10 Make Ahead Thanksgiving Dishes
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Just in time for your Thanksgiving planning, today I’m sharing with you 10 recipes that can be made ahead of time! Add in a juicy and flavorful slow cooker turkey breast that you pop in the crock pot the morning of and you can have your whole meal ready without breaking a sweat on the big day.
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This is how my Grandmama made her dressing each year and it was always moist and delicious! I didn’t even know dressing could be dry until I got older and had it at other houses! This recipe is your secret to success every time.
To make ahead: Make cornbread up to a month (or more) ahead of time and crumble it up to store in gallon zipper seal bags in the freezer. A day or two ahead of time (or Thanksgiving morning), assemble dressing in slow cooker insert, put lid on, and store in fridge. Thanksgiving morning, place insert into slow cooker base and cook according to directions.
One bite of this dish and you’ll see why I say it represents all that is right and good in the world. This is a simple way to take your Thanksgiving feast up a notch and you’ll be surprised at how simple it is, no special equipment needed!
To make ahead: Make this dish the day ahead of time and cover it with foil, stored in my fridge. When we sit down to eat, I remove it from the fridge and set it on the counter. 5-10 minutes before dessert time, I sprinkle the brown sugar over the top and place it under the broiler until it has melted, spread, and hardened. No torch or special equipment needed!
To make ahead: Mix up a batch of my Mama’s Spoon Roll dough up to three days ahead of time and store covered, in the fridge. Whenever yore ready for fresh, hot rolls and the delicious smell of baked bread, just scoop the dough out into muffin tins and bake!
To make ahead: Make these now, store in your freezer in zipper seal bags. The night before your meal place them in the fridge to thaw a bit. Pour into serving bowl and reheat until fully warmed in the microwave. They’ll taste as if you just made them!
This delicious pie is a perfect stand in for Pecan – and no one will even know it isn’t pecan unless you tell them! I developed this recipe to save money because pecans are so expensive nowadays, but ended up with floods of thank you letters from parents of children with nut allergies ,what an unexpected blessing!
To make ahead: Make this pie up to three days ahead of time and store in your fridge. Remove from fridge the morning of Thanksgiving or just before serving (if you prefer it cold).
To make ahead: Make this 4 or 5 days ahead of time and store in the fridge, it just gets better by the day. I’ve learned the hard way to double it. Last year, I made it ahead of time and ended up eating it all before Thanksgiving. I can’t help myself!
Pumpkin Pie Dip – Cream Cheese, Pumpkin, and Perfect Spices. What’s not to love?
To make ahead: Make this up to two days ahead of time and store in fridge until time to serve.
To make ahead: Make this the day before and store in the baking dish, covered, in the fridge. Pop it in the oven and bake according to directions 30 minutes before your meal.
Cheesy Hash Brown Casserole is a must have on our Thanksgiving Table.
To make ahead: I make this up to three days in advance and store it in the baking dish covered in foil in my refrigerator to pop in 30 -40 minutes before mealtime. Note: this picture is old as the hills and I really need to photograph it again to update the post. The problem is that every time I pull one out of the oven, folks are waiting to devour it!
Make these now, yes, now! You can make these more than a month in advance. This is a treasured family recipe from my husband’s Granny Jordan served as a side or a dessert (your preference). Keepthem in the freezer until you are ready to serve and then serve frozen.
Bonus:
Daddy’s coconut cake just gets better the longer it sits. Make it at least three days ahead of time for a moist and delicious cake unlike any other. Keep it in the fridge until time to serve dessert.
Love you to death!! Have your cookbooks and love your website. Thanksgiving and Christmas are my favorite cooking holidays.
Love you to death!! Have your cookbooks and love your website. Thanksgiving and Christmas are my favorite cooking holidays?
Just wanted to say thank you for that apple pie recipe last week…it was wonderful! And also for all the encouraging scripture you share with all of us. God Bless you and your family this holiday season.
I made the apple pie last weekend also. The house smelled divine and the pie was delicious. North Georgia apples are awesome this time of year. Thanks for another great recipe!
The frozen cranberry salad doesn’t have a link to the recipe?
Thanks for letting me know, it does now! 🙂
Ooh, thanks! I may make the frozen cranberry salads this year. I’m also really excited to try the pecan-free pie. Pecan pie used to be my absolute favorite Thanksgiving dessert, but I developed a severe allergy to pecans after my oldest daughter was born. I miss it a lot, and making it with Grape Nuts wasn’t very good.
My grandson is allergic to nuts, so I make the Faux Pecan Pie just for him. He loves it and has requested it again this year. Thanks, Christy!
Just can’t imagine cornbread dressing in a crockpot. Not my way. We like it brown on top and not to moist inside. It’s just our way.
I have friends whose family eats it the same way and that is all they’ve ever done or known. What works for your family works for your family and there isn’t anything wrong with that! Happy Thanksgiving!
Yum-Yum-Yum
Looking for something to take to my work Thanksgiving lunch. All we have are microwaves to reheat. Any suggestions! I need a casserole or vegetable
Hey Vicki! I mentioned microwave under the sweet and sour green beans. Those would be perfect! Also, the 3 Bean Salad is served straight from the fridge and the cranberry salads are served from the freezer.
I used Pyrex Portables. You heat the insert in the microwave at home, put the hot casserole in the holder with the insert and close. Mine stayed hot for 4 hours. Mine are the dark green ones from the early 2000’s. They came with a hot insert, a cold insert, and a glass dish with a plastic lid. That way, nothing had to be reheated.
Thanks for the suggestion, Sherry!