Classic Homemade Bread Stuffing
ShareA classic and easy homemade bread stuffing, loaded with flavor. Can be easily personlized with a variety of add in items. Perfect for your holiday meal.
You probably don’t need to tell me that Thanksgiving is less than two weeks away. Or at least I hope I didn’t have to tell you that. You did know, right? It’s hard to believe it’s that time already! I mean wasn’t it just summer? I’m a strong believer that time really does go by faster the older you get which is truly sad. Sure, some days we want to fly by but an entire season or two? I can do without the extended winters we get in New England but please lets let summer and fall linger a bit.
I’m on dessert duty at Thanksgiving this year, most years really unless it’s at our house. I don’t mind that at all. I love making desserts but you know, I really wanted to share a super easy, very traditional and must have dish with you. I grew up with bagged stuffing. There is absolutely nothing wrong with it. I still adore it. Those uniform squares of crunchy bread cubes. Soak them in butter and broth or water and bake away. Oh YUM! I’m not even remotely kidding that I could sit and eat a bowl of that stuff. And I definitely have, probably every time it’s ever been made. It’s just that good. Yes, I’m a carboholic.
Instead of the bagged or boxed (as it may be in some houses) stuffing, I wanted to show you how delicious and super easy homemade stuffing is. The awesome thing is it can totally be adjusted to the likes and dislikes of your family. Add extra veggies if desired, dried cranberries, nuts or even meat! Obviously you wouldn’t want to add meat if you have vegetarians in the family or nuts if people have nut allergies so do keep this in mind – or just make two versions and make it obvious whats what the day of. This is so easy that if you’re not adding it to the bird, the family member who isn’t awesome at cooking could even bring the stuffing. It’s that easy!
I have to admit, I was a bit skeptical that it would taste as good as the stuff I’m use to. So it was kind of crazy to me that it was just as tasty. I loved the bigger chunks and the ability to season it more to my liking. Plus, just knowing you can make something is always nice. I never even contemplated making homemade stuffing in the past. I’ll definitely consider it in the future!
All of this ‘stuffing’ talk has me curious…
Do you call it stuffing or dressing? I had never heard of it referred to as dressing until last year. It’s always been stuffing to me. I’m sure it gets the name because most people use it to stuff the bird. Makes sense right?
Do you stuff your bird or cook and serve it on the side?
Are you a gravy fan or not? Me… not so much. I’ll take a sprinkle of salt over gravy any day.
What about cranberry sauce… homemade or that tart jiggly canned version? Last year the Mr and our girls may or may not have sat and eaten an entire can by themselves. I read just yesterday that in a blind taste test people preferred the canned cranberry sauce to homemade.
How about your favorite dessert? Apple pie for sure here. I mean it’s kind of obvious with all of the apple recipes I have on here right? Totally a no brainer.
Do you have a favorite dish you’re looking forward to?
I really want to know! Share your Thanksgiving likes, dislikes and traditions with me.
Now for the stuffing…
Classic Homemade Bread Stuffing
Ingredients
- 15 oz loaf crusty Italian bread roughly 10-12C of cubes
- 1/2 C unsalted butter divided
- 1/2 C yellow onion chopped
- 1 1/2 C celery chopped
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1/2 tsp dried basil
- 1 1/4 tsp dried thyme
- 3/4 tsp celery seeds
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 1/4 C broth
Instructions
- Prepare a day ahead: cut loaf into one inch slices. Leave out to go slightly stale. Alternatively you can give the loaf into slices and bake to toast. You want dry crunchy bread, not moist. Cut crusty slices into one inch cubes. Transfer to a large bowl. Set aside.
- Preheat oven to 350°F. In a medium skillet over medium heat, melt half of the butter. Add onion, celery, garlic and seasonings minus pepper. Stir and cook uncovered until onions are translucent and tender. Melt remaining butter, set aside.
- Pour onion mixture, butter and broth over bread cubes. Sprinkle with pepper. Toss and stir gently until the seasonings are dispersed throughout and each bread cube is just moist from the butter and broth.
- Bake for 40 minutes covered and an additional 15-20 minutes for a crunchy top. Serve warm.
Notes
I love stuffing! But I love it covered in gravy. I cover just about everything in gravy. I don’t actaully eat turkey on Tday (maybe 1/2 a slice), I just want the sides.
I’d definitely rather fill up on sides and dessert for sure!
I love stuffing this time of year! This recipe’s getting me even more excited for Thanksgiving. :)
I’m aaaaaall about the sides. No turkey for me. Pile on the stuffing, sweet pots, cranberries, and green beans. Then dump about 4 gallons of gravy on top, sprinkled with rolls, butter and huckleberry jam. Then swirl it all around on the plate and give me a shovel.
Stuffing is my favorite part about Thanksgiving. Thislooks delicious! I make mine in a crockpot to free up oven space.
i have been scouring the internet for a stuffing recipe… we are hosting thanksgiving at our house for the first time, and i am in charge of the turkey/stuffing. this recipe looks fantastic!
I can promise you, it’s just as delicious as it sounds and looks! Good luck with your Thanksgiving meal! If you try this, I’d love to hear what you think. :)
The only person in my family that eats stuffing (who calls it dressing?) is my brother. So he gets an entire box of it for himself. Maybe I should suggest this so we could make a smaller serving of it for him, and he won’t feel like he has to “stuff” himself full of it. And I’m totally a gravy person. Gravy on nearly everything! Maybe I’m just biased though, since the mashed potatoes and gravy are my T-Day job.
LOVE classic stuffing and all the savories this time of year :)
I think stuffing is my favorite part of Thanksgiving dinner. Yours looks lovely!
My favorite part of Thanksgiving–yum!
I am trying homemade stuffing for the first time this year. Will try yours. 2 Questions first can I stuff bird with it? plus making extra outside bird. How much do I need to double recipe for 27 people?
You can stuff the turkey. However, even though a lot of people do it, it’s not actually recommended. I grew up with it like that so I know it’s a hard habit to break. As for the amount you’ll need, that’s really up to you. Double or triple the recipe. You know best what size servings your guests would like.
So glad to have found this recipe! Can’t wait to try it on Thursday! Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!
My grandma makes a stuffing very similar to this one but I never did learn her exact recipe. I’m looking forward to trying it this year. This is my second time attempting home made stuffing ( the last time it was too dry and crunchy) wish me luck!
I hope you enjoy it!
I made this for our (Canadian) thanksgiving dinner last night, and it was very well received! A friend said in general she doesn’t really like stuffing, but loved this version of it. Thanks for the recipe! :)
So glad everyone enjoyed it! :) Happy belated Thanksgiving!
Ti sounds good for a basic old fashioned recipe which is the way I like mine. No sausage , oysters or cranberries. I do call it dressing.
Thank you so much! My 6 y.o. son has severe food allergies, and there isn’t a single packaged stuffing mix out there at is safe for us to serve. (Ha! Never considered making it from scratch!) You just saved Thanksgiving! Thank you!
I’m so glad it will help with your Thanksgiving and making it more special for your son! :)
When is the best time to add say..grapes and nuts!?
I’d first want to make sure that you don’t have anyone attending that might have a nut allergy. But after that, I’d recommend either sautéing or roasting the grapes and nuts prior to adding to the stuffing. Toss all ingredients together and cook as you normally would.
How many does this recipe feed?
Due to personal preferences for serving sizes it can vary greatly but I’d imagine roughly 8-12.
looks delish! will be trying this
Enjoy! :)
I decided to make homemade stuffing due to making homemade bread weekly and have been making homemade bread crumbs with the ends of my left over bread. My husband I decided to try the homemade stuffing instead, since I have a lot of bread crumbs. so this is going to be a treat for us this Thanksgiving. I can not wait to try this out and see what happens. thanks for the receipt.
Enjoy!! :)
Well, the stuffing came out GREAT! Husband and family ate it like it was the only thing on the planet…. Thanks for the receipt !
So glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for sharing :)