212 ahead recipes

This Christmas pudding has plenty of delicious fruit and nuts, but it's really simple to make - just plan ahead and then make the warm vanilla-bean custard on the day.

Make-ahead breakfast casserole that's perfect for Sunday brunch or breakfast. Most breakfast casseroles are huge amounts, this one has been scaled to make just two hearty servings so you can enjoy it anytime.

A Moroccan-style carrot salad of tender cooked carrots tossed warm in a zesty dressing of lemon, garlic, cumin, and cayenne. Vegan, make-ahead, and even better after a few hours in the fridge.

Tangy Dijon mustard and red wine vinegar wake up tender new potatoes in this make-ahead potato salad loaded with colorful bell peppers and a hint of heat from red pepper flakes.

Rice vermicelli tangles with crisp cucumber, bok choy, and matchstick carrots in a creamy peanut butter sauce spiked with chili garlic paste, ginger, and fresh cilantro for a make-ahead Asian noodle salad.

Double oat granola bakes rolled oats, oat bran, and wheat germ with pecans and dried fruit, sweetened with honey and applesauce instead of heavy oil. A crunchy, high-fiber, low-fat breakfast you can make ahead.

With only four ingredients you can make this tasty and easy dish easily at home. You can effortlessly prepare it ahead of time for a picnic or have everyone design their own for a customized flavor.

Italian asparagus. How to cook asparagus Italian-style. Classic flavor-packed cold marinated asparagus with an onion, caper, lemon and mint dressing. Perfect to make ahead and serve anytime with simple ingredients. It's even vegan and vegetarian.

This hearty dish features jumbo pasta shells filled with a savory ground beef mixture, seasoned with garlic, onions, and herbs, then baked under a rich spaghetti sauce and melted mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses. It’s a crowd-pleasing, make-ahead meal that’s freezer-friendly and skips ricotta for a lighter twist.

Crispy, savory whole-wheat scallion pancakes, a Chinese restaurant favorite, made healthier with whole-wheat flour. Perfect as a side or appetizer, these pancakes are flaky, golden, and packed with green onion flavor. Make the dough ahead and freeze for quick meals.

Toasting quinoa in pan creates much more flavor than just boiling it directly. Quinoa is tossed with a light yet tasty vinaigrette, sugar snap peas, apples, bell peppers, celery, red onions and toasted walnuts. You can make the salad one day ahead, it tastes even better next day.

This colorful yet flavorful salad is made with assorted vegetables and cooked rice, tossed with a light and tasty soy-maple dressing. It's a refreshing summer salad that can be served with any BBQ. Make it a day ahead, put in the frige, it tastes even better next day.

This Punjabi dish, with some variation in spices, is eaten over all of northern India. Paneer is a fresh milk cheese with an interesting, slightly chewy consistency. It's easy to make, but requires planning ahead. You can substitute a diced 6- or 8-ounce cake of pressed tofu for it in this recipe.

Raspberry truffle trifle layered with sponge cake, homemade custard, raspberry sauce, and chocolate truffle sauce. A showstopping make-ahead dessert for 16.

Basic yeast dough is an enriched egg-and-shortening dough that's the foundation for cloverleaf rolls, cheese crescents, sesame buns, or cinnamon loaf. Make ahead and refrigerate up to 5 days.

Millionaire Chicken: Chinese cold chicken salad with Shantung cabbage, tossed in a spicy hot-oil dressing of Sichuan peppercorns, hoisin, and honey. Make-ahead friendly.