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
Great recipe, Holly! I also like to grate a carrot (on the smallest holes of a box grater) into my stuffing or dressing. It adds yet more flavor. My mom always does this, & it’s super tasty.
Delicious idea, Angelina! Thanks for sharing.
I have made this a few times already. So good and the Poultry Seasoning is the best so good. Thank you for the recipe.
You’re welcome Angelica!
I’m an excellent cook. I thought this recipe was terrible. Just being honest!
Sorry to hear that Robin. This is a family favorite of ours for sure. Thanks for trying it.
Anyone who claims to be an excellent cook, then follow a simple recipe only to call it terrible, is not a good cook at all.
Just being honest.
You’re
I agree! I have made my stuffing this way for 59 years and I have yet to meet someone who didn’t love it and asked for the recipe!
Katherine
I think Sharon Jay and I would make good friends. My family and I love this recipe, thank you for sharing it and I only hope to be as kind and patient as you are when dealing with people.
GIRL BYE! An excellent cook doesn’t produce anything terrible no matter what. Why is an excellent cook following online recipes to a tee anyhow??? You could have added your own twist. I’m trying this tonight and I know it will be BOMB cuz I can cook and that’s on PERIODT. JUST BEING HONEST AS WELL!
Maybe your not an excellent cook after all.
This is the easiest and the best, most flavourful stuffing ever!! My Family Loves it.
I was wondering if you could give rough estimate of the serving size. It says serves 12 (approximately) but is that about a 1/2 cup each?
My daughter needs the info for her fitness class. She needs to document everything she eats and provide all information.
Thanks for any help you can provide.
Carol-Ann
The serving size would be approximately ½ cup but can vary slightly.
Hello, I’m looking to cook this today in a crock pot. Any idea how long I would put it on for? Also would it be at a high or low temperature?
Thanks so much!
I use this method for Crock Pot Stuffing. Enjoy!
My husband and I used this stuffing recipe for our Christmas 2020 duck! We had a great and memorable time working together. And the result was EXCELLENT! EXCELLENT! EXCELLENT! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! *Tight e-Hug* :D
Hey there! I’m making this recipe right now and just realized I’m out of chicken broth. Would I be able to substitute chicken broth with vegetable or beef broth? I also have some leftover broth left from Christmas turkey dinner which I could use as well. Please let me know – thanks so much! :)
Definitely! I made this recipe for Christmas this year and ended up using turkey broth. It does change the flavor slightly if using beef or vegetable broth but still delicious.
Hey! Thanks so much for your reply! I ended up going with the turkey broth/dripping and it turned out INCREDIBLE! I am blown away by how flavorful and delicious this turned out! It’s my first time ever making stuffing as a new-ish home cook and I’m so happy with how this turned out! I added an egg to just help bind everything together but otherwise followed the recipe… Thank you SO much for this amazing recipe! :) I am so pleased and totally know what to make next Thanksgiving and Christmas! Wishing you all the best and hope you have a wonderful New Year!
This was great! I used bread that was a few days old and it was perfect.
Hi – I I am making your wonderful recipe, but I can’t find where the oven temperature should be for baking the stuffing. So far I have the Onions and celery cooked and my bread is ready to go. I know you were very busy but I would appreciate knowing what temperature to set my oven at. This question may have already been answered or included in the recipe but I just can’t seem to find it. It’s definitely possible that I missed it as I have vision problems. Thank you for your help!
You can find it in step 1 of the recipe. Preheat oven to 350°F.
Enjoy!
Followed this recipe and only needed about 2 cups of broth ( I measured exactly 12 cups of bread cups which I dried out for two days on the counter). I cooked it for an extra 10 minutes and put it on broil until as crispy as I wanted it but that’s just me. I might cook it uncovered the whole time or increase the heat. Me like it crispy-ish! :) OR maybe I should be baking my cubes depending on the type of bread to get them extra stale! :) It turned out really well, I find that stuffing is my favorite holiday meal, even compared to the turkey!
I made this for christmas dinner and it was really good. I used a rosemary bread loaf, cut it up 4 days before, left it out to dry, i did not use the fresh herbs but it was still an excellent stuffing.
Made this for holiday dinner today, and it was so good! Perfectly captures the flavors of classic stuffing! I used day-old sourdough made by a friend. I cubed it a day ahead and let it sit on the counter to dry. I also put it in the oven at 300 degrees Fahrenheit as mentioned above to dry out the bread more. This will definitely be a staple of mine.
I made this for Thanksgiving and now I’ll make it tomorrow for Christmas….Great recipe, everyone enjoyed it. It’s a keeper.
This was super amazing. Thanks for the recipe. Will definitely make this again and again!
How long to I bake the stuffing
Bake 35 minutes, uncover and bake an additional 10 minutes.
Question about making the stuffing ahead of time. If you do this does it get soggy like the stuffing from inside the bird? We like ours casserole style because we’re not fans of the soggy
No it won’t get soggy, it will only be as soft as how much liquid you add. The stuffing inside the bird gets the juices from the bird which makes it softer. Hope that helps!
This make a rather large casserole will it cook completely in just 45 mins .
Yes, it just needs to heat through.
Hi! When you say “stalk” is that the whole bunch? Or a rib which is a piece off the stalk. Seems like a lot of celery if it’s stalks. Thanks!! Making tonight.
This refers to a single piece. Enjoy!
You have the patience of a Saint Holly!
Thank you Amy :)
Hello,
I was wondering if it’s possible to make this into stuffing balls? What are your thoughts?
Thank you!!!
I haven’t tried it but do think it would work. You’ll want to add a couple of eggs so they’ll hold together.
This sounds super easy and delicious! If I’m making this and want to use it to stuff a Turkey, do I cook it ahead of time or can it be cooked in the Turkey?
If stuffing a turkey you do not need to pre-cook the stuffing. You’ll want to ensure the stuffing is completely cool before adding it to the turkey and ensure you stuff the turkey right before cooking. Enjoy!
Thank you so much for the lovely recipe. We are using it for Thanksgiving today.
I just wanted to note here that recommendations appear to have changed: the stuffing can go immediately into the bird and then the bird immediately into the oven (according to the Food Network “Turkey Talk”). It says you can also cool it in the fridge, then stuff and immediately bake:).
Thanks, Melinda! That is good to know :)