Holiday Dinner Planner
iPhone app

Sunday roast planner

Roast dinner timings calculator

Roast chicken, roast potatoes, vegetables, gravy and Yorkshire puddings, timed backward from when you sit down. Change the meat, the sides or the time, in °F or °C.

For a 5:00 PM roast chicken dinner, the chicken goes in at 3:25 PM, the potatoes at 4:15 PM and the Yorkshire puddings at 4:35 PM.

When are you eating?

Your kitchen

Ovens
Temperatures in
4

What's on the menu?

5 dishes

Tap to add or remove

Your roast dinner timings

Dinner at 5:00 PM

Sunday, October 4, 2026 · 5 dishes · 1 oven, 4 burners

  • First step3:10 PM
  • Cooking day1 hr 50 min
  • Oven changes0
  • StatusEverything fits

Your oven and stovetop

Roast dinner timingsSunday, October 4, 2026 · Dinner at 5:00 PM
  1. 3:10 PM−1:50Preheat oven to 425°FAllow about 15 min
  2. 3:10 PM−1:50Prep Roast Chicken15 min hands-on
  3. 3:25 PM−1:35Roast Chicken into the oven1 hr 20 min · at 425°F
  4. 3:55 PM−1:05Prep Roast Potatoes15 min hands-on
  5. 4:10 PM−0:50Prep Roasted Vegetables15 min hands-on
  6. 4:15 PM−0:45Roast Potatoes into the oven45 min · at 425°F
  7. 4:25 PM−0:35Prep Yorkshire Pudding10 min hands-on
  8. 4:25 PM−0:35Roasted Vegetables into the oven35 min · at 425°F
  9. 4:35 PM−0:25Prep Gravy5 min hands-on
  10. 4:35 PM−0:25Yorkshire Pudding into the oven25 min · at 425°F
  11. 4:40 PM−0:20Start Gravy on the stove20 min
  12. 4:45 PM−0:15Roast Chicken out of the ovenRest 15 min, loosely covered
  13. 5:00 PM0:00Yorkshire Pudding out of the ovenStraight to the table
  14. 5:00 PM0:00Roast Potatoes out of the ovenStraight to the table
  15. 5:00 PM0:00Gravy off the heatStraight to the table
  16. 5:00 PM0:00Roasted Vegetables out of the ovenStraight to the table
  17. 5:00 PM0:00Roast Chicken rested — ready to carveServe now
  18. 5:00 PM0:00Dinner is readyEverything should land together

Times are planning estimates. Check doneness with a food thermometer: 165°F (74°C) for turkey, chicken and stuffing.

Holiday Dinner Planner for iPhone

Sunday dinner, on your Lock Screen.

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.
Coming soon to theApp StoreSee the app

Free for one dinner with up to three dishes. Pro is a one-time purchase, not a subscription. No account, no ads, no tracking.

The app's timeline: turkey out of the oven, raise oven to 350°F, stuffing into the oven
Cook Mode: the next step, Prep Turkey, in large type with a 26-minute countdown and a Done button
Running Late: dinner is now projected for 9:25 PM, with options to move dinner or keep the time

A roast dinner is one hot oven

The classic Sunday roast is kind to a single oven: chicken, potatoes, vegetables and Yorkshire puddings all cook at 425°F (220°C), so nothing waits for the temperature to change. The hard part is space and order. The chicken goes in first and comes out at 4:45 PM to rest for 15 minutes; the potatoes need 45 minutes, the vegetables 35, and the puddings the last 25, so the oven fills up in the final three quarters of an hour.

If your oven only fits four dishes, the planner counts that too — change Dishes that fit in one oven under Your kitchen and it will stagger them or tell you which one doesn't fit.

Worked example

Roast chicken dinner at 5:00 PM

Dinner
5:00 PM
First step
3:10 PM
Cooking day
1 hr 50 min
Oven changes
0
  1. 3:10 PM−1:50Preheat oven to 425°FAllow about 15 min
  2. 3:10 PM−1:50Prep Roast Chicken15 min hands-on
  3. 3:25 PM−1:35Roast Chicken into the oven1 hr 20 min · at 425°F
  4. 3:55 PM−1:05Prep Roast Potatoes15 min hands-on
  5. 4:10 PM−0:50Prep Roasted Vegetables15 min hands-on
  6. 4:15 PM−0:45Roast Potatoes into the oven45 min · at 425°F
  7. 4:25 PM−0:35Prep Yorkshire Pudding10 min hands-on
  8. 4:25 PM−0:35Roasted Vegetables into the oven35 min · at 425°F
  9. 4:35 PM−0:25Prep Gravy5 min hands-on
  10. 4:35 PM−0:25Yorkshire Pudding into the oven25 min · at 425°F
  11. 4:40 PM−0:20Start Gravy on the stove20 min
  12. 4:45 PM−0:15Roast Chicken out of the ovenRest 15 min, loosely covered
  13. 5:00 PM0:00Yorkshire Pudding out of the ovenStraight to the table
  14. 5:00 PM0:00Roast Potatoes out of the ovenStraight to the table
  15. 5:00 PM0:00Gravy off the heatStraight to the table
  16. 5:00 PM0:00Roasted Vegetables out of the ovenStraight to the table
  17. 5:00 PM0:00Roast Chicken rested — ready to carveServe now
  18. 5:00 PM0:00Dinner is readyEverything should land together

Sunday lunch at 1:00, in °C

The same roast for a 1 o'clock lunch: preheat to 220°C at 11:10 AM, chicken in at 11:25 AM, puddings in at 12:35 PM. Switch the planner to °C and every temperature follows. Fan ovens usually run about 20°C lower for the same result (the UK Food Standards Agency gives 180°C as 160°C fan); follow your recipe and check the meat with a thermometer.

Roast dinner start times

Roast chicken dinner (chicken, potatoes, vegetables, gravy, Yorkshire puddings), one oven.
Dinner atFirst stepChicken inChicken out
12:00 PM10:10 AM10:25 AM11:45 AM
1:00 PM11:10 AM11:25 AM12:45 PM
2:00 PM12:10 PM12:25 PM1:45 PM
5:00 PM3:10 PM3:25 PM4:45 PM
6:00 PM4:10 PM4:25 PM5:45 PM

Beef or lamb instead of chicken

Roast beef and lamb usually roast lower — 325°F or 350°F — than the potatoes and puddings want. That's where one oven gets tight, because the oven has to climb to 425°F after the meat comes out. The planner handles it the same way as the prime rib Christmas dinner: it uses the meat's rest to heat the oven. If the puddings, potatoes and a 400°F vegetable can't all fit, it will say which ones clash and suggest a fix.

Questions people ask

What time should I put the chicken in for Sunday dinner at 5?

For this roast chicken dinner in one oven at 425°F, at about 3:25 PM. It comes out at 4:45 PM and rests 15 minutes while the puddings finish.

When do Yorkshire puddings go in?

Last. They need a hot oven and are best straight from it, so the planner gives them the final 25 minutes before you eat.

How long should a roast chicken rest?

The planner allows 15 minutes, loosely covered. Chicken is safe at 165°F (74°C), measured with a food thermometer.