There are so many ways to make Thanksgiving stuffing, and I typically alternate between my delicious cornbread dressing, sausage stuffing, crock pot stuffing and this turkey stuffing. It’s a simple recipe, yet totally satisfying and can easily be dressed up with a variety of add-ins to suit your family’s tastes. It’s almost time for Thanksgiving dinner, and as much as I love the turkey, I love the side dish recipes even more. This turkey stuffing is a classic recipe that’s so much better than what you’d get in a box or a bag at the grocery store, and it happens to be super easy to make. Need help with your turkey? Be sure to check out my complete guide on how to cook a turkey!
Turkey Stuffing Ingredients
To prepare this homemade stuffing recipe, you will need bread, butter, onion, celery, garlic, sage, parsley, eggs, chicken broth or turkey broth, kosher salt and black pepper.
How Do You Make Turkey Stuffing?
Leave your bread cubes out on a baking sheet overnight to become stale, or toast the bread in the oven for the same effect. Preheat the oven and grease a baking dish. Melt some of the butter in a pan or large skillet, then add the onion and celery. Cook until the veggies are tender, then stir in the garlic. Place the bread cubes in a very large bowl. Add the cooked vegetables, sage, parsley, eggs, broth, salt and pepper, then stir everything together. Transfer the stuffing to the casserole dish, then drizzle melted butter over the top. Bake until the stuffing is golden brown. Sprinkle with fresh parsley, then serve and enjoy.
Tips For Turkey Stuffing
You can really use any bread you like in this recipe. While I use baguette, some other great choices are focaccia, ciabatta, a multigrain loaf or even sourdough bread. You want to use a sturdy bread that will not become mushy when baked. If the top of your stuffing starts to look overly browned before the baking time is up, you can cover it with foil. Fresh sage is imperative here – do not try to substitute dried sage, as it will not taste the same. Leftovers will stay fresh in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Serve your stuffing with other holiday sides such as corn souffle, mashed red potatoes, carrot souffle, Christmas salad and honey glazed carrots.
Flavor Variations
This classic stuffing recipe is great as-is, but you can add other ingredients to customize the flavors to your tastes.
Cranberry Apple Stuffing: Add 1/2 cup dried cranberries and 2 diced, sauteed apples to the recipe. Sausage and Fennel Stuffing: Add 1 pound cooked crumbled sausage and 1 cup diced cooked fennel bulb to the recipe. Mushroom Lovers Stuffing: Add 1 pound mixed sauteed mushrooms to the recipe along with 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary. Bacon Apple: Everything is better with bacon! Add 1/2 pound of cooked, crumbled bacon along with 1 cup of diced, sauteed apples and 1 teaspoon fresh thyme.
This turkey stuffing is a classic recipe that everyone is sure to love. You’ll never want to eat stuffing from a box again after you try the homemade version!
Turkey Stuffing Video
