make ahead christmas

Pigs in blankets are too delicious to be reserved for a one-off Christmas side dish - try them as a party snack or with roast chicken.

Pigs in blankets

bacon

sausages

cocktail sticks, to secure the bacon

Make your morning easier by throwing this sausage and egg casserole together the night before. Follow this recipe for an easy make-ahead breakfast. 

Make-Ahead Sausage And Egg Casserole

tbsp. extra virgin olive oil,

lb. country bread,

lb. sweet Italian sausage,

onion,

c. chopped drained oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes

10-oz package spinach, thick stems discarded

eggs

c. whole milk

Kosher salt

Pepper

c. crumbled feta cheese

Make-Ahead Sausage and Egg Casserole

Fluffy inside, crunchy outside, these roast potatoes are a perfect sidekick to any roast dinner. (They're even better the next day, eaten straight from the fridge!)

Each serving provides 389 kcal, 7g protein, 65g carbohydrates (of which 3g sugars), 9.5g fat (of which 4g saturates), 7g fibre and 0.3g salt.

Perfect roast potatoes

tbsp duck fat

Maris Piper or King Edward potatoes (each about 175 grams/6 ounces)

garlic

thyme

sea salt

A classic version of sticky toffee pud – some versions put sauce on the bottom too – but it doesn’t need it. Serve with extra cream or ice cream.


Make-ahead sticky toffee pudding

dates,

tsp bicarbonate of soda

300 milliliters/10fl oz boiling water

75 grams/2¾oz light soft brown sugar

75 grams/2¾oz dark muscovado sugar

free-range eggs

flour

grams/4½ oz butter

grams/1¾oz dark muscovado sugar

salt

I’m not, as a rule, one for flavouring mashed potatoes, but this version is a worthy exception. Because the garlic cloves are boiled with the potatoes, they make their presence felt sweetly rather than shoutily, and the Parmesan provides a gentle tang. 

Garlic and Parmesan mash

tsp sea salt flakes,

grams/2½oz unsalted butter, softened

Parmesan,

grams/1¾oz breadcrumbs

unsalted butter,

35 grams/1¼oz Parmesan, finely grated

Classic bread sauce is a British classic perfect with any white meat, but especially Christmas turkey!

It can easily be made ahead of time too, win-win.

Easy bread sauce

cloves

bay leaf

black peppercorns

570 milliliters/1 pint full-fat milk

breadcrumbs

grams/1½oz butter

salt and black pepper

An easy veggie stuffing that can be prepared in advance. If cooking from frozen allow an extra 5-10 minutes in the oven.

Vegetarian stuffing

onions, finely chopped

sage leaves, finely chopped

grams/4½oz breadcrumbs

egg,

salt and black pepper,

Tom Kerridge shows you how to increase the health factor and reduce the quantity of meat in your sausage rolls by adding brown lentils and grated veg to the filling. 

Each serving provides 500 kcal, 14.5g protein, 32g carbohydrates (of which 5g sugars), 33g fat (of which 13g saturates), 6g fibre and 1.6g salt.

Pork, lentil and veg sausage rolls

olive oil

onion, finely chopped

150 grams/5½oz courgette, grated

150 grams/5½oz carrot,

garlic cloves, grated

tsp fennel seeds,

450 grams/1lb sausage meat

tin brown lentils, drained

tbsp finely chopped sage leaves

500 grams/1lb 2 ounces block of ready-made puff pastry

flour,

free-range egg, beaten,

tbsp sesame seeds

Keep this delicious aperitif in the freezer for a refreshing - and surprising - Christmas drink.

Christmas pudding vodka

300 grams/10½oz mixed dried fruit (sultanas, currants, raisins)

75 grams/3 ounces caster sugar

cinnamon

tsp ground mixed spice

nutmeg,

orange, zest only, finely grated

unwaxed lemon, zest only, finely grated

milliliters/1 vodka

Dried porcini and fresh shiitake combine to bring an intense mushroom flavour to this vegan mushroom pâté.

For this recipe you will need a food processor. 

Each serving provides 134 kcal, 6g protein, 3.5g carbohydrates (of which 1.5g sugars), 10g fat (of which 2g saturates), 3g fibre and 1.1g salt.

Mushroom pâté

porcini mushrooms

cashew nuts

shallots, thinly sliced

grams/4½oz shiitake mushrooms, sliced

garlic cloves, finely chopped

thyme, leaves picked

rosemary, leaves picked

Dijon mustard

60 grams/2¼oz pitted green olives,

parsley

salt and pepper

Christmas cabbage is an easy treat that only uses one pan. It's a perfect addition to Christmas dinner instead of or as well as the usual suspects. 


Christmas red cabbage

walnut oil

butter

red onions, finely chopped

red cabbage,

grams/1¾oz

ginger,

ginger

½ tsp ground allspice

brown sugar

tbsp red wine vinegar

150 milliliters/5fl oz port

150 milliliters/5fl oz chicken stock

A great side dish to any roast, or with Christmas dinner, these thyme-speckled honey roasted carrots are cooked to enhance their natural sweetness.


Honey roasted carrots

carrots, carrots

tbsp clear honey

lemon juice

It’s definitely worth the effort of making your own stuffing for Christmas dinner, and Mary Berry’s vegetarian chestnut version with apricots is a winner. This recipe is easily doubled.

Chestnut stuffing

onions, roughly chopped

celery,

225 grams/8 ounces dried apricots, snipped into small pieces

grams/3½oz butter

225 grams/8 ounces frozen chestnuts, thawed, roughly chopped

parsley,

thyme leaves

black pepper

Mary Berry likes to get ahead with her Christmas dinner preparations by making her crispy chestnut and apricot stuffing on Christmas Eve.

Mary Berry's sumptuous Christmas stuffing

This is a no-churn affair. You mix everything together, wodge it into a loaf tin, freeze and you’re done.  I went to great lengths to acquire a bottle of Elisir San Marzano, which has a peculiarly Italian, chocolate-coffee-herbal hit. Feel free to use coffee liqueur or rum or, better still, a mixture of the two in its place.

Meringue gelato cake with chocolate sauce

300 milliliters/10½fl oz double cream

dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids, minimum)

tbsp Elisir San Marzano (or coffee liqueur and/or rum)

meringue nests

250 milliliters/9fl oz double cream

chocolate

This is a no-churn affair. You mix everything together, wodge it into a loaf tin, freeze and you’re done. I went to great lengths to acquire a bottle of Elisir San Marzano, which has a peculiarly Italian, chocolate-coffee-herbal hit. Feel free to use coffee liqueur or rum or, better still, a mixture of the two in its place.

Top 14 make ahead christmas recipes from across the web

The most viewed make ahead christmas recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine

Top Tags

Pigs in blankets

Make-Ahead Sausage And Egg Casserol...

Perfect roast potatoes

Make-ahead sticky toffee pudding

Garlic and Parmesan mash

Easy bread sauce

Vegetarian stuffing

Pork, lentil and veg sausage rolls

Christmas pudding vodka

Mushroom pâté

Christmas red cabbage

Honey roasted carrots

Chestnut stuffing

Meringue gelato cake with chocolate...

Top 14 make ahead christmas recipes from across the web

The most viewed make ahead christmas recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

Top Tags

Pigs in blankets

Make-Ahead Sausage And Egg Casserol...

Perfect roast potatoes

Make-ahead sticky toffee pudding

Garlic and Parmesan mash

Easy bread sauce

Vegetarian stuffing

Pork, lentil and veg sausage rolls

Christmas pudding vodka

Mushroom pâté

Christmas red cabbage

Honey roasted carrots

Chestnut stuffing

Meringue gelato cake with chocolate...

The most viewed make ahead christmas recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine