Classic Thanksgiving Stuffing
Classic homemade stuffing with toasted bread cubes, butter-softened onion and celery, fresh sage and thyme. Crisp and golden on top, moist inside.
24% of it needs you at the counter
- Hands-on
- 25 min
- Cooking
- 1 hr 20 min
- Serves
- 10
- Calories
- 235
- Protein
- 7 g
- Per serving
- $0.89
Why this recipe works
Stuffing is mostly bread, so the bread matters most: a crusty French or Italian loaf holds its shape far better than soft sandwich bread. Baking it in a dish rather than inside the turkey is safer and gives you the crunchy top everyone fights over.
- Oven-drying the bread cubes lets them soak up broth without collapsing into mush.
- Two eggs bind the stuffing so it holds together in soft, spoonable pieces.
- Baking covered first and uncovered at the end gives a moist middle and a crisp, golden top.
Ingredients
You will need
- 2 rimmed baking sheets
- 12-inch skillet
- Very large mixing bowl
- 9x13-inch baking dish
- Foil
Method
Tap a step number to mark it done.
Dry the bread
Heat the oven to 300°F. Spread the bread cubes on the sheets and bake, stirring once, until dry and crisp but not browned, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool, then put them in the large bowl.
Cook the vegetables
Melt the butter in the skillet over medium heat. Cook the onion and celery until soft, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the garlic, sage and thyme for 1 minute, then scrape everything over the bread with the parsley, salt and pepper.
Moisten
Raise the oven to 375°F and butter the baking dish. Whisk the broth and eggs, pour over the bread and fold gently until evenly moist. If it still looks dry, add more broth a little at a time.
Bake
Spread in the dish, cover with foil and bake 25 minutes. Uncover and bake until golden and crisp on top and the center reads 165°F, 20 to 25 minutes more.
Cook's notes
- Day-old bread works best. Fresh bread, even after drying, can turn pasty.
- For sausage stuffing, brown 1 pound bulk pork or Italian sausage in the skillet first, then cook the vegetables in its fat with half the butter.
- Assemble up to 1 day ahead and refrigerate. Add 10 to 15 minutes to the covered bake.
Nutrition per serving
235 calories
$0.89 estimated cost per serving
Where the calories come from
| Protein | 12% of calories | 7 g |
|---|---|---|
| Carbs | 45% of calories | 26 g |
| Fat | 43% of calories | 11 g |
| Fiber | 2 g | |
| Sodium | 630 mg |
Calculated from USDA FoodData Central values for the listed ingredients and amounts; not lab-tested. Cost estimated from average US retail prices.
Questions people ask
What's the difference between stuffing and dressing?
Traditionally stuffing is cooked inside the bird and dressing is baked in a dish. Today the names are used interchangeably, and in much of the South it's called dressing either way.
Is it safe to cook stuffing inside the turkey?
It can be, but the stuffing in the center must reach 165°F, by which time the breast is often overcooked. Baking it separately is safer and gives a crisp top.
How do you keep stuffing from getting soggy?
Dry the bread thoroughly, add the broth gradually rather than all at once, and finish uncovered so the top crisps.
