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Home › Recipe Index › Make-Ahead

Make-Ahead

This collection includes Make-Ahead recipes that can be made hours or a day or two in advance. These are the recipes you’ll need on the menu for a big gathering at the holidays or anytime of year when want an easy, busy day meal.

Cheesy Make-Ahead Mashed Potatoes are made a day in advance and refrigerated overnight. Perfect for the holidays!

Cook the Deli Style Roast Beef on the weekend and you’ll have delicious, easy lunches through the week.

The Make-Ahead Manicotti recipe allows you to come home to warm pasta meal on even the busiest day.

Greek orzo salad with chickpeas, cucumber, tomatoes, bell peppers, olives, feta, and fresh herbs in a wooden serving bowl with a wooden serving spoon.

Salads

Greek Orzo Pasta Salad

Watermelon Caprese on a serving platter with layers of watermelon, fresh mozzarella, basil leaves, blackberries, chopped pistachios, and balsamic glaze.

Cold Appetizers

Watermelon Caprese

Fresh cherry cobbler topped with vanilla ice cream, a cherry half, and fresh mint in a white bowl.

Fruit Desserts

Fresh Cherry Cobbler

Pulled pork sliders topped with creamy coleslaw and pickled red onions, arranged on a serving board with barbecue sauce and a jar of pickled onions in the background.

Sandwiches

Pulled Pork Sliders

Tex-Mex Rice and Bean Salad with basmati rice, black beans, kidney beans, corn, red bell pepper, and green onions in a wooden bowl.

Salads

Tex-Mex Rice and Bean Salad

Creamy cold corn dip topped with cilantro and served with Fritos Scoops on a wooden board.

Dips

Corn Dip

Fork lifting quick pickled red onions from a mason jar with fresh red onions in the background.

Condiments

Pickled Red Onions

Easy vegetable dip in a bowl surrounded by fresh vegetables including carrots, snap peas, radishes, cucumbers, and cherry tomatoes.

Dips

Easy Vegetable Dip

Slow cooker pulled pork shredded and piled on a wooden board with barbecue sauce and coleslaw in the background.

Slow Cooker

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork

Creamy cilantro lime sauce in a bowl with a spoon, served with tortillas, tomatoes, lime wedges, and fresh cilantro

Sauces

Cilantro Lime Sauce

BLT chicken salad in a bowl with a spoon, garnished with fresh parsley and black pepper, served with romaine lettuce leaves for wraps.

Sandwiches

BLT Chicken Salad

Butter lettuce salad with snap peas, Aradishes, goat cheese, and chives in a wooden salad bowl with salad spoons on a light countertop.

Salads

Butter Lettuce Salad with Snap Peas and Radishes

Homemade chicken noodle soup in a blue Dutch oven with egg noodles, shredded chicken, carrots, celery, and herbs, with crackers and fresh parsley nearby.

Soups + Stews

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

Stacked dill pickle tuna salad sandwich layered with crisp lettuce and fresh tomato on sliced bread.

Sandwiches

Dill Pickle Tuna Salad

Bowl of Get Well Chicken Soup with tender chicken, carrots, and short pasta in a clear, golden broth, garnished with fresh parsley and served with saltine crackers and a lemon half in the background.

Soups + Stews

Get Well Chicken Soup

A jar of Maple Dijon Vinaigrette on a wooden board surrounded by apple slices, pecans, greens, pears, and a bottle of maple syrup.

Dressings

Maple Dijon Vinaigrette

A bowl of glazed mixed nuts with pecans, walnuts, almonds, and cashews on a wooden board with cherry tomatoes, sliced cucumbers, and a jar of yellow vinaigrette in the background.

Snacks

Easy Glazed Nuts

A slice of Dutch apple pie with a crumb topping served on a plate with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, with the remaining pie in the background.

Pies and Pastries

Dutch Apple Pie

Slice of Hazelnut Pumpkin Pie topped with whipped cream and sprinkled with cinnamon, with a forkful ready to eat on a rustic plate.

Pies and Pastries

Hazelnut Pumpkin Pie

Two carnitas burritos cut in half and stacked on a wooden board, showing layers of shredded pork, rice, beans, guacamole, and salsa with lime wedges and cilantro in the background.

Mexican

Carnitas Burrito (Chipotle Copycat)

A wooden spoon scooping green chile rice from a casserole dish.

Side Dish

Green Chile Rice Casserole

A small sliced meatloaf with glaze on a cutting board.

Main Dish

One Pound Meatloaf Recipe

Chicken enchilada dip in a slow cooker topped with sliced green onions and cilantro.

Dips

Slow Cooker Chicken Enchilada Dip

Mexican bean salad with three types of beans, corn, and bell peppers in a large wood bowl next to an orange kitchen cloth.

Salads

Mexican Bean Salad

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