This Easy Stuffing Recipe is a favorite for every holiday dinner. With simple ingredients and thousands of 5-star reviews-it’s perfect every time!
Celery and onions are tossed with bread, broth, and herbs and baked until golden. It’s the best stuffing recipe with a buttery-sage flavor and crisp edges!
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Ingredient Notes for Stuffing
I love mashed potatoes, but homemade stuffing is the thanksgiving side dish I look forward every year.
- Bread – Any dry bread works for stuffing, I usually mix white and wheat bread. Tear them into cubes and let it dry on the counter so it can absorb the broth. Store bought dried bread cubes can also be used. If they’re seasoned, I add less salt but I do still add the herbs.
- Celery/Onions – These are the base of the flavor in this stuffing. Cook them in butter until tender.
- Seasoning – Poultry Seasoning adds that classic turkey stuffing flavor with a blend of sage, thyme, and rosemary. You can replace poultry seasoning with ground sage if needed.
- Broth – Chicken or turkey broth adds moisture. The amount needed will vary based on the type of bread used and how dry it is. See the recipe notes for more details.
- Additions – Dubbed the best stuffing recipe, this recipe lends itself well to add ins like shredded carrots, raisins, dried cranberries, or cooked sausage.
Bread for Stuffing
Bread is the base of the stuffing and the key is making sure it’s very dry before adding broth. This allows it to soak up the broth (and flavor) without becoming soggy.
If possible, buy the bread at least a few days early, cut it into cubes, and let it dry on the counter. Any kind of bread will do – including sourdough or half cornbread.
If using purchased dried bread cubes, they may need a little extra broth.
The Best Golden Crunchy Edges
I bake stuffing in a casserole dish for the crunchy edges and buttery soft center (which would technically make it dressing). You can also cook it in a Crock Pot. Cooking it separately ensures both the turkey and the stuffing cook evenly and reach safe temperatures without overcooking.
Stuffing a Turkey You can use this stuffing to stuff a turkey. Ensure that the stuffing has cooled in the fridge for at least 45 minutes.
Stuff the turkey just before roasting so it doesn’t sit at an unsafe temperature for too long. If stuffing a turkey, the center of the stuffing should reach 165°F as the drippings from the bird enter the stuffing.
Stuffing can be made ahead of time and stored in the fridge in a casserole dish. Prepare the stuffing without baking and refrigerate for up to 2 days. Before baking, remove it from the fridge for at least 30 minutes. You may need to add 5 to 10 minutes to the baking time.
Everyone loves turkey dinner leftovers so I always make extra! Turkey stuffing can be frozen for up to 4 months. To reheat, thaw in the fridge overnight or in the microwave. Bake in a casserole dish for 15 to 20 minutes or until heated through.
Ingredients
- 2 small yellow onions diced
- 4 ribs celery diced
- ⅔ cup butter
- 1 ½ teaspoons poultry seasoning or ½ teaspoon ground sage
- black pepper to taste
- salt to taste
- 12 cups dry bread cubes
- 2 to 4 cups chicken broth see notes
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley or 2 teaspoons dried parsley
- 1 tablespoon fresh herbs any combination of sage, thyme, or rosemary, or 1 teaspoon dry herbs
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onion, celery and poultry seasoning (and rosemary if using). Reduce the temperature to medium low and cook until tender, about 10-12 minutes. Cool slightly.
- In a large bowl, combine the bread cubes, onion mixture, parsley and fresh herbs.
- Pour 1 cup of broth overtop and toss the cubes. Add the remaining broth, a little bit at a time until cubes are moist (but not soggy) and gently toss. You may not need all of the broth. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Place the bread mixture in a baking dish, dot with additional butter if desired, and cover.
- Bake 35 minutes, uncover and bake an additional 10 minutes.
Video
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Dinner
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REPIN this Super Stuffing Recipe
Regarding teaspoon of dried herbs, is it a teaspoon for each of the three herbs, sage, thyme, and rosemary? Or if using all three then 1/3 teaspoon of each?
I use 1 teaspoon total of whatever herbs I have on hand.
Great classic stuffing recipe. Holly’s instructions are clear and everyone loved the results. I used store-baked Italian bread, hand-torn, and only needed 2 cups broth. Fit perfectly in a 9×13.
This was delicious. I did add a lb of sage sausage, and used fancy turkey broth, but otherwise followed recipe. Took a little longer to cook, but all good.. and used about 4 cups of turkey & chicken broth. Rave reviews… it was perfect.
I was surprised that it turned out underseasoned. If I made it again, I’d use the fresh herbs and/or more than called for in the recipe. The person I ate it with even commented that they’d like more sage next time :(
Love this recipe but have a question – can it be cooked at 400 degrees? If so what would the time adjustment be? Am trying to roast with a turkey breast that needs to be at 400. Thanks!
Yes it can be cooked at 400F. I would begin checking it 10-15 minutes early and add a splash of broth or pats of butter if it’s seeming dry.
I would really enjoy your cooking book I already download many of your tasty recipes.
I appreciate your immediate response.
Thank you very much.
Chris Ponticakis
Hi Chris, you can purchase our cookbook here. We can’t wait for you to cook out of it! ❤️
Hi Holly, I want to cook this in the oven with your ham recipe that requires a temp of 325. How do I adjust the cook time for the stuffing?
Thank you!
Hi Bobbie, to cook the 2 dishes at the same temperature, the stuffing will likely need an additional 15-20 minutes of cook time. I hope this helps!
hi Holly what size Casserole Dish should I use? and can I use 2 Casserole dishes if needed. I have 2 13×9 Casserole dishes enamel and ceramic. Thank You first time making stuffing since my wife passed away in June 2025. Thank You
You can use one 13×9 casserole dish if you’re making a single batch or two if you’re doubling the recipe. Either enamel or ceramic will work. Let us know how it goes!
Hi Holly! Old school here…can I use one package of Pepperidge Farm seasoned or unseasoned bread crumbs for this recipe? Which one would you suggest. Thank you and Happy Thanksgiving!
Either would work in this recipe! If using seasoned, you might need a little bit less salt as the cubes will already have salt on them.
taste test before adding salt. The pre-seasoned stuff is fairly salty to begin with. I’m using cheap, store brand white bread. Diced up into cubes and toss in a 275° oven 1/2 hr and put in an open paper grocery bag until Thursday. My friend, who’s hosting, wants her late mom’s basic stuffing but elevated. My mom used very HOT water back in the day; I’m using slightly watered down HOT chicken Better than Boullion (can be salty too). All my herbs, except sage, are from my herb garden but most grocers sell fresh ‘poultry herbs’ pre-packed. Just keep taste testing before mindlessly adding salt; you can always add more but can’t take it out.
I’m sure this has been asked a zillion times, but I did not see it in the most recent 100 comments. I am going to pot luck on Thanksgiving and taking this with me – can you make it ahead and re-heat it the morning of? Thanks for this recipe and your patience in answering so many quesions :)
Yes, this can be made ahead and reheated or prepared ahead and baked the day of serving. Either will work just fine!
Great recipe!
Don’t need to double but would like to make 1 1/2x (18 servings) what would the quantities be?
To find the quantities for 18 servings you will click the print button at the recipe and then on that screen you can increase the servings to 18 and everything will increase accordingly. I hope this helps Linda!
Can you add sausage to this recipe without changing anything else?
Yes! Sausage is delicious in this recipe. I would cook the sausage and then remove the sausage and add in the onion, celery, and seasoning to the drippings and cook. I would then add the cooled sausage to the bread mixture.
what type of bread do you recommend?
I like to use half white bread and half wheat bread and set them out to dry for a few days before making this stuffing recipe. Any brand will work just fine!
Amazing! The best stuffing I have ever made, and everyone loved… and requests it throughout the year.
I am so happy to hear this recipe has been a hit!
If I wanted to add pork sausage to this recipe, would I cook that first, then add the onion, celery & poultry seasoning?
Yes, I would cook the sausage and then remove the sausage and add in the onion, celery, and seasoning to the drippings. I would then add the cooled sausage to the bread mixture.
*** update, use this one ***
Hi Holly,
We always go to my Brother-in-law’s house for Thanksgiving. Because we never get to take home leftovers, tonight (6 nights before 2026 TG), my wife and I bought a couple of slices of Turkey, but couldn’t find any pre-made stuffing (all the stores said come back Tuesday afternoon. Wha?… yeah, Whole Foods and others). So, as i am thinking about the stuffing i am missing, at the last minute, I found and tried your recipe. It looked great!
Unfortunately, i had none of the ingredients :-(. So, this essentially is a tale about what not to do. For the stuffing, …
* i used 2 slices of rye bead and one whole wheat, cut into pieces
* i had an onion sautéd (yay!)
* we had no chicken broth but I attempted to cobble together some Whole Foods boxed turkey gravy with some white wine to dilute it (truly pseudo-broth)
* only had thyme but (and the mistake as my SO points out), added Basil
* crammed the whole stuffing prep time into 30 minutes (SO was getting hungry)
* microwaved the gravy, turkey slices, veggie dish, and Done!
Well, my poor attempt at stuffing was just that. My SO gave me a A for effort. But it was clear more prep is needed to do this right.
Holly, your recipe looks great! We will try it again with more prep.
I agree, turkey without stuffing would be very sad for me and much like you, I’d have to give it a try with what I had on hand!
I’d also give you an A for effort :) I love your creativity, that’s how we sometimes come up with the best new dishes! Can’t wait to hear how round two turns out.
How long Easy Stuffing x2 in crock pot? Thank you!
for a crockpot stuffing I would follow this recipe, and as long as your crockpot is big enough you can double it nicely.
Has anyone tried freezing this after making and then thawing and heating again?
Hi Norma, as mentioned in the post, you can freeze this stuffing. When ready to enjoy, pop it in the oven at 350°F for about 20 minutes with a little broth on it to keep it from drying out.
I use a recipe very close to this but more butter and I get a couple loaves of sour bread from a local bakery. Both make all the difference in the world!
how much butter do you use?