- - Christmas Cooking Made Easy: Martha Stewart’s Top Meals to Prep Ahead

Nina ClevingerDecember 23, 2025 at 1:22 AM

0

Photo by: Peter Kramer/NBC/NBC Newswire/NBCUniversal via Getty Images

While Santa Claus is satisfied with milk and cookies, the rest of us tend to enjoy a full holiday spread—often shared with friends and family.

The kitchen can quickly become a hectic place, but Martha Stewart has a handful of foods she recommends making in advance for easy Christmas cooking on the big day.

When it comes to one of Stewart's go-to dishes—made special in her youth by her mother, Martha Kostyra—the potato pierogi is something that can be prepped ahead of time and reheated on the day of your holiday feast.

The dumplings themselves are made with sour cream and filled with mashed potatoes.

According to Stewart's Instagram, "Big Martha's" pierogies are made with the "secret ingredient" cream cheese, "which makes the mash rich and smooth."

If stored in a proper airtight container, pierogies can last from two-four days in the fridge and up to three months in the freezer. To reheat them, they can be fried, boiled, or baked.

Another potato dish that can be prepped in advance? Scalloped potatoes. These savory treats "can be reheated nicely," said Stewart, per Food & Wine.

Stewart continues, "your beautiful breads can be made in advance," and suggests adding cornbread to your holiday meal roster, for a fun change of pace.

She notes that while you should keep the dry and wet ingredients separated and properly stored until you're ready to bake the dough, it makes the day-of much simpler when you have everything pre-measured, mixed (dry with dry, wet with wet) and ready to put in a pan with no fuss.

While pumpkin may induce Thanksgiving flashbacks, it's one food that can be served and enjoyed both warm and at room temperature, following a proper roasting.

"Any pumpkin or squash recipe can be made a day in advance," Stewart notes.

Pumpkin or squash soup is a recommended option. In fact, most soups can be made ahead of time and frozen.

While it is recommended to avoid freezing any cream or dairy based soups due to textural changes; broth-based, pureed, and vegetable-forward soups are ideal.

Any grains, like rice or pasta, should be cooked separately and added once the soup base has been reheated.

This story was originally published by Parade on Dec 23, 2025, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Original Article on Source

Source: “AOL Entertainment”