Get ahead this Christmas with my six favourite prep-ahead recipes perfect for saving time and reducing stress this season. From crispy goose-fat roasties and golden “gravy cup” Yorkshire puddings to honey-glazed carrots, herby stuffing, sprouts with pancetta, and pigs in blankets.
These dishes can be made in advance, frozen, or part-prepared to lighten your cooking load.
With the hard work done early, you can relax, enjoy Christmas morning, and serve a full festive spread easily.
I partnered with ALDI Ireland and used only ALDI ingredients. This is a paid advertisement.
I hope you enjoy these recipes and make them part of your Christmas traditions, all recipes listed below.
Why You’ll Love These 6 prep ahead Christmas recipes
- Stress-free Christmas Day – With most of the work done ahead of time, you can spend more of the day relaxing and less of it cooking.
- Perfect for batch-cooking – All six recipes are easy to scale up, making them ideal for feeding a crowd or preparing multiple dinners.
- Freezer-friendly – Designed to freeze beautifully, so you can spread the workload over weeks instead of doing everything at once.
- Foolproof and family-approved – Simple, reliable recipes that deliver great flavour—plus plenty of kid-friendly favourites.
- Budget-conscious – Prepping ahead helps reduce last-minute shopping, food waste, and overspending.
- Classic Christmas flavours – From crispy roasties to sweet glazed veg and buttery stuffing, these dishes bring a
Yorkshire Puddings
Light, crisp, and irresistibly fluffy, these Yorkshire Puddings—affectionately known as “Gravy Cups” in our house—are made with a simple batter of eggs, milk, and flour. Perfectly puffed and golden, they’re the ultimate vessel for gravy and an essential addition to any roast dinner.
Equipment
Ingredients
- 6 eggs
- 300 ml milk
- 210 g plain flour
- Pinch salt and pepper
Instructions
- Crack the eggs into a big bowl, pour in the milk and whisk well. Sieve in the flour, salt and pepper stir until there are no lumps, a hand blender will help to get all the lumps out. Cover and put the batter in the fridge for at least 1-2 hours. Overnight is even better.
- To cook: Preheat the oven 220ºc fan, add 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil to each hole of a 12 hole muffin tin, put the tray in the oven to heat the oil – it needs to be piping hot, heat for 15 minutes approximately.
- Very carefully lift the tray out of the oven with oven gloves.
- Add 2 tablespoons of the batter to each hole (an ice cream scoop is really great for this).
- Put the tray back in the oven- don’t open the door again. Cook for 10-12 minutes – until puffed up golden and brown. Repeat with remaining batter.
- Cool and place on kitchen paper on a wire rack. Serve right away. Or- Make ahead and freeze: Once cooled completely. Place in ziplock bags.
- Freeze for 3 months.
- To heat: Preheat the oven 180ºc – cook for 3-5 minutes from frozen, make sure they are piping hot.
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Honey and thyme carrots and parsnips
These honey-and-thyme glazed carrots and parsnips make a deliciously fragrant, naturally sweet side dish. Parboiled for perfect texture, coated in a glossy honey-herb dressing, and finished with a golden roast, they’re ideal for prepping ahead and freezing—perfect for effortless entertaining or feeding a crowd
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 kg carrot peeled, chopped into 1.5inc pieces* see note 1
- 1 kg parsnip peeled, chopped 1.5inc pieces* see note 1
- 4 tbsp runny honey
- 2 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
- Salt pepper, 1-2 tbsp oil
Instructions
- To parboil: Pop the carrots to one pot, and the parsnips to another cover with cold water and a pinch of salt.
- Boil for 10-15 minutes until just cooked, strain and cool completely on a large tray.
- Once cooled, mix the honey, thyme, salt, pepper and oil together and pour over the carrot and parsnip, toss to coat.
- To freeze: place in a ziplock bag, lay flat and remove all air. Defrost overnight.
- To cook: Preheat the oven 180ºc, roast on a baking tray and roast in the oven for 30 minutes or until caramelised on the edges. It may take longer if there is a lot of food in the oven. Air fryer: Cook in batches 180ºC for 8-10 minutes, shaking the basket half way through.
- Note 1: I like to chop the carrots on the diagonal into 1.5 inch pieces, turn the carrot from left to right so the centre is a barrel but the end are pointed. Repeat with the parsnips. See the images for more detail.
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Herby bread stuffing
This fragrant herby bread stuffing is rich, buttery, and packed with fresh parsley, sage, and thyme. Soft in the centre with a beautifully crisp top, it’s the perfect classic side dish—comforting ,delicious and ideal for serving alongside any roast feast.
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp oil
- 2 onions finely diced
- 200 g butter, salted
- 400 g fresh breadcrumbs
- 4 tbsp fresh parsley
- 1 tbsp fresh sage
- 1 tbsp fresh thyme
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 eggs whisked – optional
Instructions
- Warm a frying pan on a medium heat, add the oil, onions, a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook without colour for about 15 minutes. Add the butter and cook until fully melted. Take off the heat and leave to cool.
- Finely chop the parsley, sage and thyme.
- Add the breadcrumbs to a bowl along with the fresh herbs, and a pinch pepper. Be careful if adding more salt as theres salt in the butter.
- Stir through the buttery onions and eggs until the bread is coated.*The eggs are optional, my mum always added egg it binds the stuffing and gives it a nicer texture.
- Spoon into the trays, cover and store in the fridge or freezer.
- Storage: Fridge: 5 days
- Freezer: 3 months. Defrost overnight in the fridge.
- To cook: Preheat oven 180ºC. Take the lid off the container, bake in a foil tray or ovenproof dish for 30-35 minutes, make sure it's piping hot all the way through and golden and crusted on top.
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Goose fat roasties
Crisp on the outside and irresistibly fluffy within, these goose-fat roast potatoes are the ultimate festive side. Lightly coated in flour for extra crunch and finished with fragrant rosemary and salt, they roast to golden perfection—rich, savoury, and completely irresistible.
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1.5 kg waxy potatoes – I use roosters peeled
- Salt
- 1-2 tbsp cornflour or plain flour
- 200 g Goose fat
- 200 ml vegetable oil
- salt to finish
Instructions
- If the potatoes are really big, chop them in half or thirds. Add the peeled potatoes into a largepot of cold salted water.
- Bring to the boil and simmer for about 12 minutes until parboiled.
- Strain the potatoes then add them back to the pot, leave to dry for 5 minutes, then put the lid on and shake the pot to ruffle up the edges. Pour onto a baking tray and leave to cool.
- Sprinkle with salt and sieve over the cornflour and toss to coat.
- Storage: Freezer: Put the potatoes into ziplock bags and freeze until needed. Defrost in the fridge overnight. (they can also be cooked from frozen, just add 5 minutes extra to the cooking time)
- To cook: Preheat the oven 200ºc fan. Use a deep baking tray add the goose fat and sunflower oil to the tray and put it in the oven to heat the oil through, about 15 minutes- the oil need to be piping hot. Add the potatoes and coat in the oil, cook for 30-40 minutes, turning half way through, until golden all over. *If you find the roasties are not taking colour turn the oven up to 220ºc and keep a close eye on them. Sometimes it can take longer depending on the amount of roasties being cooked. Airfry: Coat the potatoes in oil and add to a preheated air fryer 200ºc, cook for 25-30 minutes, until golden and crispy.
- Sprinkle with salt and serve.
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Pigs in Blankets
These classic pigs in blankets are a festive favourite—sausages wrapped snugly in crisp, smoky streaky bacon. Perfect for prepping ahead and freezing, they cook up beautifully golden and savoury, making them an essential addition to Christmas Day dinner or roast dinner.
Equipment
Ingredients
- 12 pork sausages
- 12 streaky rashers
Instructions
- Simply wrap the streaky bacon around the sausage.
- Store in a baking dish or foil container.
- Freeze for 3 months, defrost in the fridge overnight. (they can also be cooked from frozen, just add 5 minutes extra to the cooking time)
- Place in a preheated oven 180ºc for 20-30 minutes, until nicely browned on top. If they are not taking colour in the oven. Put them under a hot grill or air fry for an extra 5 minutes.
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Sprouts with pancetta and walnuts
These Brussels sprouts are taken to the next level with crispy pancetta, toasted walnuts, and a touch of butter. Tender from a quick boil and finished with savoury crunch and richness, they make a deliciously hearty and festive side dish that even sprout-skeptics will love.
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 nets of spouts 500g each,
- 200 g pancetta bacon bits
- 100 g chopped walnuts
- Salt and pepper
- Oil to cook
- Plus a few knobs of butter.
Instructions
- Peel the outer leaves, mark a cross in the bottom of the sprout.
- Add the prepared sprouts to a pot of salted boiling water.
- Cook for 5 minutes.
- Strain and plunge into ice water – this is important because it will stop them cooking.
- Strain again, and place on a tray.
- Cook the bacon bits in a small frying pan until cooked through, 5 or so minutes. Leave to cool. Then scatter over the sprouts along with the walnut pieces.
- Store: Bag up and store in the freezer for 3 months. Defrost in the fridge overnight.
- To cook: Pour onto a roasting tin, drizzle with a bit of oil and roast in a preheated oven 180ºc for 15-20 minutes. Or heat through on a frying pan. 2 minutes from the end add a couple of knobs of butter, and serve up.
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Make sure to tag @littleloucooks with all your festive makes and bakes—we love seeing your creations! Comment below with your favourite Christmas side and let us know which of these prep-ahead recipes you’ll be making this year. Happy cooking and enjoy a stress-free, delicious Christmas!
5 thoughts on “ 6 prep ahead Christmas recipes”
Hi thanks for the great freeze ahead meal prep Christmas lunch
Just wanted to double check would everything be defrosted in the fridge overnight before cooking? So the roast potatoes the Yorkshire puddings, the sprouts the carrots and parsnips the pigs in blankets and the stuffing? Or would they all be left out on the work top to defrost?
Hi Natalie, yes they you need to defrost safely in the fridge. Not on the counter top. No need to defrost the Yorkshire puddings they can go in the fridge from frozen and take a few minutes to heat through. If your heating everything in the oven at the same time – it may take longer each recipe has notes on reheating just read through them. Lou x
Hi, where a recipe states 180 degree for the oven, is this for fan or conventional? Do these temperatures needs reducing for fan ovens? Thanks
Hi Orla, Thanks for asking, its 180c fan so no it doesnt need to be reduced. Lou
Great thank you!