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!
1,044 Comments on “Our Favorite Buttery Herb Stuffing.”
Yum! My favorite! This is exactly my family’s recipe except ours also includes 1 lb. sautéed ground sausage. I come from midwestern, meat-eating, farm people, What can I say?! (The sausage makes the leftover hash situation even better!)
This looks yummy but I was hoping to see the recipe you promised for pumpkin no churn ice cream. You mentioned it when you posted the coffee no churn and I have anticipated it ever since. I was bummed when October came and now went and still no post. I hope it is coming soon…
I just made this one last Saturday – it was super easy and tastes great!
http://longdistancebaking.com/pumpkin-pie-ice-cream/
Love stuffing! We make two to appease my husband’s family and what I prefer (my mom’s recipe) and there’s never enough leftovers. I’m excited to try my mom’s recipe this year with homemade sourdough bread!!
We’ll be having a baked ham for Thanksgiving but I still want to make this stuffing to go with. Our son-in-law is allergic to poultry so we avoid that issue with ham. This sounds very much like the recipe my mother used to make so am looking forward to serving it. Like many others, we’re keeping our holiday to a small number – 5 total. Generally we have my 2 brothers plus spouses but decided to keep it safe this year. Fortunately, they all have places to go with other family. I look forward to more of your recipes for the holidays – thank you!
I cannot wait to have this in a few short weeks!
Just ordered Mariah Carey on Audible. Can’t wait to get started! Thanks for the recommendation!
i love this recipes
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Planning to make this for my family on thanksgiving, but I wanted to add chopped or dried cranberries into the recipe (I love stuffing with cranberries!) Which would you suggest, and when would you add them in?
Thanks!
This will be the first year I do a homemade stuffing/dressing. This looks perfect. Question- is there anyway this can be made ahead and reheated while the turkey is resting? Wil the consistency be ruined? I’d love your advice as I have limited space in the oven.
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.
Amazingly awesome!!!!!@@@
I’ve been thinking about making this for my family’s Thanksgiving this year. We are big cornbread stuffing fans. Do you think this would be good with half cornbread half regular bread?
Absolutely.
If making ahead, can you mix and assemble everything the night before and wait to bake it until Thanksgiving day? Or is it better to bake it the night before and reheat? Thanks so much! Looks delicious!
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I have not tried it yet but really like the recipe- closest to a traditional stuffing recipe. But at the end of the recipe it states, “a mixture of fresh herbs”. But there is no explanation about which herbs or when to use it in the recipe. Can you clarify?
hi marie! i just use a mixture of the fresh herbs above in the recipe, so mostly parsley, sage and rosemary :)
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What type of bread did you use?
a mix of sourdough and italian!
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I am not a fan of eggs…are they necessary?
the eggs really help bind everything together. you can’t taste them at all. you could try to leave them out, but the stuffing may be a bit looser!
Can you make ahead and freeze?
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Is this the stuffing you’d recommend to also stuff the turkey with? If so, then do you recommend making a double batch? One to bake and the other to stuff the turkey with or do you think just stuffing the turkey is sufficient and just as delicious?
yes this stuffing is amazing to put inside the bird. if you have a 12 to 15ish lb bird, i would suggest making a double batch. i always do both, because we have many family members who do not like the stuffing inside the bird.
do you cook before putting in bird?
I love this recipe can’t wait to make! What is your best suggestion for the bread? My mother in law ALWAYS used hot dog buns-staled over night (I know) and it was always just too much bread for me. This is my first year making it. Is it bread just left out overnight to stale is the best method?
my mom swears by the bread left out overnight too! she just does chopped italian bread. if you’re okay with that, i think it’s great. i put it in a big baking dish and either tent with towels or plastic gently, so it can still get stale.
This recipe sounds delish and I cant wait ti try it. Can you use dried herbs instead of fresh? If so how much would you suggest?
yes! you can do dried instead. dried are more potent and the ratio is usually 1 teaspoon dried for every 1 tablespoon fresh. so i would do 2 to 3 teaspoons of each – and i wouldn’t do any extra dried on top to garnish. just skip the garnish!
This is the BEST stuffing I’ve ever had. So easy to follow and make. Thank you!
Wonderful!!! Made this today for our mini thanksgiving with family.