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.

Classic Homemade Stuffing Recipe (1)

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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? ›

Classic stuffing made with bread cubes, seasonings, and held together with chicken stock and eggs. A holiday staple!

What does adding egg to stuffing do? ›

Eggs: Two lightly beaten eggs help hold the dressing together and add moisture.

What is the best bread to use for stuffing? ›

Sourdough, Italian, and white bread are standard choices for stuffing; however, journeying beyond your comfort zone can produce excellent results.

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.

How do you 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 traditional stuffing made of turkey? ›

Stuffing most often uses dried bread, herbs, and vegetables that are reconstituted with liquid, stuffed into the turkey cavity, and baked until it is firm and finished cooking. In addition, stuffing can also be cooked separately in a casserole dish in the oven, which would then be considered dressing.

What makes stuffing unhealthy? ›

Stuffing is not strictly a healthy food, because it is typically high in calories, fat, sodium, and refined carbohydrates. 1 But that doesn't mean you can't enjoy it, All foods can fit into a healthy diet in moderation.

Should you stir stuffing? ›

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. Give it a good stir, then let it sit for a minute. The stuffing should be moist but not wet.

What can you use as a binder instead of eggs in stuffing? ›

16 egg substitutes
  1. Mashed banana. Mashed banana can act as a binding agent when baking or making pancake batter. ...
  2. Applesauce. Applesauce can also act as a binding agent. ...
  3. Fruit puree. Fruit puree will help bind a recipe in a similar way to applesauce. ...
  4. Avocado. ...
  5. Gelatin. ...
  6. Xanthan gum. ...
  7. Vegetable oil and baking powder. ...
  8. Margarine.
Mar 30, 2021

Is it better to make stuffing with fresh or dry bread? ›

Any attempts to make stuffing with soft, fresh baked bread will result in a bread soup with a soggy texture. Follow this tip: Stale, dried-out bread makes the best stuffing.

Is it better to make stuffing with fresh or stale bread? ›

dry!" The reason for this is that stale or dry bread will hold up better after cooking and keep its texture even after adding your broth or liquid. If you use soft, fresh bread, you'll ultimately wind up with a soggy, mushy stuffing.

How wet should stuffing be before baking? ›

We recommend adding stock a little at a time--1/2 cup to 1 cup, depending on how much stuffing you're making--and waiting for the bread to absorb the liquid before adding more. Once the bread is moist but not sitting in a pool of stock, it's ready.

Why is it called dressing in the South? ›

But for the Thanksgiving side dish in the South, the term dressing was adopted in place of stuffing, which was viewed as a crude term, during the Victorian era. Although dressing and stuffing are interchangeable terms, the signature ingredient of this Thanksgiving side dish in the South is cornbread.

What is stuffing called when it's not in the turkey? ›

Stuffing and dressing are commonly used as different names for the same thing—a dish consisting of bits of bread (or other starchy things) and various seasonings. The dish can be made by stuffing it (hence the name) inside a turkey or other bird that will be roasted, or by baking or cooking it separately.

Why does stuffing taste so good? ›

Juices from the turkey soaked into the stuffing, infusing it with fat and flavor. "You've got those juices, and those juices taste great,” Smith said.

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.

What is the origin of stuffing dressing? ›

The term dressing, per the History Channel, originated around the 1850s, when the Victorians deemed stuffing too crude for the dish to be named. This happened around the same time that the term “dark meat” began to refer to chicken legs and thighs.

What is the difference between stuffing and filling food? ›

Although most people in America debate on whether the dish should be called stuffing or dressing the people of Pennsylvania call it filling. Essentially filling is the same as stuffing or dressing. The name suggests that it will fill something like stuffing does.

What's the difference between stuffing and filling? ›

It it's to be put inside an animal, it's stuffing. If it's to be put inside a whole vegetable, it also will be called stuffing, but may be called filling in some circumstances. If it's to be put inside anything else, it's filling. This is all style based, though - "stuffed ravioli" is a common idiocy.

References

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