Recipes Holidays and Events Recipes Thanksgiving Make-Ahead 9 Make-Ahead Thanksgiving Sides That Hold Up in the Freezer By Vanessa Greaves Vanessa Greaves Instagram Vanessa Greaves is a Senior Editor at Allrecipes with nearly two decades of experience helping home cooks gain confidence in the kitchen. A self-taught cook who grew up reading cookbooks for fun, Vanessa lives and breathes the challenges faced by busy everyday cooks to get dinner on the table. Education: Vanessa attended California State University, Dominguez Hills, majoring in English. Experience: While living in Los Angeles, Vanessa co-owned a travel service guiding overseas visitors on adventure tours throughout the Desert Southwest, where she developed a strong instinct for sharing knowledge and discovery. Trading in her hiking boots for high heels, Vanessa made the switch to fashion media, starting at Women's Wear Daily and moving up to W magazine, giving her a deep appreciation for both aesthetics and practicalities. After relocating to Seattle, Vanessa's interests turned to more domestic pursuits: raising a family, gardening, and cooking. Her home garden has been featured in The Seattle Times/Pacific NW Magazine, and she's proud to be part of the team that has grown Allrecipes into the world's largest online community of home cooks. Vanessa holds true to the founding principles of Allrecipes, believing that home cooks are the real experts, and striving to showcase their voices and contributions throughout. Vanessa's favorite recipe on Allrecipes is Lolah's Chicken Adobo. It's a family recipe that her Filipino mom taught her, and her mom taught her, and Vanessa in turn taught it to her son. She probably makes it every other week. To her, it tastes like home, comfort, and love Allrecipes' editorial guidelines Updated on October 22, 2021 Share Tweet Pin Email Trending Videos Photo by Allrecipes Magazine. If you're tackling any or all of the Thanksgiving cooking this year, here's a big sanity-saving secret: Most of your Thanksgiving menu can be prepared way before Thanksgiving. In fact, you'll cut a lot of stress out of turkey day if you prep a few side dishes now. Just stash them in the freezer for up to a month, and you'll have even more to be thankful for on Thanksgiving. These top recipes and prep tips for make-ahead Thanksgiving side dishes will save precious time on the big day itself. 01 of 10 Sweet Potato Casseroles View Recipe Angela F. Assemble the casserole following recipe directions, but leave off the topping if it has one. Instead of baking, wrap well and freeze. To bake, you can either thaw the casserole overnight in the fridge or bake it while it's still frozen. Sprinkle with topping before baking. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees F for 30 to 40 minutes, or until potatoes are steaming hot. Uncover and bake for another 20 to 30 minutes, until the topping is crisp and brown. Tip: Line the baking pan with foil so you can lift out the frozen casserole and put it back in the freezer while you reuse the baking pan. More Sweet Potato Casserole Recipes 02 of 10 Homemade Cranberry Sauces View Recipe Melissa Goff Why do the canned stuff when you can easily make cranberry sauce from scratch ahead of time? You simply make the recipe, let it cool, and then freeze it. Thaw in the fridge overnight, and stir well before serving. You can also make it on Monday, store it in the fridge, and serve it on Thursday. Tip: Best choices for freezing are simple cranberry sauces that don't contain other fresh fruits and vegetables, as the freezing process can damage their texture. More Cranberry Sauce Recipes 03 of 10 Butternut Squash Soups View Recipe Leslie Kelly Squash soup is a popular first course for Thanksgiving, but you don't have to make it on the day for it to taste great. Prepare and purée the soup, but if your recipe contains dairy, don't add it. Cool and freeze in a gallon-size freezer bag with the air squeezed out and the bag laid flat on a baking sheet. Thaw in the fridge overnight, whisk in the milk or cream, and heat to steaming. Tip: Freezing can intensify the flavor of the onion in the soup, so taste before serving and adjust the seasonings. More Butternut Squash Soup Recipes 04 of 10 Turkey Gravy View Recipe lutzflcat Having a big batch of turkey gravy ready to heat and serve eliminates the frenzy of making gravy after the turkey comes out of the oven. Just make sure the recipe you choose does NOT have cream or milk in it. Otherwise, it will separate when you thaw it; you can always add it in after thawing. Thaw gravy in the fridge overnight and bring it to a boil before serving. Tip: You can strain and degrease the pan drippings from the turkey before stirring them into your make-ahead gravy to boost that freshly-roasted turkey flavor. How to Make Gravy Ahead of Time More Turkey Gravy Recipes 05 of 10 Mashed Potatoes View Recipe bd.weld Take mashed potatoes off your to-do list on Thanksgiving day. Cook and mash your potatoes, adding plenty of butter and cream. You can toss in extras like snipped herbs, bacon, and roasted garlic now, or later after they thaw. Either way will work, although chives and parsley might lose their bright green color in the freezer. You can always add more after thawing. Tip: If your thawed and heated mashed potatoes turn out a bit watery, whip in generous spoonfuls of sour cream or cream cheese to bring the texture back together. How to Freeze and Reheat Mashed Potatoes More Mashed Potato Recipes 06 of 10 Stuffing and Dressing View Recipe Photo by Allrecipes Magazine. Assemble the dressing, but don't bake it. Let it cool and freeze it. Thaw it in the refrigerator for 24 hours and allow it to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes before baking it to golden perfection. Tip: Bake it in the oven according to the recipe instructions, keeping in mind that cooking will likely take a little longer because the dressing is going in cold from the fridge. More Recipes for Stuffing and Dressing 07 of 10 Home-Style Macaroni and Cheese View Recipe CC Mac and cheese freezes well, so don't hesitate to make it in advance. Just hold the topping — it's best to add it during the last 15 to 20 minutes of reheating. Tip: Once the mac and cheese cools, you can freeze it in a freezer-safe baking dish. Just double-wrap the dish tightly with plastic wrap, pressing on the wrap to remove air pockets. Cover the dish with tin foil, and freeze it till you're ready to thaw it. More Baked Mac and Cheese Recipes 08 of 10 Aunt Millie's Broccoli Casserole View Recipe KayBee63 Ingredients like ricotta, cream cheese, and mayonnaise don't freeze well, which rules out a lot of veggie casseroles. Aunt Millie's Broccoli Casserole, however, uses freezer-friendly fresh broccoli and Cheddar. As with the mac and cheese, bake this casserole without the topping — add that before you reheat it on Thanksgiving. Tip: Let your casserole cool before you freeze it, which will keep it from getting mushy. More Broccoli Casserole Recipes 09 of 10 Twice-Baked Potatoes for the Freezer View Recipe Baking Nana As with mashed potatoes, stirring in enough butter and milk or cream is essential to freezing twice-baked potatoes. And this holiday-worthy side couldn't be easier to prepare in advance. Just let your cooked potatoes cool, then transfer them to freezer bags. Tip: To serve, thaw the potatoes overnight and bake at 350 degrees F until hot, about 20 to 30 minutes. If you're pressed for time, microwave the thawed potatoes on high for about three minutes. More Make-Ahead Thanksgiving Recipes 10 of 10 More Thanksgiving Inspiration: Allrecipes Pictured: Pumpkin Pie Bread Pudding 9 Classic Make-Ahead Thanksgiving Casseroles 15 Make-Ahead Thanksgiving Desserts to Save Your Sanity More Thanksgiving Recipes Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit