Reheat make-ahead Thanksgiving sides while the turkey rests
Sides made the day before only need heat on Thursday, and the turkey's rest is the one stretch when the oven is empty. This page lists reheat times for six common sides from two printed sheets, then fits them into that gap with clock times for a 5 PM dinner and a 12–14 lb turkey.
Reheat times for common sides
Both sheets are written for store-bought, fully cooked trays from the fridge, and both use a 350 °F oven for the sides. Mashed potatoes are the entry where they agree most closely. The last column is the time I use in the plan below. Applying these tray times to sides I made at home is my assumption, so check the middle of the dish with a thermometer.
| Side | Whole Foods sheet | Caraluzzi's sheet | My time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mashed potatoes | 350 °F, 15–20 min, covered, stirred halfway | 350 °F, 18–20 min, cover on, stirred halfway | 20 min |
| Stuffing or dressing | 350 °F, 30–40 min, not covered | 350 °F, 25–30 min, lid off, until a golden crust forms | 35 min |
| Green bean casserole | 350 °F, 30–40 min, not covered | Not on the sheet | 35 min |
| Sweet potato casserole | 350 °F, 30–40 min, not covered (the coconut version) | Not on the sheet | 35 min |
| Dinner rolls | 350 °F, 4–8 min, ungreased sheet | Not on the sheet | 8 min |
| Gravy | Stovetop, medium-low, stir until simmering | Stovetop, medium-high, stir constantly, off the heat at a light simmer | 10 min |
Sources: the Whole Foods Market Thanksgiving reheating sheet and the Caraluzzi's Thanksgiving reheating sheet, both opened in October 2026. The ranges are theirs. Whole Foods lists its mashed sweet potatoes at 15 to 20 minutes, and I use the 30 to 40 minutes of its sweet potato casserole instead, since that is the dish most home cooks make. My time is the top of the range for mashed potatoes and rolls. For stuffing and the casseroles I use 35 minutes, the middle of Whole Foods' 30 to 40, and the 10 minutes for gravy is my own estimate. A home dish can be deeper than a catering tray, so check the middle with a thermometer. Caraluzzi's says times may need to be increased when several dishes reheat at once, and I follow that.
The 165 °F rule
The USDA brochure Let's Talk Turkey (I read a university extension copy) says: "Reheat turkey to an internal temperature of 165 °F. Use a food thermometer to check the internal temperature." That line is about turkey. The Whole Foods sheet applies the same number to nearly every dish, with a few exceptions such as ham. I apply it to the sides as well, which is my choice, and I check the middle of the dish with a thermometer.
How long a rest makes room for the oven
Once the turkey is out, the oven needs about 15 minutes to go from 325 to 350 °F. A side fits in the rest if its reheat time is at most the rest minus those 15 minutes, using my times from the table.
| Rest | Oven time left | Fit in the rest | Need another way |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 min | 5 min | none | Warning: Mashed potatoes, Stuffing or dressing, Green bean casserole, Sweet potato casserole, Dinner rolls |
| 30 min | 15 min | Dinner rolls | Warning: Mashed potatoes, Stuffing or dressing, Green bean casserole, Sweet potato casserole |
| 45 min | 30 min | Mashed potatoes, Dinner rolls | Warning: Stuffing or dressing, Green bean casserole, Sweet potato casserole |
| 1 h | 45 min | Mashed potatoes, Stuffing or dressing, Green bean casserole, Sweet potato casserole, Dinner rolls | none |
Gravy goes on the stove, so it fits at any rest. At the USDA's 20 minutes nothing else fits. The casseroles and stuffing are the long ones: with a 45 minute rest they need 5 more minutes than the oven has. For those, lengthen the rest, reheat them in a second oven, or reheat them before the turkey goes in. How long to rest a turkey covers the rest itself.
A one-oven order with a 1 h rest
Dinner at 5 PM, one oven, up to 4 dishes in it at once. The turkey comes out at 4:00 PM and rests covered. The oven then changes to 350 °F, and the stuffing, green bean casserole and sweet potato casserole go in together. The mashed potatoes follow a few minutes later, and the rolls take the last slot when the potatoes come out. If a top browns early, I tent it with foil, which neither sheet says.
| Time | Step |
|---|---|
| 12:00 PM | Preheat the oven to 325 °F |
| 12:15 PM | Put Turkey, 12–14 lb in the oven (325 °F, 3 h 45 min) |
| 4:00 PM | Take Turkey, 12–14 lb out to rest, covered (1 h before serving) |
| 4:10 PM | Set the oven to 350 °F and let it get there |
| 4:25 PM | Put Stuffing or dressing in the oven (350 °F, 35 min) |
| 4:25 PM | Put Green bean casserole in the oven (350 °F, 35 min) |
| 4:25 PM | Put Sweet potato casserole in the oven (350 °F, 35 min) |
| 4:32 PM | Put Mashed potatoes in the oven (350 °F, 20 min) |
| 4:50 PM | Start Gravy on the stovetop (10 min) |
| 4:52 PM | Take Mashed potatoes out and keep it covered (8 min before serving) |
| 4:52 PM | Put Dinner rolls in the oven (350 °F, 8 min) |
| 5:00 PM | Gravy: ready |
| 5:00 PM | Take Stuffing or dressing out |
| 5:00 PM | Take Green bean casserole out |
| 5:00 PM | Take Sweet potato casserole out |
| 5:00 PM | Take Dinner rolls out |
| 5:00 PM | Serve |
The schedule comes from the same planner as the rest of the site, so this menu opens in the planner with your own dinner time, oven count and dishes.
Tips
- Caraluzzi's suggests letting a tray stand out for no longer than 3 hours before reheating. In my experience, glass dishes straight from the fridge take longer than the times above.
- Stir the mashed potatoes halfway, as both sheets say, I add a splash of milk if they look stiff (neither sheet says to).
- Add crisp toppings such as fried onions near the end. That is my habit, and neither sheet mentions it.
- Bake times for sides cooked from scratch are in the side dish oven temperature chart, and the whole menu is laid out in Thanksgiving dinner with one oven.