Grandma's bread stuffing recipe has been a staple on our Thanksgiving table for many years. Our family and guests all love it and always make room for seconds.
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About
Stuffing or dressing: what's the difference, and does it matter? The main difference is how it is cooked. Stuffing is loosely placed inside of the turkey cavity just before it is roasted and cooked to 165°F.
Dressing is cooked outside the bird in a buttered casserole dish. Another difference is regional. In the United States, Southerners like to call stuffing "dressing," regardless of how it is cooked.
Why This Recipe Works
- Uses the quick method, instead of the overnight method, for drying out the bread in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes at 400°F. It makes the bread more absorbent than stale bread.
- Uses good quality, unsliced bread that is torn into bite-sized pieces instead of cutting it into cubes. This will give the perfect texture as the jagged edges brown differently.
- Uses butter for the best flavor when sauteing the aromatics (onion, celery, garlic) and the mushrooms, and for generously greasing the casserole dish.
- Delivers classic must have flavors by seasoning with sage, onion, garlic, and 5 other spices.
- Is baked covered then uncovered with foil to make the top and edges golden brown and crunchy, but the inside remains soft and moist. (Want to cook the stuffing inside the bird? See the expert tip section below.)
Ingredients
To make our Grandma's bread stuffing recipe, you'll need basic pantry staples. Let's talk about the key ingredients.
- Bread: We used day old cubed French bread.
- Vegetables: We used yellow onions, celery, minced garlic, and sliced white button mushrooms.
- Liquid: To moisten the stuffing, we used chicken stock, but you can also use turkey stock or vegetable broth.
- Spices: We like to use this combination of dried spices: sage, thyme, rosemary, marjoram, salt, and black pepper.
How to Make
Gather all the ingredients to make our classic recipe.
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Tear the bread into small pieces and spread out on two large trays. Bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown.
- Melt 5 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the sliced mushrooms to the hot skillet. Sauté the mushrooms for 8 minutes or until they are golden brown.
3. Sauté the onion and celery in the same skillet for 7 minutes over medium high heat. Add the minced garlic and cook for 30 seconds or until fragrant, while constantly stirring.
4. Add the dried spices, sage, thyme, marjoram, rosemary, salt and black pepper, to the onion mixture and cook for one minute to let the spices bloom. Set aside.
5. Over medium high heat, pour in ½ cup of chicken stock to deglaze the bottom of the skillet. Use a wooden turner to scrape off the brown bits. This will add more flavor to the stuffing.
6. Add the mushrooms and onion mixture to the toasted bread, then mix together with your hands. To moisten the stuffing, add the deglazed liquid and 1 ½ cups of chicken stock.
7. Mix together with your hands. If you think it's still not moist enough, gradually add the ½ to 1 cup of reserved chicken stock. Taste and adjust seasonings to your liking.
8. Generously butter a large casserole dish and spread the stuffing inside and pack it down. We like the stuffing to be no more than 2 inches deep. Cover the casserole with a lid or foil and bake at 400°F for 30 minutes. Uncover and cook for another 20 minutes. Serve this stuffing recipe while it's still warm.
Recipe FAQs
It should be moist, but not soggy. Add the chicken stock gradually and mix it in with your hands to get the right consistency. If you add too much stock, spread it out on a large cookie sheet and bake it for 10 minutes at 400°F. Check to see if the extra moisture evaporated. If it's still too soggy, bake it a little longer. If have extra dried out bread you can also add more to soak up the extra moisture.
Day old, dried out bread is best, as it will give you the best texture and flavor. We like to use unsliced French bread, but feel free to use the bread of your choice. Other good choices are Italian bread or other high quality breads that are not sliced like ciabatta or sourdough.
Start by tearing up the bread into small bite sized pieces. Get two large cookie sheets and evenly spread the bread cubes in a single layer. Leave it out on the counter for a few days or overnight to totally dry it out. If you are short on time, preheat the oven to 400°F. Place each cookie sheet on separate racks and bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown.
Definitely! At least for the first 25 to 30 minutes then remove the foil and bake uncovered for another 15 to 20 minutes to brown the top and edges.
Serve
For the holidays like Thanksgiving, Americans love to serve homemade bread stuffing with roast turkey, mashed potatoes, and gravy. It is also common to serve it with green beans, sweet potatoes, roasted Brussels sprouts, and pumpkin pie.
Some ideas to breathe new life into leftovers stuffing are:
- Croutons: break up stuffing and place on a sheet pan then toast under the broiler.
- Breakfast Hash: place in a skillet along with sunny side up eggs.
- Waffles: place dressing in a waffle maker to have as a breakfast side.
- Stuffed Peppers: Put it inside bell peppers and bake in the oven.
- Egg Rolls: Use the stuffing as the filling for egg rolls.
Store
- Make Ahead: This recipe can be prepped, assembled, and tightly covered with foil and placed in the fridge up to two days in advance. When ready to serve, let it sit on the counter for 30 minutes then bake it at 400 F for 30 minutes covered and 20 minutes uncovered.
- Leftovers: This should keep for 3 to 4 days in the fridge if stored in an airtight container. Everyone loves turkey dinner leftovers. Check out our 7 Thanksgiving leftover turkey recipes.
- Frozen: Yes, fully cooked turkey stuffing can be frozen. Allow it to completely cool then store in freezer friendly containers for up to 3 months. When ready to eat, thaw overnight in the fridge then reheat in the oven.
- Reheat it in a covered ovenproof baking dish at 350°F for 20 minutes or until heated through. (Drizzle a bit of broth on top to prevent it from drying out.)
Variations
- Want eggs as a binder? Whisk in two fork beaten eggs with the 2 cups of chicken stock.
- Want fruit add ins? Try raisins, dried cranberries, figs, apricots, or ripe pear.
- Want sausage stuffing? Use crumbled sausage and dried cranberries.
- Want apple stuffing? Use 2 diced tart apples, dried cranberries, and sliced almonds.
- Want oyster stuffing? Use 2 cups raw chopped oysters with liquid, crumbled sweet Italian sausage, 3 eggs, tarragon, and parsley.
Expert Tips
- Best type of bread? Use day old white bread, torn or cut into bite-sized pieces. Leave it out overnight to dry or toast the bread cubes in the oven. French, Italian, Ciabatta, or sourdough bread will all work.
- Stuffing too wet? If you add too much stock, spread it out on a large cookie sheet and bake it for 10 minutes at 400°F or add extra dried out bread.
- Stuffing too dry? Add a little more chicken stock and mix it in with your hands. Let it sit for a few minutes and check it by sampling it.
- Want to cook it in the bird? Clean out the cavity, loosely stuff it (¾ cup of stuffing per 1 lb. of turkey) with the cooled stuffing immediately before placing in the oven, and cook until the center of the stuffing has an internal temperature (affiliate) of 165°F. Check food safety guidelines from the USDA for more info.
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Recipe
Grandma's Bread Stuffing Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 loaf French bread, torn into bite-size pieces (10 cups)
- 5 tablespoons salted butter
- 2 cups yellow onion, chopped
- 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
- 1 ¾ cup celery, finely diced
- 8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
- 1 teaspoon ground sage
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon dried marjoram
- ½ teaspoon dried rosemary
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 cups chicken stock, reduced sodium, reserve 1 cup
Instructions
- Tear up the French bread into small bite-sized pieces to get 10 cups.
- Spread the bread cubes on two 11x17-inch cookie sheets to air dry overnight, or toast them in a 400 F oven on separate racks for 10 minutes. If your bread pieces are larger, stir, rotate pans, and toast 5 to 10 more minutes or until golden brown.
- Melt half butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Cook the mushrooms for 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove the mushrooms with a slotted spoon and place in a bowl.
- Melt the rest of the butter in the same skillet over medium high heat and saute the onion and celery for 7 minutes. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant, roughly 30 seconds.
- Stir the spices into the onion mixture and cook for 1 minute to bloom the spices. Remove the onion mixture from the pan.
- Turn the heat to medium-high and pour ½ cup of chicken stock into the skillet. Deglaze the pan by scraping the browned bits off of the bottom with a wooden turner. This will make the stuffing taste better. Pour back into the measuring cup.
- Put the toasted bread cubes in a very large bowl and add the onion mixture and mushrooms. Mix together with your hands or with a large spoon if it's too hot.
- Pour 2 cups of chicken stock into the mixture and use your hands to mix it until the bread cubes are moist, but not soggy. If needed, gradually add the last cup of stock to the stuffing. Taste and adjust seasonings to your liking.
- Generously butter a 9x13-inch casserole dish, then spread the stuffing inside and pack it down.
- Cook at 400 F for 30 minutes covered with aluminum foil, then remove the foil and bake for another 20 minutes. Serve this stuffing recipe while it's still warm.
Notes
- Best type of bread? Use day old white bread, torn or cut into bite-sized pieces. Leave it out overnight to dry or toast the bread cubes in the oven. French, Italian, Ciabatta, or sourdough bread will all work.
- Stuffing too wet? If you add too much stock, spread it out on a large cookie sheet and bake it for 10 minutes at 400°F or add extra dried out bread.
- Stuffing too dry? Add a little more chicken stock and mix it in with your hands. Let it sit for a few minutes and check it by sampling it.
- Want to cook it in the bird? Clean out the cavity, loosely stuff it (¾ cup of stuffing per 1 lb. of turkey) with the cooled stuffing immediately before placing in the oven, and cook until the center of the stuffing has an internal temperature of 165°F. Check food safety guidelines from the USDA for more info.
Nutrition
Serving sizes and nutritional information are only an estimate and may vary from your results.
This recipe was originally published on September 28, 2017 and was updated with new photos and updated content on November 27, 2019 and on November 10, 2022.
Alex
I love the smell of this stuffing. The bread is nice and warm and soft, and the crust adds a bit of crunch. The medley of spices go well with the celery and bread.
Emma
So glad that you enjoyed this stuffing recipe, Alex! Thanks for your comment.
Beth
This is a very flavorful and comforting dish that I love to have around Thanksgiving. The bread, mushrooms, celery, and onion make such a great combination. Although it's different from many other stuffings here in the South, I like this one better! It's the perfect companion to a roasted turkey.
Emma
This recipe has always been my top favorite stuffing every year. It's 100 times better than the cornbread kind! Thanks for leaving a review, Beth!