385 ahead recipes

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.

Fruit nut breakfast bars with rolled oats, chopped almonds, and golden raisins bound with brown sugar and a hit of almond extract. Make-ahead bars that beat any granola bar in the cereal aisle.

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.

Par-cooked balti meat, the make-ahead base for a balti curry: lamb braised with onions, tomato, ginger and balti spices, then the aromatics blended into a thick curry sauce ready for the final balti cook.

Tender beef short ribs get a head start in the microwave, then hit the grill for smoky, charred edges and sticky honey-chili glaze. Ready in under an hour with a quick ketchup-based barbecue marinade.

Easy, spicy-hot cold noodles for summer -- This recipe is an easy prepare-ahead dish for a hot summer day. It makes a good barbecue side dish for all of us who are tired of potato salads.

Creamy vegan tempeh party spread with tahini, black olives, cumin, and turmeric, shaped into a ball and served with crackers or veggies. A high-protein, make-ahead appetizer that's a plant-based spin on a cheese ball.

Minted fruit salad tossed in a citrus syrup of orange juice, lemon, and a whisper of mint extract. Make-ahead friendly, the fruit drinks in the syrup as it chills, turning ordinary fruit into a brunch centerpiece.

No-egg bran muffins made with a make-ahead batter that keeps up to 3 months in the fridge. Buttermilk and a double dose of bran cereal deliver tender crumb and serious fiber. Bake fresh muffins on demand.

Brightly colored vegetables soak up a tangy vinegar-oil marinade, softening just enough while keeping their crisp bite. Broccoli, carrots, peppers, and zucchini mingle in this make-ahead salad that gets better as it sits and flavors meld.

A vibrant green puréed soup with russet and sweet potatoes, peas, lettuce, and dill. Serve it hot or chilled, make it 3 days ahead, or freeze it for months. One of the most versatile soups in your rotation.

Steakhouse pan-broiled steak done right in a cast iron skillet, salted ahead and seared in its own beef fat for a deep crust, then finished with a quick red wine and brandy pan sauce mounted with butter.