By Lidey Heuck
Updated Nov. 10, 2023
- Total Time
- 1 ¾ hours
- Prep Time
- 15 minutes
- Cook Time
- 1½ hours
- Rating
- 4(182)
- Notes
- Read community notes
This recipe makes a simple, versatile Thanksgiving stuffing, flavored with sautéed onions and celery, savory herbs and chicken broth. Almost any kind of bread will work, but choose a fluffy white bread, like a Pullman loaf or French bread, if you can. Even sliced sandwich bread works — and it provides a great shortcut for cubing the bread. Be sure to toast the bread cubes in the oven if you’re using a fresh loaf of bread; the cooked cubes should be dry and firm to the touch, like croutons. If you’re rationing oven space on Thanksgiving Day, you can assemble the stuffing and refrigerate it up to 12 hours before baking. The stuffing will be crisp on top and moist underneath. The longer you leave it in the oven without foil, the crispier the bread cubes on the top will be.
Learn: How to Cook a Turkey
Learn: How to Make Stuffing
or to save this recipe.
Print Options
Include recipe photo
Advertisem*nt
Ingredients
Yield:8 to 10 servings
- ½cup/1 stick plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1(1-pound) day-old loaf white bread, cut into ½-inch cubes (about 12 cups); see Tip
- 2cups finely chopped celery (5 to 7 ribs)
- 2cups finely chopped yellow onion (1 large)
- 2tablespoons chopped fresh thyme, rosemary, sage or a combination
- 1teaspoon kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal)
- ½teaspoon black pepper
- ⅓cup chopped fresh parsley
- 1½ cups homemade or store-bought chicken (or vegetable) broth
- 2large eggs
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (10 servings)
253 calories; 14 grams fat; 7 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 4 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 27 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams dietary fiber; 4 grams sugars; 7 grams protein; 377 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Powered by
Preparation
Step
1
Heat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with 1 tablespoon of the butter. Place the bread cubes in a very large bowl.
Step
2
Melt the remaining ½ cup butter in a large (12-inch) skillet over medium heat. Add the celery and onion and cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 to 12 minutes, until the celery is crisp-tender. (Lower the heat slightly if the vegetables begin browning.) Add the thyme, salt and black pepper, and cook until the herbs are fragrant, about 1 minute.
Step
3
Transfer the vegetable mixture to the bowl with the bread cubes. Add the parsley and toss well. Combine the broth and eggs in a large glass measuring cup and whisk until smooth. Pour the broth mixture over the bread and toss until the liquid is absorbed.
Step
4
Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking dish and smooth into an even layer. Cover the pan with foil and bake for 40 minutes.
Step
5
Remove the foil and bake until the bread is crisp and browned on top, 30 to 35 more minutes. Set aside for 10 minutes to cool slightly, then serve.
Tip
- If your bread is fresh, spread the bread cubes on a sheet pan and bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes, until dry to the touch but not browned.
Ratings
4
out of 5
182
user ratings
Your rating
or to rate this recipe.
Have you cooked this?
or to mark this recipe as cooked.
Private Notes
Leave a Private Note on this recipe and see it here.
Cooking Notes
Sherri
This recipe is pretty much same as our family's traditional and beloved Thanksgiving stuffing. We don't use eggs or finely chop the onions or celery - bigger chunks give the stuffing heft and interest. Also use 1 to 2 TBSP each of rosemary, thyme,& sage. We also add a few dashes of nutmeg and a TBSP of majoram. Delicious - esp. after a couple of days, when the herbs really bloom in the stuffing. Perfect all by itself as a left over with a glug of gravy and cranberry sauce.
Reg
This is the best basic stuffing recipe. Recipe should state 2 TBS each of the spices (as written it's not clear if you want a total of 2 TBS or 6).
MJ
I like chopped apple sauteed with the celery. You could add veggies like parsnip (kind of sweet root veg with peppery flavor, which also goes well with apple). Use turkey broth, if not vegetarian, MUCH better than veg or chicken imo - can easily make ahead from a couple extra store bought drumsticks, roasted. Cranberries add a nice tart bright touch. I personally dislike the flavor/texture of added egg
Erin M
Simple and was a crowd pleaser. Used one egg instead of two and tossed in some garlic. Will be making again at Christmas.
Jesse
Was very good and simple to make! Next time I would increase the broth a little bit - maybe an extra 1/4 cup. But I’d gladly make this again.
Anna
It was very dry and unpleasant
sara
Really yummy. Bought a loaf of white bread and dried it. Make again!
smee
You may think you have a very large bowl. Then you fill it with a pound of bread, and you realize it’s not very large. Consider using a tub instead. Otherwise you can’t adequately mix in the other ingredients without everything overflowing onto the counter.
Katie H.
made this for thanksgiving. sooo easy and so good! i used fresh sourdough and left it out (pulled apart into bite-sized pieces) the night before cooking to dry it out (removed the bottom crust because that’s my preference). it got great reviews!
Jan
This was easy yet delicious. I used fatter soft bakery French bread. One loaf made 12 cups bread
Robin
I followed this recipe exactly as written and it was wonderful. Very easy to follow. I used plain white sandwich bread, however, I somehow missed the note, and followed another recipe that suggested baking the cubes at 225 for 30 minutes. I also put everything together the day before and baked it shortly before serving. It was a hit! My brother asked for the recipe.
Penny
This recipe is quite similar to a delicious stuffing from Gourmet magazine, 1988, that I have made every Thanksgiving for over 30 years. Gourmet’s recipe is based on homemade cornbread (simple to make the day before, and easy to render no-gluten by using oat flour rather than white along with the yellow corn meal). Gourmet’s recipe adds 2 cups of chopped chestnuts and 3 Granny Smith apples, and omits the eggs, which seem odd here.
Cook from Chapel Hill
Will this work without the eggs for vegan family?
molly
To make ahead: make through Step 4 (the first bake), cool and refrigerate overnight, then continue with Step 5 (the second bake) the next day.
alannah
Do NOT follow the tip! 350 degrees turned my fresh bread into toast
Ellen
Can I put the stuffing together in the casserole and refrigerate overnight and then cook???? Thx ahead of time
Nancy Johnson
I like this recipe and I do a similar one, I haven’t added eggs to my recipe and would like to. My question is, I like to brown the celery and onions until tender, with plenty of butter, I then add my broth and simmer, how can I add the eggs? Should I keep some broth cold and mix the eggs into that, then slowly add to the warm broth?Thank you,Nancy
Martha S Cushman
my stuffing is much like Sherri's, but I peel and dice 1-2 baking apples and mix in. Makes a little taste variation, and my mom always did it!
Private notes are only visible to you.
