Try this Classic Stuffing recipe to stuff your next turkey or to bake in a casserole dish.
This stuffing recipe originates from my Mom. She always made stuffing from scratch when I was growing up. That means she never bought boxes of seasoned bread cubes. Instead, she dried out her own chopped bread, added her own seasonings and went from there. Her classic stuffing recipe was always so good, so I simply had to share it with RecipeGirl readers.
Mom has Celiac disease now and is unable to eat her classic stuffing, so I make her my Gluten-Free Cornbread and Bacon Stuffing. The rest of the family still gets to enjoy Mom’s Classic Stuffing!
How to make Classic Stuffing:
Mom always added finely chopped onion, celery and mushrooms– sauteed in butter. My husband and I like mushrooms a lot, so I usually add quite a bit more mushrooms than this recipe calls for!
A little bit of sweet Italian sausage is a nice flavor addition too.
Dried bread cubes are used as the base for the stuffing. There are plenty of dried seasonings added in too.
What’s the best way to prepare the bread for stuffing?
We like to use French bread. Grab a loaf of bread from the store a couple of days before making this stuffing, chop it up and let it sit at room temperature to turn the bread cubes into dry bread cubes. If you don’t have time to do that, you can dry them out on low heat in the oven until they’re crispy. Just spread the cubes evenly on a baking sheet and bake them at about 250 degrees F. until dried out. Just keep an eye on them until they’re pretty crispy.
Mom uses white wine, broth and egg to blend the bread cubes and the veggies together. If you don’t like to cook with wine, you can opt to use just broth and egg.
Do you have to stuff the turkey with this Classic Stuffing?
No! If you bake stuffing in a casserole dish instead of stuffing it inside the turkey, it’s technically supposed to be called, “dressing.” Mom always did both with her Classic Stuffing recipe. She’d stuff the turkey with some of it, and then she’d put whatever didn’t fit in the turkey into a casserole dish and bake that separately. And if you’re deep frying your turkey, don’t stuff it with stuffing before deep frying!
How do you make your stuffing? I’ve tried all different kinds of stuffing recipes- cornbread, mushroom, gluten-free, vegetarian, etc. But this one has always been my absolute favorite!
BIG TIP: My Mom always liked to slow-cook (simmer) the giblets and liver for a long time, and she chopped some of that up and added it to the stuffing too. What do you think of that idea? I like to do it too. It adds another element of flavor to the stuffing, and it reminds me of the stuffing I ate as a child.
If you’re looking for some traditional Thanksgiving recipes, you might like to take a peek at my Traditional Thanksgiving Dinner Menu.
Here are a few more stuffing recipes you might like to try:
- Low Fat Sausage Stuffing
- Sausage- Herb Stuffing with Butternut Squash and Cranberries
- Vegan Stuffing
- Portobello Stuffing
- Gluten-Free Cornbread and Bacon Stuffing
Be sure to check out my Make-Ahead Mashed Potatoes recipe too. It’s a very popular side dish choice for the holidays!
Classic Stuffing
Ingredients
- 1½ cups finely chopped yellow onion
- 1 cup finely chopped celery
- 3/4 cup (1½ sticks) salted butter
- 8 ounces sweet Italian sausage
- 1/2 cup finely chopped mushrooms
- 8 cups stale, unseasoned bread cubes (one or two days old is perfect)
- 1 teaspoon salt, more as needed
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon sage
- 1/2 teaspoon thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon rosemary
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 1/2 cup chicken broth (use more, as needed)
- 1 large egg, beaten
Instructions
- In a small pan, sauté the onion and celery in butter over medium heat until tender. Remove from heat and set aside.
- In a separate, larger skillet, cook the sausage and mushrooms until the sausage is no longer pink. Drain the sausage fat. Add the onion and celery (and the butter it was cooked in) and stir together.
- In a large bowl, combine the breadcrumbs and seasonings with the sausage/vegetable mixture. Moisten with wine and broth. Add the egg and mix well. If the stuffing seems too dry, mix in more broth. You want it to be pretty moist- it will dry out more in the oven.
- Use this stuffing to stuff your turkey, or place in a greased 9x13-inch casserole dish and bake (covered) at 375 degrees F. for 40 minutes- then remove cover and bake for an additional 10 minutes.
Notes
- You can certainly use all chicken broth in place of the white wine.
- Mom likes to slow-cook (simmer) the giblets and liver, and she chops some of that up and adds it to the stuffing too.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I love this stuffing recipe, I make it every year!!!!! We also love mushrooms, so I add more a lot as well. I’ve been using Stuffing bread, I cube it and let it dry out, it’s such a nice texture to the stuffing.
I cook it in a casserole dish as we like it a little crisp on top. I’d like to say you could add what you want to this but it’s absolutely perfect just the way it.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!
I loved it super delicious
I made it test for thanksgiving, my first time cooking and it was a huge hit! Very delicious ?