Plan on 3/4 cup of mashed potatoes and stuffing per person, and 1/2 cup of each other dish when you serve four or more holiday side dishes. Many of our Thanksgiving side dishes can be made ahead, including cranberry sauce up to 3 days early, mashed potatoes up to 2 days early, and casseroles or stuffing assembled the day before.
This guide groups our tested recipes by dish, with total time and servings, and what to pick up on our shelves for each.
Quick reference
| Standard side portion | 1/2 cup per person when serving four or more sides |
|---|---|
| Mashed potatoes and stuffing portion | 3/4 cup per person |
| Cranberry sauce make-ahead | Keep in the fridge for 2 to 3 days |
| Mashed potatoes make-ahead | Make up to 2 days ahead and reheat covered at 350°F with a splash of cream |
| Casseroles, gratins and stuffing make-ahead | Assemble 1 day ahead and add 10 to 15 minutes when baking straight from the fridge |
| Oven sharing at 325°F | Add 15 to 20 minutes to most casserole bake times while the turkey roasts |
| Reheating and holding temperatures | Reheat sides to 165°F, and hold finished dishes loosely covered in a 200°F oven or a slow cooker on warm |
Mashed and Scalloped Potatoes
Most of our potato sides serve 6. If you want a 35-minute stovetop mash, our Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes with Chives blends yellow potatoes and garlic with tangy buttermilk, while our Dairy-Free Garlic Sage Mashed Potatoes uses oat milk, vegan butter, and fresh sage. For a gluten-free option, our 60-minute Roasted Garlic Cauliflower Mash with Gluten-Free Gravy thickens the gravy with arrowroot.
When you want a rich gratin to assemble a day ahead, our Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes bakes in 115 minutes with white cheddar, cream, and fresh rosemary. Pick up Lucerne heavy whipping cream and Lucerne butter for your scratch recipes, or grab Idahoan mashed potatoes as a quick backup.
Ingredients Russet Potatoes
Ingredients Heavy Cream, Milk, Contains Less than 0.5% of: Carrageenan, Mono and Diglycerides, Polysorbate 80.
Ingredients Cultured Pasteurized Cream and Fat Free Milk, Modified Corn Starch, Disodium Phosphate, Guar Gum, Carrageenan, Locust Bean Gum, Natural Flavors.
Ingredients Potatoes, Whole Milk, Butter (Sweet Cream [Milk], Salt), Salt, Potassium Sorbate (Preservative), Mono- and Diglycerides, Black Pepper.
Ingredients Idaho Potatoes, Vegetable Oil (Coconut, Sunflower, Soybean), Maltodextrin, Dried Corn Syrup, Salt, Sugar, Nonfat Dry Milk, Butter (Cream, Salt), Mono- and Diglycerides, Calcium Stearoyl Lactylate, Natural Flavors. Freshness preserved by Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate, Sodium Bisulfite, Citric Acid, and Mixed Tocopherols.
Sweet Potatoes and Squash
Every recipe in this section serves 6. For a traditional bake you can assemble a day ahead, our 50-minute Sweet Potato Casserole with Toasted Pecan Topping pairs sweet potatoes and medjool dates with Signature Select pecan halves, and you can also grab Jet-Puffed mini marshmallows on our shelves. If you need a faster sheet-pan option, our Roast Sweet Potatoes with Holiday Spiced Honey Butter tosses sweet potato rounds with honey and cinnamon in 45 minutes.
Butternut squash gives you either a showstopping roast or a fast stovetop mash: our 60-minute Roasted Hasselback Butternut Squash with Maple-Balsamic Glaze uses balsamic vinegar and Signature Select pure maple syrup, while our Vegan Butternut Squash Mash with Maple-Pumpkin Spice "Butter" is ready in 30 minutes with vegan butter and pumpkin spice mix.
Ingredients CORN SYRUP, SUGAR, MODIFIED CORNSTARCH, DEXTROSE, WATER, CONTAINS LESS THAN 2% OF GELATIN, TETRASODIUM PYROPHOSPHATE (WHIPPING AID), NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR, BLUE 1.
Ingredients Pecans.
Ingredients Maple Syrup.
Stuffing
For a classic baked dressing, our Savory Stuffing with Sausage, Leeks, Apples & Fresh Herbs serves 6 in 95 minutes with French bread, Gala apples, and Signature Select pork sausage. For meatless guests, our Vegetarian Savory Stuffing with Leeks, Apples & Fresh Herbs serves 6 in 90 minutes using leeks, apples, and vegetable broth or Swanson chicken broth.
To feed a bigger table, our Croissant Stuffing with Caramelized Leeks, Mushrooms, Gruyère & Pecans is made with cremini mushrooms and serves 8 in 110 minutes. When time is tight, make our 45-minute Classic Thanksgiving Turkey Stuffing by Best Foods® and Hellmann's® (serves 6, with ground pork, walnuts, and dried cranberries), or grab Stove Top stuffing mix as a shortcut.
Ingredients ENRICHED WHEAT FLOUR (WHEAT FLOUR, NIACIN, REDUCED IRON, THIAMIN MONONITRATE [VITAMIN B1], RIBOFLAVIN [VITAMIN B2], FOLIC ACID), HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP, SALT, ONION*, CONTAINS LESS THAN 2% OF HYDROLYZED SOY PROTEIN, COOKED TURKEY*, YEAST, INTERESTERIFIED SOYBEAN OIL, CELERY*, PARSLEY*, POTASSIUM CHLORIDE, SPICE, SUGAR, CARAMEL COLOR, MALTODEXTRIN, TURKEY BROTH*, DISODIUM GUANYLATE, DISODIUM INOSINATE, SILICON DIOXIDE, NATURAL FLAVOR, WITH BHA, BHT, AND ROSEMARY EXTRACT AS PRESERVATIVES. *DRIED
Ingredients MADE FROM: ENRICHED WHEAT FLOUR (FLOUR, NIACIN, REDUCED IRON, THIAMINE MONONITRATE, RIBOFLAVIN, FOLIC ACID), SALT, SUGAR, YEAST, CONTAINS 2% OR LESS OF: VEGETABLE OILS (CANOLA AND/OR SUNFLOWER AND/OR PALM), SPICES, CELERY, ONION POWDER, CALCIUM PROPIONATE TO EXTEND FRESHNESS, ROSEMARY EXTRACT AND ASCORBIC ACID TO PROTECT FLAVOR, MALTED BARLEY FLOUR, SOY LECITHIN. CONTAINS: WHEAT, SOY.
Ingredients INGREDIENTS: CHICKEN STOCK, SALT, NATURAL FLAVORING, MIREPOIX (CARROTS, CELERY, ONIONS), CHICKEN FAT, YEAST EXTRACT.
Ingredients Pork, Water, Contains 2% Or Less: Salt, Spices, Sugar.
Ingredients Celery
Green Beans, Brussels Sprouts and Other Vegetables
When the oven is full, move your vegetables to the stovetop. These four dishes each serve 6 and finish in 30 to 35 minutes. For a 30-minute side, make our Green Beans Almondine (with shallots and Signature Farms sliced almonds), our Crispy Bacon Brussels Sprouts featuring Signature Select bacon, or our broth-simmered Honey-Lemon Glazed Carrots with Tarragon. For something richer, our 35-minute Holiday Creamed Spinach pairs baby spinach with cream cheese and cream.
If you have oven space and a bigger crowd, our Creamy Baked Brussels Sprouts with Sharp White Cheddar Cheese serves 8 in 45 minutes. For a 6-serving sheet-pan roast, bake our Maple-Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Pecans in 50 minutes, or roast carrots, parsnips, and sweet potatoes in 55 minutes with our Maple-Cinnamon Roasted Root Vegetable Medley with Onion.
Ingredients Onions, Palm Oil, Wheat Flour, Dextrose & Salt.
Ingredients INGREDIENTS: WATER, MUSHROOMS, VEGETABLE OIL (CORN, CANOLA, AND/OR SOYBEAN), MODIFIED CORNSTARCH, WHEAT FLOUR, SALT, CREAM, WHEY, SOY PROTEIN CONCENTRATE, MONOSODIUM GLUTAMATE, YEAST EXTRACT, DRIED GARLIC, NATURAL FLAVORING. CONTAINS: WHEAT, MILK, SOY
Ingredients Ingredients: Green Beans##tdmk## Perishable-keep Refrigerated
Ingredients Green Beans, Water, Sea Salt.
Ingredients Brussels Sprouts.
Cranberry Sauce and Gravy
Cranberry sauce keeps for 2 to 3 days in the fridge and tastes better made ahead. If you like a warm, simmered classic, our Homemade Cranberry Sauce with Apple serves 6 in 45 minutes using Signature Select whole cranberries, diced Granny Smith apples, and fresh orange juice.
When you prefer a bright, no-cook option that frees up a burner, pulse fresh cranberries with mandarin wedges and brown sugar for our Cranberry-Mandarin Relish. It serves 6 in 40 minutes, including 30 minutes of chill time. If you want ready-to-serve staples, pick up Ocean Spray jellied cranberry sauce and Heinz turkey gravy to round out your table.
Ingredients Cranberries, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Corn Syrup, Water.
Ingredients Cranberries, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Corn Syrup, Water.
Ingredients TURKEY BROTH, MODIFIED CORN STARCH, CHICKEN FAT, CONTAINS LESS THAN 2% OF BLEACHED WHEAT FLOUR, SALT, COOKED WHITE TURKEY MEAT, YEAST EXTRACT, NATURAL FLAVOR, AUTOLYZED YEAST EXTRACT, SPICES, NONFAT DRY MILK, FRUIT JUICE (COLOR), TURKEY MEAT POWDER, ONION POWDER, TORULA YEAST, BLACK PEPPER, PAPRIKA EXTRACT (COLOR), SOY LECITHIN.
Ingredients Enriched Wheat Flour ( Flour, Niacin, Iron, Thiamine Monointrate, Riboflavin, Floic Acid), Wheat Starch, Whey (Milk), Salt, Chicken Fat, Turkey Powder, Onion, Torula, Yeast, Caramel Color, Disodium Inosinate and Guanylate (Flavor Enhancers), Spices (Including Celery Seed), Extractives of Rosemary, Extractives of Paprika, Extractives of Sage, Butyric Acid & Natural Flavor.
Ingredients Corn Starch, Buttermilk Powder, Corn Maltodextrin, Salt, Hydrolyzed Corn and Soy Protein, Onion, Modified Palm Oil, Yeast Extract, Caramel Color, Potassium Chloride, Potato Starch, Corn Syrup Solids, Spices and Herbs (Including Thyme, Sage, Celery Seed, Black Pepper), Turkey Powder, Guar Gum, Sodium Caseinate, and Natural Flavor.
Ingredients Cranberries, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Filtered Water, Corn Syrup.
Ingredients Whole Cranberries.
Mac and Cheese, Corn and Rolls
If you want a baked pasta you can assemble a day early, our 60-minute Homemade Macaroni & Cheese with Bread Crumbs serves 6, layering elbow macaroni, mozzarella, and Tillamook sharp cheddar cheese under panko bread crumbs. Cooking for a smaller crowd or gluten-free guests? Our stovetop Brown Butter Pumpkin Mac & Cheese serves 2 in 25 minutes with gluten-free macaroni, pumpkin purée, and cheddar.
On the stovetop, our Parmesan Creamed Corn simmered with Birds Eye Steamfresh corn and heavy cream is ready in 25 minutes and serves 6. Complete the spread with King's Hawaiian sweet rolls.
Ingredients Durum Wheat Semolina, Durum Wheat Flour, Niacin, Iron (Ferrous Sulfate), Thiamin Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid.
Ingredients Cultured Milk, Salt, Enzymes, Annatto (color).
Ingredients CHEESE SAUCE (WHEY, CHEDDAR CHEESE [MILK, CHEESE CULTURE, SALT, ENZYMES], CANOLA OIL, MILK PROTEIN CONCENTRATE, SODIUM PHOSPHATE, MILK, WHEY PROTEIN CONCENTRATE, CONTAINS LESS THAN 2% OF SALT, LACTIC ACID, SODIUM ALGINATE, SORBIC ACID AS A PRESERVATIVE, MILKFAT, OLEORESIN PAPRIKA [COLOR], CHEESE CULTURE, ANNATTO [COLOR], ENZYMES), ENRICHED MACARONI PRODUCT (WHEAT FLOUR, NIACIN, FERROUS SULFATE [IRON], THIAMIN MONONITRATE [VITAMIN B1], RIBOFLAVIN [VITAMIN B2], FOLIC ACID).
Ingredients Corn.
Ingredients Enriched Flour (Wheat Flour, Malted Barley Flour, Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Water, Sugar, Butter (Pasteurized Cream, Salt), Eggs, Contains Less than 2% of Each of the Following: Sodium Silicoaluminate, Potato Flour, Yeast, Sorbitan Monostearate, Ascorbic Acid, Whey, Corn Flour, Monocalcium Phosphate, Soy Flour, Nonfat Milk, Salt, Wheat Gluten, DATEM, Calcium Silicate, Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate, Calcium Sulfate, Ammonium Sulfate, Wheat Starch, Enzymes.
Ingredients Enriched Flour Bleached (Wheat Flour, Niacin, Ferrous Sulfate, Thiamin Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Water, Vegetable Shortening (Soybean Oil, Hydrogenated Palm Oil, Fractionated Palm Oil, Water, Mono and Diglycerides, TBHQ and Citric Acid [Preservatives], Beta Carotene [for Color]), Sugar, Baking Powder (Baking Soda, Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate, Sodium Aluminum Phosphate), Contains 2% or Less of: Vital Wheat Gluten, Palm and/or Soybean Oil, Dextrose, Salt, Monoglycerides, Potassium Chloride, Calcium Chloride, Potassium Sorbate (Preservative), L-Cysteine Hydrochloride (Dough Conditioner), Annatto Extract (for Color).
Salads That Hold on a Buffet
Sturdy greens hold up well on a buffet. For a 20-minute no-cook dish for 6 servings, our Shaved Brussels Sprout Salad combines Brussels sprouts, Gala apples, and Craisins dried cranberries. In 30 minutes, our Kale Salad with Farro, Cranberries, Pumpkin Seeds, Parmesan & Orange Vinaigrette serves 6 with kale, farro, and Good Sense pepitas.
For warm roasted produce over tender greens for 6 servings, our Mixed Green Salad with Roast Butternut Squash, Goat Cheese, Walnuts & Cranberries takes 60 minutes with spring mix, squash, and Primo Taglio goat cheese. In 45 minutes, our Arugula Salad with Roast Beets, Pears, Apple Chips, Candied Pecans & Pumpkin Spice Vinaigrette pairs arugula with roasted beets and apple chips.
Ingredients Arugula
Ingredients Whole Pasteurized Goat Milk, Salt, Cheese Cultures, Enzymes.
Ingredients Pecans, Sugar, Butter (Cream [Milk], Salt), Salt, Ground Cinnamon.
Ingredients Pumpkin Seeds, High Oleic Canola Oil and/or Sunflower Oil, Salt.
Your Oven Plan for the Big Day
Once your make-ahead cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, and chilled stuffing, gratins, and casseroles are prepped and waiting in the fridge, Thanksgiving Day is all about staging the oven. While the turkey roasts at 325°F, slide your casseroles into the same oven. Plan on about 15 to 20 extra minutes for the lower oven temperature, plus another 10 to 15 minutes if baking straight from the fridge, and make sure all reheated sides and chilled bakes reach 165°F in the center.
Reheat mashed potatoes covered at 350°F with a splash of cream until they hit 165°F, then transfer them to a slow cooker on warm. Hold finished bakes loosely covered in a 200°F oven while you cook your green vegetables last so they reach the table bright and tender.
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
How much mashed potatoes should I make per person?
Plan on about 3/4 cup of mashed potatoes per person. We recommend the same 3/4 cup portion per person for stuffing, since those two dishes are usually the largest scoops on the plate.
How much of each holiday side dish do I need per person?
When you serve four or more holiday side dishes, plan on about 1/2 cup of each side per person. For mashed potatoes and stuffing, increase that amount to about 3/4 cup per person.
What Thanksgiving side dishes can be made ahead?
Cranberry sauce can be made 2 to 3 days ahead, and mashed potatoes can be made up to 2 days ahead. You can also assemble casseroles, gratins, and stuffing a day ahead and bake them on Thanksgiving Day.
How do I reheat make-ahead Thanksgiving sides and keep them warm?
Reheat make-ahead sides and leftovers until they reach 165°F, and warm chilled mashed potatoes covered at 350°F with a splash of cream. Once dishes are hot, hold them loosely covered in a 200°F oven or keep mashed potatoes in a slow cooker set to warm.
What Safeway Thanksgiving dinner options and sides can I pick up ready-to-heat or quick-prep?
Alongside fresh ingredients for our scratch recipes, we carry ready-to-heat and quick-prep staples like Idahoan mashed potatoes, Stove Top stuffing mix, canned yams, Ocean Spray cranberry sauce, Heinz turkey gravy, and King's Hawaiian dinner rolls. You can mix our homemade recipes with these shortcuts to fit your schedule.
How do I cook holiday side dishes when the turkey is in the oven?
When the turkey is roasting at 325°F, your baked sides can share the oven by adding 15 to 20 minutes to most casserole bake times, plus 10 to 15 minutes if baking straight from the fridge. Save your green vegetables to cook last right before serving.