Make-Ahead Easter Menu: A 3-Day Timeline

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• The Timeline at a Glance
• Four to Five Days Before
• Three Days Before
• Two Days Before
• The Day Before
• Easter Morning
• My Make Ahead Easter Menu
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Four to Five Days Before

• If your ham is frozen, move it to the fridge now. Plan on about one day of thawing for every four to five pounds, so a ten pound ham needs at least two full days.
• Do the big grocery shop. Leave only fresh bread, herbs and salad greens for the day before.
• Make sure you have enough foil, a roasting pan and an instant read thermometer.

Three Days Before

• Hard boil and peel eggs for deviled eggs, storing them whole in the fridge.
• Bake a cake, bars or cookies that taste just as good, or better, a few days in.

Two Days Before

• Wash and cut vegetables for sides and store them in the fridge.
• Bake a pie or tart, which is often better rested a day or two.
• Check that the ham is fully thawed. If it still feels firm in the center, give it another day in the fridge.

The Day Before

• Assemble any casserole and refrigerate it unbaked.
• Make the deviled egg filling and store it separately from the whites so they do not go soft.
• Set the table and pull out serving dishes.

Easter Morning

Here is the order I follow for a 1 PM dinner with a 9 to 10 pound spiral ham. Shift every time if you eat earlier or later.

1. 10:00. Take the ham out of the fridge so it can sit for 30 minutes.
2. 10:30. Heat the oven to 275°F. Set the ham cut side down in a roasting pan with half an inch of water, cover it tightly with foil and bake.
3. 12:05. Check the temperature. At about 135°F, take off the foil, brush on the glaze, raise the oven to 400°F and bake uncovered 10 to 15 minutes until it reaches 140°F.
4. 12:20. Take the ham out to rest under loose foil. Put the casseroles and vegetables into the hot oven.
5. 12:40. Fill the deviled eggs and dress any cold sides.
6. 12:50. Warm the rolls wrapped in foil for 10 minutes while you slice the ham.
7. 1:00. Bring everything to the table.

My Make Ahead Easter Menu

Here is the menu I plan this timeline around, so you can see where each dish fits. For the full ham method by weight, I cook it the same way as my honey glazed ham.

• Honey Glazed Ham, baked Easter morning with the glaze brushed on at the end.
• Best Ever Deviled Eggs, with the eggs boiled three days out and filled right before serving.
• Hashbrown Breakfast Casserole, assembled the day before for an easy Easter brunch.
• Homemade Cinnamon Rolls, shaped the night before and baked in the morning.
• Roasted Asparagus and Tomatoes, prepped two days out and roasted while the ham rests.
• Irish Mashed Potatoes, made the day before and reheated with a splash of milk.
• Fluffy Dinner Rolls, baked a day ahead and warmed in foil.
• Iced Lemon Pound Cake, baked three days out since it only gets better.

Spread the ham, sides and dessert across the three days before Easter, and the day itself is mostly reheating and setting the table.

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