Thanksgiving Side Dishes You Can Make Ahead (and the Order to Make Them)

The turkey gets the attention, but Thanksgiving dinner is mostly side dishes, and that’s where the day goes wrong. Most kitchens have one oven. The turkey occupies it for hours, and then eight side dishes all need it in the same forty minutes before dinner.

So this list isn’t just eight recipes. Each one comes with when it can be made, how it’s stored, and how it gets reheated. Plan the sides around the oven, and the last hour gets much calmer.

Thanksgiving Side Dishes Planned Around One Oven

Three groups make the schedule work:

Two days ahead: cranberry sauce, the base for green bean casserole, cornbread for the stuffing.
The day before: mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, mac and cheese assembled but not baked.
While the turkey rests: Brussels sprouts and carrots roast at high heat, and everything else reheats.

A turkey needs to rest 30 to 40 minutes after it comes out. That’s the window when the oven is free.

1. Make-ahead mashed potatoes

A stoneware baking dish of creamy mashed potatoes with a pat of melting butter and chopped chives — Made the day before, reheated covered at 350°F.

Use Yukon Gold or russet potatoes, about half a pound per person. Boil until a knife slides in, drain, and mash with warm milk and plenty of butter. A few ounces of cream cheese help them reheat without drying out.

Spread in a buttered baking dish, cool, cover and refrigerate. On the day, bake covered at 350°F for 30 to 40 minutes, stirring once, until hot in the center. Or keep them warm in a slow cooker on low and free up the oven completely.

2. Roasted Brussels sprouts

A sheet pan of halved roasted Brussels sprouts, deeply browned at the edges — Cut side down, high heat, no crowding.

These are best fresh. Trim and halve them the day before and keep them in a bag in the fridge. Toss with oil and salt, lay them cut side down on a sheet pan with space between them, and roast at 425°F for 20 to 25 minutes while the turkey rests.

Crowded sprouts steam instead of browning. Use two pans if needed.

3. Green bean casserole from scratch

A baking dish of green bean casserole with a creamy mushroom sauce and crisp fried shallots, one scoop taken out — Sauce and beans ahead, shallots on at the end.

Blanch green beans for three minutes and cool them in ice water. Make a sauce from sautéed mushrooms, butter, flour, broth and a little cream. Combine, put in a dish, cover and refrigerate for up to two days.

Bake at 375°F for about 25 minutes until bubbling, then add fried shallots or onions on top for the last five minutes so they stay crisp.

4. Cornbread stuffing

A cast iron skillet of golden cornbread stuffing with celery, onion and sage leaves, crisp on top — Bake it outside the bird.

Bake the cornbread two days ahead and let it dry out, cut into cubes, on the counter overnight. Cook onion and celery in butter with sage and thyme, mix with the cornbread, and moisten with broth and one or two eggs.

Bake in a dish, not in the turkey. Stuffing inside the bird has to reach 165°F in the center, and by then the breast meat is usually overcooked. In a dish at 375°F, it takes 35 to 45 minutes and gets a crisp top.

5. Maple roasted carrots

Whole roasted carrots glazed with maple syrup on a stoneware platter, sprinkled with thyme — Roasted with the sprouts while the turkey rests.

Peel whole medium carrots, or halve thick ones lengthwise. Toss with oil and salt and roast at 425°F for 20 minutes. Drizzle with maple syrup and a little butter, and roast another 5 to 10 minutes until glazed. They share the oven with the Brussels sprouts.

6. Sweet potato casserole

A baking dish of mashed sweet potato topped with a pecan crumble, a serving spoon beside it — Pecan crumble instead of marshmallows, or both.

Bake or boil sweet potatoes until soft, mash with butter, a little brown sugar, an egg and a pinch of salt. Spread in a dish. Mix chopped pecans, brown sugar, flour and butter for the topping, and keep it separately.

The day before: refrigerate the base and the topping separately. On the day: add the topping and bake at 350°F for 30 to 35 minutes.

7. Cranberry sauce

A small glass bowl of homemade cranberry sauce with whole berries and a strip of orange zest — Ten minutes, two days ahead, served cold.

One 12-ounce bag of cranberries, 3/4 cup of sugar and 3/4 cup of water or orange juice. Simmer for about 10 minutes until most berries have burst. It thickens as it cools. Make it up to three days ahead and serve cold. It needs no oven at all.

8. Baked mac and cheese

A baking dish of baked macaroni and cheese with a browned crumb top, one corner scooped out — Undercook the pasta by two minutes if you assemble ahead.

Cook elbow pasta two minutes less than the package says. Make a cheese sauce with butter, flour, milk and a mix of sharp cheddar and a melting cheese like Gruyère or Monterey Jack. Combine, top with buttered breadcrumbs, cover and refrigerate the day before.

Bake at 350°F for 35 to 45 minutes until bubbling at the edges. Add a splash of milk before baking if it looks dry.

A Two-Day Schedule

Here’s how the eight sides fit into the two days before dinner and the day itself, for a turkey that comes out of the oven at about 3 p.m.

Tuesday

Bake the cornbread and leave it out to dry.
Make the cranberry sauce.
Blanch the green beans; make the mushroom sauce.

Wednesday

Make the mashed potatoes and spread them in a dish.
Make the sweet potato base and the pecan topping, stored separately.
Assemble the green bean casserole and the mac and cheese.
Cube the cornbread and mix the stuffing.
Trim the Brussels sprouts; peel the carrots.

Thursday

Morning: take dishes out of the fridge about 30 minutes before they go in the oven.
Turkey out at 3:00. Oven up to 425°F.
3:05: Brussels sprouts and carrots in.
3:10: stuffing, green bean casserole and mac and cheese go in on the other rack, or straight after the roast vegetables at 375°F.
3:30: mashed potatoes and sweet potato casserole reheat.
3:40: carve. Cranberry sauce comes out of the fridge.

Ovens differ, and two racks slow everything down a little. Allow a 15-minute buffer.

What We Would Skip

Making every side from scratch on the day. Most of them are better made ahead.

Stuffing inside the turkey, for the reasons above.

More sides than the oven can handle. Six good ones beat ten rushed ones.

Where We Would Start

Cranberry sauce and cornbread two days ahead. Mashed potatoes and the casseroles the day before. Roast the vegetables while the turkey rests.

Leftovers keep three to four days in the fridge once cooled within two hours. For what to do with the turkey on Friday, our turkey soup recipes start with the carcass. And if the rest of the week needs to be easy, our plan for meal prep for the week works around a holiday too.

Questions We Get Asked

Which Thanksgiving side dishes can be made ahead?

Cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole, mac and cheese and the cornbread for stuffing. Roasted vegetables are best fresh.

How many side dishes do I need for Thanksgiving?

Five or six is plenty for most groups: a potato, a green vegetable, stuffing, cranberry sauce and one or two extras.

How do I reheat mashed potatoes for Thanksgiving?

Covered in the oven at 350°F for 30 to 40 minutes, stirring once, or in a slow cooker on low with a splash of milk.

Is it safe to cook stuffing inside the turkey?

Only if the stuffing reaches 165°F in the center. Baking it in a separate dish is easier and safer.

How long do Thanksgiving leftovers last?

Three to four days in the fridge, as long as they’re refrigerated within two hours of cooking.

What can I cook while the turkey rests?

Roasted vegetables at high heat, and anything that needs to be reheated. The resting time is usually 30 to 40 minutes.

How do I keep side dishes warm for Thanksgiving?

A slow cooker on the warm setting holds mashed potatoes and stuffing. Covered dishes in a 200°F oven stay warm for about 30 minutes without drying out.