8 Christmas foods to prepare in advance

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Christmas dinner just wouldn’t be Christmas dinner without a good gravy. A decent stock can be the saviour of dry turkey and soggy sprouts and it’s easy to freeze and reheat on the day.

The beauty of preparing stuffing early, is that you can even freeze it directly in an oven dish and put it straight in the oven on Christmas day.

To really save on time and space, cook the stuffing before freezing and all it will need is warming up.

Perhaps the most surprising entry on our list, it’s definitely possible to prepare your potatoes way before the big day.

Parboiling and freezing potatoes will give your roasties a head start.

You can even half-roast your potatoes for about half an hour in advance, or until they are a pale gold colour, meaning they’ll only need re-roasting for 20 minutes in a hot oven.

Ensure you allow potatoes to fully cool before freezing.

Sauces tend to be the one thing people forget until the last minute. Avoid the last minute panic and prepare them in advance.

There’s nothing more Christmassy than a spoon full of zingy cranberry sauce. You can make this months in advance and then keep in a cool, dry place.

Bread sauce freezes well, but also has impressive lasting power when kept in the fridge, so you could make it Christmas week and it would still be fresh on the 25th.

This drink actually improves in flavour the earlier you make it.

Add your favourite herbs and spices but save fruit till later as it won’t have the same lasting power.

Parsnips can be prepared well in advance, up to 24 hours before if you’re keeping them in the fridge, or even longer if you choose to freeze them.

Bring the parsnips to the boil for three minutes before freezing. When defrosted, they’ll only need 15-20 minutes in the oven before turning crisp and golden.

Making Yorkshire puddings early is a doddle, and means they’ll be no hassle on the day.

You could just make the batter in advance or alternatively completely cook and freeze them and they’ll only need a quick 5-10 minutes in the oven to warm them up.

Creating your Christmas pudding months ahead is a festive tradition. It only needs steaming for a few hours on Christmas Day until reheated.

The longer you leave your pudding before Christmas, the longer it will have to absorb all the flavours of the ingredients.

Choose other desserts that involve minimal prep and don’t take up oven space, like Christmas cake or chocolate mousse.

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8 Christmas foods to prepare in advance

Christmas dinner just wouldn’t be Christmas dinner without a good gravy. A decent stock can be the saviour of dry turkey and soggy sprouts and it’s easy to freeze and reheat on the day.

Gravy

The beauty of preparing stuffing early, is that you can even freeze it directly in an oven dish and put it straight in the oven on Christmas day.

Stuffing

To really save on time and space, cook the stuffing before freezing and all it will need is warming up.

Stuffing

Perhaps the most surprising entry on our list, it’s definitely possible to prepare your potatoes way before the big day.

Roast potatoes

Parboiling and freezing potatoes will give your roasties a head start.

Roast potatoes

You can even half-roast your potatoes for about half an hour in advance, or until they are a pale gold colour, meaning they’ll only need re-roasting for 20 minutes in a hot oven.

Roast potatoes

Ensure you allow potatoes to fully cool before freezing.

Roast potatoes

Sauces tend to be the one thing people forget until the last minute. Avoid the last minute panic and prepare them in advance.

Sauces

There’s nothing more Christmassy than a spoon full of zingy cranberry sauce. You can make this months in advance and then keep in a cool, dry place.

Sauces

Bread sauce freezes well, but also has impressive lasting power when kept in the fridge, so you could make it Christmas week and it would still be fresh on the 25th.

Sauces

This drink actually improves in flavour the earlier you make it.

Mulled wine

Add your favourite herbs and spices but save fruit till later as it won’t have the same lasting power.

Mulled wine

Parsnips can be prepared well in advance, up to 24 hours before if you’re keeping them in the fridge, or even longer if you choose to freeze them.

Parsnips

Bring the parsnips to the boil for three minutes before freezing. When defrosted, they’ll only need 15-20 minutes in the oven before turning crisp and golden.

Parsnips

Making Yorkshire puddings early is a doddle, and means they’ll be no hassle on the day.

Yorkshire puddings

You could just make the batter in advance or alternatively completely cook and freeze them and they’ll only need a quick 5-10 minutes in the oven to warm them up.

Yorkshire puddings

Creating your Christmas pudding months ahead is a festive tradition. It only needs steaming for a few hours on Christmas Day until reheated.

Dessert

The longer you leave your pudding before Christmas, the longer it will have to absorb all the flavours of the ingredients.

Dessert

Choose other desserts that involve minimal prep and don’t take up oven space, like Christmas cake or chocolate mousse.

Dessert

Choose other desserts that involve minimal prep and don’t take up oven space, like Christmas cake or chocolate mousse.

Dessert

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