing can be made ahead and frozen. The dressing can then be cooked on the day of in the oven or stuffed in the turkey and cooked.

Other make ahead Thanksgiving dishes:

Cornbread Stuffing – Being from Canada, I hadn’t even heard about cornbread stuffing until recently, but from what I hear, it seems like an American Thanksgiving staple that I need to try! This cornbread stuffing recipe can be made ahead and store in the refrigerator for a few days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Freezer Ready Pumpkin Pie – You may be relieved to know that pumpkin pies freeze beautifully. This allows you to make your Thanksgiving dessert weeks or months ahead so you will have one less thing to worry about on the day of.
Green Bean Casserole – The green bean casserole has become synonymous with Thanksgiving for many. Did you know that you can make it ahead and freeze it? Place the fried onions for the topping in a separate bag to add partway through baking to ensure they don’t get soggy.

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Get your freezer stacked so you can relax.