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
No-Frills Thanksgiving Stuffing Recipe
This post and recipe is a repost from 2014 and has been a huge hit with my readers ever since.
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 dressing recipe calls for simple, straightforward ingredients. Classic, but delicious!
Here’s what you’ll need to make the best stuffing recipe:
- Onions
- Celery
- Fresh herbs (parsley, rosemary, sage, thyme)
- Butter
- Broth
- Bread
- Eggs
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 Thanksgiving Stuffing From Scratch
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.
Tips for Making the BEST Stuffing
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 traditional stuffing.
Note that the saltiness level of low-sodium chicken broth varies, and so do personal preferences, so salt the dish to taste to create the best stuffing recipe.
If you need to keep the homemade stuffing warm before serving it, loosely cover it with foil and stick it in a 200F oven.
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.
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).
Recipe Variations to Try
If you love this traditional Thanksgiving dressing recipe, you’ll also love the following recipe variations! Here are some more stuffing recipes I’ve created over the years:
Pin This Recipe
Enjoy AverieCooks.com Without Ads! 🆕
Go Ad Free
Traditional Homemade 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.
©averiecooks.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited.
More Easy Thanksgiving Recipes:
All of my Thanksgiving recipes!
Easy Foolproof Roasted Turkey — Learn how to make juicy, flavorful herb-roasted turkey that’s not dry! This turkey has all the flavor that grandma’s used to have, minus the hassle.
The Best Mashed Potatoes — Buttery, creamy, PERFECT mashed potatoes that rival your favorite restaurant’s version but EASY and ready in 45 minutes!!
Sweet Potato Casserole with Butter Pecan Crumble Topping — The holiday classic just got even better because of the amazing topping! A buttery, brown sugary, crunch that’s irresistible! Easy and you can pre-assemble to save time!
The Best Green Bean Casserole — No processed soups nor canned ingredients and instead made with fresh green beans, mushrooms, red onions, and a cheesy crispy breadcrumb topping that will have the whole family going back for seconds!
Cabernet Cranberry and Blueberry Sauce — Make your own cranberry sauce with amazing depth of flavor in 30 minutes! The best cranberry sauce you will EVER have, guaranteed!
Cheesy Funeral Potatoes — This casserole is creamy, CHEESY, and topped with crunchy Corn Flakes! It’s an easy side dish that feeds a crowd, so it’s perfect for holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas.
No-Knead Make Ahead Dinner Rolls with Honey Butter – An amazingly easy dinner roll recipe that you don’t even have to knead!
Honey-Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Honey-Cinnamon Dip — The honey glaze and the creamy cinnamon dip make these potatoes irresistible!
Parmesan and Herb Roasted Potatoes — Easiest potatoes ever and packed with so much flavor! Olive oil, herbs, and everything is better with cheese! A family favorite that everyone loves!
Originally published November 5, 2018 and republished with updated text November 20, 2020.
I made this recipe exactly as described – it tastes outstanding!! Such flavor! Thanks for sharing this recipe!
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad it was outstanding for you!
I made this recipe exactly as described – it tastes outstanding!! Such flavor! Thanks for sharing this recipe!
Going to try my brussel sprouts your way. Kids love them and I like trying new ways of preparing them. Your method sounds fantastic
Ok great!
I am trying this recipe for thanksgiving. This is my problem. Do I triple this recipe for 25 lb turkey for 19 people?
Gosh it’s really hard to say but yes is my gut feeling. If there’s anyway you could trial a single batch before hand just to give yourself an idea, I highly recommend that since you don’t want surprises on the big day!
I’ve used this recipe for a few years now, and it may be my favorite part of my Thanksgiving meal. I’m making my shopping list this morning, and I can’t wait to make this again! Like you, I love a very simple “dressing” too (we use the stuffing misnomer as well). This recipe is perfect…simple, delicious, and easy to make.
Thanks for the five star review and I’m glad that you’ve made this stuffing for a few years now and that it’s possibly your favorite part of the Thanksgiving meal! How wonderful to hear!
I’ve used this recipe for a few years now, and it may be my favorite part of my Thanksgiving meal. I’m making my shopping list this morning, and I can’t wait to make this again! Like you, I love a very simple “dressing” too (we use the stuffing misnomer as well). This recipe is perfect…simple, delicious, and easy to make.
Has anyone tried this in a crock pot? I will be cooking a Turkey as well so my oven will be full.
I also prepare the celery and onions cooked with real butter ahead of time and freeze. This is a great time saver during the holiday season. I do use two types of Pepperidge farms dressing mixes. Cornbread and herb seasoned as well as well dried out toast. I use poultry seasoning instead of sage as it is not so strong. I do use some canned broth but add a health dose of turkey stock from the actual cooked turkey. I prepare a day ahead and add turkey stock on the day I cook dressing.
Could you stuff this into the turkey rather than bake it? Or at least a portion of it?
I never have so I really cannot say how it will go. It definitely would be much softer with less texture than if you bake it on its own since it won’t be exposed to the oven air while baking. Not sure how it will taste.
You can read through the comments to see if others have tried this; I seem to remember yes, some people have done it.
These ingredients are my own favorites for stuffing and casserole dressing.I. have learned over 45 years of making dressing,that flavorful bread,broken into pieces while fresh,toasted in a slow oven until dry makes the tastiest version .I prepare the bread ahead,freeze it in bags,and cook onions ,celery,and herbs with butter,and add chicken broth and refrigerate overnight or freeze it.On the special day,warming the celery and onion broth,and adding some fresh herbs and freshly ground pepper, before mixing in the toasted bread saves time in the kitchen and also saves time cleaning up the preparation utensils, leaving more time for other cooks to participate in the kitchen preparation fun of other side dishes!
This recipe sounds great thank you! Wondering how many people this serves? I will have 12 for dinner and like to have left overs!
I would say make a double batch if you want leftovers. I mean it depends if people take a dainty serving or if they really dig in. I would say from 6 to 10 depending on appetites, maybe 12 if you have dainty eaters with stuffing. I think you’d need a double batch even if you weren’t wanting leftovers.
I made this last year and everyone loved it! Making it again this year. 10 Stars!!!
Tried this recipe Thanksgiving, it was a big success! The family loved it. Thanks for sharing.
Glad it was a big success!
Amazing recipe. This one is a keeper for sure. Thanks for sharing.
Glad it’s a keeper for you!
Absolutely the best stuffing recipe we’ve ever tried. It was so popular at Thanksgiving this year that my daughter requested it again for Christmas dinner. And she’s never been that crazy about stuffing before. Easy and simple and perfect flavor. Thanks!
Thanks for the five star review and I’m glad it’s the best stuffing you’ve ever tried and that your daughter loves it as well!
Absolutely the best stuffing recipe we’ve ever tried. It was so popular at Thanksgiving this year that my daughter requested it again for Christmas dinner. And she’s never been that crazy about stuffing before. Easy and simple and perfect flavor. Thanks!