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The Best Thanksgiving Stuffing
Thanksgiving isn’t Thanksgiving without stuffing. At least that’s true in our house, and also clearly true in homes across the country. And stuffing (or dressing) is actually amazingly easy to make from scratch. Yes, there are bags upon boxes upon packages of prepared stuffing mixes available. And they will scratch the stuffing itch no question. But homemade stuffing is so much better than storebought, and truly simple to make. This recipe – pronounced the best stuffing they have ever had by a lot of folks – is so easy to make, and you can make it vegetarian so everyone can enjoy it.
Stuffing vs. Dressing
Whether you refer to this dish as stuffing vs. dressing probably had to do with what area of the country you hail from. Down South: dressing. Up North: stuffing. But it also has to do with whether you cook it inside the bird, or separately in a baking pan or skillet. Stuffing obviously makes more sense when the mixture is cooked inside the turkey cavity, but it’s still stuffing where I come from, even though it’s always baked in a pan in my house.
Vegetarian Stuffing
We have a number of vegetarians in the family, and so always make the stuffing vegetarian (as well as all of the sides, minus the gravy!). Simply use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth in this recipe, and you’re good to go.
What Kind of Bread to Use for Stuffing
You can use all kinds of bread to make stuffing. Cornbread is one common choice, and here is a recipe for cornbread stuffing. Sometimes people use a mix or white bread and cornbread, which is delicious. Or you can use a straight up white bread, like a country white.
Another choice, which is suggested here, is to use an egg-based bread like brioche or challah. Often these breads are baked and sold in round or oval shapes, but if you are lucky you will be able to find these egg-based breads in loaf form, which make it very easy to cut into 1-inch cubes for stuffing.
Make sure the bread cubes are totally dried before proceeding with the recipes. Why? It might seem odd, but once you add the eggs and the broth, fresh bread would turn to mush. You need the heft and texture of the dried bread so the stuffing has height, structure and a varied consistency.
Some people do cut the crusts off the bread when they are making stuffing, but I think keep the crusts adds even more texture to the stuffing, which I love. Also, why would you waste the crust? Food waste in general is a *boo* idea, but throwing away those lovely browned flavorful crusts makes no sense at all.
How to Dry Bread for Stuffing
If your bread is already fairly dry, just cut it into cubes and let it sit out, uncovered, on a rimmed baking sheet for 24 hours. If it isn’t dry, you can let it sit out, uncovered, for at least 48 hours, until the cubes are quite dry.
If you need to speed things along, cut the bread into cubes, spread them on a rimmed baking sheet and bake in a preheated 275°F oven for about 30 minutes, stirring once or twice as the bread toasts, and then spreading it out on the baking sheet so it is as close to a single layer as possible. Let cool completely before proceeding with the recipe.
How to Make Classic Traditional Stuffing for Thanksgiving
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and celery and cook, stirring occasionally for about 6 minutes until the vegetables are slightly golden and tender.
Remove the onion and celery from the heat and turn into the bowl.
Add the dried bread cubes (see Note!).
Add some sage, marjoram, parsley, salt and pepper and toss to combine well.
In another small bowl or measuring cup, beat the eggs with 2 cups of the chicken or vegetable broth. (Use vegetable broth for a vegetarian stuffing!)
Drizzle over the broth mixture and toss so that everything is moistened. You may need to add another ½ cup broth or so, if the mixture seems to be dry in a lot of spots. It should not feel soaked at all.
Turn the mixture into a 2 ½ to 3-quart baking dish or a 13×9 inch baking dish.
Cover the stuffing with foil and bake for 40 minutes. Uncover the stuffing and continue to bake for another 45 minutes or so until the top is slightly crusty and golden brown.
Classic Traditional Thanksgiving Stuffing: This is that perfect stuffing that makes Thanksgiving feel like Thanksgiving (and it’s vegetarian).
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What to Serve with Classic Traditional Stuffing:
- Sauteed Green Beans with Thyme Butter
- Cajun Roast Turkey
- Best Mashed Potatoes
- Parmesan Mashed Potatoes
- Thanksgiving Salad
- Easy Roasted Thanksgiving Turkey
- Simple Lemon-Garlic Roasted Turkey Breast
- Instant Pot Turkey Breast
Other Spoon Bread and Stuffing Recipes:
- Cornbread and Mushroom Stuffing
- Bread Stuffing with Turkey Sausage
- Sweet Potato Spoonbread
- Spoonbread Corn Pudding
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Classic Traditional Thanksgiving Stuffing
Ingredients
- ¾ cup (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter
- 1 large onion , chopped
- 2 cups chopped celery
- 1 loaf (18 to 20 ounce) brioche , challah or other egg bread (or use a country white bread), cut into 1-inch cubes(10 to 12 cups; see Note about drying bread)
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage or 1 teaspoon dried
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh marjoram or 1 teaspoon dried
- ½ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 large eggs
- 2 cups chicken or vegetable broth , preferably low sodium, or more as needed
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Melt the butter in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and celery and cook, stirring occasionally for about 6 minutes until the vegetables are slightly golden and tender.
- Remove the onion and celery from the heat and turn into the bowl. Add the dried bread cubes (see Note!), sage, marjoram, parsley, salt and pepper and toss to combine well. In another small bowl, beat the eggs with 2 cups of the broth (use vegetable broth for a vegetarian stuffing). Drizzle over the broth mixture and toss so that everything is moistened. You may need to add another ½ cup broth or so, if the mixture seems to be dry in a lot of spots. It should not feel soaked at all.
- Turn the mixture into a 2 ½ to 3-quart baking dish or a 13×9 inch baking dish. Cover the stuffing with foil and bake for 40 minutes. Uncover the stuffing and continue to bake for another 45 minutes or so until the top is slightly crusty and golden brown.
Notes
How to Dry Bread Cubes for Stuffing
You will need to dry out your bread cubes quite well for this recipe. If your bread is already fairly dry, just cut it into cubes and let it sit out, uncovered, on a rimmed baking sheet for 24 hours. If it isn’t dry, you can let it sit out, uncovered, for at least 48 hours, until the cubes are quite dry. If you need to speed things along, cut the bread into cubes, spread them on a rimmed baking sheet and bake in a preheated 275°F oven for about 30 minutes, stirring once or twice as the bread toasts, and then spreading it out on the baking sheet so it is as close to a single layer as possible. Let cool completely before proceeding with the recipe.Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
How far in advance can you make this?
you can make it a day ahead, and then bake it. I prefer to combine all of the components right before baking, but you coule dry the bread crumbs, saute the vegetables, and have the liquid ready to go, then mix it up in the pan and bake. or bake it ahead, and gently reheat it in a low oven until hot when ready to serve.
I checked out your recipe for cornbread stuffing but my family doesn’t care for mushrooms. I like the sound of this one but want to know if it would still work if I used cornbread in it instead of white bread? Thanks.
sure! or try this one! https://themom100.com/recipe/classic-traditional-thanksgiving-stuffing/