How to make Thanksgiving a million times easier

I should have posted this in October, but such is life right now 🥴

Last year, I did an entire Thanksgiving by myself, so I began cooking first week of November and freezing. This year, though we’re doing it with people, I’m still cooking ahead and freezing to make life easier for myself. Below are some of the items you can make ahead and freeze or store in fridge. This is also a great resource. This made actual Thanksgiving day peaceful and calm- really all I want from life- peace, calm, and joy haha.

Potatoes: This will work as long as you use lots of fat, so though I love chicken broth in potatoes, I would skip it for this version and do olive oil or butter with cream or coconut cream. After you’ve made potatoes, line cookie sheet with parchment and use an ice cream scoop to do large scoops of potatoes. Put in freezer, then once they are frozen, stick in a stasher bag or ziplock (something they won’t stick to). On Thanksgiving, simply add them to the saucepan and warm!

Sweet potato casserole: Make the casserole (without topping) let it cool, then freeze. Thaw overnight, add topping and warm it on Thanksgiving.

Stuffing: Cook stuffing, then freeze (I kept mine in the 9×13 pans I made them in), thawed in fridge overnight and heat on stove or in oven covered at 325 on Thanksgiving. This is my favorite stuffing recipe of all time. Though I have not tried them, Paleo Running Momma and Lexi’s Clean Kitchen have gf stuffing recipes

Rolls: you can freeze the dough then bake or freeze the cooked rolls then heat , but freezing the dough then baking will have more of a fresh result. Individual recipes will have instructions how to do this.

Pies: this is where it gets tricky. Only some pies can be frozen and the internet cannot agree which ones! This year I froze Tar Heel pie and pumpkin. I froze 2 of each so I could test the second of each and ensure it would be okay on Turkey day. For Tar Heel, cool then freeze. Thaw in fridge or on counter and enjoy. It’s pretty durable and tastes great. For pumpkin, you can freeze unbaked or freeze baked. I did baked. For baked, wait until fully cool then freeze and thaw in fridge overnight. Here is the best pie crust recipe in the world and best pumpkin pie here. I also really like Sweet Laurel pumpkin pie. I have not tried freezing grain/gluten free pie crusts, so I cannot say if that would work or not. Some sources say some fruit pies can be frozen, but there was conflicting info on which ones and since I have not tried, I’m not comfortable recommending which ones.

Gravy: I have not tried this one, but internet says you can freeze, but keep in mind I have not tried it.

Cranberry sauce: this can be made ahead and stored in fridge or freezer (depending how ahead). I love this orange cranberry sauce. Crockpot sauce day of is also a great way to go to not take up stove space

Table: you can obviously set the table before hand place settings, dishes, etc. the day before so they don’t get dust.

Salad: chop ingredients and store separately night before then assemble day of

Really, the only things that HAVE to be done day of are Turkey, steamed veggies, and green bean casserole if you do that. Doing everything before (I did 1-3 items/week), made it so day of was relaxing and chill and isn’t that what the holidays should be? At the end of the day, I try to remind myself when things inevitably go wrong that all that matters is family. No holiday is worth stress and chaos. Our children and/or loved ones only really care about time, so if it comes down to things that get burnt, skipped, dropped, etc, just remember the holidays are about memories, not the perfect this or that.

Wishing you a peaceful, calm, and joyful Thanksgiving!