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A good breading stuffing recipe is the cornerstone of any holiday meeting, and this version has all the savory flavors and the perfect buttery, crispy texture that you know and love.
As a classically-trained chef, I have taken all the guesswork out of this classic side dish. I have all the best tips, tricks, and shortcuts to help you get your stuffing prepped and in the oven fast.
This recipe is extremely versatile, too! I’ve tested it in a slow cooker, in an air fryer, with gluten-free bread, in a half-batch size, and I’ve made it in advance. This is the only recipe you need, no matter how you want to make it.
Table of Contents
Recipe ingredients
At a Glance: Here is a quick snapshot of what ingredients are in this recipe.
Please see the recipe card below for specific quantities.
- Chicken broth: I keep jars of homemade chicken broth in the freezer (it’s a delicious by-product of poaching a chicken), but store-bought low-sodium chicken broth is also good. Or use turkey broth if you have that.
- Herbs: Fresh herbs taste the best in this stuffing, but dried herbs work too. I rarely find fresh marjoram and almost always substitute dried. Or, customize your turkey stuffing with spices like rosemary and poultry seasoning.
- French bread: Use any sturdy bread such as Italian, challah, or sourdough bread. Dry the bread up to 3 days in advance (keep it covered with a dry kitchen towel on counter, or slice and dry in a 300-degree oven for 30 to 40 minutes).
How to make Stuffing
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Coat a 9-inch by 13-inch baking dish with butter. In large skillet over medium-high heat, melt butter until foaming. Add onion and celery and sauté until softened, about 7 to 8 minutes.
- Meanwhile, whisk eggs in large bowl. Stir in chicken stock, 1 teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper.
- To the skillet, add parsley, sage, thyme, and marjoram until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Transfer to bowl with eggs and mix well. Add bread cubes to the mixture and toss to combine.
- Transfer to prepared casserole dish. Cover tightly with foil and bake until mostly heated through, about 25 minutes. Remove foil and bake until crispy edges form, about 15 to 20 minutes longer.
Stuffing Recipe Tips
- Yield: This Classic Bread Stuffing Recipe makes about 10 cups, enough for 10 side-dish servings of about 1 cup each.
- Make Ahead Stuffing: After you’ve assembled the stuffing, refrigerate it up to 1 day in advance. See my full Make-Ahead Thanksgiving menu for more ways to cook in advance including a Make Ahead Roasted Turkey, Make Ahead Mashed Potatoes (that won’t get watery in the freezer), and Make Ahead Pumpkin Pie.
- To go: Prepare this Classic Bread Stuffing in the oven-safe insert of a 9×13-inch crockpot and then tote it with you to your holiday gathering. Bonus, you won’t have to ask your host to keep it warm!
- Crockpot stuffing: Save your oven space and make bread stuffing in your slow cooker. You’ll still have soft, chewy bread cubes with plenty of crispy edges without using your oven.
- Gluten-free stuffing: transforms gluten-free bread into a side dish worth making. You’d never know the difference when you tuck into this glorious gluten-free bread stuffing.
- Small batch: My Bread Stuffing for Two is the same delicious, buttery stuffing with all your favorite flavors, but scaled down to a smaller quantity for small gatherings. See my full Thanksgiving for Two Menu which includes a pair of roasted Cornish Hens with Stuffing and two Mini Pumpkin Pies for dessert.
How to serve Homemade Stuffing
Serve homemade stuffing with your favorite roasts like turkey, chicken, and ham. It’s also delicious with Cornish hens! The best thing about this recipe is, you don’t need bird drippings to make a delicious stuffing.
Round out your menu with roasted vegetables, your favorite holiday casseroles, and plenty of soft dinner rolls.
Storing Homemade Stuffing
Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Freezing this Turkey Stuffing Recipe
For best results, assemble and freeze the bread stuffing uncooked. Then thaw overnight in the refrigerator and bake as directed in the recipe.
Homemade Stuffing Recipe FAQs
The best bread for stuffing is a sturdy loaf with a tight crumb. Bakery French bread, Italian bread, Challah, and Sourdough are all good choices. When you cut up a 1-pound loaf into cubes, it should fit in an even layer on a single half-size rimmed baking sheet. If you need 2 sheet trays to fit your pound of bread cubes, the bread is too soft an airy. It won’t make good stuffing and you’ll wind up with a dish full of mush, no matter how well you dry it out.
Dry the bread up to 3 days in advance (keep it covered with a dry kitchen towel on counter, or slice and dry in a 300-degree oven for 30 to 40 minutes).
Yes! I’ve tested this homemade stuffing recipe in a 9-inch by 13-inch aluminum foil pan.
For food safety reasons, and for a more evenly cooked bird, most modern recipes don’t encourage stuffing a turkey. If you decide to stuff your turkey, combine wet and dry stuffing components just before placing them in the cavity, ensuring any raw meat, poultry, or seafood used in the stuffing is fully cooked beforehand. Do not stuff a bird with cooked stuffing. Use a large spoon or your hands to loosely stuff the body and neck cavities (do not pack it tightly because the stuffing expands while it cooks). Truss the main cavity with trussing pins to keep the stuffing inside. The stuffing must register 165 degrees on an internal thermometer to be safe to eat. For more information, see the USDA website. Stuffing a chicken or Cornish hens is also discouraged.
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Classic Bread Stuffing
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter (1 stick) plus more for buttering dish
- 1 large onion peeled and chopped
- 4 celery ribs halved lengthwise and chopped
- 3 eggs
- 2 cups chicken broth (see note 1)
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup minced fresh parsley (see note 2)
- 1 teaspoon minced fresh sage or ½ teaspoon dried
- 1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme or ½ teaspoon dried
- 1 teaspoon minced fresh marjoram or ½ teaspoon dried
- 1 (1-pound) loaf French bread cut into 1/2-inch cubes and dried overnight on counter (see note 3)
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat to 400 degrees. Coat a 9-inch by 13-inch baking dish with butter.
- In large skillet over medium-high heat, melt butter until foaming. Add onion and celery and sauté until translucent, about 7 to 8 minutes. Meanwhile, whisk eggs in large bowl. Stir in broth, 1 teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper.
- To skillet, add parsley, sage, thyme, and marjoram until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Transfer to bowl with eggs and mix well. Add bread cubes and toss to combine. Transfer to prepared baking dish.
- Cover tightly with foil and bake until mostly heated through, about 25 minutes. Remove foil and bake until crispy edges form, about 15 to 20 minutes longer.
Recipe Video
Notes
- Chicken broth: I keep jars of homemade chicken broth in the freezer (it’s a delicious by-product of poaching a chicken), but store-bought is also good. Or use turkey broth if you have that.
- Herbs: Fresh herbs taste the best in this stuffing, but dried work too. I rarely find fresh marjoram and almost always substitute dried.
- French bread: Use any sturdy bread such as Italian, challah, or sourdough bread. Dry the bread up to 3 days in advance (keep it covered with a dry kitchen towel on counter, or slice and dry in a 300-degree oven for 30 to 40 minutes).
- Yield: This Classic Bread Stuffing Recipe makes about 10 c., enough for 10 side-dish servings of about 1 c. each.
- Storage: Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Can this stuffing be loosely placed and cooked in the turkey? And can ¾ cup egg substitute be used in place of fresh eggs?
Hi Michele, The USDA and I do not recommend making the stuffing inside the turkey. The turkey and the stuffing would both have to be cooked to 165 degrees to kill any potentially harmful bacteria. If you decide to stuff your turkey, do not do it ahead of time. Make sure the stuffing is just combined when it goes into the cavity. They now recommend not using already cooked stuffing. Use a large spoon or your hands to loosely stuff the body and neck cavities (do not pack it tightly because the stuffing expands while it cooks). Truss the main cavity with trussing pins to keep the stuffing inside. The stuffing itself must register 165 degrees on an internal thermometer to be safe to eat. I haven’t tried an egg substitute for this recipe, but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work. I hope you have a great holiday! – Meggan
Best ever just like my foster mom use to make
I’m so happy you loved it, Anne, and that it brought back some wonderful memories! Take care! – Meggan
Delicious recipe. Never used an egg before. Everyone liked it. Thank you. Many blessings
You’re welcome, Faith! I’m glad everyone liked it! Take care! – Meggan
Can you make stuffing and freeze it for 2 weeks.
Hi Joan, yes! You can freeze the baked stuffing for up to 1 month. Store in an airtight container and reheat in a 325-degree oven, covered, for 30 minutes or until it reaches 165 degrees (the baking time really depends on the amount of stuffing, whether it’s just leftovers or you made the whole thing in advance). – Meggan
This recipe sounds soo good! I’m making today.
Please cud you tell me roughly how many cups of bread are in this recipe. I like to use all different types of bread: Dark rye, raisin, multi grain, white, etc. and need a guideline as to how much, by cup.
I would like to add in some turkey gravy to this. Maybe 1 cup gravy and 1 cup chicken broth? Please let me know what you think.
Thank you.
Heather
Hi Heather, it’s 10 cups loosely packed bread cubes or 8 cups of firmly packed (as in smashing them down) cubes. Hope this helps! – Meggan
Just saw this recipe. Want to make for christmas.
I have sage, marjoram, but no thyme.
I do have Poultry with Thyme, sage, marjoram, rosemary, black pepper, nutmeg. Is it better if I just go by thyme?
Hi Karen, I prefer thyme but a seasoning with rosemary sounds great also! – Meggan
This is now my “go to” recipe for stuffing. Delicious, easy to make and very convenient. Family loved it at Thanksgiving. I make the whole recipe even for the two of us. That way I have leftovers.
Thank you Brenda, I’m so glad you all enjoyed! – Meggan
My turkey will be roasting at 325. Any chance this dish could be cooked at 325? If I wait to cook at 400 for 50 minutes the turkey will be cold! Suggestions please
Hi Cindy, yes. It can be cooked at 325 degrees, but it likely will take longer. I would recommend putting it in about 20 minutes before the turkey is done, and once the turkey is pulled from the oven and resting, the oven temperature could be turned up. – Meggan
Is there any place in this recipe where dish could be frozen and then baked a couple days or more later?
Hi Diane, here’s a link to a make-ahead version of this recipe: https://cash-surge.live/make-ahead-stuffing/%3C/a%3E Hope this helps! – Meggan
This stuffing was AMAZING! We’re making it again because there weren’t any leftovers. Thanks Meggan!