Pick your dishes, the number of guests and when you want to eat. The planner sizes the turkey, works backward from dinner to a timed plan for your oven, burners and cooks, moves what keeps to the days before, and writes the shopping list. Open the planner.
Monday: Move the 10-lb frozen turkey to the fridge to thaw (1 day per 4 lb)
Wednesday: Cube the bread and leave it out to dry
Wednesday: Roast and mash the sweet potatoes; refrigerate them
Wednesday: Make the roll dough and refrigerate it overnight
Wednesday: Simmer the cranberry sauce and chill it
Wednesday: Bake the pumpkin pie ×2 (15 min at 425°F, then about 45 min at 350°F), cool and refrigerate
Thanksgiving Day
Gather and measure the ingredients for the day: Turkey, Stuffing, Green bean casserole, Mashed potatoes, Sweet potatoes, Dinner rolls, Gravy
Prep Turkey: Pat dry, butter and season the turkey
Preheat oven 1 to 325°F
Turkey into oven 1 at 325°F on the lowest rack
Prep Stuffing: Sauté onion and celery in butter; toss with bread, eggs and stock
Prep Dinner rolls: Shape the rolls into a buttered pan
Prep Mashed potatoes: Peel and cube the potatoes
Stuffing into oven 1 (rack 2): Bake covered at 325°F alongside the turkey, 35 min
Prep Sweet potatoes: Beat the mashed sweet potatoes with butter, sugar and eggs; spread in the dish
Prep Green bean casserole: Trim and blanch the beans; stir into soup and milk
Stuffing out of the oven; keep it covered until it goes back in
Raise oven 1 to 375°F
Turkey out of the oven and onto a carving board; tent with foil and rest 45 min
Start Mashed potatoes on the stove
Stuffing into oven 1 (rack 2): Uncover and brown at 375°F, 15 min
Prep Gravy: Pour off the drippings and skim the fat; deglaze the roasting pan with a splash of stock, scraping up the browned bits
Sweet potatoes into oven 1 (rack 1): Bake at 375°F, 30 min, marshmallows on for the last 10 min
Mashed potatoes: finish it on the stove (10 min, hands-on)
Stuffing out of the oven
Green bean casserole into oven 1 (rack 2): Bake at 375°F, 30 min, onions on for the last 5 min
Start Gravy on the stove
Gravy: finish it on the stove (15 min, hands-on)
Sweet potatoes: top it with the marshmallows
Dinner rolls into oven 1 (rack 1): Bake at 375°F, 15 min, until golden
Carve the turkey
Sweet potatoes out of the oven
Green bean casserole: top it with the onions
Dinner rolls out of the oven
Green bean casserole out of the oven
Serve dinner
Frequently asked questions
Thanksgiving timeline for a 4 PM dinner
For 8 guests and a 10-lb turkey in one oven, start at 11:35 AM. The turkey goes in at 12:05 PM at 325°F and roasts about 2 hours 55 minutes; it comes out at 3:00 PM and rests 45 minutes while the casseroles and rolls bake. Carve at 3:45 PM, make the gravy on the stove meanwhile, and serve at 4:00 PM.
How long to thaw a 10 lb turkey
In the fridge, allow 1 day for every 4 to 5 lb: 2 to 3 days for a 10-lb turkey (this planner plans 3 days, so move it to the fridge by Monday morning for a Thursday dinner, earlier if you dry-brine it). In a hurry, thaw it breast-side down in cold water, about 30 minutes per pound (5 hours), changing the water every 30 minutes. A fresh turkey needs no thawing: buy it 1 to 2 days before.
How much turkey per person
Plan 1 lb of whole turkey per guest, or 1.5 lb if you want leftovers. A 10-lb turkey, the smallest commonly sold, feeds up to 10; 12 guests need a 12-lb bird (18 lb with leftovers), 20 guests a 20-lb one. For a boneless breast or roast, plan about half a pound per guest.
What can I make the day before Thanksgiving
In the sample plan, the day before: Cube the bread and leave it out to dry. Roast and mash the sweet potatoes; refrigerate them. Make the roll dough and refrigerate it overnight. Simmer the cranberry sauce and chill it. Bake the pumpkin pie ×2 (15 min at 425°F, then about 45 min at 350°F), cool and refrigerate. Casseroles can be assembled the day before and refrigerated covered (add any crunchy topping when they go in the oven); give them 10 to 15 extra minutes from cold. Mashed potatoes reheat well with a splash of milk.
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