Our Favorite Buttery Herb Stuffing.
This is the best stuffing recipe ever!
Seriously, it’s our favorite stuffing and the only one I make now. The edges are golden and crunchy, the inside is soft. It’s wildly flavorful and buttery and filled with herbs and most importantly, a delicious neutral flavor that truly goes with any meal.
Stuffing is by FAR my favorite side dish. In fact, Thanksgiving is alllll about the side dishes for me. Each one gets better than the last. And yes, technically this would be considered dressing since I’m serving it outside the bird.
However!
You can use this to stuff the bird if you wish. I’ve done it both ways, because we have a few family members who loved stuffing from inside the turkey.
I also think it’s a fairly regional thing? No one here calls stuffing “dressing” – really ever! It’s always stuffing, and that’s what I grew up with.
But that’s neither here nor there. I wanted to share my favorite best stuffing recipe with you today because we’re all about the classics this year. I want my Thanksgiving plate to taste like it did all those wonderful, comforting cozy years ago.
P.S. yes this is one of very few recipes you will find where I use celery. I still loathe it, but find it an important building block of flavor in stuffing!
My mom has always made delicious stuffing. It’s completely traditional and classic because as I’ve said every year, my family absolutely loses it if there is an unconventional dish on the table. I mean, remember the one year I tried to bring butternut squash lasagna?
Did not go over well.
But really, my mom’s stuffing is so good. This recipe is a modern twist on hers – very similar ingredients, but more fresh herbs. Also, still lots of butter. LOTS. It’s worth it! It’s Thanksgiving, and butter gives you that toasty, rich flavor with the crispy crunchy edges.
This recipe feeds about eight people, but I’ll be the first to tell you that in my house, stuffing always goes first. It’s one thing that people usually take seconds of, and it’s the one dish they also want to take home for leftovers! So because of that, I never mind making a lot.
If you’re scaling down your celebration this year, I’m happy to tell you that this recipe can be cut in half easily! And if you’re feeling more people, you can easily double this too. Honestly, I always double this for the reasons above. I liiiiive for stuffing.
If you have leftover stuffing…
I suggest using it for a breakfast hash skillet with eggs. I’ve also successfully thrown it in a waffle maker to create a stuffing waffle. Now that is incredible.
You can use it on a Thanksgiving leftover sandwich, stuff in inside of bell peppers or simply freeze it to bring it our on a chilly night in winter. It’s the best dinner time treat!
Now I know that I’m all about the classic stuffing this year. But if you’re craving more variety, I have quite the selection to choose from. Last year I showed you how to make this but grilled the bread, which adds a really great twist.
I’ve also done slow cooker stuffing before too, in case you don’t want to really bother with it!
And, this double bread stuffing recipe that so many of you use every year and love!
Which stuffing is your favorite to make?!
Best Stuffing Recipe!
Our Favorite Buttery Herb Stuffing
Ingredients
- 18 to 24 ounces bread cubes, (1.5 loaves of bread, or about 12 to 14 cups) preferably toasted or stale
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 3 cups diced sweet onion, roughly 2 large onions
- 2 cups diced celery
- 6 garlic cloves, minced
- kosher salt and pepper
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh sage
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
- 2 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
- 2 large eggs
- a mixture of fresh herbs for sprinkling
Instructions
- Note about the bread cubes! You have options here. Stale or toasty bread works best. The first option is that you can cut 1 ½ pounds of bread into cubes, place it in a large baking dish, loosely tent with foil and let it sit overnight. You can also cut the cubes and put them in oven, toasting them at 350 degrees F until they are like croutons, about 15 minutes or so. Finally, you can buy the toasted bread cubes in bags from the store. It’s your choice! You can also choose the size of your cubes. They can be small or larger for a more rustic stuffing.
- My mom has always used a mixture of stale and fresh bread. Also, I like to use different kinds of bread (usually two), like a sourdough and italian, and mix the cubes. It provides great texture.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Brush a 9x13 baking dish (you can also use a larger baking dish or a larger foil roasting pan too!) with melted butter, olive oil or spray with nonstick spray. Place the bread in a large mixing bowl (this may be easier for you to stir!) or the baking dish that you will bake it in. You can also separate this into two baking dishes if it's easier.
- Heat the butter in a large skillet or dutch oven over medium heat. Once melted, stir in the onion, celery and garlic with a big pinch of salt and pepper - at least ½ to 1 teaspoon each. Cook until the onions and celery soften, about 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in the sage, parsley and rosemary. Cook for another minute. Stir in 1 cup of stock.
- Pour the onion celery mixture over the bread crumbs and toss well to coat.
- In a small bowl or measuring cup, whisk together the remaining 1 ½ cups stock and 2 eggs.
- Pour that mixture into the bread cubes and stir and fold the bread cubes until thoroughly combined. Bake the stuffing for 45 to 50 minutes, until the internal temperature registers 160 degrees F. If the stuffing is getting too browned, you can tent it with foil.
- I have successfully made this a day ahead of time and reheated it - it’s just as good! emove the pan from the fridge 60 minutes before reheating it. You can also use this mixture to stuff the bird if you wish!
- To serve 4: Cut this recipe in half exactly and bake it in an 8x8 or 9x9 inch dish. I bake for the same amount of time.
- To serve 12 to 18: Double this recipe exactly. Bake in a large baking dish, like a 10x15 roasting pan, or baking in two 9x13 baking dishes. I bake for roughly the same amount of time, or about 15 minutes longer.
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
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Look at that buttery golden crunch!
1,511 Comments on “Our Favorite Buttery Herb Stuffing.”
Hi there! When you say that you have made this a day-ahead and reheated it, do you mean it when through the baking process (45-50 min @ 350 degrees) and then again the next day? Or do you mean that you did all the prep, let it sit in the refrigerator for one day, and then bake it for the first time the next day? Just clarifying!
Just my thoughts, do not cook it twice. Simply refrigerate it after preparing. Cover with parchment paper and foil preferred, or plastic wrap.
Make sure to follow the step, of reserving 1 1/2 cups of broth at room temperature and mixing with egg, then combine with bread. You don’t want the mixture too warm, and then cover it tight, and refrigerate it. Food safety temp thing. Don’t forget to remove from frig. before cooking next day, to warm up a little.
I found her response to this question in a prior comment. She said:
“you absolutely can!! i have done it many times over the years. There are a few ways to do it. First, you can just make the entire thing from start to finish. Let it cool then store it in the fridge overnight. Reheat in a low oven until heated through (maybe cover with foil if needed), then slightly higher to get that crispy on the top and edges.
The other options is to store the bread separately, make the onion mixture and store it separately in the fridge, then combine everything right before baking.”
I love this recipe! I know it can be doubled, but instead of doubling, can I make 1.5 x the recipe? We don’t need it doubled, but would like a bit more. Hope this makes sense. I assume I can do it, just need confirm. Thanks to anyone who sees this. Also, Happy holidays!
Come on really? If you can do MATH – you can make 1.5x.. heck.. go crazy and try 1.25x!
your responses have me dead 😂. thank you. this recipe sounds pretty good and I will be trying it this year. with sausage. if that’s allowed.
What bread do you recommend using?
The kind you Eat?
Are you asking me or telling me?
‘Best stuffing ever’…0 lies detected. Have tried different recipes and this is by far the most flavorful. Even the family that do not like stuffing will eat this.
this recipe is a crowd pleaser. you can’t go wrong
Happy Holidays. Our family does not like Sage. What would you increase the amount of parsley and rosemary. Thanks so much!!
A recipe is there as a guide… use some instict to answer your question. Rosemary is very strong while parsley is more mild yet earthy tasting… so what do you think? Get wild even.. try adding a different herb as well… Chervil perhaps? Tarragon?
help! need more clarification on “a mixture of fresh herbs”. haha
I’ve read a lot of the comments and can’t find the answer to this question.. If this is made the day before Thanksgiving, refrigerated but NOT cooked, what are the directions for baking on Thanksgiving? Warm to room temp first? Cover? Bake same amount of time?
Just based on experience here, I would suggest bring it to room temp and then cook per the directions. Hope that helps.
This recipe is awesome. I use a good white bread, cubed and baked to a light brown. Can i add sausage to this recepie and would i need to adjust any of the other ingredients ??
These are definitely real reviews.
I’ve made this recipe in past years with sausage, using a seasoned Jimmy dean chuck, then using the left-behind grease to cook the veggies. But I think this year I’m going to try it with 50/50 grease/butter. Because butter is God’s greatest gift to Thanksgiving l.
Other than that I did/do no other adjustments.
In the past everyone raves about the “sausage” stuffing…which I instantly know is mine, as I’m the only one in our massive family (50+ people) that does that. And mine typically is always gone first.
Can you use dried herbs instead of fresh? If so, are the measurements the same?
I was wondering the same thing. I looked up the ratio of dry vs fresh and you would substitute 1 tsp dried for 1 TBS of fresh. So each dried herb would require 3 tsp in this recipe. I am trying it tomorrow. Fingers crossed.
Fantastic recipe! My go to for every year. For those of you looking for the instructions to make a day ahead, I found her instructions on an earlier post:
you absolutely can!! i have done it many times over the years. There are a few ways to do it. First, you can just make the entire thing from start to finish. Let it cool then store it in the fridge overnight. Reheat in a low oven until heated through (maybe cover with foil if needed), then slightly higher to get that crispy on the top and edges.
The other options is to store the bread separately, make the onion mixture and store it separately in the fridge, then combine everything right before baking.
Maam you went crazy on this one good looks big dawg
If you are using this recipe to stuff the turkey would you still be baking the stuffing in a pan for 45-50 minutes prior to stuffing the bird?
you do not bake prior to stuffing the turkey
this is the best stuffing I have made but this year I would like to add apples and cranberries! has anyone done that before?
I have made it with dried cherries and raisins and it’s amazing — I added the cherries and raisins when I was sautéing the celery and onions. Don’t worry about measurements too much (within reason, of course). Just add how much you want — I think I did about 1 cup of raisins and 1/2 cup cherries.
I made it his last year and it was by far the standout! Definitely making again but would love to add sausage. Has anyone done this? Thoughts on when to add?
Hi. Have you tried making it a few days ahead and then freezing it until your are ready to cook? thank you!
Has anyone made this with vegetable broth? I’m vegetarian and would like to try it, but if chicken broth is the way to go for flavor, I’m happy to stick with that. Thank you!
Yupper, It works great.
Yes I’m vegetarian too, this is my second year making it. It is DELICIOUS!
Question: If I use seasoned bread cubes do I need to adjust the amounts of fresh herbs? Thanks in advance.
I am wondering the exact same thing, I bought the pepperidge farm seasoned bread cubes.
At what step do you add it to the turkey????
This stuffing isn’t meant to go inside the turkey. Not a lot of people do that anymore because of the food safety concern. It also tends to make the turkey cook unevenly.
To answer your question, you would mix all the ingredients together, then stuff the turkey with it. It will cook along with the turkey. You will have to adjust your cook times though – it will require longer. Then when you take your bird out to rest, you scoop out the stuffing. My mom did this every year for eons with NO issues. Whatever extra that didn’t fit into the cavity of the bird was just cooked in the oven.
I picked up day old Italian bread to use in your stuffing recipe. The bread has sesame seeds sprinkled all over it. Do you think that will be a bad thing? Like too crunchy. Just wondering Thank you.
I have made this recipe several years in a row and I will continue to do so! It is, by far, the best I have found. I use a mixture of breads as recommended and don’t skimp on the herbs. It seems like a lot, but it’s what gives it it’s awesome flavor with the turkey. Even family who didn’t really care for stuffing/dressing LOVE this recipe! 10 out of 10!
Can I add sausage and apples?
Last time I made this recipe (a few years ago) I added a ground sausage chuck. I cooked it first, pulled the meat out leaving the grease behind in the pan, and then cooked the veggies in the sausage grease instead of butter.
Everyone raved about the sausage and fresh herb flavor in it that year, so since I was assigned stuffing again this year, I plan on doing this recipe again, and NOT leaving out the sausage cuz it was such a home run!
Only change I might do this year is maybe not doing the veggies in sausage grease and instead using butter. Or even 50/50. Not because it didn’t turn out amazing last time. More just out of curiosity to see if there is a large flavor difference because butter is probably the best and most important ingredient in all of Thanksgiving haha.
I can’t speak for the apples, as I haven’t tried it. Although, I personally do not think they are necessary because this dish is already so loaded with flavor and textures as it is. I think if I was craving apple flavor to be added, I could see myself instead using the Adele’s chicken apple sausage links in exchange for the Jimmy dean chuck I use. I’d probably cut it into coins and then quarter each coin and then cook WITH the veggies in the butter, as that sausage doesn’t let out very much grease and instead needs an oil to keep it from sticking. Then if I felt like adding additional apples from there, I feel as though that chicken sausage would at least compliment the flavor more than a traditional seasoned ground pork chuck would.
-side note to someone saying these reviews are all bots and couldn’t possibly be real…sorry but no! I’m 100% real and this recipe is 100% delish! As proven by the fact that I come back to it every darn year I get the stuffing assignment at thanksgiving!!! I’m a sucker for flavor-packed foods. And this recipe is IT!!!
How much sausage did you use?
1 pound
Very flavorful and a crowd favorite! I’ve made this a couple times now with regular stale bread and with stale gluten free bread. My only issue is that the regular bread seems to be on the most soggy side. So I’ve been trying to tweak the cook time and then liquid amount.
excellent stuffing, people love this recipe. i have to make double batch for sharing after.
I am not a big fan of sage…should I add other herbs or reduce the other herbs to balance out the flavors?
When you state “a mixture of fresh herbs for sprinkling”
Which herbs are you using?
Probably the same that are in the recipe; sage, rosemary, thyme, parsley.
Can I make ahead?
Made this last year but now it’s requested at 2 different places so was wondering process of making ahead or not.
Thanks!
Do you use the bread crusts?
This stuffing isn’t meant to go inside the turkey. Not a lot of people do that anymore because of the food safety concern. It also tends to make the turkey cook unevenly.
If you are making it the day before, do you just prep all the steps except for the baking and then bake it? I presume reheat means cook the dish for the first time.
Can this be made ahead of time?
There is no mention of when to use the “fresh herbs for sprinkling”. Is that before it goes in the oven or when it comes out??
Does it still work if I use rancid butter?
I just prepped this for tomorrow’s Thanksgiving. I must say I think the fresh herbs are what make it. I used thyme, rosemary and lots of sage. I snuck a few cubes and it was very flavorful .Thanks for sharing this!
I just made it as well. Delicious but after reading comments wondering how I reheat… temp and time.., if you know, please let me know. Thanks!
Make it even better by adding a Jimmy Deans Sage sausage roll to the recipe!
Make it even better by adding a Jimmy Deans Sage sausage roll to the recipe!
You could make it even better by adding a roll of Jimmy Dean’s sage sausage. That completes it for our family.
Hello! What do you mean by this: a mixture of fresh herbs for sprinkling
Are those the fresh herbs you already have listed or extra ones? Thanks!
This reminds me of my mother’s recipe. I like mine a little bit more moist. I added a ton extra of poultry seasoning and other aromatics because that reminds me of when I was a kid and Thanksgiving. I haven’t put the eggs in it as I want my husband to taste for seasonings because over the years I have lost my sense of my taste. Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Be thankful and quit fighting on here. Lawdy !!!!
If I use bagged breadcrumbs, do I use the same amount?
Only change I made was adding sage flavored sausage. Do it and thank me later. Absolutely phenomenal
Can this recipe be prepped and baked the next day?
This was the most incredible stuffing I made a half batch and totally regret not making more! SOOOO perfect for Thanksgiving! It is so yummy and the recipient is easy!
Can this recipe be made without eggs – I have a family member who is allergic to eggs and they love stuffing!!
I come back to this stuffing recipe every year. My family loves it so much, they would revolt if I made anything else. You’re a real one, Jessica!!!
If I make this at 325 degrees to save on time and oven space, how long would I need to cook it for?
Made for Friendsgiving today. Best stuffing ever and I’ve made a lot. Got so many compliments.
Thank you for this recipe!!! I used dried out sourdough bread and tossed boiled cranberries into the butter and herbs
Mmmmm mmm
I’ll always use this recipe!!!
I add a little more seasoning and a apple chopped up. was very good.
thank you for posting this as I wasn’t sure about making it the night before and then cooking tomorrow! Happy Thanksgiving
I just made this for tomorrow (Thanksgiving) thinking when you wrote to REheat it the next day meant it was made the day before,,. a few thoughts. I used 2 bags of pepperidge farm bread crumbs (last minute need) and followed the recipe to a tee. Unfortunatelym It is not moist and doesn’t look like the picture. Shoot! I am thinking I need to add more stock or stock and butter combo when I REheat it tomorrow? I LOVE stuffing and this is not doing it for me. I hope I can fix it!