Christmas dinner on your AGA: a complete timing guide

Christmas dinner on an AGA is different – in the very best way. It's not just about the cooking, though of course it does that beautifully. It's about the sense of calm it brings to the busiest day of the year. Those steady ovens, each working away at their own reliable pace free you to be with your family rather than anxiously watching timers. The gentle radiant heat means less basting, moister meat, and lovely even cooking throughout.

There's a generosity to AGA cooking: if the turkey's ready earlier, it rests longer. If the potatoes need extra time, everything else stays warm. It's this particular grace – this sense of calm whilst Christmas dinner comes together – that our customers tell us about year after year.

This guide walks you through the timing for serving at 2pm. We've assumed you’re cooking for 8 to 10 people with a medium turkey (around 5-6kg) – adjust for larger or smaller birds, but the principles remain the same.

Read this through the day before so you're familiar with the rhythm. Then on Christmas morning, simply follow along.

The day before: setting yourself up for success

Getting ahead is one of the kindest things you can do for yourself. After all, Christmas Day should be spent with family and a glass of something lovely, not frantically peeling vegetables. 

Cook your vegetables separately – carrots, parsnips, Brussels sprouts – until just done. The moment they're tender, plunge them into a bowl of cold water to stop the cooking. Once cool, drain them well and arrange in your serving dishes. Dot with butter, cover with foil, and refrigerate.

On Christmas Day, these dishes can go straight onto the floor of the roasting oven 20 minutes before you want to serve. The residual moisture turns to steam, heating everything through whilst the butter melts into a light glaze.

Other things to do the day before:

Make your stuffing and refrigerate (you'll stuff the turkey just before it goes in the oven). Prepare the bread sauce, cover and pop that in the fridge too. Peel and chop your potatoes, storing them in cold water. Set your table – that’s one less thing to think about tomorrow. If your turkey is frozen, it should already be defrosting in the fridge. A 5-6kg bird needs at least two days, possibly three. 

Christmas morning: how to cook Christmas dinner on an AGA

If you have a traditional AGA, turn up the heat slightly using the control dial first thing. Use your ovens rather than your hotplates wherever possible throughout the day – this keeps the heat steady where you need it most.

If you have a modern electric AGA, you can use your hotplates freely throughout the day – boil the kettle as often as you like, cook on the boiling plate – without affecting your oven temperatures. No more rationing cups of tea on Christmas morning!

8am – Prepare the turkey

Take your turkey out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature whilst you get everything ready – a cold bird will take considerably longer to cook, perhaps an hour more.

Remove the giblets and set aside (simmered with an onion, carrot and herbs, they make wonderful gravy stock). Slip your hand between the breast and skin to create a pocket, then slide softened butter underneath. This keeps the delicate breast meat beautifully moist. Stuff the neck end only with your prepared stuffing, securing the skin with a cocktail stick if needed. Season generously all over.

Place the turkey in your large roasting tin. We describe two methods below – read both and choose the one that suits you. For the slow roasting method, add a small cup of water to the tin. Lay rashers of streaky bacon over the breast to keep it moist, then create a loose foil tent over the whole bird.

9:30am – Turkey goes in 

There are two methods to choose between. Read through both options and choose the one that suits you best. 

The slow method: Place the turkey on the floor grid of the roasting oven for one hour to brown nicely and get the internal temperature rising safely. Then transfer to the simmering oven for a gentle, hands-off cook of another 5–6 hours. This slow-roasting approach is what AGAs were designed for – gentle radiant heat that produces incredibly succulent meat. No basting needed, no checking every twenty minutes. Just let it cook. AGA Christmas turkey cooking times are wonderfully forgiving – the bird will happily sit in the simmering oven for an extra hour if your timing shifts.

The fast method: Keep the turkey in the roasting oven throughout on the lowest runners for about 2½ to 3 hours. Check and baste occasionally – though the AGA's moist heat means this is less critical than with conventional ovens. This approach gives you more roasting space for other dishes throughout the morning.

11am – Perfect roast potatoes

For the crispiest roast potatoes, start with a floury variety – Maris Piper or Desiree are ideal. Drain your potatoes and place them in a pan with salted water, a couple of sprigs of thyme, and a bashed clove of garlic.

Bring to the boil on the boiling plate and cook for about 5 minutes until the edges are just softening. Drain them well, remove the thyme and garlic, then give the pan a good shake with the lid on to fluff up the edges – this is what creates those wonderfully crispy bits. If you’d like a little extra crunch (and who wouldn’t?) scratch the surface with a fork. Leave them to cool and steam dry.

Heat your chosen fat in a roasting tin on the floor of the roasting oven until it's properly hot. The fat should be shimmering when the potatoes go in.

11:30am – Potatoes go in

Carefully add your prepared potatoes to the hot fat and turn them to coat completely. Hang the tin from the top runners of the roasting oven. They'll take about an hour to reach that perfect golden crispness – beautifully crunchy on the outside with fluffy centres. Check them at 45 minutes and turn them once during cooking.

12:30pm – Turkey checkpoint

Check your turkey. Pierce the thickest part of the thigh with a small sharp knife or skewer – if the juices run clear, it's done. If there's any hint of pink, give it another 20 to 30 minutes. A meat thermometer should read 70-72°C in the thigh.

Once cooked, remove the foil and bacon, then return the turkey to the roasting oven for 20 to 30 minutes to bronze the skin beautifully. Meanwhile, pour the lovely juices into a jug for your gravy – let the fat rise to the top whilst the turkey finishes.

1pm – Turkey rests

Resting makes a real difference to turkey. The juices redistribute, the meat relaxes, and carving becomes infinitely easier. This is when you'll cook your vegetables and make your gravy – everything comes together whilst the turkey stays perfectly warm.

Transfer your bronzed turkey to a serving platter, cover it loosely with foil and a clean tea towel, and simply leave it somewhere warm but out of the way. Beside the AGA is perfect. 

Your roasting oven is now free for the final flourish.

1:15pm – Gravy and final preparations

If you've made stuffing separately in a dish, pop it into the roasting oven now (or the baking oven if you need the space). It needs about 30 minutes to heat through and crisp on top.

Now for the gravy. Skim the fat from your turkey juices (save it for roast potatoes another day). Pour the juices into a saucepan with your stock – giblet stock if you made it, or your usual. Let it bubble gently on the simmering plate, stirring, until it reaches the consistency you want. Season well and keep warm.

Warm your bread sauce gently on the simmering plate, stirring occasionally.

1:40pm – Vegetables go in

Take your prepared vegetable dishes from the fridge, leaving the foil covers in place, and slide them straight onto the floor grid of the roasting oven. They need 20 minutes to heat through – the foil traps the moisture, which turns to steam and reheats everything whilst the butter melts into a glaze.

1:50pm – Final checks

Your potatoes should be perfectly golden. If they need a few more minutes, that's fine – everything else can wait. Remove them when they're ready and keep warm in the warming oven. Check your vegetables are hot, your stuffing is crisped, your gravy is ready. Pop your serving plates and platters into the warming oven to heat through.

2pm – Time to feast

Carve your beautiful, rested turkey. The meat will be tender and juicy, the breast perfectly moist, and the legs cooked through. Arrange everything on warm platters from the warming oven.

All that’s left to do is gather everyone at the table, pour the wine and enjoy.

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Many of our customers are making the switch from older AGAs to newer models – keeping the warmth and character they love, with the control and efficiency they need. Enjoy 20% off when you trade in your old AGA, until 9th January 2026. 

Explore AGA cookers here.

We have a couple of installation slots left before Christmas if you're keen to move quickly, or we're happy to store your new AGA until you're ready for it next year. 

If you have questions or would like to arrange a service before Christmas, please get in touch.