The 3 Dishes You Can Make Ahead Of Christmas Dinner To Save Time According To Gordon Ramsay

The holiday season is finally here — and for many of us, it can be tough to figure out how to find enough hours in a day to manage the logistics of hosting. Thankfully, there are several tips and tricks you can use to get ahead of Christmas dinner prep that will allow you to spend less time in the kitchen and more time enjoying time with your family and friends. In a YouTube video, celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay shared how he prepares stuffing, truffles, and cranberry and applesauce ahead of time to reduce Christmas dinner stress.

Ramsay's British-style stuffing is a bit different than what's typically served in the United States, as it's not quite as simple as bread that's stuffed into a bird while it bakes. In the video, he creates a pork, apricot, pistachio, and sausage stuffing. It's sweet, salty, and full of rich flavor that pairs well with his caramelized cranberry sauce (more on that in a moment). If you're going with an Americanized version, try baking your stuffing in a slow cooker; it's a hands-off way to get the same end result as using your oven.

Let's be clear: You certainly don't need to make both cranberry and applesauce to offer a complete Christmas dinner. As Gordon Ramsay says in the video, "Less is more. I'd rather have five or six things on the plate that taste absolutely delicious than 10 items tasting average." That being said, his recipe combines the two dishes into one, seriously cutting down on prep time (and cutting down on the tartness of the cranberries). Bonus: As the flavors sit in the fridge awaiting Christmas dinner, they'll get to meld and deepen. Ramsay says that you can make his cranberry applesauce three or four days in advance, giving you plenty of time to focus on other holiday festivities.

Finally, prepping dessert ahead of time can give you one less thing to do on Christmas Day. Ramsay makes mint chocolate truffles with the help of his little ones. The process is super simple: Chop up some chocolate (and a pinch of salt to avoid the mistake of under-salting your sweets), add cream, and chill the filling. When it's semi-solid, roll it into balls and dip it into your favorite type of chocolate (then roll it in crushed candy canes if you're feeling extra festive). If you have little ones running around, be sure to involve them in dessert prep! Getting elbow-deep in sugar and chocolate can be a fun family tradition a few days before Santa arrives.