My classic, homemade stuffing recipe combines seasonal herbs (fresh or dried) with buttery bread cubes and chopped veggies. It’s a traditional Thanksgiving side dish that’s almost as famous as the turkey! Make-ahead friendly (and can even be made vegetarian)!
Classic Homemade Stuffing Recipe
While my sausage stuffing will always be my favorite stuffing recipe, I wanted to share a more classic version before Thanksgiving snuck up on us. This is a great option that can be made vegetarians (if you use a vegetable broth) or for people who simply prefer to stick with the traditional version.
Perfecting this one took LOTS of testing; I experimented with multiple types of bread, herbs, spices, etc. to get the flavors and textures just right. As a result, I have lots of helpful hints and customization options for you throughout this post, so read through before you begin!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Has a buttery, herby flavor bolstered by aromatics like celery and onion. This is classic Thanksgiving stuffing!
- Can be made a day or two in advance, which is exactly the kind of Thanksgiving side dish I’m looking for when I’ve got a million other dishes like easy apple pie, green bean casserole and loaded mashed potato casserole to prepare.
- Can be made with either fresh or dried herbs, so use whatever is your preference (or whatever you have on hand)! I polled a whole bunch of you on Instagram and Facebook to see if anyone preferred a stuffing recipe made with dried or fresh herbs, and the vast majority preferred dried (thank you so much to everyone who helped me with this!). My recipe gives you the option to use either, and I have tested it both ways (at this point I’ll be tired of eating stuffing by the time we get to Turkey day!).
- Uses eggs for the best texture, but can be made without them and includes instructions for how to do so. Also, if you or someone you are prepping desserts for has an egg allergy, check out my eggless dessert recipes!
Ingredients
My stuffing recipe is made with classic ingredients including herbs, aromatics, and plenty of butter. Let’s go over them briefly before we dive into the recipe.
- Bread cubes. I recommend using a crustier bread for this recipe; sourdough bread or artisan bread are my go-to choices as opposed to more enriched breads like challah (thought that would work if it’s all you have!). Use one of these loaves to make your own bread cubes, or you can use store-bought plain unseasoned bread cubes (note you will likely need to use more broth if you do).
- Herbs. Fresh or dried will work. You will need classic poultry seasoning herbs including thyme, rubbed sage, parsley, and rosemary.
- Veggies. Including lots of chopped yellow onion (a sweet onion would also work) and celery. These add texture and SO much flavor to this stuffing recipe!
- Eggs. My recipe uses two eggs, which helps bind things together. If you want to leave them out, you can; see the FAQ section below for details.
- Chicken broth. How much you need varies depending on the bread you use, so I’ve included a range in the recipe. You don’t want the stuffing to be soggy, but you do want the bread cubes to be moistened through, similar to bread pudding. This would be a good recipe to use my instant pot chicken stock, if you happen to have some–it adds a really great flavor!
SAM’S TIP FOR VEGETARIAN STUFFING: If you need to make this recipe vegetarian, you can use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth. I have lots more vegetarian side dishes in my Thanksgiving side dishes recipe roundup!
This is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
How to Make Homemade Stuffing
Make the bread cubes
If you aren’t making your own bread cubes, skip to the next step. Otherwise, slice or tear your bread into half inch pieces, toss on a baking sheet and bake until crisp and dry.
I have a whole post on how to make bread cubes for stuffing that walks through the process in detail.
Cook the veggies & herbs
I won’t sugarcoat it, there are a lot of veggies to chop, typically about 2 onions and 5 or 6 celery ribs go into the dish. My dad makes quick work of these when he makes stuffing and uses the pulse function on his food processor, but I hand-chopped these.
You’ll need a big saucepan or skillet and saute the veggies in butter until they’re nice and soft, then stir in the garlic. Herbs (fresh or dried), spices, and salt, all go into the pan, then slowly stir in about a cup of the chicken broth.
Stir together
Put the bread cubes in a large bowl, then add the cooked veggies. Whisk the eggs together with another cup of chicken broth, then pour this into the bowl as well.
Toss everything together until combined. Add additional chicken broth as needed until the mixture is moist, but not soggy. I usually need to add an additional cup of broth.
Bake
Everything goes into a buttered baking casserole dish (an 11×7, 13×9, or 2.5qt casserole dish will work) and cooks until lightly golden brown and cooked through (internal temp of 165F, I like to use my instant read thermometer to make sure it’s baked through). Serve warm and enjoy!
SAM’S TIP: Keep an eye on your stuffing as it bakes. Every oven is different, and if yours runs hot, your stuffing may brown prematurely while the center is still underdone. If your stuffing starts to brown too quickly, you can cover your dish with foil.
Frequently Asked Questions
I recommend using them for the ideal texture here, but you can leave them out if your family has an egg allergy or you like a drier stuffing. The stuffing will be a bit more crumbly (the eggs help bind it together, just like they do in bread pudding), and you will have to use a bit more broth to get it properly moisten.
I don’t recommend it. Cooking stuffing inside a turkey can be tricky texture-wise and also unsafe if done improperly. I really recommend cooking your turkey and stuffing separately for best results!
If your stuffing is mushy, you may not have cooked it long enough or added too much chicken broth when combining everything together. You must be careful to add enough liquid to moisten everything, but it should NOT approach soggy territory. That’s hard to come back from!
If you’re in charge of the holiday dinner spread this year, make sure you check out my other recipes like my sweet potato casserole and cranberry sauce, too!
Enjoy!
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Stuffing Recipe
Ingredients
- 10 cups (425 g) dried bread cubes plain/unseasoned, see note
- 10 Tablespoons (140 g) unsalted butter plus additional for greasing pan
- 2 cups (260 g) small-chopped yellow onion about 2 medium-sized onions
- 2 cups (240 g) small-chopped celery about 5-6 celery ribs
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- ¼ cup finely chopped fresh parsley
- 2 teaspoons dried thyme leaves or 2 Tablespoons fresh thyme leaves (see note)
- 2 teaspoons dried rubbed sage or 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh sage
- 1 teaspoon crushed rosemary or 1 Tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
- ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¾ teaspoon table salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2-3 cups (473-710 ml) chicken broth (may substitute vegetable broth for a vegetarian stuffing) or more as needed, divided
- 2 large eggs
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F and lightly grease a deep 11×7” or 13×9” (or 2.5qt) baking dish with butter. Set aside.
- Place dried bread cubes in a large mixing bowl and set aside.10 cups (425 g) dried bread cubes
- Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat.10 Tablespoons (140 g) unsalted butter
- Add onion and celery and cook until softened, stirring occasionally (about 5 minutes).2 cups (260 g) small-chopped yellow onion, 2 cups (240 g) small-chopped celery
- Add garlic and cook until fragrant (about 30 seconds).2 teaspoons minced garlic
- Add parsley, thyme, sage, rosemary, nutmeg, salt and pepper and stir well. Cook 1 minute longer, stirring frequently.¼ cup finely chopped fresh parsley, 2 teaspoons dried thyme leaves, 2 teaspoons dried rubbed sage, 1 teaspoon crushed rosemary, ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg, ¾ teaspoon table salt, ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- While stirring, slowly stir in 1 cup of the chicken broth.2-3 cups (473-710 ml) chicken broth
- Remove onion mixture from heat and set aside.
- In a large measuring cup, whisk together another 1 cup of chicken broth with 2 large eggs, whisk well so eggs are well broken.2 large eggs
- Pour the veggie mixture evenly over the bread cubes followed by the egg mixture. Use a spatula to gently stir together until bread is completely moistened, but not soggy. If needed, add up to another cup of chicken broth (note that I typically need almost the full 3 cups, this is going to depend a lot on your specific bread, if you used storebought cubes you may need even more broth).
- Pour stuffing evenly into prepared baking dish.
- Transfer to center rack of 350F (175C) preheated oven and bake for 40-50 minutes (keep an eye on it, if it begins to get too brown you can cover with foil). If you’re not sure how to tell if your stuffing is done, you can always use an instant read thermometer, the center of the stuffing should read at least 165F (74C).
- Serve warm.
Notes
Bread cubes
I bake my own sourdough (or buy a 1 lb+ loaf) and cut or tear it into ½” (1.2cm) cubes, scatter on a baking sheet, and bake on 300F (150C) for about 25 minutes, until crisp and dried through. Note that you’ll need to start with a pound or slightly more bread as the bread loses volume as it bakes, so I usually need about 13 cups of fresh bread to end up with 10 cups of dried bread.Making in advance
Can be made up to 2 days in advance, prepare as instructed through step 11, cover, and refrigerate. Let it sit out at room temperature while the oven preheats then bake as indicated. If the dish is still cold, it may take longer than indicated to cook through.Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
Becky Roop
I make stuffing just like your recipe except for I cook on buttered 6 qt crockpot on low for 3 hours and high for 2 for 2 hours to get crusty on bottom and browned on top. Sometimes I have to remove the lid the last hour. One less item to bake in the oven. My family loves stuffing!
Bruce
This is made with chicken broth. It is not vegetarian.
Sam
Hi Bruce! I changed the wording to clarify it better. Thanks! 🙂
Bruce
I knew that’s what you intended, but we don’t want to confuse people.