The Best Traditional Thanksgiving Stuffing — 🧡😋 Nothing frilly or trendy in this recipe. It’s a classic, easy, homemade stuffing that everyone loves!! Simple ingredients with stellar results! It’ll be your new go-to recipe!!
Table of Contents
A Classic Thanksgiving Stuffing Recipe
People love serving this traditional stuffing at Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s, and I even receive emails at other times during the year from people who make it and no matter the season — it’s always a hit!
My family are stuffing fanatics for classic and traditional stuffings. No pears, dried fruit and nuts, wild mushrooms, or even bacon or sausage need apply.
Think: old-fashioned stuffing made with day-old bread, onions, celery, butter, and herbs.
The stuffing is lightly crusted and golden on top, soft underneath, full of rich buttery flavor, and well-seasoned from the herbs.
As the stuffing bakes, my house smells exactly like Thanksgiving and like all the Thanksgivings I remember at my mom’s and grandma’s houses growing up smelled. Warm, cozy, comforting, and happy. This is the BEST stuffing recipe ever!
Homemade Stuffing Ingredients
Like I’ve already mentioned, this easy Thanksgiving stuffing recipe calls for simple, straightforward ingredients. Classic, but delicious!
- Onions
- Celery
- Fresh herbs (parsley, rosemary, sage, thyme)
- Butter
- Broth – I use reduced sodium chicken broth, but vegetable broth works too.
- Bread
- Eggs
- Salt and pepper – season to taste
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How to Make the Best Stuffing
This classic Thanksgiving stuffing is easy and straightforward to make, even if you’ve never made homemade stuffing before.
Here’s a quick overview of the recipe:
- Melt the butter in a skillet, then sauté the onion and celery until softened.
- In a large bowl, stir together the dried bread cubes, sautéed vegetables, fresh herbs, and broth.
- Add the eggs last, mixed in with a little broth for easier distribution.
- Turn the stuffing into a greased 9×13-inch baking dish and dot the top with butter. Bake until done.
Time Saving Tip
To save time day of, bake and dry out the bread the night before and leave uncovered on the counter until the morning you’re ready to make the traditional stuffing.
Recipe FAQs
Technically this is a dressing recipe because it’s not stuffed inside the bird, but in my family we still call it stuffing rather than dressing. Our age old mis-naming tradition.
I used a loaf (baguette) of day-old white French bread from my grocery store’s bakery that I cubed, dried in the oven for 45 minutes, and allowed it to sit out overnight.
To save time on the big day, I dry it out the night before but you can do it that morning if time permits. You want to begin with really dry bread because otherwise it’ll turn to mush.
I’ve never pre-made or pre-assembled this classic stuffing recipe, but I think it’d be fine to assemble the night before and bake the day after. Check the stuffing just before baking it. If the bread seems dry at all, drizzle a little extra broth over top. You do NOT want to end up with dry stuffing!
Yes, this classic stuffing recipe tells you to cover the stuffing with foil and bake it for 40 minutes, then remove the foil and bake for another 40 minutes.
If you need to keep the homemade stuffing warm before serving it, loosely cover it with foil and stick it in a 200ºF oven.
Stuffing is best warm and fresh but will keep airtight in the fridge for up to 5 days. Reheat gently as desired.
Yes! Once baked, let the Thanksgiving stuffing cool completely before storing in a freezer bag. You can reheat the stuffing from frozen in a 350F oven (don’t let it thaw first, otherwise the bread will turn to mush).
This is our go to recipe for Thanksgiving stuffing. It’s a hit every year. I’ve made it with homemade bread cubes, store bought bakery bread cubes, and packaged Oroweat/Pepperidge Farm bread cubes. They all come out great. — Jody
What to Serve with Homemade Stuffing
Recipe Video Tutorial
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Traditional Homemade Thanksgiving Stuffing
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter, divided
- 1 pound day-old white French bread, diced into 1/2-inch cubes and dried
- 1 extra-large, about 2 1/2 cups sweet Vidalia or yellow onion, diced small
- 1 ½ cups celery, diced small
- ⅔ cup Italian flat-leaf parsley leaves, finely minced
- ¼ cup fresh sage leaves, finely minced
- 3 tablespoons fresh rosemary, sticks discarded, finely minced
- 2 tablespoons fresh thyme, sticks discarded, finely minced
- 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
- 1 teaspoon pepper, or to taste
- 2 ½ cups low-sodium chicken broth, divided
- 2 large eggs
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 250F. Place cubed bread on a baking sheet and bake, stirring occasionally, until dried out, about 45 minutes. You must begin with very dry bread or it’ll turn to mush. Tip – To save time on the day of, bake and dry out the bread the night before and leave uncovered on the counter until the morning you’re ready to make the stuffing.
- When you’re ready to make the stuffing, transfer bread to a very large bowl; set aside.
- Preheat oven to 350F and spray a 9×13-inch pan or 3-quart baking dish with cooking spray; set aside.
- To a large skillet, add 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter and heat over medium-high heat to melt.
- Add the onions, celery, and cook until vegetables have softened and are just beginning to lightly brown, about 10 minutes. Stir frequently. Transfer vegetables to bowl with bread.
- Add the parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme, salt, pepper, 1 1/4 cups chicken broth, and toss well to combine; set aside. Note about salt – the saltiness level of low-sodium chicken broth varies, and so do personal preferences, so salt to taste.
- To a small bowl, add the remaining 1 1/4 cups chicken broth, 2 eggs, and whisk to combine. Pour mixture over bread and toss well to combine. Turn mixture out into prepared baking dish.
- Dice the remaining 1/4 cup (half of 1 stick) butter into 8 to 10 pieces and evenly dot the butter over the top of the stuffing.
- Cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes. Uncover and bake for an additional 40 to 45 minutes, or until top is as lightly golden browned as desired. Serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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More Easy Stuffing Recipes:
All of my Thanksgiving recipes!
Slow Cooker Sausage Stuffing — This sausage stuffing is super easy to make since the slow cooker does all the hard work for you! There’s no sauteing or browning required at all and you can FREE UP YOUR OVEN!!
Homemade Stovetop Stuffing — With this easy homemade stuffing recipe, you’ll never need a box of the store-bought stuff again!
Cornbread Stuffing — 🧡💛🙌 Fast and easy homemade cornbread is transformed into a family favorite cornbread stuffing side dish with the addition of celery, onions, garlic, broth, and a bouquet of fresh herbs!
Pull-Apart Stuffing Ring — You’ll never guess the secret ingredient that not only makes this stuffing ring FAST and EASY, but also creates PERFECT texture! The stuffing is soft and tender, buttery and moist, not at all soggy, and seasoned to perfection with sage, thyme, rosemary, and parsley!
Originally published November 5, 2018 and republished with updated text November 20, 2020.
This is my go to recipe! This will be my 4th year using it. I make it on Thanksgiving and Easter, as well as other times through the year. Like tonight for example. So I have probably made it a couple dozen times at this point.
With the upcoming holiday season I’d like to share my tips for the questions that I am sure are to come.
You can double, even triple this recipe. In fact I do 2 and a half times the recipe. I follow the recipe exactly with one exception; if I do a single batch I use 2 eggs, a double batch is 4 eggs, and then when I do 2.5 batch I just use 4 eggs. I was low on eggs one year so used one less and the stuffing turned out just fine.
I cook this recipe in the crock pot!! Be sure to use a liner. I do a lower setting for 2-3 hours and then about an hour to an hour and a half before serving I give it a stir and turn it to high. This gets the edges crispy, which I love!!! This is also why you want to use a liner.
Can you use dry herbs instead of fresh? Tonight is the first time I’ve used dry herbs.
And it does work, but it is not the same. Use about a third size portion if using dried.
But if this is for a holiday or dinner party, don’t skimp and just use fresh herbs. SO So so amazing! The flavor from the fresh herbs makes such a difference.
If you don’t use French bread or baguette then I suggest starting with about 1/2 cup less of broth, then add more as needed. Lighter breads will get too soggy.
I always use French bread on holidays!!!!
Tonight I used hot dog buns as well as both white bread and multigrain bread.
This recipe is a true winner!!!
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad that this is a tradition for you now for years, on both Thanksgiving and Easter. I love hearing stories like yours, thanks for writing to share!
Hi Heather, if you do 2.5 times the recipe, do you remember what size crock pot you used? I’m bringing this to Thanksgiving with 22 guests. Some are kids though. I would truly appreciate any advice from you or Averie.
I would make this in the absolute biggest Crock Pot you can get your hands on! I just saw this one and it gets an Amazon’s Choice award and it has a locking lid. It’s made for your type of situation. https://amzn.to/3zug5p4
Or…use your normal Crock Pot and borrow one from someone else and then divide the recipe between the two.
I am a cook who uses recipes like, I read them, several for the same dish, then go into the kitchen and wing it. most times I’m successful. but with the dressing, eh it turns out too wet or too dry or bland or TOO something. After reading your recipe and the comments I am actually going to follow your recipe for dressing this year and hope it will help me hit all the right notes! I’m 57 and the grandmother of 5 boys, i really want to get it right this year!
It lives up to it’s reputation and reviews. However I always advise trial runs on things like this before the big day. Honestly, make it, taste it, you’ll love it and either eat it now, or freeze it for later.
I posted earlier today about what seemed like a cooking time discrepancy between written directions and the summary…I think I figured it out, the extra time is the time needed to toast the French bread! LOL!
SO…I made your recipe! I didn’t have thyme, and I used packaged stuffing mix instead of making my own, AND I added some sliced almonds…but it was awesome! This may become my go-to for stuffing! Thank you!!!
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad this was awesome. And yes, when I was with my family yesterday and I saw this second comment from you I thought oh no, what happened (I try not to check my email on holiday but do up til the late afternoon many times) but glad to hear everything worked out great. Yes, the extra time was accounted for in Step 1.
Excellent recipe!
Thank you for this delicious traditional Thanksgiving recipe! First year I made it was a huge hit with extended family, this is the 3rd time I’ve made it and we do not change a thing…..except we call it “dressing” ya’ll…. I’m from this South. If it’s in the bird, it’s stuffing, in a baking dish, it’s dressing:) Just kidding, just call it delicious!
TRY IT AND THANK ME LATER! Or rather thank Flavia! Holy cow, I cannot go one Thanksgiving without having to make this. I’m not allowed to show up without it!
First time I’ve ever made stuffing from scratch, and wow, was it ever worth it! Absolutely scrumptious – making it again at Christmas!!!
I am not a stuffing fan and I made this recipe for my son’s birthday and I could not get enough of it. Everyone said it was the best stuffing they have ever had! Thanks so much for the recipe!
Thanks for trying the recipe and glad this was the best stuffing anyone had ever had!
I am not a stuffing fan and I made this recipe for my son’s birthday and I could not get enough of it. Everyone said it was the best stuffing they have ever had! Thanks so much for the recipe!
Hi Averie,
I am looking forward to trying this recipe with gluten free baguette. I have never dried bread out in the oven before. Can you please tell me at what temperature do you set your oven and for how long do you leave the bread in?
Thanks so much!
Nancy
This is all detailed in Step 1 if you read the directions it’s all there.
Made this stuffing yesterday and it was fantastic!! Thank you!!
Thanks for the 5 star review and great to hear it was fantastic!
This stuffing was delicious last year when we had Thanksgiving at our house. I didn’t make it for Thanksgiving this year, but at this minute, Dec 25th, the bread is drying in the oven and I can’t wait to have it again. Well worth it.
Thanks, Flavia
Thanks for the five star review and glad you’re making it again!
This stuffing was delicious last year when we had Thanksgiving at our house. I didn’t make it for Thanksgiving this year, but at this minute, Dec 25th, the bread is drying in the oven and I can’t wait to have it again. Well worth it.
Thanks, Flavia
I bought a bag of pre-cut stuffing bread at a bakery. I’ve cut into smaller cubes and dried in oven. Just wondering if you can say how many cups would be used in your recipe. I could eyeball but afraid of being mushy or dry. Thank you!
I am not sure because it will somewhat depend on the size of the cubes but I don’t know…an easy 10 to 15 maybe? It looks like a ton of bread!
This is the most incredible stuffing EVER.(the original traditional stuffing) I did not change one thing in the recipe. This was the first time in years, as people were leaving with leftover plates. I was asked twice , “hey” do you have any of the stuffing left. I think the key is the baguette bread. The more crust on bread makes the stuffing NOT mushy and the fresh herbs just make this even more awesome. Thank you for sharing such a great receive.
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad that this is the best stuffing ever for you and that everyone was asking for more! Agreed about the bread; helps it from turning into just mush.
This is the most incredible stuffing EVER.(the original traditional stuffing) I did not change one thing in the recipe. This was the first time in years, as people were leaving with leftover plates. I was asked twice , “hey” do you have any of the stuffing left. I think the key is the baguette bread. The more crust on bread makes the stuffing NOT mushy and the fresh herbs just make this even more awesome. Thank you for sharing such a great receive.
Question…I cubed 2 large loaves of French bread and dried, as Im having at least 16 people and want to double the recipe. The cubes completely filled (packed) a gallon Ziploc bag. Does not seem like enough bread to fill 2 9×13 diishes. Has anyone doubled this recipe?
A normal gallon sized bag? No that is not enough I don’t think.
“Large” loaves can vary in size/weight but you want them 1 pound each, or a little over, for this recipe. I would buy more bread.
can you make this the day before and refrigerate it for 2 days later to be baked at my daughters house 2 hours away? i am on dialysis with a crazy schedule but she and her family are begging for my stuffing…dressing as i make it in the dish and this is the very closest one to what i make thoughts anyone? thank you in advance,
I have never pre-made or pre-assembled it so I really can’t say. If it means making it and not, I say it’s worth a try. BUT I think your daughter she make it since you’ve got plenty going on right now it sounds like. Take care!