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Thanksgiving Dinner Planner
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.
Sample plan: 8 guests, dinner at 4:00 PM
Menu: Turkey, Stuffing, Green bean casserole, Mashed potatoes, Sweet potatoes, Dinner rolls, Cranberry sauce, Gravy, Pumpkin pie. Kitchen: 1 oven, 2 racks, 4 burners, 1 cook. Turkey: 10 lb, roasted at 325°F.
Before Thanksgiving
- 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
| Time | What to do |
|---|
| 11:35 AM | Gather and measure the ingredients for the day: Turkey, Stuffing, Green bean casserole, Mashed potatoes, Sweet potatoes, Dinner rolls, Gravy |
| 11:35 AM | Prep Turkey: Pat dry, butter and season the turkey |
| 11:50 AM | Preheat oven 1 to 325°F |
| 12:05 PM | Turkey into oven 1 at 325°F on the lowest rack |
| 1:15 PM | Prep Stuffing: Sauté onion and celery in butter; toss with bread, eggs and stock |
| 1:45 PM | Prep Dinner rolls: Shape the rolls into a buttered pan |
| 2:05 PM | Prep Mashed potatoes: Peel and cube the potatoes |
| 2:25 PM | Stuffing into oven 1 (rack 2): Bake covered at 325°F alongside the turkey, 35 min |
| 2:30 PM | Prep Sweet potatoes: Beat the mashed sweet potatoes with butter, sugar and eggs; spread in the dish |
| 2:50 PM | Prep Green bean casserole: Trim and blanch the beans; stir into soup and milk |
| 3:00 PM | Stuffing out of the oven; keep it covered until it goes back in |
| 3:00 PM | Raise oven 1 to 375°F |
| 3:00 PM | Turkey out of the oven and onto a carving board; tent with foil and rest 45 min |
| 3:05 PM | Start Mashed potatoes on the stove |
| 3:15 PM | Stuffing into oven 1 (rack 2): Uncover and brown at 375°F, 15 min |
| 3:15 PM | Prep Gravy: Pour off the drippings and skim the fat; deglaze the roasting pan with a splash of stock, scraping up the browned bits |
| 3:15 PM | Sweet potatoes into oven 1 (rack 1): Bake at 375°F, 30 min, marshmallows on for the last 10 min |
| 3:20 PM | Mashed potatoes: finish it on the stove (10 min, hands-on) |
| 3:30 PM | Stuffing out of the oven |
| 3:30 PM | Green bean casserole into oven 1 (rack 2): Bake at 375°F, 30 min, onions on for the last 5 min |
| 3:30 PM | Start Gravy on the stove |
| 3:30 PM | Gravy: finish it on the stove (15 min, hands-on) |
| 3:35 PM | Sweet potatoes: top it with the marshmallows |
| 3:45 PM | Dinner rolls into oven 1 (rack 1): Bake at 375°F, 15 min, until golden |
| 3:45 PM | Carve the turkey |
| 3:45 PM | Sweet potatoes out of the oven |
| 3:55 PM | Green bean casserole: top it with the onions |
| 4:00 PM | Dinner rolls out of the oven |
| 4:00 PM | Green bean casserole out of the oven |
| 4:00 PM | 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.