Make-ahead Christmas Recipes and Ideas
Spending all day long in the kitchen is not our idea of a great Christmas Day, so we’ve put together a handy list of dishes that you can make in advance to help you get the most out of the holiday season. You can find plenty of slimming-friendly ideas for your festive feast here.
Whether you want to start your prep a day, a week or even further in advance, we’ve got a wide range of recipes that can help you get ahead this Christmas! Remember that a lot of these recipes can also be frozen up to a couple of months in advance, and we’re made sure to specify if this is the case.
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Prepare up to 3 months in advance
Some desserts and sweet treats can be made and frozen up to 3 months in advance which is a great way to get ahead during the festive season!
You’ll need some freezer-proof containers to store these dishes in which you can find online.
Winter Berry Ice Cream
The perfect addition to pretty much any festive dessert, our Winter Berry Ice Cream is bursting with moreish fruitiness. Keep it in the freezer for up to 3 months – it’ll still be delicious!
Spiced Christmas Biscuits
Once baked and decorated, our Spiced Christmas Biscuits can be kept in an airtight container for 3 days. There’s nothing to stop you preparing the raw dough in advance and keep this in the freezer for 3 months before baking.
Christmas Chocolate Log
It’s really important that you freeze this Christmas Chocolate Log before it’s been coated in the frosting, as it may crumble away from the sponge after it’s thawed.
Store the rolled, filled sponge in a freezer-proof container until you’re ready to serve. Then defrost and coat with freshly-made frosting on the big day!
Up to a week in advance
The big day is just around the corner and these recipes can be made up to a week in advance – or even earlier and frozen!
Cranberry and Pomegranate Sauce
A delicious twist on a classic cranberry sauce, our Cranberry and Pomegranate Sauce can be kept in the fridge for up to a week before serving. It can also be frozen if needed.
Chocolate Orange Mince Pies
The ultimate Christmas nibble, you can never have too many mince pies! Try a treat that’s a little different this year with our Chocolate Orange Mince Pies. With orange zest and melty chocolate chips, it’s a wonder they taste so good for only 115 calories per serving.
They’re a batch-cook dream too. Keep them in the fridge for a few days after making, or freeze them in advance to defrost on Christmas Eve.
3 days in advance
Many of the components for your Christmas Day roast dinner can be prepared 3 days in advance which means more time enjoying yourself on the day!
Remember that if you plan to reheat any of these dishes in the microwave then you’ll need to make sure that you’re using a microwavable bowl.
Eggnog
Is there anything more festive than this tasty tipple?
Whip up a big batch of Eggnog to store in an airtight container in the fridge, that way you can pull it out to enjoy whenever you fancy for around 3 days.
Chestnut Stuffing and Chestnut Roast
Our Chestnut Stuffing and our Chestnut Roast can both be kept in the fridge for up to 3 days, to be reheated just before serving. To make them even further ahead, you can freeze them too
Christmas Meatbaubles
You’ll definitely want a batch of our Christmas Meatbaubles in your fridge (for up to 3 days) or freezer, in time for Santa’s arrival.
They’re a handy alternative to serving up stuffing. Bake them in the oven until they’re ready to be drizzled with home-made cranberry sauce – so good!
Roast Potatoes and Balsamic Roasted Sprouts
Roast Potatoes and Balsamic Roasted Sprouts are absolute staples of any Christmas dinner in our opinion and both of these dishes can be kept in the fridge for 3 days.
They’re also able to be frozen, but we think they’re best when stored in the fridge or made fresh!
Gravy
Slimming-friendly Gravy that tastes amazing and can be stored in the fridge for 3 days before serving? It’s true! Store in a container with a lid, or freeze ahead of time if you’d prefer. Simply warm it through until piping hot and serve!
1-2 days in advance
A bit of time spent preparing dishes on Christmas Eve will help free up some extra time on Christmas Day – it’s well worth it!
Christmas Bread Sauce
You can prepare this Christmas Bread Sauce 2 days before Christmas Day and store in the fridge until you’re ready to serve.
If you wanted to freeze it to serve with your Sunday roast at other points throughout the year, then you can do this too!
Festive Fruit Salad
Our Festive Fruit Salad tastes even better when made a day in advance, in our opinion! This is because it gives the flavours more time to mingle together, so don’t be afraid to get this prepared on Christmas Eve.
Enjoy as part of your Christmas Day breakfast, or as a light dessert after your dinner.
Slow Cooker Christmas Turkey Joint
So, this one’s cheating a little bit as you can’t really make it ahead of time, but it’s such a great way to save time on Christmas Day that we simply had to mention it!
Our Slow Cooker Christmas Turkey Joint recipe means that you can just pop your turkey, veg and gravy ingredients into your slow cooker and leave it to cook for around 3 hours while you get on with enjoying the festivities!
We’ve given a rough cooking guide in our recipe, but you can find even more information about slow cooking a turkey in our article here.
Remember that you can find all of our Christmas recipes in our Christmas category collection here. Plenty more of them can be made and frozen ahead of time!
We love seeing pictures of all of your recreations of our dishes, so make sure that you share them with us over on our Facebook Group!
Got any top tips for getting ahead and saving time at Christmas? Remember to share those too!