Thanksgiving dinner is, for me, one of the best meals of the year. The whole family gets together and fills the kitchen with love and delicious food.
Do you ever host the big day and do most of the cooking? It can be a lot of work, especially with small kids running around. Take off some of the stress by doing some prep work the day before, too!
Here’s a list of ideas of what to prep the night before Thanksgiving.
Pumpkin pie/Desserts
I pretty much always make a pumpkin pie when I cook Thanksgiving dinner. It tastes better cold anyway, so I always make it the night before and put it in the fridge to get cold. My favorite recipe is this one from the Eagle brand!
Any other desserts can be made beforehand too like brownies, cookies, or even other pies and pie dough. If you don’t want to bake the other pies right away, you can always prep them the night before anyway and stick them in the oven while you’re all eating Thanksgiving dinner.
I know some people even make their desserts way ahead of time and freeze them! Cookies freeze very well and still taste great after being thawed.
You can also freeze pies:
- Apple pie
- Pecan pie
- Blueberry pie
Breads
Bread, to me, is more convenient to bake the day before. I use my bread machine to make dinner rolls, and that takes 90 minutes just to make the dough. Then I have to form them into rolls and let them rise for another hour before baking. You probably won’t have that kind of time on Thanksgiving day.
If you prefer warm bread, just stick them in the warm oven for a few minutes to heat them up and they’ll be perfect!
Just like the cookies above, rolls freeze well; so if you want to save more time, make them the week before and stick them in the freezer.
One of my favorite things to make every year is this Cornbread Stuffing. It’s a slow cooker dish, which helps save time in the kitchen and saves oven space; but baking the cornbread beforehand really makes this dish easier to prepare the next day!
Side dishes
Most side items can be made ahead of time and will just need to be heated up on Thanksgiving morning!
- Cranberry sauce
- Macaroni and cheese
- Mashed potatoes
- Stuffing
A lot of times you can put these in a baking dish and just heat up in the oven. That can help free up stove space.
The turkey
Yes, you can even cook your turkey ahead of time!
I tend to stress out the day of, because I’m so afraid the turkey won’t be done.
But honestly, if your guest list doesn’t care about presentation, you can cook and even slice the turkey ahead of time.
I still like to make the gravy right before serving, though. Fresh hot gravy is best eaten right when it’s made, in my opinion.
Chop all vegetables
This will be a life-saver the next day. Doing all the vegetable prep now, in batch form, will save you SO much time on Thanksgiving Day.
- Potatoes
- Sweet potatoes
- Green beans
- Celery
- Onions
- Brussels sprouts
Set them all out, grab your cutting board, knife, and a bunch of containers; and just get to work.
I put a grocery bag on the counter next to me for trash, and put storage containers on the other side of me; that way everything is pretty much streamlined and I don’t have to move around much.
Assemble casseroles
Most casseroles will hold out really well if you assemble them the night before and keep them in the fridge. I’ve done this before and it’s saved me time and stress when it comes time to cooking everything.
This could be your next step after chopping all the vegetables because they’re already out and ready to be used!
Here are some examples of casseroles you can prep ahead of time:
- Sweet potato casserole
- Green bean casserole
How to store prepped items
Once you’ve done all your Thanksgiving meal prep, there are a few ways you can store your food.
Keep in mind that all hot items need to cool to room temperature before placing in the fridge or freezer!
Storage containers
Foods like cranberry sauce, salad dressings, and chopped veggies can be placed in an airtight container.
Plastic containers stack easily in the fridge, helping to maximize your space!
Plastic wrap
Pie dough is best wrapped in plastic wrap, to help keep its form until you’re ready to use it.
Ziploc bags
Breads and chopped vegetables can be placed in gallon-sized bags. I do this a lot with dinner rolls because I can fit quite a few in there.
If you follow all of these, or even just a few, you’ll help yourself save a ton of time in the kitchen and you won’t have to feel so rushed or stressed on Turkey Day!
Speaking of feeling stressed, there’s no need to if you stay organized! Check out my new Thanksgiving Planner and stay sane this holiday season!
What things do you do to save time the night before Thanksgiving? Share in the comments and give us ideas!
Jaime is a Nutrition Coach through the ISSA and professional writer. She has 4 years experience coaching and 9 years experience in writing. She enjoys cooking easy meals, running, and learning more about food.
Jaime specializes in helping women with ADHD learn to meal plan and cook healthier meals without getting overwhelmed.
Dawn
Friday 15th of November 2024
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I tend to forget about pie dough early. Since I can't have gluten and my husband can, I am thinking about cooking the pie dough in strips and then when I make "pumpkin mush" and fried apples as my alternatives to pie, he can eat it sort of like chips and dips. I always thought the leftover bits of dough baked with a little sugar and cinnamon was the best part anyway.
If you have never made pie dough with vodka, that is by far the best tip ever as it pertains to the pie world. It makes such a great dough.
A big one that I do early is stock. I have some chicken wings going with some water in the crockpot right now to make a base for the gravy and the dressing. Does not have to be sixteen ingredients since it is competing against boxed broths. I'm going to strain and freeze them in a thing called a "souper cube" but whatever the case, it freezes beautifully.
I don't do potatoes the night before because I don't think the texture works very well. But potatoes can hold raw in water for up to eight hours, so I set them up super early before anything else is going on, and put them to cook almost last.
I make my dressing a night or two before--up to the "put it in the oven" instructions. That way it's just a take it out of the fridge, add wings on the top (which makes it taste more like stuffing and less like dressing) and pop it into the convection oven.
Refrigerated yeast dough is actually more complex tasting than dough straight out of the bread machine/dough bowl so I use that to my advantage by making the dough for the rolls and/or the bread for the dressing a few days ahead of time.
Marilyn Cortell
Monday 14th of October 2019
The below organization hints will make a big difference when at the last minute you are looking for platters, serving dishes, utensils etc. Consider taking out everything you know you'll need for serving from appetizers to main meal Place a sticky note labeling what the dish will be used for Take out corresponding serving utensils placating them next to serving dish Of course, You know to set the beautiful table as many days as feasible beforehand
Jaime
Tuesday 15th of October 2019
Those are good tips, thank you!