The Very Best Stuffing Recipe

Grandma knew best! This buttery bread stuffing with herbs and turkey stock is full of cozy, nostalgic flavor. Soft in the middle, golden on top, and guaranteed to steal the show.

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“I have been searching for a recipe like this for years. Family members loved this! Thanks for your version which helped me figure out my grandmother’s.”

-Pat

“I ran across your Grandma Mary Ellen’s stuffing recipe last year and what a hit it was!! Thank you!! I too have been searching for a recipe similar to my Grandmother’s and your recipe is spot on!”

-Mary

The Mission To Re-Create Mary Ellen’s Stuffing Recipe

You know how you hear about people taking recipes to their grave? My husband’s grandma seriously did that with her Thanksgiving bread stuffing. The only detail she ever gave us was “well, I just soak the bread in milk, really.”

It was the best turkey stuffing in the whole wide world, and I consider myself a stuffing aficionado. It had a simple, comforting flavor and was just perfect in every way.

So, ever since Mary Ellen passed, it’s been my mission to try to recreate this recipe. Using flavor memories and reader comments and e-mails since I first published this recipe in 2014, I’ve been able to get it super close to the original.

The recipe card below reflects ten years of work, and dozens of tests. The recipe in the card below will yield you a delicious old fashioned bread stuffing to serve alongside your Thanksgiving turkey, I guarantee it.

Stuffing vs. Dressing

Stuffing, also known as dressing, is a quintessential part of holiday feasts, especially where turkey is served. It’s a mixture of cubed bread, vegetables, and seasonings, and it produces a very comforting blend of flavors and textures.

Technically, it’s called “stuffing” when it gets stuffed into the bird, and “dressing” when its cooked in a separate baking dish.

But, since you tend to have to overcook the turkey to make sure the stuffing reaches a safe temperature, we just cook ours in a baking dish, but we’ve always still called it stuffing.

Best Stuffing Recipe Ingredients

A full recipe card, including exact ingredient amounts, appears at the bottom of this post.

• hearty white sliced bread – this is the sturdy bread base that will absorb all the flavors. We usually use Pepperidge Farm Farmhouse Hearty White sliced bread or something similar.
• unseasoned cubed stuffing (the dried cubes in a bag) – these add an additional textural element to the dish. We usually use Brownberry Premium Unseasoned Cubed Stuffing or something similar.
• whole milk – this adds a creamy richness (and moisture) to the bread stuffing.
• eggs – these act as a binding agent, ensuring that the stuffing holds together as it bakes.
• turkey stock – infuses the stuffing with the essence of roasted turkey. If you can’t find turkey stock, chicken stock or chicken broth make a fine substitute.
• butter – it’s not Grandma’s stuffing without plenty of butter to make it irresistible!
• onion, celery, garlic – these aromatic ingredients add layers of complexity and depth of flavor.
• poultry seasoning, dried sage, salt and pepper – these seasonings add the perfect balance of savory and herbal notes to every bite. Yes, there is sage in poultry seasoning, but we use extra sage, too!
• fresh parsley (OPTIONAL) – for a little bit of fresh herbal flavor and pretty green color. This is probably not traditional to Mary Ellen’s recipe, but it’s something we’ll add if we happen to have it on hand.
• giblets from 1 turkey (OPTIONAL) – you can use everything exept the neck, if you want to. These are optional but add a ton of flavor to the stuffing.

Best Bread For Stuffing

The flavors of Mary Ellen’s stuffing were pretty easy to figure out (leaning on sage, butter, onion and celery). But figuring out the what type of bread to use has been much harder.

At one point, we believe Mary Ellen mentioned that she soaked white bread in milk, and then wrung it out. We’ve tried that several times, but the bread simply falls apart.

We’ve also tried making this turkey stuffing recipe with ALL toasted white bread, or ALL dried stuffing cubes. It’s fine both of those ways, but this BEST EVER version uses a combination of both.

The combination of fresh white bread (torn by hand, and then toasted in the oven), and a bag of dried stuffing cubes, creates the best flavor and texture for the best homemade stuffing.

How To Make Stuffing

1. TOAST. Divide the torn white bread between 2 baking pans and bake until it’s lightly toasted and crisp.

2. COMBINE. Toss the dried bread cubes with beaten eggs, stock and milk.

3. SAUTE. Saute the onion, celery and garlic in butter. Add the salt, pepper, poultry seasoning and sage.

4. STIR. Put the toasted white bread, parsley, melted butter, and the sauteed vegetables in the bowl with the cubed stuffing, and stir everything together.

5. BAKE. Transfer the mixture to a baking dish and bake it 45 minutes (start covered and then uncover), until the top is golden brown.

How To Dry Out Bread For Stuffing

We take the quick route and dry our bread in the oven (350 degrees F for 12 to 15 minutes).

You can also allow the torn bread to air-dry for a few days by simply leaving it uncovered in your kitchen, but we think drying it in the oven really gives you the best texture in the end.

How Long To Bake Stuffing

Bake the stuffing at 350 degrees F for about 45 minutes or until the top of the stuffing is golden brown and the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F.

How To Serve This Best Homemade Stuffing

Serve this bread stuffing for Thanksgiving or Christmas alongside a showstopping main dish, lots of side dishes, and some beautiful desserts.

Old Fashioned Turkey Stuffing Storage

• MAKE AHEAD. You can fully assemble this best stuffing recipe in advance, through the beginning of step 9 in the recipe card below. Cover and refrigerate up to 2 days. When you’re ready to bake the stuffing, remove it from the refrigerator and allow it to come to room temperature for 1 hour before baking according to the directions below.
• LEFTOVERS. If you have leftovers, transfer them to an airtight container and place them in the fridge uncovered for a few hours until they are fully chilled, then cover them with the lid and keep in the refrigerator up to 3 days.

Stuffing Recipe FAQs