Prepful
The Thanksgiving countdown
Dates are for Thanksgiving 2026. Work back from the day.
Three weeks out (by Nov 5): headcount and menu. Count who's coming, then pick the dishes. Keep it to one new recipe; the rest should be dishes someone has made before.
Two weeks out (by Nov 12): every recipe in one place. Collect the links, cards, and screenshots now, not on Wednesday night. Check oven space too: list which dishes need the oven, at what temperature, and for how long.
One week out (by Nov 19): the long-lasting half of the shopping. Frozen turkey, canned goods, baking supplies, drinks, foil, and roasting pans. Stores get busier every day closer to Thursday.
The weekend before: move a frozen turkey to the fridge. Use the thawing table below.
Tuesday (Nov 24): fresh shopping. Produce, herbs, dairy, and bread.
Wednesday (Nov 25): make ahead. Pies, cranberry sauce, and chopping. Anything that reheats well can be done today.
Thursday: work back from dinner time. Start with the turkey's roasting and resting time, then fit the sides around the oven. Turkey is done at 165 °F in the thickest part.
After: leftovers. Refrigerate them in shallow containers and eat them within four days.
When to start thawing a frozen turkey
USDA guidance: about 24 hours in the fridge for every 4 to 5 pounds.
| Turkey weight | Days in the fridge | Move it to the fridge by |
|---|---|---|
| 4 to 12 lb | 1 to 3 days | Monday, Nov 23 |
| 12 to 16 lb | 3 to 4 days | Sunday, Nov 22 |
| 16 to 20 lb | 4 to 5 days | Saturday, Nov 21 |
| 20 to 24 lb | 5 to 6 days | Friday, Nov 20 |
A thawed turkey keeps in the fridge for another day or two, so starting early is safe. Source: USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service.
A Thanksgiving menu to start from
One dinner for about 12. Half of it is made before Thursday, which frees the oven for the turkey.
Make ahead (Monday to Wednesday)
Make-ahead turkey wing gravy: made with roasted wings up to 3 days ahead, then finished with the turkey's drippings on Thursday.
Cranberry orange sauce: keeps a week in the fridge.
Make-ahead baked mashed potatoes: assembled up to 3 days ahead, baked at 350 °F on the day.
Classic pumpkin pie with a butter crust: bake it Wednesday so it sets overnight. The apple pie with caramel streusel goes alongside.
Thursday
Herb butter roast turkey with lemon: about 3½ hours in the oven for a 12-serving bird, then 30 to 40 minutes of rest. Feeding four? Make the garlic-herb roasted turkey breast instead.
Sausage and sage stuffing: baked in a dish at 375 °F, not in the bird.
Sweet potato pecan crumble: baked at 350 °F under a brown sugar and pecan topping.
Green bean casserole with crispy shallots: from scratch, no canned soup.
Maple bacon roasted Brussels sprouts: a hot oven while the turkey rests.
Save the dishes you want to Prepful and put them on Thursday. Every ingredient from every dish adds up into one shopping list.
One shopping list for every dish
The hard part of Thanksgiving shopping is adding up five recipes that all want butter. Prepful does the adding.
Save each recipe to Prepful. From TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube, tap Share and pick Prepful. For a recipe website, paste the link into Recipes > Add > Import a Recipe. For a card or cookbook page, go to Recipes > Add > Upload a Photo.
Open Plan, go to the week of November 22, and tap + on Thursday to add each dish.
Open each dish on your plan and set the servings for your table. The shopping list scales to match.
Open Shop. Every ingredient from every dish is added up into one list, grouped by section: produce, dairy, and so on.
Add the things that aren't in any recipe by name: foil, a roasting pan, drinks, ice.
Making the pies on Wednesday? Put them on Wednesday instead, and their ingredients still land on the same list. Saving the family recipes from cards? See how to digitize recipe cards.
Split the shopping in two
The countdown has two shopping trips: the long-lasting things a week ahead, the fresh things on Tuesday. Use one list for both. On the first trip, check off the canned, frozen, and pantry items as they go in the cart. On Tuesday, what's left unchecked is your fresh list.
Then the leftovers
Plan Friday and Saturday before the week starts: leftover turkey sandwiches, a soup from the carcass, a turkey and sweet potato stew, whatever your family actually eats. In Prepful, mark those nights as Leftovers on the plan so nobody buys groceries for a dinner you already have. More on that in how to meal plan with the recipes you've saved.
Cooking for a smaller table this year? A weekly meal plan for two uses the same one-list approach.