Recipes

85 Thanksgiving Recipes You Can Make Ahead

Short on time? Running out of oven space? Here are some make-ahead dishes for a seamless feast.
A bowl of swirly mashed potatoes with a halfstick of butter melting into a pool on top.
Photo by Michael Graydon + Nikole Herriott, food styling by Rebecca Jurkevich, prop styling by Kalen Kaminski

It's normal to get antsy in the days leading up to the main event. Alleviate your to-do list stress by prepping at least some of your Thanksgiving recipes in advance. For less of a headache on Turkey day, get your Thanksgiving appetizers, sides, and mains out of the way. Let these 85 do-ahead recipes show you the way—so you can ease into the day and small talk with a nice, stiff drink in hand.

Read more about how to prep stuffing in advance and freeze it for later →

  • Leeks with Pine Nut Salsa Verde
    Photo by Marcus Nilsson, food styling by Rebecca Jurkevich, prop styling by Kalen Kaminski
    1/85

    Glazed Leeks With Pine Nut Salsa Verde

    When cooked until tender, doused in a chile-honey-vinegar sauce, and finished with a nutty, herby salsa verde, humble leeks transform into the in-demand side that no one saw coming.

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  • Making Perfect Sides Brussels Sprouts
    Photo by Alex Lau, food styling by Susie Theodorou, prop styling by Kalen Kaminski
    2/85

    Brussels Sprouts With Pistachios and Lime

    These roasted whole brussels sprouts get so crispy you’ll worry they’re burnt (they’re not!). Then toss ’em in a date molasses–brown butter glaze.

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  • Sausage and caramelized onion stuffing with toasted bread and celery in a black baking dish with a serving spoon resting...
    Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Thu Buser, Prop Styling by Tim Ferro
    3/85

    Make-Ahead Sausage and Caramelized Onion Stuffing

    Free up space in your oven on Thanksgiving for other heavy hitters by assembling and baking this stuffing the day before.

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  • Fancy cranberry sauce
    Photo by Alex Lau, food styling by Susie Theodorou, prop styling by Kalen Kaminski
    4/85

    Fancy Jellied Cranberry Sauce

    We have a thing for canned cranberry sauce, so we dreamed up a sauce as sliceable and jiggly and fun, with deep fruit flavor and a pretty topping.

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  • PecanRye Pumpkin Pie
    Photo by Alex Lau, food styling by Susie Theodorou, prop styling by Kalen Kaminski
    5/85

    Pecan-Rye Pumpkin Pie

    Imagine a pumpkin pie with pecan pie’s best feature—obviously, the candied nut topping. The best of both worlds.

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  • A 13x9 Great Jones ceramic casserole dish filled with a craggy Thanksgiving stuffing set on a red tablecloth.
    Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Mieko Takahashi
    6/85

    Simple-Is-Best Stuffing

    Ten years in, this classic stuffing recipe (or dressing, if you prefer) remains one of our favorite Thanksgiving side dishes.

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  • Image may contain Food Meal Dish Pasta Plant and Platter
    Photo by Alex Lau, Food Styling by Rebecca Jurkevich
    7/85

    Mashed Potatoes With Crispety Cruncheties

    Ridiculously, impossibly creamy mashed potatoes with a patatas bravas-inspired topping.

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  • Goldenbrown gravy in a tan ceramic gravy boat on bluegray fabric.
    Photograph by Isa Zapata, food styling by Judy Kim, prop styling by Beth Pakradooni, gravy boats by Base Ceramics
    8/85

    Make-Ahead Gravy

    Silky, mashed-potato-pooling glory—no turkey drippings required.

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  • Applewalnut upsidedown cake recipe
    Photo by Chelsie Craig, food styling by Rebecca Jurkevich
    9/85

    Apple-Walnut Upside-Down Cake

    Tender, nutty, and studded with caramel-glazed apple halves, Claire Saffitz’s apple cake is the best apple cake. (There, we said it.)

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  • A muffin tin full of corn muffins dotted with fresh corn kernels in the muffin tops.
    Photo by Chelsie Craig, Food Styling by Molly Baz, Prop Styling by Emily Eisen
    10/85

    Extra-Corny Corn Muffins

    Featuring cornmeal and fresh corn kernels.

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  • Thanksgiving cocktail for a crowd
    Bobbi Lin
    17/85

    Earl Grey–Bourbon Punch

    A punch even your grandma will love.

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  • Overhead view of a deepdish apple pie with a goldenbrown double crust.
    Photo by Michael Graydon + Nikole Herriot
    18/85

    BA's Best Deep-Dish Apple Pie

    Reducing the liquid in this mile-high apple pie recipe to a syrupy consistency concentrates the flavor and yields the ideal juicy sauciness. Do not attempt in a standard pie plate! This is part of BA's Best, a collection of our essential recipes.

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  • Image may contain Food Bread Bun and Burger
    Michael Graydon + Nikole Herriott
    19/85

    Buttery Pull-Apart Dinner Rolls

    With any luck, these will be the softest rolls you ever make.

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  • Caramelglazed apples baked on a rectangle of puff pastry.
    Photo by Michael Graydon + Nikole Herriott, food styling by Rebecca Jurkevich, prop styling by Kalen Kaminski
    20/85

    Glazed and Flaky Apple Tart

    If you're the type who prefers fruit desserts that go heavy on the fruit, this flaky, crunchy, juicy apple tart's for you.

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  • Goldenbrown cornbread dressing with sausage in a white rectangular baking dish with a serving spoon tucked into one corner.
    Photo by Alex Lau, food styling by Susie Theodorou, prop styling by Kalen Kaminski
    23/85

    Cornbread Dressing With Sausage and Corn Nuts

    Corn nut “magic dust” adds an extra hit of corn flavor to this buttery, sausage-studded Thanksgiving side.

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  • Gratin of potatoes shingled and topped with melted Gruyere and Parmesan in a casserole dish on a wooden surface.
    Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Thu Buser, Prop Styling by Christina Allen
    24/85

    Classic Potato Gratin

    When simmering the cream, make sure it’s over gentle heat (if it over-reduces, it will break).

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  • Image may contain Plant Food and Fruit
    Photo by Michael Graydon + Nikole Herriott, food styling by Rebecca Jurkevich, prop styling by Kalen Kaminski
    27/85

    Spicy Cranberry Sauce

    Jalapeño and lime give this year's cranberry sauce the zesty-spicy kick it deserves.

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  • Image may contain Plant Cutlery Spoon Food Produce Egg and Vegetable
    Photo by Michael Graydon + Nikole Herriott, food styling by Rebecca Jurkevich, prop styling by Kalen Kaminski
    28/85

    Wild Rice Dressing

    This savory wild rice dish is the ultimate gluten-free stuffing, doubling as a holiday-appropriate grain salad with lots of fresh herbs.

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  • Image may contain Plant and Food
    Photo by Michael Graydon + Nikole Herriott, food styling by Rebecca Jurkevich, prop styling by Kalen Kaminski
    35/85

    Shaved Carrots With Charred Dates

    Tangy, crunchy carrots meet soft and sweet blackened dates for literally everything you want in one bite.

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  • Platter of spatchcock turkey with halved heads of garlic and other aromatics on blue tablecloth.
    Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Mieko Takahashi
    36/85

    Spatchcock Turkey With Anise and Orange

    There are many (many!) Thanksgiving turkey recipes out there. But this roast spatchcock turkey recipe with its aniseed and orange dry brine is, as former BA test kitchen director Carla Lalli Music put it, “for people who want a turkey that actually tastes good, and not a turkey that just looks good.” (Watch her make this recipe.)

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  • A baking dish full of fresh Parker House Rolls brushed with butter and topped with flaky sea salt.
    Photo by Travis Rainey, Food Styling by Stevie Stewart, Prop Styling by Gerri Williams
    41/85

    Parker House Rolls

    A top coat of melted butter and salt makes this Parker House rolls recipe irresistible. This is part of BA's Best, a collection of our essential recipes.

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  • Image may contain Plant Food and Vegetable
    Linda Xiao
    42/85

    Gluten-Free Chocolate Tea Cake

    Olive oil and almonds keep this gluten free cake moist. Eggs keep it together. Chocolate and sugar keep it delicious. Who’s missing gluten now?

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  • Classic Herb and Fennel Stuffing recipe
    43/85

    Classic Herb and Fennel Stuffing

    This goes out to all those whose Thanksgiving isn’t Thanksgiving without a craggy-topped, herb-infused, crusty-bread-based stuffing.

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  • Image may contain Food Dessert Cake Confectionery Sweets Dish and Meal
    Photo by Michael Graydon + Nikole Herriott, food styling by Rebecca Jurkevich, prop styling by Kalen Kaminski
    44/85

    Cranberry Linzer Tart

    Inside two layers of buttery, crumbly walnut crust hides a tart cranberry filling.

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  • Image may contain Plant Food Bowl Fruit and Citrus Fruit
    Photo by Michael Graydon + Nikole Herriott, food styling by Rebecca Jurkevich, prop styling by Kalen Kaminski
    47/85

    Stir-Fried Brussels Sprouts

    With this brussels sprouts recipe, get straight to the good stuff: those sweet, bright green, tender-crisp leaves.

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  • Image may contain Plant Food Vegetable and Bean
    Christopher Testani
    48/85

    Sweet-and-Spicy Mixed Nuts

    Any combination of nuts and seeds will be fine, so feel free to finish up any odds and ends you have around.

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  • Image may contain Confectionery Food Sweets Bread and Hot Dog
    Photo by Chelsie Craig, styling by Judy Mancini
    51/85

    Crispy Cheese Twists

    Store-bought puff pastry + shredded cheese = the easiest, flakiest, most irresistible dinner party snack of all time.

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  • Mapleglazed carrots on a platter sprinkled with flaky salt and chile flakes.
    Photo by Chelsie Craig, Food Styling by Dana Bonagura
    52/85

    Maple-Glazed Carrots

    With their sweet-hot kick from maple syrup and red chile flakes, these oven-roasted carrots will have everyone asking for more.

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  • Image may contain Food Bread Human Person and Cornbread
    Photo by Michael Graydon + Nikole Herriott, food styling by Rebecca Jurkevich, prop styling by Kalen Kaminski
    57/85

    Buttermilk Cornbread

    This cornbread recipe gets everything you want out of the simple sidekick: It’s easy to cut, not too sweet, and it holds together.

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  • A platter of halved charred brussels sprouts dripping in a saucy glaze and topped with crushed red pepper flakes and...
    Photo by Chelsie Craig, Food Styling by Kate Buckens
    58/85

    Charred Brussels Sprouts With Warm Honey Glaze

    Roasty, toasty brussels soak up this delicious honey sauce, creating a combo you just can’t beat.

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  • Winter Squash Agrodolce recipe
    Christopher Testani
    71/85

    Winter Squash Agrodolce

    A vinegar-and-chile glaze adds heat to sweet squash, spicing up the traditional Thanksgiving flavor profile.

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  • Image may contain Plant Food Pork and Relish
    Photo by Michael Graydon + Nikole Herriott, food styling by Rebecca Jurkevich, prop styling by Kalen Kaminski
    72/85

    Cranberry-Fig Sauce

    Figs bathed in butter and sugar bring a sweet, tawny balance to tangy cranberries.

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  • Image may contain Drink Beverage Human Person Alcohol Beer Glass and Beer Glass
    Photo by Michael Graydon + Nikole Herriott, food styling by Rebecca Jurkevich, prop styling by Kalen Kaminski
    73/85

    Fall Spritz

    No more punch bowls, big-batching, or complicated mixology. You've got better things to do, so let your guests serve themselves.

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  • Image may contain Plant Kale Vegetable Cabbage Food Bowl and Spinach
    74/85

    Hearty Greens with Kumquats

    Assemble the greens and citrus in advance and dress the day of—unless you want to break down some of those hardy greens. You do you.

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  • A carved Thanksgiving turkey on a platter with sage and thyme stems and fresh bay leaves sprigs tucked in for garnish.
    Photo by Alex Lau, food styling by Susie Theodorou, prop styling by Kalen Kaminski
    77/85

    Expertly Spiced and Glazed Roast Turkey

    The absolute inarguably best way to cook a well-seasoned, juicy turkey is to break it down into parts, dry-brine it, and roast it on a wire rack in a baking sheet.

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  • Image may contain Food Dish Meal Platter Lunch and Plant
    Photo by Michael Graydon + Nikole Herriott, food styling by Rebecca Jurkevich, prop styling by Kalen Kaminski
    78/85

    Glazed Shallots With Chile and Thyme

    These sweet and saucy shallots are your best answer to an effortless, plan-way-ahead side.

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  • A yellow glass bowl filled with chunky cranberryorange sauce.
    Photo by Michael Graydon + Nikole Herriott, food styling by Rebecca Jurkevich, prop styling by Kalen Kaminski
    79/85

    Cranberry Orange Sauce With Cinnamon

    This recipe makes a bright condiment for your Thanksgiving or Christmas table, but it's also a delicious, zesty topping for a breakfast of steel-cut oats.

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  • Pecan Pie on a white background with a small plate to the left corner
    Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Emilie Fosnocht
    80/85

    BA’s Best Pecan Pie

    No booze, no chocolate, no hard-to-find ingredients in this rendition of the classic pecan pie. 

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  • Overhead shot of a banana cream pie topped with mounds of billowing whipped cream and chopped peanuts.
    Photo by Ted + Chelsea Cavanaugh, food styling by Rebecca Jurkevich, prop styling by Kalen Kaminski
    85/85

    Banana Cream Pie

    A showstopping peanut-studded banana cream pie with sky-high whipped cream.

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