Cooking Techniques 18 Make-Ahead Main Courses By Food & Wine Editors Updated on January 2, 2023 Share Tweet Pin Email Trending Videos Photo: Jennifer Chong Whether you're planning to entertain guests or simply anticipating a tight meal schedule, it's smart to have some recipes in your back pocket that can be prepared largely in advance. From Peppercorn Roast Beef with Horseradish Cream to Birria Tacos and Short Rib Chili, here is our roundup of delicious make-ahead dishes to please any crowd. 01 of 18 Garlic-Butter Rib Roast Photo by Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Lydia Pursell This impressive, flavor-packed rib roast recipe from chef John Somerall is perfect for a celebration. The secret? A compound butter made with garlic, anchovies, herbs, and shallot. The roast can be prepped the night before and stored in the fridge until ready to bake — just bring it to room temperature before roasting. Get the Recipe 02 of 18 Bò Kho (Vietnamese Beef Stew) Greg DuPree A baguette and bò kho are great meal partners, but you also can serve the stew over pasta — try it over boiled egg noodles or rice noodles (select pappardelle-size noodles, such as A Taste of Thai brand). Get the Recipe 03 of 18 Philadelphia Roast Pork Sandwiches Photo by Fred Hardy / Food Styling by Ali Ramee / Prop Styling by Christina Brockman These sandwiches combine roasted pork with melty provolone cheese and broccoli rabe for a seriously satisfying bite. The vegetable's bitter, bright flavor balances the fattiness of the pork, which is incredibly tender and buttery with a flavorful crust. The provolone brings sharpness and helps keep the bottom of the roll from getting too soggy, and the mayo — which has a punch of acidity from pickled peperoncini and its brine — is the finishing touch. Get the Recipe 04 of 18 Vegetable and Ravioli Lasagna Rick Poon Fresh spinach ravioli are a clever shortcut for making lasagna: Each ravioli is already a mini layer of pasta, cheese, and vegetable. This recipe is especially fast to make using pre-roasted or grilled vegetables from the deli counter. Get the Recipe 05 of 18 Roast Chicken and Warm Escarole Caesar Photo by Antonis Achilleos / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Hannah Greenwood This dish from the menu at Dusek's in Chicago is a sleeper hit, combining comforting roast chicken and the briny flavors of Caesar salad for a cozy meal. The savory, smoky marinated chicken is a perfect match for the just-wilted escarole, which still retains some crunch and is slightly bitter. Tender roasted potatoes add some extra heft to the preparation, and a homemade Caesar dressing brings it all together. Get the Recipe 06 of 18 Sardinian Stuffed Eggplant Quentin Bacon Chef Efisio Farris says that his mother used only eggplants from the first pick of the season (le primizie) for this dish because of their supple texture and earthy-sweet flavor without a hint of bitterness. But if you don't have the primizie option, seek out firm, heavy eggplants with smooth, evenly colored skin. Get the Recipe 07 of 18 Peppercorn Roast Beef with Horseradish Cream Jennifer Chong To make this tender beef roast, brothers and restaurateurs Nakul and Arjun Mahendro start with a center-cut strip roast, which they spread with peppercorns, salt, mustard, and rosemary leaves. An overnight chill seasons and tenderizes the meat and also dries the outside of the roast nicely, helping to create a crispy crust after roasting. Get the Recipe 08 of 18 Stuffed Pork Tenderloins with Bacon and Apple-Riesling Sauce Kirsten Strecker Debra Whiting, the late chef and co-owner of Red Newt Winery Bistro in New York's Finger Lakes, loved the fresh goat cheese from the local Lively Run Dairy so much that she always worked it into her dinner menu. Here, she mixed the cheese with apple, sausage, and greens, then stuffed it inside a bacon-wrapped pork tenderloin. Get the Recipe 09 of 18 Birria Tacos Greg Dupree Chef Claudette Zepeda combines two meats to create the best balance of tender texture (from the chuck roast) and succulence (from the short ribs). These birria tacos get slow-cooked flavor from the adobo sauce. Get the Recipe 10 of 18 Woven Lasagna with Prosciutto and Fresh Spinach Sauce Photo by Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Torie Cox / Prop Styling by Thom Driver Weaving the pasta sheets in this lasagna allows the outer pieces to bubble and crisp in the oven around the creamy, rustic prosciutto-ricotta filling. The lasagna needs to set up in the refrigerator for at least six hours; the assembled lasagna may be frozen and thawed in the fridge before slicing and roasting. The spinach sauce may be made up to a day ahead. Once the lasagna has chilled, it takes mere minutes to heat and serve this stunning, cover-worthy recipe, making it ideal for a dinner party. Get the Recipe 11 of 18 Teff Tagliatelle with Niter Kibbeh Photo by Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Torie Cox / Prop Styling by Lydia Pursell In traditional Ethiopian niter kibbeh, whole spices like nigella, coriander, and cardamom are bloomed in clarified butter, or ghee, then strained. Here, chef Yohanis Gebreyesus leaves the toasted spices in to add texture to this simple but luxurious sauce for pasta made with earthy, fragrant teff. Get the Recipe 12 of 18 Beef Stew in Red Wine Sauce Courtesy of Tom Hopkins and The Family of Jacques Pépin This is the quintessential recipe for beef stew with red wine. Chef Jacques Pépin's mother served it at her restaurant, Le Pélican, where she made it with tougher cuts of meat. Jacques likes the flatiron — a long, narrow cut that's extremely lean but becomes tender and stays moist. He doesn't use stock, demi-glace, or even water in his stew, relying instead on robust red wine for the deep-flavored sauce. Get the Recipe 13 of 18 Vegetarian 15-Bean Soup Photo by Antonis Achilleos / Prop Styling by Christina Daley / Food Styling by Ali Ramee Can't make up your mind whether to make bean or lentil soup? Grab a bag of 15-bean soup mix from the dry goods aisle at the market and make this flavorful, hearty soup instead. Bean and lentil soups like this one are often cooked with a ham bone or smoked ham hock; here, we add a few Parmesan cheese rinds instead, which add a surprising depth of flavor and umami when simmered with a pot of soup, stew, or even pasta sauce. Get the Recipe 14 of 18 Herb Garden Matzo Ball Soup Photo by Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Thom Driver Matzo ball soup gets a glow-up in this version by cookbook author Leah Koenig, with fresh parsley, dill, chives, and fennel fronds in the matzo balls themselves, plus more herbs, lemon zest, and edible flowers adding color and bright, spring flavors to each finished bowl of soup. Get the Recipe 15 of 18 Umami-Mayo Roast Chicken Photo by Eva Kolenko / Food Styling by Carrie Purcell / Prop Styling by Jillian Knox The secret to this juicy roast chicken is umami mayo, a two-ingredient powerhouse combination of brewer's yeast and mayonnaise. Slathering the bird with this mixture before it goes into the oven yields maximal umami flavor and helps lock in the juiciness. Letting the chicken stand uncovered in the refrigerator overnight helps to dry out the skin for a crispier bird. Get the Recipe 16 of 18 Chicken, Cheese, and Mushroom Enchiladas with Sour Cream Slaw © Corey Hendrickson Crunchy coleslaw made with a sour cream dressing is a cooling accompaniment to these spicy-sauced enchiladas. The assembled enchiladas can be refrigerated overnight; bring to room temperature before baking. Get the Recipe 17 of 18 Short Rib Chili Photo by Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Tyna Hoang / Prop Styling by Christina Daley Fresh jalapeños, smoky chipotles in adobo, and fruity ancho chile powder give this thick, meaty short rib chili layers of heat, while red wine and tomato add acidity to balance out the richness of the tender short ribs. It can be made up to three days ahead and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Get the Recipe 18 of 18 Kale-Artichoke Stuffed Shells Photo by Greg DuPree / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen Cannellini beans add hearty creaminess to these stuffed shells, while mild heat from Calabrian chiles and earthy sweetness from fennel seeds amp up jarred marinara sauce. Cook a few extra pasta shells to have on hand in case some tear during boiling. Get the Recipe Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit