38 Make-Ahead Friendsgiving Dishes to Make Hosting a Breeze

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Updated on November 3, 2022

Cornbread & Oyster-Mushroom Stuffing

This friendsgiving, we're all about eating deliciously without all the same-day cooking stress. You can prep these dishes hours or days ahead, so you can spend the holiday focusing on the folks you love. Whether you're hosting or contributing to a potluck, these holiday-ready recipes are sure to please. Recipes like our Cornbread & Oyster-Mushroom Stuffing and Make-Ahead Cranberry Sauce with Chile & Ponzu are so flavorful and easy, you're sure to make them year after year.

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Cornbread & Oyster-Mushroom Stuffing

Mushrooms are a rich, meaty addition in this healthy cornbread stuffing recipe. Here we use oyster mushrooms, but you can use any variety you like. If you have time, bake the cornbread a day or two in advance so it has time to dry out a bit, which lets it absorb the flavors more readily.

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Honey-Glazed Roasted Delicata Squash

Tangy cider vinegar, sweet honey, crunchy pine nuts and fresh mint come together to make an amazing glaze in this healthy roasted winter squash recipe. If you use delicata, the whole squash--including the gorgeous skin--is edible.

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Meringue-Topped Sweet Potato Casserole

Meringue-Topped Sweet Potato Casserole

This lightened-up take on the classic Thanksgiving sweet potato casserole is spiked with crushed pineapple and toasted pecans. We top it with an airy, slightly sweet meringue. You can pipe the meringue to make it look fancy or simply spread it neatly with a rubber spatula.

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Pumpkin Spice Latte Cookies

Indulge your PSL obsession with these pumpkin spice cookies. Instant espresso powder gives these soft, cakey cookies a subtle yet recognizable coffee flavor. Spread with cream cheese frosting (with more pumpkin pie spice flavors) and sprinkle with cinnamon to finish. And, go ahead, drink a pumpkin spice latte while you eat them for the full PSL experience. After all, it's only fall for so long (though we'd eat these cookies year-round). To make these cookies kid-friendly, simply omit the espresso powder.

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Kale Salad with Cranberries

This easy holiday salad gets its flavor from a sweet citrus dressing that's infused into the kale by massaging the greens and the dressing together with your hands. We like a mix of kale for this recipe, but any type of kale will work.

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Make-Ahead Cranberry Sauce with Chile & Ponzu

Cranberry Sauce with Chile & Ponzu — Leigh Beisch

This make-ahead cranberry sauce features ponzu, a Japanese soy sauce blend that gets its complexity from the addition of vinegar and citrus juice. For a more nuanced flavor, seek out one made with yuzu—the bumpy citrus fruit is prized for its slightly floral juice.

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Creamy Make-Ahead Mashed Potatoes

Creamy Make-Ahead Mashed Potatoes in a pot on a white tablecloth

These mashed potatoes can be served right away or made up to two days in advance, making your Thanksgiving or any other meal as easy as can be!

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Pear-Pecan Cheese Ball

Pear-Pecan Cheese Ball

Sweet pear, salty Cheddar cheese and crunchy nuts make this healthy cheese ball recipe an alluring holiday treat. Serve with an array of crudités and crisp party crackers.

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Cranberry Cheesecake Bars

cranberry cheesecake bars

A great dessert option for your next holiday party, these sweet cheesecake bars have an oat crust and a cranberry-orange sauce that's swirled on top and baked right in.

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Hasselback Sweet Potatoes with Marshmallows

Hasselback Sweet Potatoes with Marshmallows

potato casseroles drizzled with sage-infused butter. The hasselback technique, slicing the potato but leaving it whole, makes for a tender potato with a crispy top--the best of both worlds.

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Kale-Butternut Squash Gratin

This colorful gratin dish livens up any holiday plate. Creamy melted Gruyère is comforting, while a blend of cumin, nutmeg, and cayenne pepper lends a warm, spicy note.

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Caramel Apple Cookies

Kids and adults alike will love these fall caramel apple cookies. They are crisp on the bottom and chewy in the center with bits of apple and just a hint of spice. The caramel glaze takes them over the top!

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Farro Salad with Arugula, Artichokes & Pistachios

Precooked farro makes this dish come together in no time. And you can make it in the same bowl you serve it in, minimizing cleanup!

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Wild Rice Stuffing with Apple & Sausage

This amazing wild-rice stuffing recipe is bursting with rustic fall flavors, including rye bread, sausage, apples, dried cherries, pecans and fresh herbs.

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Roasted Brussels Sprout & Butternut Squash Salad

Roasted Brussels Sprout & Butternut Squash Salad

Serve this hearty and healthy fall salad with roasted pork tenderloin, chicken or salmon, or with your Thanksgiving meal. All of the vegetables are roasted on the same pan, so this recipe is easy to prep, and it tastes great warm or at room temperature so it's perfect for holiday buffet tables and potlucks. Cranberries add a sweet-tart edge, while the maple-tahini dressing provides depth.

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Roasted Butternut Squash & Pear Quinoa Salad

Roasted Butternut Squash & Pear Quinoa Salad

his roasted vegetable and fruit salad gets infused with flavor from quinoa that's cooked with fresh ginger, garlic and a hit of turmeric. Serve it alongside a roast chicken, then mix the leftovers together for lunch. Your future self will thank you.

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Mashed Celeriac with Herbs

Celeriac is a delicious low-carb alternative to mashed potatoes. Pureeing the steamed celeriac in a food processor ensures a smooth, light and fluffy texture.

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Everything Bagel Cheese Ball

Everything Bagel Cheese Ball

bagel without all the carbs and with just 3 ingredients! Want to emphasize the bagel taste? Serve it with bagel chips and some raw veggies for dipping to keep things healthy.

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Maple-Roasted Sweet Potatoes

maple roasted sweet potatoes

In this easy vegetable side dish recipe, sweet potatoes are tossed with maple syrup, butter and lemon juice and are roasted until tender and golden brown. The delicious glaze that forms on these maple-roasted sweet potatoes transform this ultra-simple dish into something sublime.

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Loaded Scalloped Potatoes with Bacon, Cheddar & Chives

Imagine a loaded baked potato topped with bacon, Cheddar and chives combined with the creamy goodness of scalloped potatoes, and you have the ultimate comfort food casserole. This scalloped potato recipe is made healthier than original versions by using low-fat milk in place of heavy cream, but it still tastes just as rich and creamy.

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Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Smoky Aioli

The delicious dipping sauce makes this easy Brussels sprouts recipe an irresistible appetizer or side dish. If you want to double the recipe, use two large rimmed baking sheets and swap their spots in the oven halfway through cooking.

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Parmesan Scalloped Potatoes with Spinach

Classic scalloped potatoes get a burst of color, heartier texture and a healthy update with the addition of chopped spinach. The greens in this side dish also create a nice contrast to the creamy, velvety potatoes.

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Apple-Pie Bread

This easy everyday apple-pie bread makes a great breakfast-on-the-go with a cup of coffee. The fragrant spices typical of apple pie and the tender bits of baked apple inside also make it worthy as a healthy after-dinner dessert. Enjoy it warm from the oven with a pat of butter or cream cheese or keep it on your counter for a tasty treat during the week.

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Cauliflower Casserole with Everything Bagel Seasoning

The cheesy-seedy crust that tops this healthy cauliflower casserole recipe evokes everything bagels. Serve for the holidays or as a hearty side dish with roast chicken.

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Slow-Cooker Spinach Artichoke Dip

This creamy, crowd-pleasing dip comes together with ease in your crock pot. Leave it in the slow cooker all party long to keep it warm for serving with perfect, melty cheese in every bite. Whole-wheat bread and raw veggie dippers allow you to dig in without the guilt.

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Apple, Fig & Brussels Sprouts Salad

Salad dressing made from sweet and mellow white balsamic vinegar balances out the assertive greens and Brussels sprouts in this healthy winter salad. If you have one handy, a small mandoline makes it easy to slice the Brussels and apple. To make it a dinner salad, top with shrimp or chicken.

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Sweet Potato Pie with Cream Cheese Swirl

This creamy sweet potato pie recipe is seasoned like a pumpkin pie with plenty of cinnamon and nutmeg and gets nice ginger flavor from the gingersnap crust. For the best results, roast sweet potatoes in the oven; in a pinch, microwave them instead.

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Slow-Cooker Hot Cider with Brandy

Brew up a batch of warm apple cider with ease in this no-sugar-added drink recipe. The hot toddy stays warm and party-ready in your crock pot all night long.

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No-Sugar-Added Sweet Potato Casserole

Instead of loading up this comfort food side with tons of brown sugar and marshmallows, we have turned to sweet spices, vanilla and inherently sweet dried fruit to enhance the natural sweetness of the sweet potatoes. A topping of pecans and pepitas replaces traditional marshmallow topping to keep it healthy and add texture and color for a beautiful casserole.

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Simple Green Salad with Citronette

Frisée and radicchio are both assertive, slightly bitter greens that add color and texture to any salad. Match them with mellower-flavored greens, such as red leaf lettuce, baby spinach or even Boston lettuce.

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Vegan Pumpkin Soup

This vegan pumpkin soup, filled with spices and creamy cashews, can make an easy weeknight dinner or be elevated to a vegan main dish worthy of a holiday dinner by serving it in a hollowed-out freshly roasted pumpkin.

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Greens-&-Gruyère Mini Quiches

Greens-&-Gruyère Mini Quiches

This mini quiche recipe uses classic Provençal flavors--garlic, oil-cured olives, anchovies, caramelized onions--to season these very-green egg cups. They keep well, perfect for breakfast on the fly, but the flavors are sophisticated enough to serve for brunch. If you frequently make mini quiches, consider investing in silicone mini muffin tins; they make popping these out a dream!

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Parker House Rolls

Parker House Rolls

These buttery, slightly sweet dinner rolls originated at Boston's Parker House hotel in the 1870s—thus the name "Parker House Rolls." We tweaked a few ingredients to make them healthier but just as snatch-the-last-one delicious as the classic version.

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Crispy Loaded Mashed Potato Balls

Crispy Loaded Mashed Potato Balls

Jazz up your mashed potatoes by rolling them into balls with bacon and cheese and giving them a crispy coating in the oven. You can enjoy these as a fun side dish or an appetizer for your next holiday dinner.

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Cranberry Salad

Cranberry Salad

This colorful and healthy cranberry salad will brighten up any Thanksgiving spread. It's sweet but not overly so, with juicy oranges, crunchy walnuts and crisp celery and apples. It's easy to make and can be prepped ahead--plus, you can use fresh or frozen cranberries, which extends the season of this salad. We call for Honeycrisp apples, but Gala or Fuji would also work well. Serve this cranberry salad with your Thanksgiving turkey, of course, or try it with chicken or pork any time of year.

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Pan-Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Dried Cherries & Pecans

Dried cherries and nuts give this healthy sweet potato side dish recipe a traditional feel. The addition of some bacon for lushness and Aleppo pepper for a little bite really kicks things up.

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Pecan Pie Bars

These delectable bar cookies are great for holiday cookie trays, to bring out at casual gatherings, or just to enjoy with a cup of coffee.

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Winter Charcuterie Board

Winter Charcuterie Board

A cheeseboard is an ideal stationary hors d'oeuvre for holiday entertaining. Select a variety of cheeses, making sure to include an aged variety, a creamy cheese, a blue cheese and perhaps a smoked cheese. Round out the platter with cold cuts, bread, an abundance of seasonal fruits, dried fruit, crudité, nuts and olives. We even included some dark chocolate to cap it off!

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