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.
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Aw, cannot I missed out this delicious pan at Thanksgiving! It’s such a great combination, I’d save it for my Christmas instead ❤
– Natalie
Any ol’ Sunday dinner will do, too!
Will give this a go for a change on our UK Christmas Day dinner
This is almost identical to the stuffing I make every year, I add much more butter, to sauté the onion and celery in. I also use 3 different kinds of Jimmy Dean sausage, regular, hot and sage. I also chop up a tart apple to round the flavors out. The only stuffing my kids will eat!
Sounds delicious!
I assume you mean 2 ribs of celery, instead of 2 whole stalks? Sounds so delicious! (Except for the breakfast sausage. I use turkey fat drippings.) Thank you for posting all of the wonderful Thanksgiving side dishes!! I printed a lot of them, and am going to try them out all winter, LOL! 🙂
I adore this recipe so much! This works well with gluten free stuffing mix as well. This year, I’m going to try adding a chopped apple to it, and see how it goes.
This was AMAZING! I always make a recipe as is for the first time. It was excellent the way it is written. I think I would prefer less sausage- that is not to say their is anything wrong with the recipe itself- again, just my preference!
This was not supposed to go here; don’t know why it did that
This is my mother’s delicious recipe exactly but w/out the sausage. Who needs sausage in stuffing when you’re already eating turkey?
This stuffing looks great but I do not eat meat. Do you think I could substitute you delicious brown butter mushrooms for the sausage? Thanks so much. I love your site!
Yes! But please use your best judgement when making substitutions and modifications. I hope it turns out!
Wow, substituting the sausage with the brown butter mushrooms is a brilliant idea!!!
How did the mushroom substitution for sausage turn out? Did you make any other tweaks?
No, No! Never make the stuffing the day before if you are going to put it in the turkey as stuffing. If it is cold and is used as stuffing, it will not cook thoroughly. That is when people become ill. However, if one is going to put this in a casserole to bake separately, prepping it the day before will be all right as long as the casserole will not be so full that the entire breading mix does not bake thoroughly. If you make this entirely on Thanksgiving, the stuffing will be warm from cooking the sausage, onions, and celery and using warmed broth. You are making turkey broth with the giblets, right? Why would you use chicken broth when it is so easy to make turkey broth?
Cynthia, yes, you can absolutely make stuffing ahead of time, but if that is not what you prefer, you can make it the day of. If one does not have access to turkey broth, they can use chicken broth. It’s as simple (and easy) as that! 🙂
Have a great Thanksgiving!
If anyone is looking for turkey broth I just got some from Trader Joe’s. I’m in Mission Viejo, CA
I’ve made my stuffing like this for forty or more years,it never disappoints! Mmmmmm good!!
That’s great!
Thank you for sharing this when you did! I was going to combine and modify your stove top and apple walnut recipes to make a classic stuffing dish. This is exactly what I was looking for! I love you recipes, Damn Delicious is my go-to recipe box!
Oh perfect timing!
Reheating directions??
If you are making this ahead of time, you can proceed with step 6, adding a few more minutes to make sure the stuffing has been heated through.
Hi! I’m looking forward to making this for thanksgiving. One question though. If I were to prepare this the day before as noted, would I add the chicken stock as well and let it sit in the fridge overnight? Would that make it mushy when cooked the next day?
Not at all! 🙂