Best Stuffing Recipe

This is my all-time favorite stuffing recipe. It’s a classic with pretty basic ingredients and it’s chock full of fresh herbs which not only give this recipe tons of flavor, it makes your whole kitchen smell like Thanksgiving or Christmas too.

This homemade stuffing recipe is one of my favorite side dishes, alongside mashed potatoes. It may be a regional thing but I know some people call this dressing. However, I’ve always called it stuffing as you can also use this recipe to stuff a turkey with. Whatever you call it, this is essentially a savory bread pudding and I am here for it!

Related: Need more side dishes? Try our Green Bean Casserole, Broccoli Casserole, Corn Casserole, the Best Baked Macaroni and Cheese, or Jello Salad. And if you have leftover herbs from this recipe, try this Thanksgiving Stove Simmer.

Ingredients

• Bread – stale bread is great! Any kind: sourdough bread, Italian, cornbread, white sandwich, etc.
• Butter
• Shallots
• Garlic
• Celery
• Sage
• Parsley
• Rosemary
• Thyme
• Chicken broth or stock
• Eggs
• Salt and black pepper

How to make stuffing casserole

Cube the bread the night before into bread cubes. I like to leave it in a bag, loosely sealed, so it dries out some. It doesn’t have to be completely dry or stale, but fresh soft bread isn’t as good for this recipe.

Chop up the shallots and celery. Mince the garlic. Chop up the fresh herbs.

In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium heat until melted. Then stir in the shallots, garlic and celery. Cook for 2-3 minutes. Then stir in most of the fresh herbs, reserving around 1/3 of them to top the stuffing with before baking.

Stir together the chicken stock and eggs until well combined.

In a large bowl, or two if needed, add the breadcrumbs, cooked shallot mixture, and the chicken stock mixture. Stir until everything is well coated and combined. Season well with salt and pepper.

Butter a 9×13 baking dish, or coat in nonstick cooking spray. Add the stuffing mixture to the pan. Top with the remaining herbs. Cover in aluminum foil.

Bake in the oven at 350°F (177°C) for 20 minutes, then remove the foil and continue to bake for another 25-28 minutes. The total bake time will be 45-48 minutes. The stuffing should look golden brown along the edges when done.

Tips & Substitutions

• You can substitute the shallots for a yellow onion or white onion if needed.
• Another great addition to this classic stuffing recipe is some cooked sausage. YUM!
• I like to buy the day-old bread that’s on sale at the grocery store for this, if I don’t have leftover bread to use. Also, you can save random bits in a bag in the freezer leading up to making this recipe.
• If you want to make this ahead, simply follow this recipe until the point of baking. Instead, store it in the refrigerator until you are ready to bake.
• You can use this recipe to stuff a Thanksgiving turkey, but keep in mind depending on the size of bird this may make too much stuffing to all fit inside the cavity. You may have enough to cook this stuffing in an 8×8 size pan in addition to stuffing the turkey. But, again, it depends on the size of bird you are preparing.
• Use the leftovers in other recipes like a Thanksgiving sandwich, burger or wrap.

Serving Suggestions

To me, this is a Thanksgiving stuffing recipe and that’s usually when I make this each year. That being said, here are some main course recipes that would be delicious alongside this.

• Air Fryer Steak
• How to Broil Steak
• Air Fryer Chicken
• Baked Chicken
• Air Fryer Fried Chicken

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4.85 from 32 votes

Print

Get the Recipe

Yield 10

Prep 15 minutes mins

Cook 45 minutes mins

Total 1 hour hr

Ingredients

1x2x3x

• ▢ 22 ounces stale bread
• ▢ 1 cup butter
• ▢ 4 shallots
• ▢ 5 cloves garlic
• ▢ 1 ½ cups celery
• ▢ 2 tablespoons sage
• ▢ 2 tablespoons parsley
• ▢ 2 tablespoons rosemary
• ▢ 2 tablespoons thyme
• ▢ 2 cups chicken stock
• ▢ 2 eggs
• ▢ salt and pepper

Equipment

• ▢
  1 9×13 casserole dish

Instructions

• Cube the bread the night before you make this. I like to leave it in a bag, loosely sealed, so it dries out some. It doesn’t have to be completely dry or stale, but fresh soft bread isn’t as good for this recipe.
• Chop up the shallots and celery. Mince the garlic. Chop up the fresh herbs.
• In a large sauce pan, heat the butter over medium heat until melted. Then stir in the shallots, garlic and celery. Cook for 2-3 minutes.
• Then stir in most of the fresh herbs, reserving around 1/3 of them to top the stuffing with before baking.
• Stir together the chicken stock and eggs until well combined.
• In a large mixing bowl, or two if needed, add the breadcrumbs, cooked shallot mixture, and the chicken stock mixture.
• Stir until everything is well coated and combined. Season well with salt and pepper.
• Butter a 9×13 baking dish, or coat in nonstick cooking spray.
• Add the stuffing mixture to the pan. Top with the remaining herbs. Cover in aluminum foil.
• Bake at 350°F (177°C) for 20 minutes, then remove the foil and continue to bake for another 25-28 minutes.
• The total bake time will be 45-48 minutes. The stuffing should look golden brown along the edges when done.

Notes

You can substitute the shallots for a yellow or white onion if needed.

I like to buy the day old bread that’s on sale at the grocery store for this, if I don’t have leftover bread to use. Also, you can save random bits in a bag in the freezer leading up to making this recipe.

If you want to make this ahead, simply follow this recipe until the point of baking. Instead, store it in the refrigerator until you are ready to bake.

You can use this recipe to stuff a Thanksgiving turkey, but keep in mind depending on the size of bird this may make too much stuffing to all fit inside the cavity. You may have enough to cook this stuffing in an 8×8 size pan in addition to stuffing the turkey. But, again, it depends on the size of bird you are preparing.

© Author Emma Chapman

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American

Keywords stuffing, thanksgiving sides

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts

Best Stuffing Recipe

Amount per Serving

Calories

380

% Daily Value*

Fat

 

23

g

35

%

Saturated Fat

 

13

g

81

%

Trans Fat

 

1

g

Polyunsaturated Fat

 

2

g

Monounsaturated Fat

 

6

g

Cholesterol

 

83

mg

28

%

Sodium

 

537

mg

23

%

Potassium

 

257

mg

7

%

Carbohydrates

 

35

g

12

%

Fiber

 

4

g

17

%

Sugar

 

5

g

6

%

Protein

 

10

g

20

%

Vitamin A

 

832

IU

17

%

Vitamin C

 

6

mg

7

%

Calcium

 

122

mg

12

%

Iron

 

3

mg

17

%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated, using Spoonacular, for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.