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With Thanksgiving fast approaching, I want to share my mom’s Thanksgiving stuffing recipe with you. She’s been making this for as long as I can remember and it’s one of the most anticipated dishes I look forward to eating Thanksgiving day. With every bite it takes me back to my childhood when I would watch her in the kitchen make her classic stuffing (or dressing ask she would call it). I would sneak small handfuls of dried croutons until she would cut me off because I would have eaten through the entire bag like potato chips if she hadn’t. Before she stuffed the bird, I would swipe a spoonful of the uncooked stuffing and turn to her making sure she knew I approved -this always made her smile.
To me her recipe is nostalgic, old-fashion, and oh so good. In years past I’ve made plenty of stuffing variations with dried fruit, nuts, apples, sausage, and different breads. As much as I enjoy these other types of stuffing, it’s my mom’s recipe I keep coming back to. It’s so simple, perhaps this is why I love it… not to mention I feel so connected to mom when I make it. Stuffing is one of those types of dishes you can’t really screw up. If you’re looking for a great, flavorful but simple stuffing to serve your family and friends on Thanksgiving day, this (oldie but a goodie) recipe is for you! Enjoy! [/donotprint]
Mom’s Thanksgiving Stuffing
- 4 tablespoons butter or non-dairy margarine to keep it dairy-free
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 3 celery stalks, cut crosswise in ¼" slices
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon ground sage
- 1 teaspoon dry thyme
- 10 cups dried unseasoned bread cubes (found in the bread section at the grocery store)
- 1½ cups chicken or vegetable broth
- 1 egg
- Optional garnish: ¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Melt butter in a large pan. Saute onions, celery, salt, sage, and thyme for 5 minutes on medium heat. Turn off heat. Add bread cubes and gently stir them into the onion mixture. Slowly pour chicken broth over the bread cubes folding everything carefully so the bread cubes do not break apart too much. In a small bowl, gently whisk the egg and add it to the stuffing mix. Continue to fold everything until the egg is incorporated. Scoop uncooked stuffing into a medium casserole dish and bake uncovered for 40 minutes or until nice and toasty on top.
I made this for the first time and our family now has a new favorite. Thanks much for sharing!
I made this rcipe, and found it came out crunchy allright. Way too crunchy for me, and I only cooked it at 325 degrees. I think it needs more chicken broth than it called for.
I just made this recipe for Thanksgiving (today). It is fabulous!! Thank you!
Just want to say thanks, ~ I needed a simple (traditional) recipe, (b/c I’m a “non-cook”) and chose this one. ~ Love the pictures (good for us visual learners, lol) HAPPY THANKSGIVING! 🙂
If I’m making my own bread cubes, would you know approximately how many slices or loaves I need? Thank you, this recipe looks wonderful.
Hi Corinne,
What I usually do is bake it the day before, allow it to cool, cover in foil, place in the fridge, and reheat it in the oven right after I take the turkey out. While the turkey is resting, I heat up the stuffing. Works like a charm! Happy Thanksgiving!
Yes but they are filled with high fructose corn syrup and hydrogenated oils. Yuck.
This is a great recipe, but a few people have asked whether it can be assembled the night before, covered, and then baked in the oven the next day. Is this a good or a bad idea? Thanks!
Hi Megan,
Yes you can use a 9×11, although I do not know how many cups a 12 oz bag is in volume. Without knowing, it’s hard to say if it would fit the pan. What you can do is place the bag in the pan. It will be slightly less in volume once you add your liquid to it.
Hi Susan,
I like to add an egg to my stuffing because it acts as a binder. Of course, you don’t have to.
I just noticed that this recipe is for a medium casserole dish, how much would I need to fill a 9×11 pan? I bought one package Net Wt. 12 oz bag of bread cubes. Is that even enough for the 9×11 pan? Any help would be greatly appreciated! 🙂
Can you tell me what the purpose of the egg is?
Hi Megan, I have not done this before but I have read that people use their slow cookers for stuffing and mashed potatoes. I don’t see why it shouldn’t work. Happy Thanksgiving!
Happy Thanksgiving Paula!
What if I want to use my crockpot instead of the oven? I know my mom has done this before. Any suggestions?
Thanks Alice! I was looking for a good basic stuffing recipe and this is it! Happy Thanksgiving.
Thanks Michele!
I have a 14 ounce bag of Pepperidge Farm cubes that has the conversion to cups listed as 6 cups. Hope this helps!
First, not ALL grocery stores carry the cubed bread at this time of year, lol. I live in the middle of nowhere and couldn’t find them 😉 But that’s ok, I just cubed up some sliced bread and dried it out in the oven, no problem!
Is it possible to assemble the entire stuffing into the casserole dish and then refrigerate it overnight before baking the next day? If so, should the casserole be brought to room temperature before baking? Does the cooking time need to be adjusted at all?
Easiest thing is to get a dry measuring cup and scoop your bread cubes out. A 16 oz bag is it’s weight, not volume
16 oz is 2 cups, hon. Lol sounds like you need 5 bags.
Hi Nicole,
Yes, you can bake bread cubes, like croutons!
Hi,
I always use whatever bread I have on hand and dry it out like someone previously said.
350. It’s there in the directions.
Hi Red,
I don’t know the answer to that one.Sorry.