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Stuffing is the one side my family actually fights over, with buttery toasted bread, tender celery and onion, and enough sage and thyme to make the whole house smell like the holidays. I baked a big pan last Thanksgiving and Maddie went back for thirds before the turkey even made it to the table. If you love a cozy holiday spread, serve it right alongside our whole roasted turkey.
Once you make this from scratch, the boxed stuff goes straight in the trash.
Stuffing Quick Look
- 🕒 Prep Time: 10 minutes
- 🌡️ Cook Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
- ⏳ Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- 🍽️ Serving: 12 servings
- ⚡ Calories: 295kcal
- 🌶️ Flavor Profile: Savory and buttery with cozy sage, thyme, and poultry seasoning
- ✋ Difficulty: Easy, about as simple as our homemade dinner rolls
Quick Answer
Dry out cubed white bread, then saute chopped celery and onion in butter with sage, thyme, parsley, rosemary, and poultry seasoning. Toss the bread with the vegetables, pour over a mix of beaten eggs and chicken stock until everything is moist, then bake covered at 350 degrees Fahrenheit until set. Uncover for the last stretch to crisp the top so it turns out golden on top and soft in the middle every single time.
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Why This Recipe Works
Click to see the technique science
- Dried bread holds its shape. Letting the cubes go stale (or toasting them) means they soak up all that savory stock without collapsing into mush.
- Butter does the heavy lifting. A full cup of butter in the vegetables plus a drizzle on top gives you rich flavor and those crave-worthy crispy edges.
- Eggs bind it together. Two beaten eggs turn a pile of bread into a sliceable, scoopable side that holds together on the plate.
- Covered, then uncovered. Baking under foil first steams the inside soft and tender, then uncovering crisps and browns the top.
- Real herbs, not just a packet. Sage, thyme, rosemary, and poultry seasoning give it that classic Thanksgiving flavor a boxed mix can never match.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- It feeds a crowd, so one pan covers the whole family with seconds to spare.
- You can prep it the night before and bake it fresh while the turkey rests.
- It plays nice with the whole holiday spread, from a juicy whole roasted turkey to a honey ham, and it reheats like a dream.
Key Ingredients
Here is what you will need to make the best homemade stuffing. A few pantry staples plus fresh celery and onion are all it takes.
- White Bread: Dried or day-old white bread cubes are the backbone; they soak up the stock without falling apart.
- Butter: Unsalted butter both cooks the vegetables and gets drizzled on top for golden, crispy edges.
- Celery and Onion: The classic aromatic base that gives every bite that cozy, savory flavor.
- Eggs and Chicken Stock: Beaten eggs bind everything while the stock keeps it moist and packed with flavor.
- Herbs: Sage, thyme, rosemary, parsley, and poultry seasoning bring the unmistakable holiday taste.
See recipe card for exact quantities.
Variations and Substitutions
This recipe is a blank canvas, so make it your own with any of these easy swaps.
- Gluten-free: use your favorite gluten-free white bread and a gluten-free stock and nobody will know the difference.
- Sausage dressing: brown half a pound of homemade breakfast sausage and fold it in with the bread for a heartier, meatier side.
- Add-ins: fold in dried cranberries, diced apple, toasted pecans, or sauteed mushrooms for extra texture and flavor.
- Cornbread version: swap the white bread for cornbread if you grew up Southern, or try our slow cooker cornbread dressing instead.
- Herb-forward: love a strong sage flavor? Bump the sage and fresh thyme up to taste.
How to Make Stuffing
- Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the chopped celery and onion and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring now and then, until softened and the onion turns translucent.
- Stir in the garlic, parsley, salt, sage, pepper, thyme, poultry seasoning, and rosemary. Cook for 1 minute until fragrant, then take the pan off the heat.
- In a bowl, whisk the beaten eggs together with 2 cups of the chicken stock until well combined.
- Add the dried bread cubes and the cooked vegetables to a large bowl and toss to combine. Pour in the egg and stock mixture, stir, and let it sit 10 minutes so the bread drinks it up. It should be very moist but not soggy; add up to another cup of stock if it looks dry.
- Spread the mixture into a greased 11×7 baking dish and drizzle the remaining melted butter over the top. Cover tightly with foil.
- Bake covered at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 40 minutes, then uncover and bake 20 to 30 minutes more until golden and crisp on top. Let it rest 10 minutes and garnish with fresh parsley before serving.
Recipe Tips & Tricks
- Dry the bread first. Leave the cubes out overnight, or toast them at 200 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes so they soak up the stock instead of turning to paste.
- Do not skip the rest. Giving the bread 10 minutes to absorb the liquid before baking is the difference between moist and dry.
- Taste your stock. The stock carries most of the seasoning, so use one you actually like the flavor of.
- Make it ahead. Assemble the whole dish the night before, cover, and refrigerate; bake it the next day and add 10 minutes to the covered time. It frees up your oven for the homemade dinner rolls.
- Want crispier edges? Bake it in a wider dish so more surface area hits the heat, and leave it uncovered a few extra minutes.
- Check for moist, not wet. The mixture should feel damp and hold together; if it pools liquid, add more bread, and if it is crumbly, add more stock.
Serving Ideas and Suggestions
This is a holiday plate kind of side, so pile it next to a whole roasted turkey, a pool of gravy, and a scoop of cranberry sauce. It is the part of the plate everyone goes back for.
Round out the table with warm homemade dinner rolls and some loaded mashed potato cakes for a spread that looks like you cooked all day.
Got leftovers? Layer them into a leftover turkey sandwich moistmaker the next day, or just reheat a bowl with a little extra stock to bring it back to life.
Stuffing FAQs
They are basically the same dish of seasoned bread and vegetables. Stuffing traditionally means it was cooked inside the bird, while dressing is baked in a separate dish. This recipe is baked in a dish, so it works for either camp.
Yes. Assemble the whole thing up to a day ahead, cover, and refrigerate. Bake it the next day straight from the fridge and add about 10 minutes to the covered baking time.
Absolutely. Freeze it baked and cooled in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge and reheat covered at 350 degrees Fahrenheit until hot, adding a splash of stock to keep it moist.
A sturdy white sandwich bread is classic and reliable, but French bread, sourdough, or a mix all work great. Just be sure the cubes are dried out so they hold up.
The eggs help bind everything and give it that sliceable texture, but you can leave them out for a looser, more rustic side. It will just be a little more crumbly.
You can, but bake it to a safe internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit if you do. Baking it in a dish like this recipe is easier, faster, and gives you those crispy top edges everyone fights over.
Craving more cozy holiday sides? Make our slow cooker cornbread dressing next and let the slow cooker do the work.
slow cooker turkey breast with gravy
Want a heartier version? Try our sausage stuffing made with homemade Italian sausage.
No holiday plate is complete without a scoop of fresh cranberry sauce beside this stuffing.
Our nutty wild rice pilaf belongs on the same holiday table.
Classic Stuffing
Ingredients
- 12 cups white bread cubes 1/2 inch diced
- 1 cup + 4 tablespoons unsalted butter divided
- 1 ½ cups chopped celery
- 1 ½ cups chopped onion
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons ground sage
- 1 ½ teaspoons black pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
- ½ teaspoon dried rosemary
- 2 large eggs well beaten
- 2-3 cups unsalted chicken stock
- Fresh chopped parsley for garnish
Instructions
- Let the bread cubes sit out overnight if you have time. If not, bake them in a single layer on sheet trays at 200°F for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. Set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray an 11×7 baking dish with cooking spray, set aside.
- In a large skillet over medium heat, melt the 1 cup of the butter. Add the celery and onion, and cook, until softened and the onion is translucent, occasionally stirring for 10 minutes.
- Add the garlic, parsley, salt, sage, pepper, thyme, poultry seasoning, and rosemary. Mix it in and cook for 1 minute, take off the heat.
- Mix the eggs and 2 cups of stock together well in a bowl.
- Add the bread cubes and vegetable mixture to a large bowl, and stir to combine.
- Add the egg and stock mixture, stir to combine. Let it sit for 10 minutes so the bread can absorb the liquid. It should be very moist but not wet, if it seems too dry to you, add another cup of stock.
- Pour the stuffing into the prepared baking dish. Melt the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter and drizzle it on top.
- Cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for an additional 20-30 minutes until golden brown and crispy on top. Place a sheet tray under the baking dish to catch any drips.
- Let cool for 10 minutes and serve with fresh chopped parsley for optional garnish.
Notes
- Other herbs and additions can be added, see above for suggestions.
- We use regular white bread for this recipe, we have not tested with another bread.
- This can be made in either an 11×7 or 9×13-inch baking dish.
- Fresh herbs can be used instead of dried, see how to do that above.
- This can be frozen, see above on how to freeze.
- If you like your stuffing on the dryer side, use 2 cups of stock instead of 3.
Nutrition
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