310 ahead recipes

Why buy salad dressing when it's easy to make your own, here's a Raspberry Walnut dressing that can be made ahead and is ready when you are. Makes about two cups of dressing.

Big-batch slushy punch made with cherry gelatin, pineapple juice, orange juice, and ginger ale. Freezes ahead, thaws to a rosy slush, and serves 46. The go-to punch for weddings and showers.

Baked curried fruit casserole with pears, peaches, pineapple, apricots, and cherries layered with slivered almonds in a buttery brown sugar curry glaze. A retro holiday side dish that's best made a day ahead.

Rich West Indian Christmas cake soaked in rum and sherry with dried fruits, warm spices, and browning for deep color. Start the fruit a month ahead for a dense, boozy holiday cake worth the wait.

Rocky Road refrigerator cake layers fudgy coffee-spiked brownies with whipped cocoa cream, mini marshmallows, and chopped walnuts. A make-ahead chocolate dessert that turns richer and sliceable after a night in the fridge.

Cauliflower and potatoes mashed into a fluffy purée with butter, eggs, and Gruyère cheese, then baked until golden and broiled with a cheesy crust. A comforting make-ahead casserole that's ready when you are.

Easy new potato salad with skin-on baby potatoes folded into creamy dill dressing and fresh green onions. Make it the day ahead so the flavors mingle and the spuds drink in the herbs.

Quick bread mix combines whole-wheat and all-purpose flours with baking powder, soda, cinnamon, and salt for a make-ahead 2½ cup pantry staple. Use in mango pecan, banana, or zucchini quick breads.

Swiss vegetable dip blends Knorr vegetable soup mix into sour cream and mayonnaise, then chills until the dried vegetables soften into a creamy, herby crudite dip. A make-ahead party classic with three ingredients.

Too much fruit salad is a big-batch medley of pineapple, melon, citrus, peaches, kiwi, and banana bathed in apricot nectar and chilled overnight so the flavors meld. A bright, make-ahead crowd salad.

Fresh asparagus spears with a make-ahead orange and lime citrus cream sauce. Just 50 calories per serving, this elegant low-fat side dish is ready in 30 minutes and doubles as an impressive entertaining platter.

Homemade chocolate sauce with semi-sweet chocolate, butter, sugar, and a splash of vanilla. Glossy, pourable, and shelf-stable for 6 months in the fridge. The make-ahead dessert sauce that beats every jarred version.

Nutella ice cream cups layered with chocolate ice cream, coffee ice cream, and swirls of Nutella topped with a toasted hazelnut. A no-cook frozen dessert that makes ahead beautifully for up to 2 weeks.

A make-ahead chocolate wafer crumb mix that stores for 6 months. Pull out a cup or two anytime you want a fast no-bake pie crust for cheesecake, mousse pie, or ice cream pie.

Cold orange truffle souffles: an airy Grand Marnier orange mousse set in collared ramekins to rise like a baked souffle, each hiding a chocolate truffle in its center. A no-bake, make-ahead showstopper dessert.

Angel pie with crisp meringue crust holding a silky lemon curd folded into clouds of whipped cream. The shell bakes low and slow until shatter-crisp, then chills overnight for a tangy-sweet make-ahead dessert.