Don’t feel like cooking for hours and hours on Christmas Day? Me neither! Skip the hassle, and try this delicious, make-ahead turkey dinner casserole. The best alternative to a traditional Christmas dinner!
I’m going to let you in on a little holiday family secret…
For the past couple of years, my family (my extended side of the family) has NOT made a traditional turkey dinner for Christmas. Yup—no cooking Christmas Day. Yet, we’ve eaten the most delicious turkey dinner ever.
Confused yet?!
Let me explain… A few years ago my mom and I were staring at the massive pile of dishes after Christmas dinner, feeling exhausted from cooking all day and deprived of real, good quality visiting time. As we made our way through the dishes (and a few glasses of wine later), we decided that the following Christmas we would do things differently. We would make turkey dinner into a casserole ahead of Christmas Day and heat it up Christmas night. Was it possible? We didn’t know!
Fast forward to the following year, and my Mom was on it. She roasted turkey thighs and breasts and then layered traditional turkey dinner sides such as stuffing, roasted veggies, and mashed potatoes. Oh. My. Gosh.
No joke, it was the BEST turkey dinner we’ve ever had and all family members agreed, the make-ahead turkey dinner is our new Christmas meal. My kids even loved it, and they’re not casserole lovers generally! That said, they do love my make-ahead carrot cake overnight French toast though because…cake.
Why this turkey casserole is genius:
- You make ahead so there’s no fuss on the 25th
- You get to visit with and enjoy your family
- The dishes are minimal (by the way, this is the casserole dish that I used and LOVE) and these are the mixing bowls I use time and time again
- You STILL get to enjoy every taste of turkey dinner.
If this appeals to you, you’re in luck. My mom never follows a recipe, but for me, she recreated this deliciousness and created a step-by-step recipe for us. Enjoy! Also, if you’re looking for some holiday baking ideas, check out my holiday baking post round-up here!
Make Ahead Turkey Dinner Casserole
Don't feel like cooking for hours and hours on Christmas Day? Me neither! Skip the hassle, and try this delicious, make-ahead turkey dinner casserole. The best alternative to a traditional Christmas dinner!
Ingredients
- Roasted Turkey
- 1 kg Turkey breast - bone in skin on if possible
- 1 kg turkey thighs (2 thighs)
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1 tbsp of mustard powder
- 1 tsp each of dried sage, dried oregano and dried thyme
- Stuffing
- 8 Cups of day old bread cubed or torn into small pieces (Sourdough is my favourite for flavour.)
- 1 tablespoon of poultry seasoning
- 1 tsp. celery salt
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 small white onion finely chopped
- 2 celery stalks finely chopped
- 1/4 cup butter melted
- 1 cup warm unsalted chicken broth
- Mashed potatoes
- 8 large baking potatoes peeled and cut into small even pieces (1”)
- 1 tablespoon of kosher salt
- I cup of milk with 1/4 cup of butter
- 1/4 plain greek yogurt
- salt and pepper to taste
- Gravy
- Turkey drippings
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup potato water
Instructions
Step 1 (prep and cook turkey)
- Preheat oven to 400F
- Season your turkey meat with salt, pepper and garlic powder and place in a roasting pan
- Melt the butter and then mix in mustard powder, dried sage, dried oregano and dried thyme.
- Let butter mixture cool for 5 minutes then pour over turkey pieces.
- Loosely tent turkey with foil. Place turkey in oven and immediately turn temperature down to 325 F.
- Cook the turkey 20 minutes per pound or until the turkey breast has an internal temp of 170 -175F, basting every 20 minutes. Remove the foil for the last 40 minutes of roasting.
Step 2 (while the turkey is cooking, make your stuffing!)
- Place all stuffing ingredients in a large bowl. Mix until well combined. Set aside (alternatively you can use your favourite stuffing mix to make 8-9 cups of stuffing).
Step 3 (make your mashed potatoes)
- Place potatoes in large pot and cover with water. Add salt to water.
- Bring to a boil with lid off. Turn heat down, cover potatoes and simmer for 10 minutes or until potatoes are tender.
- Drain potatoes well - you want them to be dry.
Save 1 cup of potato water for the gravy. - Warm the milk with the ¼ cup butter and add to drained potatoes. Mash really well (I like using a hand-held blender or food processor).
- Add 1/4 plain Greek yogurt to potato mixture - stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper if needed. Set aside
Step 4 (Make your gravy)
- Remove Turkey from the oven. Place turkey pieces on a cutting board and let cool for 10 minutes.
- Pour the turkey drippings into a saucepan. Heat until bubbling and add 1/3 cup flour to make a roux.
- Slowly add 1 cup of the saved potato water and whisk until smooth. Add more liquid if needed. Alternatively make your favourite gravy mix (at least 2 cups)
Step 5 (Put it all together!)
- Remove turkey meat from bones and slice into large pieces.
- Set up an assembly station with the turkey meat, potatoes, gravy and stuffing.
- Lightly oil a large 9x13 inch baking dish
- Layer stuffing on the bottom and lightly drizzle with gravy.
- Layer the turkey meat on top of stuffing. Lightly drizzle with gravy.
- Spread mashed potatoes over turkey and drizzle with 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
- Cover with foil. Refrigerate overnight.
- The next day, bake in a 325 oven for 1 hour. Take foil off for last 20 minutes. Let rest for 10 minutes.
Serve casserole with extra gravy, cranberry sauce and Roasted Vegetables. You can refrigerate casserole for 2-3 days or freeze for up to a month.
Notes
You can also make this into a turkey dinner leftover dish! Just layer your turkey leftovers into your baking dish and heat!
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Comments
Sarah … you and your mom are geniuses! Going to try this for sure. Have a safe and happy Christmas with special wishes to mom and dad. Heather & Harv
Oh my goodness, thank you Heather! It seriously is a time-saver! Hope you try it.
I made this at Christmas, and am making it again today for Easter! It is so so delicious!
Ahhh that’s so wonderful! Thanks, Melissa! I’d love a 5-star review if you have the time :). It helps others find this family-favourite recipe. Thanks again and enjoy!
Do you cook the Christmas dinner casserole before freezing? Also how long to cook from frozen? Thank you!! This recipe looks amazing and I cant wait to try it!!
Yes, I cook it before freezing! I have never cooked from frozen (I usually thaw a bit), but let me know how that goes! I hope you enjoy as much as we do!
I thought you would say to refrigerate the casserole and bake the next day. How else “make ahead”??
Oh good catch, Anita! Yes, you refrigerate over night and bake the next day. I will update the recipe! Thanks so much.