Classic Homemade Stuffing Recipe (2024)

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This homemade stuffing recipe is the classic holiday side dish you are looking for! Passed down through generations and featuring simple ingredients with perfect poultry seasoning flavour. Stuff your turkey, chicken, or just make a large pan full and bake separately.

If you’re looking for a classic homemade bread stuffing recipe, look no further! My mom’s recipe is so easy to make and is the perfect side dish for a delicious turkey dinner over the holidays.

Our family loves stuffing so much, I always make a pan of it to go alongside a bowl of Spinach Stuffing Balls and the Green Bean Casserole.

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My Mom’s Homemade Bread Stuffing Recipe

Today I’m so pleased to share my mom’s Homemade Bread Stuffing recipe with you. It’s such a classic side dish made with simple ingredients but it’s the perfect side dish alongside a roasted turkey or chicken dinner.

The aroma that fills your home as it cooks is unmistakable to anyone who visits. Breathe deeply and enjoy the mouthwatering scent of classic bread stuffing as it bakes inside or alongside your main.

What Ingredients Are in This Homemade Stuffing Recipe?

This stuffing is a very basic recipe made with six ingredients plus seasonings. All you need is a loaf of bread, some celery and onion, chicken stock, and butter.

What makes this stuffing so very delicious is a good amount of poultry seasoning and aromatics such as celery and onions.

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Poultry seasoning is a blend of herbs and spices that includes a combination of dried ground sage, savoury, thyme, rosemary, marjoram, black pepper, and nutmeg.

Ground cloves and either celery seed or salt may also be a part of the blend.

If it’s been a while since you’ve replaced the poultry seasoning, I highly recommend buying a new tin of this holiday essential. Fresh spices make for the most aromatic stuffing.

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What Bread is Best For This Homemade Stuffing Recipe?

In short, you can use any bread you like in stuffing as long as it’s stale. I prefer whole wheat or sometimes white bread in my stuffing.

Bread with seeds or seasonings may change the flavour of the stuffing and sourdough makes the stuffing taste too sour.

Cornbread stuffing is absolutely delicious as well, especially when it also contains sausage.

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Making stuffing is a great way to use up the ends or heels of bread. Start collecting unused bread a few weeks before you intend to make it so it can dry out.

Tear the bread up into smaller pieces and let it dry out in a pan on top of your fridge.

If you forget and are stuck for time, tear a loaf of bread into pieces and dry them out in your oven. If the bread isn’t dry, you may end up with overly mushy stuffing and the texture can be quite off-putting.

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How To Make Perfect Homemade Stuffing

Once you have all the stale bread ready to go, you’re ready for the next step; the vegetables. I like to small dice my onion and celery before I sauté them in butter.

Sautéing the vegetables until they become soft and translucent is very important step. If you skip it, you’ll end up with crunchy, uncooked vegetables in the finished dish.

To finish, add the poultry seasoning and sauté for a minute or two for maximum flavour. Next, add the vegetables to the torn bread then season with salt and pepper.

Lastly, drizzle melted butter and chicken broth over the bread mixture and mix well.

Test the moisture level by gripping a handful of the mixture. If it clumps together, it’s perfect. If not, just add a bit more plain water or stock until it begins to stick together.

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Variations on Homemade Stuffing

This is a very basic recipe and many people often add other ingredients to suit their personal tastes.

Some enjoy the texture that nuts or water chestnuts bring to the dish, or the flavour of dried cranberries.

Adding proteins such as sausage, turkey giblets, and even oysters are also popular. I’ve never had oyster stuffing but I bet it’s delicious!

How to Store and Reheat Leftover Stuffing

On the rare occasion we have leftover stuffing, I store it in either a plastic bag or lidded container. It should last for up to 5 days when stored in this way.

The easiest way to reheat it is to pop it into the microwave for 1 or 2 minutes. Alternatively, reheat it stove top in a frying pan or in a foil covered casserole in a 350 F oven for 10-15 minutes.

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Yield: 10

Homemade Stuffing Recipe

Classic Homemade Stuffing Recipe (8)

This homemade stuffing recipe is the classic holiday side dish you are looking for! Passed down through generations and featuring simple ingredients with the perfect poultry seasoning flavour. Stuff your turkey, chicken, or just make a large pan full and bake separately.

Prep Time20 minutes

Cook Time45 minutes

Total Time1 hour 5 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 loaf bread; torn into 1-2 cm pieces and dried overnight.
  • 4 sticks green celery (preferably with some leaves); finely diced
  • 1 medium onion; finely diced
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter; melted
  • 1/2 cup chicken stock
  • poultry seasoning
  • salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  1. The night before, tear up the bread and let it dry out on the counter overnight.
  2. In the morning, sauté the celery and onion until they become soft and the onion becomes translucent.
  3. Place bread, vegetables, butter, stock, and poulty seasoning in a large bowl and season. Mix it up well and place in a 9x12 glass baking dish. Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 350 F for 30 minutes.
  4. After 30 minutes, remove foil and broil until the top becomes golden.

Notes

If you want to use this stuffing in a turkey, please refer to this Turkey post for cooking times.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

10

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving:Calories: 294Total Fat: 12gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 25mgSodium: 431mgCarbohydrates: 39gFiber: 2gSugar: 5gProtein: 7g

Nutritional calculation was provided by Nutritionix and is an estimation only. For special diets or medical issues please use your preferred calculator.

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Classic Homemade Stuffing Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is traditional stuffing made of? ›

Bread is the main ingredient, and can make or bread the stuffing. The better the quality of the bread, the better the outcome. Use a simple white or a mixture of favorite breads. Carrot, celery, and onion form the base layer of flavor.

Why put eggs in stuffing? ›

Broth: Chicken broth keeps the stuffing moist without making it soggy. Eggs: Two lightly beaten eggs help hold the dressing together and add moisture. Water: You can add a few tablespoons of water, if you'd like, to achieve your desired consistency.

What was stuffing originally made of? ›

The earliest documentary evidence is the Roman cookbook, Apicius De Re Coquinaria, which contains recipes for stuffed chicken, dormouse, hare, and pig. Most of the stuffings described consist of vegetables, herbs and spices, nuts, and spelt (a cereal), and frequently contain chopped liver, brains, and other organ meat.

What is stuffing mix made of? ›

In a large bowl or large plastic food storage bag, combine ​breadcrumbs with dried parsley, minced onion, celery flakes, thyme, pepper, sage, and marjoram. To prepare stuffing, bring 1 1/4 cups of water or chicken broth and 3 tablespoons of butter to a boil.

How to keep stuffing moist? ›

Typically, baking the stuffing inside the bird helps keep the mixture moist. “I prefer stuffing (in the bird) to dressing (outside of the bird) because all those delicious drippings that come off the turkey gets absorbed right into the stuffing,” Bamford says.

What is the difference between Thanksgiving dressing and stuffing? ›

"Stuffing is cooked in the cavity of the turkey, so the juices soak into the ingredients, making it more flavorful. Dressing gets cooked on its own and needs extra liquid to make it flavorful." So stuffing is cooked inside the bird. Dressing is cooked outside the bird, usually in a casserole dish.

Why is stuffing so tasty? ›

Stuffing has a symbiotic relationship with turkey. As it cooks, the herbs in the stuffing infuse into the bird, giving it a lot more flavor. The turkey, in turn, drips all its delicious juices into the stuffing as it cooks, moistening it and making it taste great.

What is sage and onion stuffing made of? ›

Method. Mix together the onion, sage and breadcrumbs and season well. Add enough of the beaten egg to bind the mixture together and use to stuff meat or poultry or to roll into individual stuffing balls. If making stuffing balls, cook in a roasting tin for 30 minutes.

What does stuffing contain? ›

Stuffing consists of a mixture of savoury ingredients such as breadcrumbs, herbs, fruit, nuts, sausagemeat and onion which are bound together with egg or liquid to form a semi-solid mixture. It is usually cooked with roast meat such as chicken, pork or lamb and is served as an accompaniment to the sliced, cooked meat.

How to make stuffing Gordon Ramsay? ›

Make the stuffing, melt butter in a large frying pan and gently sauté onion and garlic for five minutes until soft. Stir in the herbs for one minute then add breadcrumbs to absorb butter. Mix in zest, pine nuts and seasoning and cook over medium heat for about seven minutes until crumbs start to brown and crisp.

What is Pepperidge Farm stuffing made of? ›

MADE FROM: ENRICHED WHEAT FLOUR (FLOUR, NIACIN, REDUCED IRON, THIAMINE MONONITRATE, RIBOFLAVIN, FOLIC ACID), WHOLE WHEAT FLOUR, SALT, SUGAR, YEAST, CONTAINS 2% OR LESS OF: VEGETABLE OILS (CANOLA AND/OR SUNFLOWER AND/OR PALM), MOLASSES, SPICES, CELERY, ONION POWDER, CALCIUM PROPIONATE TO EXTEND FRESHNESS, MALTED BARLEY ...

Is stuffing better moist or dry? ›

You want your stuffing moist but not soggy and certainly not dry. The bread in the stuffing absorbs moisture, but if it's dry (as it should be, see above), it takes some time for the liquid to settle in. I suggest adding a little at a time, say 1 cup of broth for every 4 cups of dry mix.

What is English stuffing made of? ›

Mix together the onion, sage and breadcrumbs and season well. Add enough of the beaten egg to bind the mixture together and use to stuff meat or poultry or to roll into individual stuffing balls. If making stuffing balls, cook in a roasting tin for 30 minutes.

What is stuffing made of Thanksgiving? ›

The BEST traditional Thanksgiving Stuffing recipe is easy to make dried bread cubes, sausage, diced vegetables, and chicken broth. It's a great side dish to make ahead of time and it definitely tastes best homemade! Pair this easy homemade stuffing with our popular turkey recipe, homemade rolls, and Thanksgiving pie.

What is roast stuffing made of? ›

Stir together onion, celery, bread, pepper, parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme, and celery salt in a large bowl; pour melted butter over bread mixture and stir to combine. Spoon stuffing into the cavities of chicken; place chicken into a roasting pan.

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