How to Create a Cooking Timeline

Whether you’re hosting friends for dinner or hosting your extended family for Thanksgiving or Christmas, it’s important that your food hits the table at the same time. In order to serve food warm from the oven, you need to have a cooking timeline! Learn what a cooking timeline is, as well as how to build one, in this tutorial.

Hosting season is upon us!

As someone who has spent a large portion of her entertaining experience stressing over making sure everything is served at the proper time, I want to share my experience and explain how to build a cooking timeline to you today.

This requires some brain power on the front end, but it will save your backside as you’re preparing, cooking and expediting your meal because it’s already written down and plotted out.

So…

What is a cooking timeline?

A cooking timeline is a list that includes what needs to be cooked when so that all your dishes can hit the table around the same time.

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It sounds complicated, but it’s actually pretty simple if you prepare in advance and give yourself the time to wrap your mind around it.

Please know that this part is not as time-consuming as the cooking is, but it is just as important.

In fact, it will make your life so much easier when you are cooking that I consider it time well-spent.

How to make a cooking timeline:

Every gathering I host at my home, I write a detailed timeline for the cooking so I know when I need to start cooking and can ensure that my dishes are ready at the time I want to serve them.

1. Decide what time you want to serve your food.

This is a super important first step because it will inform everything else. Depending on the holiday you’re hosting and the timeliness of your guests, this should be around 45 minutes to an hour after guests arrive.

Obviously, this is dependent on what you’re serving, who is attending and if people will expect to hang out before the food is served.

Choose the time — any time — and write it down.

Commit to the time you’re aiming for, though it is a good thing to note that you might need to build in some wiggle room since sometimes, dishes take longer than expected, etc.

2. Choose your recipes.

Now that you know when you’re going to be serving your food, choose what you are going to be serving.

Selecting your recipes is a secret to success… and choosing them intentionally will help you make use of your space!

For example, if you have a single oven in your kitchen, you should not plan to serve multiple dishes that utilize the oven.

Instead, make use of an Instant Pot, slow cooker and stovetop.

Also, choose some recipes that could potentially be made in advance. (Think casseroles that can be put together and baked off.)

3. Gather your recipes and do a read-through.

First and foremost, print out any recipes you’ll be cooking from websites. Open up the cookbook(s) you are cooking from, too.

Read through the recipes with a fine-tooth comb.

• Note the total times, the prep times, the rest times and anything else that might add into their timing.
• Write this down on the top of your printed out recipes.
• Make note of anything that can be made in advance.
• Make note of anything you’d like to purchase from the store pre-made. This can include store-bought shortcuts, like pre-chopped veggies or a pre-made Angel Food cake.

4. Hash out the details.

Choose the recipe that takes the longest, and write these details down on your cooking timeline.

I like to format my cooking timeline (available in the download above!) in increments of time which include:

• The week before
• The day before
• The day of

And from there, I write down the actual time I will be doing the task and a detailed description of what the task is.

For example, if a turkey takes 4 hours to roast and requires a half hour of rest time before you serve it, you’ll need to start that turkey at least 5 hours before you plan to serve your meal to give it some wiggle room.

Work backwards and continue this process until you have every dish included on your cooking timeline.

5. Build in time for yourself in the timeline, too.

It sounds silly, but adding this to your cooking timeline will ensure you have time to shower and get ready. That way, you’ll be fresh and happy when guests arrive.

How can you squeeze in this time? Look and see if you’ve got any swath of time when food is cooking and doesn’t need babysitting. For example, I like to shower once the food is prepped and in the oven, assuming it doesn’t need constant watching. If you’re roasting a whole turkey, there is more than enough time to shower, do your hair, makeup, etc.

6. Go forth, and make it happen!

Write out your shopping list, and shop for your groceries early.

Start your cooking day the way you like to start your best days, be it with a big cup of coffee and reviewing your cooking timeline or a cup of tea and a book.

Get started when the timeline tells you, and make it happen.

I like to keep my cooking timeline on my fridge or somewhere in the kitchen so I can check it as I do my work.

Take deep breaths. Try not to stress (even though it’s really easy to stress when you’re making a holiday meal or a dinner party meal.)

You’ve got this!

More things to consider while making your timeline:

• Build in wiggle room. Inevitably, one dish will take longer than expected. I like to give myself an hour between when things are supposed to come out of the oven and when I serve the meal.
• Can any recipes be made in advance? Build time in the days before your meal to do this! Use the same format as above and plot it out for that specific time. Many desserts, as well as appetizers, can be put together early. As can casseroles.
• Do you want to purchase anything pre-made from the store? There’s no shame in this. Many grocery stores roast turkeys for customers, and many BBQ places here in Texas will smoke them. Place your order in advance if that’s what you want, as they will most likely not be available without a pre-order.
• Similarly, get ahead on the prepwork. This includes chopping, sauteeing, etc. Knock that out ahead of time, and store the items in your fridge (in airtight containers) so that you’re cooking less the day of your holiday meal.