Guide
How to reheat Thanksgiving side dishes
Making sides ahead, or guests bringing them, only helps if there's oven time to reheat them on the day. Here's where reheats fit, and the temperatures that make them safe.
Reheat sides covered, in the oven while the turkey rests or on the stove, until they reach 165°F in the center. Bring gravy to a rolling boil. Keep hot food at 140°F or above until it's served.
Where reheats fit on the day
The oven is busy with the turkey for hours, so reheats belong in the same window as the other sides: after the turkey comes out. In the example below — dinner at 3:00 — the turkey comes out at 2:25 PM; the mashed potatoes made the day before go into the 350°F oven at 2:30 PM, and Mom's sweet potatoes, which arrive at 1:30, go in at 2:35 PM. Gravy and green beans stay on the stove.
Worked example
Reheats around the turkey, dinner at 3:00 PM
- Dinner
- 3:00 PM
- First step
- 10:55 AM
- Cooking day
- 4 hr 5 min
- Oven changes
- 1
- 10:55 AM−4:05Prep Turkey20 min hands-on
- 11:00 AM−4:00Preheat oven to 325°FAllow about 15 min
- 11:15 AM−3:45Turkey into the oven3 hr 10 min · at 325°F
- 1:30 PM−1:30Mom arrives with Sweet PotatoesThen reheat · 25 min
- 2:25 PM−0:35Turkey out of the ovenRest 30 min, loosely covered
- 2:25 PM−0:35Raise oven to 350°FFrom 325°F · allow 5 min
- 2:30 PM−0:30Mashed Potatoes (made ahead) into the oven30 min · at 350°F
- 2:30 PM−0:30Stuffing (baked yesterday) into the oven30 min · at 350°F
- 2:35 PM−0:25Prep Gravy5 min hands-on
- 2:35 PM−0:25Reheat Sweet Potatoes in the oven25 min · at 350°F
- 2:40 PM−0:20Prep Green Beans10 min hands-on
- 2:40 PM−0:20Start Gravy on the stove20 min
- 2:50 PM−0:10Start Green Beans on the stove10 min
- 2:55 PM−0:05Turkey rested — ready to carveKeep covered until dinner
- 3:00 PM0:00Sweet Potatoes out of the ovenStraight to the table
- 3:00 PM0:00Green Beans off the heatStraight to the table
- 3:00 PM0:00Mashed Potatoes (made ahead) out of the ovenStraight to the table
- 3:00 PM0:00Stuffing (baked yesterday) out of the ovenStraight to the table
- 3:00 PM0:00Gravy off the heatStraight to the table
- 3:00 PM0:00Dinner is readyEverything should land together
In the planner, a dish you made ahead is simply a dish whose “cooking” is the reheat: set its time to the reheat time and its prep to zero. A dish a guest brings is set to Someone's bringing it, with its arrival time and Reheat; it's never scheduled before it arrives.
Reheating time is a plan, the thermometer is the answer
When you mark a guest's dish as needing to be reheated, the planner starts from 20 minutes; “finish cooking” starts from 30. Those are starting points for the schedule, not safety rules. A deep dish of cold mashed potatoes can take longer than a shallow casserole. USDA's rule is the same for all of them: leftovers and casseroles reheated to 165°F.
- Casseroles and stuffing: covered with foil in the oven, until 165°F in the center.
- Mashed potatoes: covered in the oven or stirred in a pan on the stove, until 165°F.
- Gravy: bring it to a rolling boil.
- Stuffing: never refrigerate it uncooked. Bake it, chill it, and reheat to 165°F — or freeze it unbaked.
Keeping food hot until everyone sits down
Hot food should stay at 140°F or above. Chafing dishes, warming trays and slow cookers all work for that. Once food is on the table, the clock starts: perishable food shouldn't sit out for more than 2 hours, or 1 hour if it's above 90°F. When a dish a guest brings arrives a while before it's needed, keep it in the refrigerator until its reheat.
Questions people ask
How long does it take to reheat mashed potatoes in the oven?
It depends on the size and depth of the dish. The example above allows 30 minutes, covered, at 350°F; check that the center reaches 165°F and give it longer if it hasn't.
Can I reheat side dishes in the oven with the turkey?
Only if there's room and they can go at the turkey's temperature. It's usually easier to reheat them during the turkey's rest, when the oven is free and can go to 350°F.
How long can Thanksgiving food sit out?
No more than 2 hours at room temperature, or 1 hour above 90°F. Then refrigerate it.
How do I reheat gravy safely?
USDA says to bring sauces, soups and gravies to a rolling boil when reheating.
Holiday Dinner Planner for iPhone
Who's bringing what, and when it goes in.
The timeline above is yours to print. On the day, Holiday Dinner Planner for iPhone runs it for you.
- A reminder for every step. Preheat, in, out, rest — each one arrives on time, even with the phone locked.
- Cook Mode. The next step in huge type you can read across the kitchen. The screen stays awake.
- Running late? It replans. Tell it the turkey needs 15 more minutes. Only the steps that depend on it move.
- Next year is already done. Every dinner is saved. Use it again and the dishes, kitchen and guests come along.
Free for one dinner with up to three dishes. Pro is a one-time purchase, not a subscription. No account, no ads, no tracking.
