8 Christmas Sides You Can Make Ahead (And How Far Ahead)

Christmas Day cooking is an oven management problem. A large turkey occupies the oven for 2.5-4 hours. When it comes out, everything else needs to go in simultaneously - and there is typically one oven. Without make-ahead preparation, this produces frantic juggling, cold food, and a cook who doesn't enjoy Christmas dinner.

With make-ahead preparation, it produces a different experience: most of the cooking happened over the previous week, the day-of work is reheating and finishing rather than preparing from scratch, and the cook sits down to dinner at the same time as everyone else.

This post covers the eight sides that belong on a British Christmas dinner table, with the exact make-ahead window for each - not "can be made ahead" but precisely how far ahead and what needs to happen on the day.

The Make-Ahead Calendar at a Glance

1. Perfect Roast Potatoes

Make-ahead: par-boil and freeze up to 2 weeks ahead.

The most important Christmas side and the one that most benefits from advance preparation. Frozen par-boiled potatoes produce crispier results than roasted from raw - the freeze-thaw cycle breaks down more cell walls, releasing more starch to the surface.

Full technique: See The Best Roast Potatoes: Crispy Outside, Fluffy Inside for the complete recipe, variety selection, fat choice, and the roughening technique that produces maximum crunch.

Summary: Maris Piper, par-boiled until edges are just fluffy, shaken aggressively to roughen, frozen on a tray. On Christmas Day: into screaming-hot goose fat or duck fat at 220°C for 50-60 minutes from frozen.

2. Braised Red Cabbage

Make-ahead: up to 5 days ahead. Refrigerate. Reheat gently.

Braised red cabbage is the Christmas side that most clearly improves with time - the sweet-sour flavours mellow and deepen over 3-5 days in the refrigerator. Made on December 20th, it is dramatically better on Christmas Day than if made the morning of.

Serves 8-10 | Active time: 15 minutes | Cooking: 50 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 large red cabbage (approximately 1.2kg), core removed, finely shredded
• 2 medium onions, thinly sliced
• 2 eating apples (Braeburn or Cox), peeled, cored, and diced
• 3 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 2 tbsp dark soft brown sugar
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp ground cloves
• ½ tsp ground allspice
• 150ml red wine or apple juice
• 50g butter
• Salt and black pepper

Method: Melt the butter in a large, heavy saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the sliced onions. Cook for 5 minutes until softened. Add all remaining ingredients and stir well. Cover tightly. Cook over very low heat for 45-50 minutes, stirring every 10-15 minutes, until the cabbage is completely soft and the liquid has mostly reduced.

Season with salt, pepper, and additional vinegar or sugar to taste - it should be distinctly sweet-sour. Cool completely. Refrigerate in a sealed container.

On Christmas Day: Reheat covered in a saucepan over low heat with a splash of water for 12-15 minutes. Stir occasionally.

3. Honey-Glazed Carrots and Parsnips

Make-ahead: peel and cut up to 3 days ahead. Blanch up to 1 day ahead. Glaze on the day (10 minutes).

Serves 8 | Active time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

• 500g medium carrots, peeled and cut into even batons (3-4cm)
• 500g parsnips, peeled, cored, and cut into even batons
• 40g unsalted butter
• 3 tbsp clear honey
• 2 tsp fresh thyme leaves
• Salt and black pepper

Make-ahead method: Blanch carrot and parsnip batons in boiling salted water for 4 minutes. Drain. Spread on a tray to cool. Refrigerate in a sealed container.

On Christmas Day: Melt butter in a wide frying pan over medium heat. Add honey and thyme. Add the blanched vegetables. Cook over medium-high heat, turning occasionally, for 8-10 minutes until caramelised and golden. Season.

4. Brussels Sprouts with Bacon and Chestnuts

Make-ahead: halve and refrigerate up to 2 days ahead. Cook on the day (8 minutes).

The vegetable whose reputation as a despised Christmas food comes entirely from overcooking. Properly cooked Brussels sprouts - still bright green, with slight resistance, nutty and savoury from the bacon - are excellent.

Serves 8 | Active time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

• 800g Brussels sprouts, outer leaves removed, halved
• 200g smoked lardons or diced streaky bacon
• 200g cooked chestnuts (vacuum-packed), roughly broken
• 2 tbsp butter
• Salt and black pepper
• Squeeze of lemon juice

Method: Fry the lardons in the butter in a large frying pan over medium-high heat until golden and beginning to crisp (5 minutes). Remove and set aside.

In the same pan, over high heat, add the halved sprouts cut-side down. Don't move for 2–3 minutes until the cut faces are beginning to caramelise. Turn. Add the chestnuts. Cook 2-3 more minutes. Return the lardons. Season. Finish with lemon juice.

The timing rule: 7-8 minutes maximum from pan to plate. They continue cooking from residual heat.

5. Stuffing Balls

Make-ahead: up to 2 weeks ahead, frozen uncooked. Cook 35-40 minutes from frozen on Christmas Day.

Free-standing stuffing balls (rather than stuffed inside the turkey) cook more evenly, can be made and frozen well in advance, and are significantly more convenient for a large gathering - everyone gets a whole ball rather than a spoonful.

Makes approximately 18 balls | Active time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 large onions, finely diced
• 4 sticks celery, finely diced
• 80g unsalted butter
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tsp dried thyme
• 2 tsp dried sage
• Salt and black pepper
• 500g good-quality pork sausage meat
• 100g fresh white breadcrumbs
• 1 large egg
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 3 tbsp fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped

Method: Sauté the onions and celery in butter over medium heat for 10 minutes until completely soft. Add garlic, thyme, and sage. Cook 2 more minutes. Season. Remove from heat. Cool completely.

Combine the cooled onion mixture with the sausage meat, breadcrumbs, egg, lemon zest, and parsley. Mix thoroughly - use your hands. Divide into 18 equal pieces (approximately 65g each). Roll into balls.

Freeze: Lay balls on a lined baking tray. Freeze until solid (2-3 hours). Transfer to a sealed freezer bag.

On Christmas Day: Arrange frozen balls on a lined baking tray. Bake at 190°C for 35-40 minutes until golden and cooked through (internal temperature 74°C). No thawing required.

6. Pigs in Blankets

Make-ahead: up to 2 weeks ahead, frozen assembled. Cook 35-40 minutes from frozen.

The Christmas side that produces the most requests for more. Made in large quantities, frozen, and cooked while the turkey rests.

Makes 24 | Active time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

• 24 cocktail sausages or chipolatas
• 12 rashers of streaky bacon, halved lengthways

Method: Wrap each sausage in a half-rasher of bacon, beginning at one end and winding around to the other. Lay on a lined baking tray. Freeze solid. Transfer to a sealed freezer bag.

On Christmas Day: Arrange on a lined baking tray (don't thaw). Bake at 190°C for 35-40 minutes until the bacon is crispy. Turn halfway through.

7. Cauliflower Cheese

Make-ahead: make the sauce up to 2 days ahead. Assemble and refrigerate. Bake 30 minutes on the day.

Serves 8 | Active time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 large cauliflower (approximately 1.2kg), broken into florets
• 50g unsalted butter
• 50g plain flour
• 700ml whole milk
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 150g mature Cheddar, grated
• 50g Parmesan, grated
• Salt and white pepper
• Pinch of nutmeg
• 50g breadcrumbs (for the top)

Method: Par-cook the cauliflower florets in boiling salted water for 5 minutes - they should be just tender but still firm. Drain well.

Make a béchamel sauce: melt butter over medium heat. Add flour. Cook 2 minutes. Add milk gradually, whisking constantly (see How to Make a Roux for technique). Simmer until thickened. Off the heat, stir in Cheddar, mustard, salt, white pepper, and nutmeg.

Arrange the cauliflower in a baking dish. Pour the cheese sauce over. Top with a mixture of Parmesan and breadcrumbs. Refrigerate up to 2 days.

On Christmas Day: Bake at 190°C for 25-30 minutes until golden and bubbling. If browning too quickly, cover loosely with foil.

8. Christmas Gravy

Make-ahead: turkey stock 2 days ahead, gravy base 1 day ahead. Finish with drippings on the day.

Good Christmas gravy is not made from gravy granules. It is made from turkey stock, the fond from the roasting tin, and a pre-made base that is finished in 10 minutes while the turkey rests.

The stock (2 days ahead): Simmer turkey neck and giblets (or 1 raw chicken carcass) with onion, carrot, celery, bay leaf, black peppercorns in 2 litres of cold water for 2 hours. Strain. Refrigerate.

The gravy base (1 day ahead): In a saucepan, melt 50g butter. Add 50g flour. Cook 2 minutes. Add 800ml of the turkey stock gradually, whisking. Simmer 10 minutes until slightly thickened. Season. Refrigerate.

On Christmas Day: After removing the turkey, pour off most of the fat from the roasting tin. Set the tin over medium heat on the hob. Add 150ml red wine or water. Scrape every bit of the dark fond from the base. Pour this into a saucepan with the prepared gravy base. Simmer 8–10 minutes. Strain through a fine sieve into a warm jug. Adjust seasoning.

The Christmas Day Side Dish Schedule

For a 2pm Christmas dinner, turkey out of the oven at approximately 12:30pm:

🔗 Complete the Christmas Dinner

• Christmas Dinner: Complete Plan, Timeline and Recipes
• How to Roast a Perfect Turkey
• The Best Roast Potatoes: Crispy Outside, Fluffy Inside
• Christmas Pudding, Mince Pies and Festive Baking
• Seasonal & Holiday Cooking: The Complete Guide