Homemade Stuffing is a staple side dish for every Thanksgiving table! This is a traditional recipe made with dried bread cubes mixed with onions and celery sauteed in plenty of butter then mixed with herbs and broth (and more butter) and baked until golden and delicious!
If you prefer your stuffing with a little sausage, pop over to this recipe for Sausage Stuffing.
Set the perfect holiday table with Mashed Potatoes, Gravy, Corn Casserole, Green Bean Casserole, Turkey, and this Thanksgiving Stuffing Recipe!
Stuffing or Dressing?
The old argument – is it stuffing or dressing?
Traditionally you call this dish stuffing only if it is stuffed and cooked inside of the turkey. It is dressing if it is served on the side of the turkey.
Even though this recipe is not cooked INSIDE of the bird I am still calling it stuffing. That has more to do with people being able to find it on the internet than tradition.
Bread
Bread is the main ingredient in traditional stuffing (dressing). So you want to make sure that you buy a nice hearty bread that will stand up to the butter, eggs and broth that are added.
Look for a thicker cut, quality bread. I have used these brands and they work perfectly:
- Sara Lee Artesano Bakery Bread
- Pepperidge Farm Farmhouse Hearty White, Butter or Potato Bread
You will also want to make sure that your bread is stale. This is key to allowing the bread to absorb the butter, broth and eggs, which makes your stuffing so buttery and golden!
Five Star Review
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
“Wonderful recipe! I’ve made it once with the Artesano bread (came out amazing!) and once with Udi’s gluten free hot dog buns – also came out amazing. I have been using recipes from your website for a few years now, and have yet to find a recipe that isn’t excellent. Thank you for the work you do – you’ve added variety and yum to my monthly meal rotations as well as to our holidays.”
-Vic
How To Make Stale Bread Cubes
You have 2 options to make your bread nice and stale for this stuffing recipe:
Stale Bread Cubes
- Overnight– Cut the bread into 1 inch cubes and let it sit on a sheet pan, on the counter overnight.
- Quick Method– Cut the bread into 1 inch cubes and spread on a large sheet pan. Dry in a 250 degree oven for 30 minutes, tossing every 5-10 minutes so it doesn’t brown. (You will have time for this while the onions and celery soften!)
Making stale bread cubes allows the bread to absorb all the flavor (butter, broth, seasonings) and not disintegrate! Don’t skip this step.
How to Make Homemade Stuffing
You can also watch Susie make this Stuffing Recipe and Sausage Stuffing Recipe on a 30 minute episode of Pinterest TV!
Make sure that you are starting with stale bread cubes -see the section above for help with that! These steps will give you a general over view of how to make homemade stuffing. For more detailed instructions and ingredient amounts, jump down to the recipe card.
Step 1
Dry your bread cubes using one of the two methods above.
Step 2
Preheat the oven to 350°F and generously butter a 9×9 baking pan, if doubling use a 9×13 or 10×15 baking pan.
Step 3
In a large skillet over medium heat melt the ¾ cup butter. Add the onions and celery and sauté until they are completely softened, this will take about 20-30 minutes.
Step 4
Off the heat stir in the salt, pepper, poultry seasoning, marjoram, fresh chopped sage, and fresh chopped parsley.
Step 5
Whisk together the 2 eggs and cup of chicken broth.
Step 6
In a large bowl stir together the onion/herb mixture and stale bread cubes. Now pour in the egg/broth mixture and stir until the bread absorbs the liquid.
Step 7
Pour into the buttered pan. Cube 2 tablespoon of butter and dot the top of the stuffing.
Step 7
Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 15 minutes. If you like a really crispy top you can broil for the last minute or two!
Doubling The Recipe
If you are hosting a larger crowd you can absolutely double this stuffing recipe. Simply double all the ingredients, bake in a 9×13 or 10×15 dish, and the baking time will be the same.
Recipe Card Shortcut
Use the +/- buttons and change for the amount of people you are serving. It will change all the ingredient amounts for you!!
More Holiday Recipes To Love
Build a beautiful holiday meal around your delicious Homemade Stuffing by adding some of the recipes below:
💛💛💛💛💛
Did you make this recipe?
I would love to hear your review, especially if you have tips and tricks to add! Pop down to the comment section and connect with me
Homemade Stuffing Recipe + Video
Equipment
- 9×9 baking dish (use a 9×13 if doubling the recipe)
Ingredients
- 12 cups Stale White Bread – cut into 1 inch cubes - (approx 1 lb 4 oz loaf of bread – see notes below for details)
- ¾ cup plus 2 tablespoon butter - divided
- 1 large yellow or white onion - chopped
- 2 cup celery, chopped - stalks and leaves!
- 1 ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
- ½ teaspoon marjoram
- 3 tablespoon (heaping) fresh sage - , chopped
- ⅓ cup fresh parsley - , chopped – Curly or Italian will work
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup chicken broth or stock
Instructions
Stale Bread Cubes
- Cut the bread into 1 inch cubes.12 cups Stale White Bread – cut into 1 inch cubes
- Make the bread stale by one of the two options:A. Overnight – Lay the bread cubes on a sheet pan on the counter overnight to dry out.B. Quick Method – Preheat the oven to 250°, lay the bread cubes on a sheet pan and pop in the oven for 30 minutes, tossing every 5-10 minutes.
Stuffing
- Preheat the oven to 350° and prep a 9×9 baking dish by generously greasing with butter or oil. (if you are doubling the recipe use a 9×13 or 10×15 baking dish)
- In a large sauté pan over medium heat melt ¾ cup butter. Add the onions and celery and sauté until they are completely softened, this will take about 20-30 minutes.1 large yellow or white onion, 2 cup celery, chopped
- Off the heat add the salt, pepper, poultry seasoning, marjoram, fresh sage and parsley to the onions.1 ½ teaspoon kosher salt, 1 teaspoon black pepper, 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning, ½ teaspoon marjoram, 3 tablespoon (heaping) fresh sage, ⅓ cup fresh parsley
- In a small bowl whisk together the eggs and broth.2 eggs, 1 cup chicken broth or stock
- Add the bread cubes to a large bowl, pour the onions/herb mixture over the bread and stir to combine. Pour the egg mixture over the bread cubes and stir until the liquid is absorbed.
- Pour the stuffing mixture into the buttered baking dish. Cube the remaining 2 tablespoon of butter and dot the top of the stuffing.
- Cover the dish with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 15 minutes. For an extra crispy top turn the broiler on for a minute or two!
- Serve right away!
Recipe Tips and Notes:
To make a meat stuffing, pop over to this recipe for Sausage Stuffing! You can also watch Susie make this stuffing recipe and sausage stuffing recipe on a 30 minutes episode of Pinterest TV!
Kim says
This was CRAZY amazing! We just had family Christmas with a Thanksgiving dinner and oof! Compliments to you and your recipe! Thank you for sharing it and spreading cheer in the kitchen! House smelled scrumptious! There was not much left at all! & I’m not scared to make stuffing anymore! TY! p.s. & thank you for your video! That really helped. And I’m very grateful you put the ingredient/measurements within each step! That is extremely helpful when you are trying to stay on time and toggle back and forth between other recipes!
Susie Weinrich says
What a wonderful review, Kim!! Thank you so much! I’m so glad the video helped AND the ingredients in the instructions is one of my
favorite features on Mom’s Dinner too🧡 I hope you will stick around for more recipes if you are new here.
Kristin says
Made this for the first time this Thanksgiving. It was a bit of work but SOOOOO worth it. This will be my go-to recipe for each holiday season (the only time I make it from scratch).
Susie Weinrich says
Excellent!! We call that a “labor of love” especially at the holidays.
Connie says
If I want to make this the day of the meal but have no oven space, can it bake in a crockpot?
Susie Weinrich says
I have not tried that, but it should work. You just won’t have the crispy bits on the top.
Gloria says
Quite disapointed, at least the bacon I added gave it a bit of flavor. Not recommending it at all.
Susie Weinrich says
This is a very surprising review. Between the butter, chicken stock, onions, celery, seasonings, and all the fresh herbs I think it has quite a bit of flavor. If you are looking for that meaty flavor you would probably prefer this Sausage and Cranberry Stuffing Recipe, I hope you will check it out.
Elissa says
I made this in triple for Thanksgiving dinner and it got RAVE reviews!!! The flavors were amazing and it smelled like the Holidays!
Susie Weinrich says
Wonderful! Hope you had some leftovers too.
Star says
Loved this recipe. It was easy to make and comes together pretty quick. Family loved it. It is moist and very well seasoned. I will definitely continue to use this recipe.
Susie Weinrich says
That is great! Thank you so much for coming back to review the recipe!!
Patty says
Having struggled for years trying to replicate my mother’s stuffing recipe, I tried the Mom’s Dinner — almost identical in taste to my mom’s with all of the timing and tips I needed.
I doubled the recipe, with half going inside the bird for cooking and the rest in the oven.
I’m so grateful to have found this site and — for the first time in decades — to have found exactly the recipe I needed. So straightforward, so user-friendly, so delicious!
(Now, time to find the amazing-gravy recipe comment spot!)
Susie Weinrich says
I love this so much! Whenever you can make a recipe that reminds you of parents or grandparents, it is GOLD! I hope you will stick around for more recipes through the year. Happy Holidays and thank you so much for taking the time to write such detailed and kind reviews. It means the world to me.
Annette says
This is a keeper! I ditched the boxed version this year and was determined to make it from scratch. I’m never going back! This was the classic version I craved from growing up. I used the bread you recommended (which I always use for French toast, too). I didn’t have marjoram, but had everything else listed. The fresh sage was heavenly!
Susie Weinrich says
That is so great! I love having foods that remind you of your parents or grandparents cooking. Nothing better!
Staci says
I never leave comments on anything but this recipe deserves a comment! It was SO good. Multiple people at Thanksgiving told me it was the best they’ve ever had. Be warned that’s it so delicious you will be dubbed “the stuffing person” and it will be your responsibility from here on out to bring the stuffing to Thanksgiving dinner.
Susie Weinrich says
Thank you so much for leaving a comment and rating. It means the world to me!!
You have definitely been bestowed “The Stuffing Person” title!! Don’t make my Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes or you will also be “The Mashed Potato Person”. LOL
Megan Miller says
I used this recipe for my time making stuffing from scratch. It was a hit! So good! My only question is, can this be prepared the night before and put in the oven the next day?
Susie Weinrich says
Yes, it can be made the day or night before and baked the day of!
Faith says
This stuffing is perfect! I made this yesterday for Thanksgiving. This will be the recipe I use going forward for every holiday dinner. Thank you!!🩷
Susie Weinrich says
Wonderful!! Thank you so much for leaving a comment🧡 Happy Holidays
Shari says
I had great hopes for this recipe. Should never make a new recipe on Thanksgiving!! I felt like the amount of stale bread was way too much for the amount of liquid. I also needed to use a much bigger pan. The floor was good, but was very dry. Even using 3-times the liquid.
Susie Weinrich says
Hmmm, that is strange. Did you use 1 loaf of bread or multiple?
Tia says
Thanks so much for the response! One last thing. I have a casserole dish two of them one is small then medium size that is smaller then 9×13 for doubling then my bigger pan is a lasagna size dish. What should I use? I don’t want to mess this up.
Susie Weinrich says
The 9×13 (lasagna size) pan will work great.
Nicole says
I made the stuffing and put it in the fridge and then I was going to stuff the turkey with it tomorrow. Can I bake it that way instead of baking it in a dish?
Susie Weinrich says
I have not put stuffing in a bird before, so unfortunately I don’t know for sure. But I would think it should work just fine.
Nicole says
Thank you! I’ll let you know how it turns out!
Denise pins says
Can you use jarred parsley and sage because that’s what I have on hand but really want to try this recipe
Susie Weinrich says
Sure! Just lessen the amount of dried sage to 1 tsp, and the amount of parsley to 1.5 tsp.
Jessica Sanchez says
Can I make this overnight? And then bake in the morning?
Susie Weinrich says
Yes, mine is in the fridge right now!
Jamie says
Can I use rubbed sage? Looks like a great recipe I can’t wait to try!!
Susie Weinrich says
Definitely! If you are using it in place of the fresh sage, lower the amount to 1 tsp up to 2 tsp.
Tia says
Hello. How much fresh parsley if I doubled the recipe?
Susie Weinrich says
I would just add 1/2 cup fresh chopped parsley when doubling… up to 2/3 cup if you like more parsley.
Susan Ilene Creagh says
I followed the instructions It was perfect thank you
Susie Weinrich says
Wonderful!! Happy Holidays