This Thanksgiving stuffing is a mixture of bread cubes, vegetables and plenty of herbs, all baked together until golden brown. A classic stuffing recipe that is a must-have for any holiday!
There are certain items that my family requests every year for Thanksgiving such as sweet candied yams, crock pot mashed potatoes, Thanksgiving punch and this super delicious stuffing.
For me, Thanksgiving is all about the side dishes. Turkey is great and all, but I’m here for the cranberry sauce, potatoes, pies and of course, Thanksgiving stuffing. This is a traditional recipe that tastes so much better than what you’d get out of a box, and also happens to be quite easy to make.
Pair your stuffing with a smoked turkey breast, spiral ham or honey glazed ham for a memorable meal. Don’t forget to make a pecan pie cheesecake for dessert! Need more help with your holiday dinner? Check out my guide on how to cook a turkey.
Table of Contents
Thanksgiving Stuffing Ingredients
To make this savory Thanksgiving stuffing recipe make sure you have bread, butter, onion, celery, garlic, fresh sage, fresh parsley, fresh rosemary, fresh thyme, eggs, chicken broth or turkey broth, salt and black pepper.
How Do You Make Thanksgiving Stuffing?
Make this Thanksgiving stuffing by cutting a crusty bakery style bread into small cubes. Lightly toast the bread cubes, or let them sit out overnight to get stale. Next, sauté onion and celery in butter. Add garlic and cook it for a minute. Place the bread in a large bowl along with the sauteed onions and celery. Add fresh herbs, chicken broth and eggs. Mix everything together, then pour into a baking dish or casserole dish. Drizzle butter over the top and place it in the oven. Once the stuffing is golden brown and cooked through, remove it from the oven. Add a sprinkle of fresh herbs, then serve and enjoy.
Tips For The Perfect Dish
- You can use French bread, Italian bread, or any other type of hearty rustic white bread.
- Fresh sage is important – do not try to substitute dried sage.
- In a pinch you can use store bought stuffing cubes, but I think it’s really worth it to cut up your own fresh bread. It has a much better flavor and texture this way.
- This recipe can easily be doubled for a crowd. Use a larger baking dish such as a 9″x13″ pan, and add 15 minutes to the bake time.
Quick Tip
If the top of your stuffing starts to look overly browned before the baking time is up, you can cover it with foil.
Recipe FAQs
You can assemble this whole stuffing recipe, then cover the pan with foil, and place it in the fridge for up to 8 hours before you plan to bake it. You may need to add another 10-15 minutes to the baking time to compensate for starting with a cold dish.
Stuffing and dressing are actually the same dish, just the name is different! Some parts of the country refer to it as dressing, and other areas refer to it as stuffing. In addition, if the stuffing is actually stuffed inside a turkey, it is more likely to be referred to as stuffing. If it’s served alongside the turkey in a separate pan, it may be called dressing.
Stuffing is made of cubes of bread, eggs, butter, broth, onion, celery, herbs and seasonings. The key is to have all these ingredients in the right proportions for soft, but not mushy, perfectly savory stuffing.
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Flavor Variations
This is a basic recipe that you can dress up by adding other flavors such as meat, fruit and vegetables.
- Apple and Cranberry: Add 1/2 cup dried cranberries along with 1 1/2 cups of apples that have been diced and cooked.
- Sausage and Fennel: Add 1 pound cooked crumbled Italian or breakfast sausage and 3/4 cup diced sauteed fennel bulb.
- Mushroom: Add 1 pound mixed sauteed mushrooms to the recipe. Some great options include cremini, button, portobello or chanterelle mushrooms.
- Bacon and Apple: You can never go wrong with bacon! Add 1/2 pound of cooked, crumbled bacon along with 1 cup of diced cooked apples.
This Thanksgiving stuffing is on my holiday table each and every year, and there are never any leftovers. It’s just that good!
More Thanksgiving Recipes To Try
Sweet Potato Casserole with Marshmallows
1 hr 50 mins
Cranberry Salad
11 mins
Turkey Brine Recipe
13 mins
Mashed Sweet Potatoes
1 hr 20 mins
Turkey Gravy Recipe
15 mins
Thanksgiving Stuffing Video
Love This Recipe?
Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 rating in the recipe card below & a review in the comments section further down the page.
Thanksgiving Stuffing
Ingredients
- 8 cups rustic bread such as French or Italian cut into 1/2 inch pieces
- 10 tablespoons butter divided use
- 1 cup onion finely diced
- 1 cup celery diced
- 2 teaspoons garlic minced
- 1/4 cup fresh sage leaves finely chopped
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley leaves chopped, divided use
- 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary leaves minced
- 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
- 2 eggs
- 2 cups chicken or turkey broth
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- cooking spray
Instructions
- Leave the bread out over night spread out on baking sheets to get stale. Or, you can bake your bread cubes at 225 degrees F for one hour, stirring occasionally, until they get crisp.
- Coat a 3 quart baking dish with cooking spray. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
- Melt 6 tablespoons of butter in a large pan over medium heat. Add the onion and celery to the pan and cook for 8 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.
- Stir in the garlic and cook for 1 more minute.
- Place the bread cubes in a very large bowl and add the cooked vegetables.
- Add the sage and 2 tablespoons of chopped parsley to the bowl along with the rosemary and thyme.
- Add the eggs, chicken broth, salt and pepper to the bowl. Stir until the mixture is thoroughly combined.
- Pour the stuffing into the prepared dish. Melt the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter and drizzle it over the top of the stuffing.
- Cover the dish with foil and bake for 25 minutes. Uncover the dish, then bake for an additional 15 minutes or until top is golden brown and stuffing is cooked through.
- Cool for 5-10 minutes, then sprinkle with the remaining 2 tablespoons of parsley and serve.
Notes
- If the top of your stuffing starts to look overly browned before the baking time is up, you can cover it with foil.
- You can use French bread, Italian bread, or any other type of hearty rustic white bread.
- Fresh sage is important – do not try to substitute dried sage.
Can I use store bought bread cubes in a bag?
Yes that’s fine!
Could I use dried sage, parsley and thyme?? Or poultry seasoning? Difficult in November in Wisconsin to get fresh herbs?
Thanks 😊
Yes you’d use 1/3 of the amount for dry spices.
This was my first time making stuffing and your recipe was so easy to follow. It also tasted so good!
Stuffing is my favorite holiday side dish! I always get seconds. This recipe is absolutely perfect. My whole family loves it!
Bests stuffing EVER! Packed with so much flavor!
This is such a delicious and EASY stuffing recipe! I cannot wait to make it for Thanksgiving!
When would you add the “extras” (say, dried cranberries and cooked apple): before or after baking?
Before baking!
Yum! This is a perfect looking and sounding stuffing. Really like how easy it is to make too.
YUM!! Stuffing is my favorite part of Thanksgiving dinner and I am excited to try your version this year. Thanks for the inspiration!
We can’t wait to make this year for the holidays! Thank you!!
This look perfect for my holiday celebration. I love the addition of fresh herbs. My family is going to love this!
Such a wonderful recipe for the holidays! I love all that color and it sounds amazing with the addition of the variety of herbs. Yum!