Classic Stuffing Recipe
on Nov 19, 2019, Updated Jun 26, 2024
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This classic stuffing recipe is for a traditional stuffing, bare-bones but full of flavor. You can cook it either inside your turkey or separately in a baking dish. There’s plenty of room for customizing with apple, sausage, or chopped nuts!
We are on a roll with Thanksgiving and other holiday dishes and recipes lately, but a holiday feast just wouldn’t be as festive without stuffing, right?! This one is the traditional stuffing that you’ve probably had from the time you were a kid, and it’s one that never gets old.
Made with stale bread cubes, chicken or turkey broth, butter, onions, celery, and some flavorful seasonings, it’s a classic holiday comfort food that I’ll always crave this time of year. Whether you’re bringing it as a side and need to cook it by itself, or you’re in charge of the entire meal and want to cook it inside the turkey, I made sure to give you both options for making your stuffing how you like it in the recipe card directions below.
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- With simple, hearty ingredients, this stuffing recipe is a classic and is incredibly easy to make with your turkey or completely on its own as a side!
- You can leave this recipe as is, and it’s delicious or you can add other additions to amp up the flavor and creativity, like minced apple, crumbled and browned sausage, or chopped nuts for more texture. I know you’ll love how easy this classic holiday dish is to make and customize, and how yummy it is to eat!
- The bread cubes can be made ahead of time making this dish easy to whip up during the busy holiday season!
Recipe Ingredients
- Butter – try your hand with this easy homemade butter!
- Onion – white or yellow
- Celery
- Bread cubes
- Poultry seasoning
- Chicken or turkey stock
See the recipe card below for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How to Make Classic Stuffing
- Melt the butter in a skillet and add onions and celery.
- Place the dried bread cubes in a mixing bowl and add cooked vegetables.
- Add poultry seasoning and chicken broth and stir to combine.
- Can be baked in a pan or inside the turkey, whichever you prefer!
Recipe FAQs
You certainly can—it creates a more casserole-like consistency where everything sticks together and is less crumbly. If you’d like that kind of consistency, just whisk two eggs in a small bowl and pour it over your stuffing in the baking dish when you add the 1/4 cup of broth before popping it into the oven.
You sure can! I would recommend making it in a baking dish if you want to make it the day before. Just follow the instructions below, let it cool completely, and cover it tightly to store in the fridge overnight. Reheat it in a 350-degree oven for 20 minutes, or until heated through.
I recommend a hearty, high-quality bread that you’d use to make a really good sandwich—not the flimsy, cheap kind. To dry it out, cut it into cubes with a serrated knife, place it in a single layer on a baking sheet, and bake at 300 degrees for about an hour.
Expert Tips
- A traditional Thanksgiving stuffing generally has onion, celery, dried bread pieces, chicken or turkey broth, butter, and some seasonings. You can buy dried bread cubes or you can make them yourself using leftover bread, the choice is yours.
- Adding eggs creates a more casserole-like consistency where everything sticks together and is less crumbly if you prefer your stuffing like that.
- The bread crumbs should be very dry and a bit toasted. You can do this step up to 3 days ahead of time. Just cool completely and store in an airtight container.
More Thanksgiving Recipes to Consider
From Scratch Recipes
Butterbeer
Turkey Recipes
Turkey Pot Pie
Dessert Recipes
Apple Cider Donuts
Pumpkin
40 Fall Pumpkin Recipes
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Classic Stuffing Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter
- 2 cups onion, chopped, white or yellow
- 2 cups celery, chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 10 cups dried bread cubes, (16 ounces)
- 2 teaspoons dried poultry seasoning
- 1 1/2 cups chicken or turkey stock
Instructions
- In a large skillet or dutch oven, over medium-high heat, melt the butter.
- When the butter is melted, add the onions and celery, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are tender, about 5 minutes.
- Add the salt and pepper, and stir to combine.
- Place the dried bread cubes in a large mixing bowl.
- Add the cooked vegetables to the mixing bowl.
- Sprinkle the poultry seasoning over the veggies, and then stir to combine everything well.
- Drizzle with the chicken broth, and stir again gently to combine.
- To bake in a pan: Place the bread cube mixture in a bottom of a large baking dish that has been greased well (a 9×13-inch pan works great). Drizzle with an additional 1/4 cup of broth. Cover tightly with foil, and bake at 400 degrees F. for 25 minutes. Remove the foil, and bake uncovered for an additional 10 to 15 minutes, or until golden-brown.
- To bake inside your turkey: Place 3 to 5 cups inside the cavity of your raw, thawed, and ready to go into the oven turkey. Do not over fill. Follow the cooking instructions for your turkey. When the turkey is done, be sure that the stuffing has reached 165 degrees F. before serving. If you have extra stuffing that didn’t fit in the turkey, bake it in a smaller serving dish, and follow the directions above.
- Serve hot.
Notes
- I love this bare-bones stuffing recipe because it’s simple and it’s classic. Feel free to add a grated apple, sausage (cook while the onions are cooking), and/or a cup of chopped nuts. You have lots of flexibility for flavor and additions.
- To make homemade bread cubes, simply buy a favorite loaf of hearty bread (high-quality sandwich bread—the super cheap stuff doesn’t have enough bulk to it). Cut it into cubes with a serrated knife, place it in a single layer on a baking sheet, and bake at 300 degrees for about an hour. The bread crumbs should be very dry and a bit toasted. You can do this step up to 3 days ahead of time. Just cool completely and store in an airtight container.
- To bake in a pan: Place the bread cube mixture in the bottom of a large baking dish that has been greased well (a 9×13-inch pan works great). Drizzle with an additional 1/4 cup of broth. Cover tightly with foil, and bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes. Remove the foil, and bake uncovered for an additional 10 to 15 minutes, or until golden-brown
- To bake inside your turkey: Place 3 to 5 cups inside the cavity of your raw, thawed, and ready to go into the oven turkey. Do not overfill. Follow the cooking instructions for your turkey. When the turkey is done, be sure that the stuffing has reached 165 degrees before serving.
