Maybe you’re trying to avoid a spicy mother-in-law and want to be sequestered in the kitchen all day on Thanksgiving (and more power to you). But for most people, the idea of having your house full of family and friends and being trapped standing at the stove the whole time isn’t ideal. That’s where these make-ahead sides that actually reheat well come into play. You see, no one wants clumped-up, days-old, dried-out mashed potatoes on Turkey Day, nor do they want to be hand-mashing while everyone laughs and drinks in the living room. But with recipes like these, a happy medium is possible.
Brown Butter Orange Sweet Potato Casserole
Sweet potato casserole is a must at every Thanksgiving feast. When else is it socially acceptable to serve a vegetable topped with marshmallows? All The Healthy Things’ recipe includes special notes of orange and brown butter, as well as a few notes about different ways to prep the recipe ahead of time and save yourself some work the day-of.
The Best Creamy Slow Cooker Mashed Potatoes
Just go ahead and whip up All The Healthy Things’ slow cooker mashed potatoes in advance; they’ll microwave beautifully, or fit right back into the slow cooker on “keep warm.” This way you can focus all your efforts on the turkey gravy.
Homemade Corn Pudding
Make Simply LaKita’s corn pudding ahead of time so you can use that oven space for other things on Thanksgiving. Her reheating instructions say you can put the whole dish back into the oven at 300 degrees, or just put individual portions in the microwave.
Classic Thanksgiving Stuffing
Who knew you could make stuffing ahead of time? Just follow Damn Delicious’ recipe up to step five (which is when you combine all the ingredients in the baking dish). Instead of putting it straight into the oven, let it cool and pop it in the fridge overnight, then bake when you’re ready to serve the following day.
Green Bean Casserole
Just like the stuffing, you can make this green bean casserole from Damn Delicious nearly to completion — just hold off on popping the breadcrumbs and fried shallots on top until you’re ready to bake it. Then, they’ll come out crispy and perfect and right on time.
Scalloped Potatoes
Princess Pinky Girl’s scalloped potato recipe is perfect for planning ahead. You can bake it completely and reheat individual portions, assemble but wait to bake, or even bake it halfway and finish it off on the day of Thanksgiving dinner.
Make-Ahead Yeast Rolls
Damn Delicious’ make-ahead yeast rolls are perfectly plump and fluffy, ideal for spreading with butter or mopping up gravy (mmm). Her post explains that you can refrigerate the rolls overnight so they double in size before baking, or simply bake, freeze, and reheat, so you can make them much farther in advance.
Southern Fried Apples
Fried apples may not be a staple on every Thanksgiving table, but in the South, they often make an appearance at holiday meals. Simply LaKita’s recipe is simple and easy, and includes instructions for reheating the apples in the microwave or a skillet.
Slow Cooker Mac & Cheese
This mac and cheese recipe from Averie Cooks is incredibly easy and will definitely reheat beautifully. It’s so creamy and saucy, it won’t dry out like a premade baked mac tends to.
Easy Candied Yams
Whether you choose to reheat them in the microwave or the oven, Simply LaKita promises her candied yams come out tender and flavorful every time. You can make them up to two days in advance, so this could be one of your Tuesday evening preps.
Which of these recipes will you try this year? Personally, I’m eyeing that green bean casserole pretty hard…
