The BEST Thanksgiving stuffing! Based mostly on my household’s traditional recipe, it is wealthy and savory, made with contemporary herbs, celery, butter, and leeks.
If I instructed you {that a} traditional stuffing recipe was my favourite a part of Thanksgiving dinner, would you consider me? Effectively, it’s true! As a child, I fell in love with my grandma’s stuffing recipe. Made with onion, celery, and dried herbs, it was easy and scrumptious. It had a crisp, golden layer of bread on high, with a moist and gooey middle beneath. Wealthy, savory taste stuffed each chew.
My mother nonetheless makes this home made stuffing recipe for my household’s Thanksgiving yearly. As a result of I like it a lot, I wished to develop my very own spin to share with all of you! I didn’t make many adjustments—I swapped out the onions for leeks and dried herbs for contemporary ones, and I used crusty sourdough bread.
When my mother tried my model for the primary time, she stated, “You took our stuffing recipe, and also you made it higher!” I hope you like it as a lot as we do.
Stuffing Recipe Components
Not like the stuffing recipes I’ve shared prior to now (see right here or right here), this one is pretty conventional. I make it with these primary elements:
- Bread, in fact! Avoid pre-sliced sandwich bread for this recipe. You need a kind of bread that’s crusty and flavorful, ideally sourdough or French bread. Stale bread works greatest right here, so I like to recommend shopping for it one to a few days upfront.
- Butter – I like to make use of salted butter right here, however be happy to make use of unsalted butter in the event you choose. In that case, season the stuffing with an additional 1/4 teaspoon salt.
- Leeks – I like their candy, oniony taste with the herbs and celery on this recipe. When you don’t prepare dinner with leeks usually, take a look at this publish to discover ways to minimize and clear them!
- Celery – A stuffing important.
- Garlic – For sharp depth of taste.
- Recent herbs – Rosemary, sage, thyme, and parsley fill this Thanksgiving stuffing with a mouthwatering mixture of earthy, contemporary, and savory flavors. You’ll by no means make stuffing with dried herbs once more!
- Vegetable broth – To moisten the bread.
- Eggs – They add richness and moisture, serving to to create the stuffing’s irresistible gooey middle.
- And sea salt and contemporary black pepper – To make all of the flavors pop!
Discover the whole recipe with measurements beneath.
The best way to Make Stuffing
This Thanksgiving stuffing recipe is tremendous easy to make! Right here’s the way it goes:
First, tear the bread. Sure, tear together with your fingers, not minimize with a knife! I choose the look of torn bread to good little bread cubes, and I like how the craggy edges catch the melted butter and herbs. After you tear it, place the bread in a really giant bowl.
- Tip: In case your bread is just not stale, unfold the torn items in a single layer on a big baking sheet. Bake for 10 to fifteen minutes in a 350°F oven to dry them out a bit. Then, proceed with the recipe!
Subsequent, prepare dinner the leeks. Soften the butter in a big skillet over medium warmth. Stir within the leeks, celery, garlic, salt, and pepper, and sauté for five minutes, or till the greens soften. I flip the warmth to low midway by way of to keep away from browning the leeks.
Then, season the bread! Pour the leek combination over the dried bread and add the contemporary herbs. Use your fingers to toss all of it collectively, coating the bread with the butter and herbs. Pour 1 1/2 cups of the broth over the bread, and toss once more. Add the eggs, and toss once more. At this stage, the bread ought to be very moist. If it feels dry in any respect, add a further 1/2 cup broth.
Lastly, bake! Switch the bread combination to a greased baking dish and prepare it in a thick, even layer. Drizzle the highest with melted butter, cowl, and bake for half-hour at 350°F. When you’re like me, and you want your stuffing to have a crispy, golden brown high, uncover the dish and bake for five to 10 minutes extra.
Take pleasure in!
Finest Stuffing Recipe Suggestions
- Use day-old bread. This stuffing recipe comes out greatest whenever you make it with day- (or days-) previous bread. As a result of it’s drier than fresh-baked bread, it actually soaks up the flavors of the buttery leeks, broth, and herbs. So plan forward! Purchase or make your bread one to a few days upfront.
- Uncover the pan for a crispy high. One in all my favourite issues about Thanksgiving stuffing is how the crispy high contrasts with the moist, gooey inside. To get the highest of your stuffing good and crisp, uncover the casserole dish for the previous couple of minutes of baking.
- Double it if you want to. When you’re feeding a crowd of stuffing lovers, or if you wish to have loads of leftovers, go forward and double this recipe. It’s sufficient for 8 decent-sized parts, however you may want seconds. A minimum of, I at all times do. 🙂
The best way to Retailer and Make Forward
Who doesn’t love a Thanksgiving recipe that may be made upfront?! You could have two choices for prepping this stuffing forward:
- A number of hours forward: Observe the recipe as written, stopping proper earlier than you bake the stuffing. Cowl the baking dish and refrigerate till about an hour earlier than your meal. Bake in response to the recipe earlier than serving.
- A day forward: Totally assemble and bake the stuffing 1 day upfront, however depart it coated for the whole time it’s within the oven. Refrigerate it in a single day. The following day, reheat it, nonetheless coated, in a 350°F oven till it’s warmed by way of. Uncover it for the previous couple of minutes of baking to get the highest good and crisp.
Leftover stuffing retains effectively in an hermetic container within the fridge for as much as 3 days. Reheat it within the microwave or in a coated baking dish in a 350°F oven.
Extra Favourite Thanksgiving Recipes
You can make this stuffing recipe anytime in the course of the fall or winter, however it’s good for Thanksgiving. Spherical out your feast with a number of of those scrumptious Turkey Day aspect dishes:
Finest Stuffing Recipe
Serves 8
This traditional stuffing recipe is the BEST Thanksgiving aspect dish! Leeks, celery, and contemporary herbs fill it with wealthy, savory taste.
- 1 small loaf (1 pound) day-old crusty sourdough bread, not sandwich bread
- ½ cup salted butter, plus 1 tablespoon melted butter for topping
- 2 leeks, halved, thinly sliced, and rinsed effectively (2 cups)
- 4 celery stalks, diced (1¾ cups)
- 3 garlic cloves, chopped
- ¾ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly floor black pepper
- ¼ cup chopped contemporary sage
- Heaping ¼ cup chopped contemporary parsley
- 1 teaspoon chopped contemporary rosemary
- 1 teaspoon contemporary thyme leaves
- 1½ to 2 cups vegetable broth
- 2 giant eggs, overwhelmed
Stop your display from going darkish
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Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease an 8×11 or 9×13-inch baking dish.
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Tear the bread into 1-inch items* and place in a very giant bowl.
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Soften the butter in a giant skillet over medium warmth. Add the leeks, celery, garlic, salt, and pepper, and sauté for five minutes, turning the warmth to low midway by way of. Pour the leek combination over the bread and sprinkle with the sage, parsley, rosemary, and thyme. Use your fingers to toss till coated. Pour 1½ cups of the broth evenly over the stuffing and toss to coat. Add the eggs and toss once more. The bread ought to really feel fairly moist. If it’s nonetheless a bit dry, combine within the remaining ½ cup of broth. The quantity you employ will rely on how dense and dry your bread was.
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Switch the combination to the baking dish. If making forward, cease right here, cowl the dish with foil, and retailer within the fridge till able to bake.
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When able to bake, drizzle the 1 tablespoon melted butter on high and bake, coated, for half-hour. If the stuffing continues to be fairly moist, uncover the dish and bake for five to 10 extra minutes to crisp the highest a bit.
*In case your bread is just not stale, unfold the torn items in a single layer on a big baking sheet. Bake for 10 to fifteen minutes in a 350°F oven to dry them out a bit earlier than continuing with the recipe.
