Classic Thanksgiving Stuffing
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This will be the only Thanksgiving stuffing or dressing recipe you will ever need! An absolute classic, and can easily be made ahead of time!
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Why you’ll love this classic Thanksgiving stuffing
- Quintessential Thanksgiving side dish. This is a true Thanksgiving classic made with perfectly toasted sourdough bread, fresh herbs, and all of the buttery goodness one can hope for, soaking up the sausage pan drippings and turkey juices, of course.
- Ultimate comfort food. Stuffing serves as a savory bread pudding, pairing so well with turkey gravy and cranberry sauce while yielding a soft, warm interior with a crisp, golden brown top once baked.
- No more soggy stuffing. Say goodbye to wet, mushy stuffing! With a few tips and tricks (more on that below), you’ll have the most perfect stuffing for your holidays year after year.
- Repurposes stale bread. This recipe is an effective way to repurpose stale bread. Stale bread loses most of its moisture, soaking up liquid and fat without turning to paste. So skip the box stuffing mix this year – this homemade version is incredibly budget-friendly and completely customizable!
IS IT STUFFING OR DRESSING?
Stuffing is generally cooked inside a turkey, soaking up all the rich turkey juices and fat. Dressing is typically cooked separately from the turkey in a casserole dish with additional liquid. The two terms are used interchangeably, and it really depends on who you’re asking. But to confirm, this recipe is technically a dressing as it is not “stuffed” inside a turkey.
Key Ingredients
Bread
The bread used in your stuffing is key here. Be sure to use crusty bread such as a sourdough loaf.
Breakfast sausage
This is the secret ingredient as it is already perfectly seasoned! Italian sausage is also an excellent option.
Butter
Unsalted butter is always a must-have in all holiday recipes.
Garlic, onion, and celery
Keeping it real here with all the classic ingredients, all cooked in butter until fragrant and tender.
Fresh herbs
This is a great opportunity to use up all the fresh herbs (from your turkey and other various side dishes). Substitute dried herbs if needed.
Chicken stock
Use chicken stock or turkey stock! The better quality your stock, the better your stuffing. Homemade stock is even better.
How to make classic thanksgiving stuffing (dressing)
- Dry the bread. Spread the bread cubes in a single layer on a baking sheet, avoiding any overcrowding or overlap. Bake at 400°F for 10-13 minutes until crisp and golden.
- Cook the sausage. Brown the sausage in a large cast iron skillet over medium heat, breaking it up as it cooks. Remove the sausage using a slotted spoon, reserving some of the juices in the skillet.
- Sauté the aromatics. Melt the butter with the leftover pan juices. Stir in the garlic, onion, and celery until tender, then stir in the parsley, sage, thyme, and rosemary until fragrant.
- Combine. Stir in (or use a large bowl) the toasted bread cubes, crumbled sausage, salt, and pepper until well combined.
- Add the stock. Pour in the chicken or turkey stock, stirring gently until the bread is evenly moistened but not soggy. Let sit for 5 minutes, allowing the bread to absorb the liquid. Pro tip: to make this ahead of time, let this cool completely, then cover and chill up to 1 day in advance.
- Bake. Transfer the mixture to a greased 9 x 13 baking dish, baking at 400°F for 30-35 minutes until the top is golden brown and crispy.
- Serve. Let it rest for 5-10 minutes and serve warm.
to stuff or not to stuff
Skip the stuffing in the turkey. When cooking the stuffing inside your turkey, you are left with 2 options:
- cook until the stuffing is cooked through or
- cook until the turkey is cooked through.
But by the time the stuffing reaches a safe temperature to eat (165°F), the turkey will unfortunately be overcooked and dry. And by the time the turkey is ready, the stuffing will be undercooked and unsafe to consume. Instead, opt to cook the stuffing separately in a 9 x 13 baking dish.
WHAT TO SERVE WITH Thanksgiving STUFFING
Tools For This Recipe
Classic Thanksgiving Stuffing: Frequently Asked Questions
A crusty bread, such as a sourdough loaf, is best here. Avoid overly soft breads as it can result in soggy stuffing or dressing. For something a little different, you can try this cornbread stuffing instead.
This is key to drying out the bread to prevent a mushy, soggy stuffing, really allowing the bread to serve as a sponge to soak up the rich broth and seasonings.
Sweet Italian sausage would be a great swap.
Of course! But because dried herbs are often more potent and concentrated than fresh herbs, you need less when using dry. For example, the correct ratio is 1 tablespoon fresh sage = 1 teaspoon dried sage.
Absolutely! Prep and assemble the night before, letting it come to room temperature for about 30 minutes prior to baking as directed.
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days, reheating in the oven at 350°F with a splash of stock and covered tightly in foil until heated through. Optional: for a crisped top, remove the foil during the last 5 minutes.
Yes! Portion into plastic freezer bags in individual servings, keeping in the freezer for 1-2 months.
Classic Thanksgiving Stuffing
Video
Ingredients
- 1 (16-ounce) loaf sourdough bread, stale, cut into 1-inch cubes
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound breakfast sausage
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 sweet onion, diced
- 2 ribs celery, diced
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage leaves
- 1 ½ tablespoons chopped fresh thyme leaves
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 2 ½ cups chicken stock
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Spread bread cubes in a single layer on a baking sheet. Place into oven and bake until crisp and golden, about 10-13 minutes; set aside.
- Heat olive oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add sausage and cook until browned, about 5-8 minutes, making sure to crumble the sausage as it cooks. Transfer sausage to a paper towel-lined plate.
- Melt butter in the skillet. Add garlic, onion and celery, and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 4-5 minutes. Stir in parsley, sage, thyme and rosemary until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Remove from heat. Stir in bread and sausage; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Stir in chicken stock until absorbed and well combined. Let stand 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until liquid is absorbed.
- Lightly oil a 9 x 13 baking dish or coat with nonstick spray. Spread bread mixture into the baking dish. Place into oven and bake until top is browned, about 30-35 minutes.
- Let rest for 5-10 minutes; serve warm.
Equipment
Notes
- Use sturdy, stale bread. Stale 1 to 2 day-old bread, such as a sourdough loaf, is ideal here to soak up all the liquid without breaking down. Avoid soft, freshly sliced bread as it will cause the stuffing to turn soggy and mushy.
- Sauté the aromatics first. Never use raw vegetables in your stuffing. Always sauté the garlic, onion, and celery in butter until soft and tender before mixing them in.
- Don’t skimp on the butter. Avoid using low-fat substitutions or using less butter. The fat is essential here for rich flavor and crispy edges.
- Make it vegetarian. This recipe can easily be adapted to be vegetarian, omitting the sausage and substituting vegetable stock for the chicken stock.
- Prep the night before. Stuffing is one of those great sides that you can prep ahead of time, assembling everything the night before and really allowing all the flavors to meld and marry overnight.
- Skip stuffing the turkey. Cook the stuffing separately to avoid mushy textures and to keep the turkey meat juicy and moist.
- Let it rest. Though not required, letting the stuffing rest for at least 5 minutes will allow it to set, making it much easier to serve and spoon onto plates.
- Reheat with a splash of stock. A splash of stock will restore some of the lost moisture, reheating in the oven at 350°F (covered in foil) until warmed through. Remove the foil during the last 5 minutes for a lightly crisped top.
Did you make this recipe?
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Can you use premade bread cubes?
What about calories?
This was SO YUMMY!! It was a big hit at Thanksgiving dinner. I added a Honeycrisp apple and a 1/2 cup of dried cranberries to sweeten it up. So good!! I made it the night before because it is a bit labor intensive. After I brought it up to room temperature the next day, I toss it and added 1/2 cup of chicken stock so it would be moist. I think I could have added a bit more too. I will make this my staple dressing for future holiday dinners! 🙂
Does the oven temp remain at 400 degrees to bake the stuffing in step 6?
What kind of parsley is used? Thanks! I’m
I love this recipe. Has anyone prepped it and baked it the next day? Any tips?
This is absolutely the perfect Thanksgiving stuffing. It had all the flavors people expect, so easy to make, and I LOVE it only uses fresh herbs. This will be my go-to. Thank you!
I think I made this before. And it was very good My question is – in step 6. Is the oven temp 400 F ? I like the comments about adding Apple’s. It’s close to my father-in-law s recipe. I think he also added some shredded chadder. Thanks for the great and simple recipe.
Hi there. If I make it the day before would I bake for the 30-35 then cover, or do the final cook the day off ? Thank you
OKAY WOW. I am prepping to host my very first Thanksgiving dinner in my new house with my family and I have never even made stuffing nor did I have a clue. THIS is the BEST recipe ever. I added a little more butter than recipe calls for but the breakfast sausage addition is so yummy!!!! thank you so much! This is my go-to recipe and it’ll be a hit. thank you thank you thank you!!!!
i dont cook on thanksgiving; my mom does hehe. so, i will be sharing this recipe of yours with her and have her make it on thanksgiving. looks promising and delicious.
OMG!!!
Made your easy thanksgiving turkey, your classic stuffing (baked inside the turkey) and your turkey gravy!
Everything was on point!!! Soooo Delicious! You are my first stop for any new recipe. Thank you!
These 3 recipes are for sure keepers! My husband was supper impressed and I loved it as much as he did.
Fallowed the recipes almost exactly, (used some dried spices as fresh were hard to find) Adjusted amounts from fresh to dry.
Prepped the stuffing and turkey butter the night before. Having leftovers tonight, yum!
This stuffing was so good. I was lucky and had all of these spices my garden. I get recipes online all time and have never written a review before but this was the hit of my
Thanksgiving dinner!
This is my recipe too, except for a big omission. Where’s the chopped apple ? It’s gotta have apple in it, otherwise it’s not classic!
Sounds good…how many does it serve
Delicious stuffing! I actually prepared the stuffing up until step 6 and cooked it on low in a crock pot for 3h to save on oven space. The toasted bread and fresh herbs were spot on. Will definitely make next year!
I was torn between this recipe and the apple walnut sausage dressing. Which do you recommend?
If you make the stuffing one day in advance of Thanksgiving, what is the best way to reheat this dish so it’s delicious?
Wondering the same thing!
You stop before it’s baked. You can see an * at the end of step 5. Then it has the note about a day ahead. So you would leave it “raw” in the fridge and bake it fresh the next day.
Love to try this recipe looks delish!! How many does it serve? I have 20-25 people!
Thanks
Can this be made in the slow cooker?
What a great idea! But unfortunately, without having tried this myself, I cannot answer with certainty. But if you get a chance to try it, please let me know how it turns out! Good luck! 🙂