This is the best Turkey Stuffing recipe that you can "stuff" in your Turkey's cavity or Bake on the side and serve as a dressing. Crusty bread with buttery stuffing underneath perfectly seasoned with herbs 🌿 makes one hell of a side dish.
You can also try this Sweet Potato and Mushroom Thanksgiving Stuffing.
In my home, we cannot have Thanksgiving without Mashed Potatoes, Corn Casserole, Cranberry Sauce, and Turkey Stuffing. 🦃
And, this recipe is coming straight from the cookbook (or should I say Diary) of my Granny👵🏻
There is something so nostalgic about recipes that are passed down in the family chain. My granny taught this to my Mom and she taught it to me. I am teaching this to you guys (my new family).
You might also like these 60+ Most Loved Thanksgiving Side dish Recipes
I know this is a pretty popular recipe in most American homes 🇺🇸 and you might have your own version of Thanksgiving Turkey Stuffing.
But, you can trust me on this one. It's seriously one of a kind.
No surprises! Just a basic Turkey Stuffing recipe with basic pantry ingredients like onions, celery, butter, bread, few spices, chicken stock, and beaten egg.
Jump to:
- 👨🌾Traditional Thanksgiving Turkey Stuffing
- 👩👧Mom's Turkey Dressing
- 📖 Ingredients for Classic Traditional Thanksgiving Stuffing
- 👵🏻 Grandma's Thanksgiving Turkey Stuffing Recipe
- 💁Cooking Variations
- ⏲ Can I Make this Ahead of time?
- 🔖Can I Make this in the Slow Cooker?
- 🧂What is Poultry Seasoning?
- What can be used in place of Poultry Seasoning
- 🥖What is the Best Bread for Stuffing?
- What is the best way to dry bread for stuffing?
- 🥚Is stuffing better with or without eggs?
- Should Stuffing be cooked before stuffing turkey?
- What is the safest way to stuff a turkey?
- Recipe
- Best Turkey Stuffing Recipe
👨🌾Traditional Thanksgiving Turkey Stuffing
As this is a traditional Turkey Stuffing recipe, therefore I have tried not to alter the recipe.
I have just made minor tweaks like adding Garlic Powder, and red pepper flakes to suit it to my taste palate.
Other than that, Since Thanksgiving is a Traditional holiday, I like to keep things pretty basic but not necessarily bland.
One such recipe that holds a lot of traditional value in my home is Vegan Chocolate Chess Pie 🥧
👩👧Mom's Turkey Dressing
You must me wondering that why am I using the words Dressing and Stuffing interchangeably. Well, there is a big confusion out there regarding the same.
Basically Turkey Stuffing is something that is literally "stuffed" inside the Turkey. or you can bake the dressing separately and serve it as a side.
📖 Ingredients for Classic Traditional Thanksgiving Stuffing
- Dry Bread Cubes
- Onions
- Celery
- Butter
- Garlic Powder
- Salt
- Ground Black Pepper
- Red Pepper flakes
- Poultry Seasoning
- Chicken Stock
- Beaten Egg
see the recipe card for quantities.
👵🏻 Grandma's Thanksgiving Turkey Stuffing Recipe
Wondering "What should I stuff my turkey with?" Well, here you go. This is an easy turkey stuffing recipe out there.
- Step 1: Sauté onions and celery
In a pan melt butter. Sauté onions and celery until soft and tender.
- Step 2: Toss other ingredients
Add dry bread cut into cubes, spices (garlic powder, red pepper flakes, salt, ground black pepper, and Poultry Seasoning), beaten egg, and Low Sodium Chicken Broth in the pan.
- Step 3: Transfer to a baking dish
Transfer the contents of the skillet to a lightly greased baking dish.
- Step 4: Bake
Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes or until the bread is toasty. Serve as a dressing as a side dish or stuff it in your turkey's cavity.
💁Cooking Variations
- Mushrooms - You can add chopped Mushrooms to add more flavor and a bite element to your stuffing.
- Nuts - You can top your Thanksgiving stuffing with nuts like Walnuts, Pecans, Macadamia Nuts, or Chopped Almond Slivers for a nutty taste.
- Raisins or Cranberries - Cranberries are a MUST during Thanksgiving. If you feel like adding more flavor to your traditional turkey stuffing then feel free to include some Raisins or Cranberries.
- Sausages - Turkey stuffing with Sausage is pretty common. And, if you like Sausages you can definitely add it to your stuffing.
⏲ Can I Make this Ahead of time?
Yes. When I want to make this ahead of time, I cook celery and onions with butter in a skillet. Cool it down and then freeze it completely.
Then on the special day, warm your onions and celery. Add some fresh herbs along with garlic powder, red pepper flakes, and other spices. Toss with bread and other ingredients and bake.
🔖Can I Make this in the Slow Cooker?
Yes. You can! Slow Cooker is extremely handy when it comes to making Thanksgiving recipes. This Old fashioned turkey stuffing can be made in the crock pot.
All you have to do is just add everything in the crock pot and close it with a glass lid. Cook on low for 4 hours or on High for 2 hours. Serve immediately.
🧂What is Poultry Seasoning?
Poultry Seasoning is just a basic spice mix comprising of Sage, Rosemary, Nutmeg, ground black pepper, marjoram, and a few other spices. You can easily find Poultry Seasoning in the spice aisle of a grocery store🛒
Poultry Seasoning is used to give your meat a kick of taste. Just a tablespoon of Poultry Seasoning will add burst of flavor to your chicken or turkey dishes.
What can be used in place of Poultry Seasoning
You can substitute Poultry Seasoning with dried herbs or fresh herbs. You can use dried or fresh sage along with ground thyme, rosemary, nutmeg, and marjoram.
Poultry seasoning comes in handy for so many recipes. Such as Creamy Chicken Gnocchi Soup or Chicken and Rice Casserole.
🥖What is the Best Bread for Stuffing?
I suggest you choose a dry bread like French Baguette 🥖or Challah or Italian Bread such as Focaccia.
You can also use the regular white bread 🍞 but make sure you leave it out for 2-3 days on the table so that it gets dried out.
What is the best way to dry bread for stuffing?
The easiest way to dry out bread for this savory Thanksgiving turkey stuffing is to toast it in the oven at 320 degrees F for 12-15 minutes until completely dry.
Or else you can let it sit out at room temperature for a couple of days (say at least a day or two) until it becomes dry.
🥚Is stuffing better with or without eggs?
A common question that comes to the mind is - what is the use of egg in a stuffing?
I do it because eggs add a rich texture to the stuffing. Moreover eggs bind the stuffing together. Without eggs the dry bread would become sort of crumbly.
Should Stuffing be cooked before stuffing turkey?
Basically, it is your choice.
You can either mix everything and stuff it in your turkey. But, make sure the center of the stuffing cooks completely. To be completely thorough use a long thermometer that goes through the turkey and check the internal temperature of the stuffing. If it reaches 165 degrees F then you'll know that your stuffing is completely cooked and safe to eat.
But, I like my stuffing lightly toast-y on the top and herby on the inside. Therefore I prefer to bake it in the oven separately.
What is the safest way to stuff a turkey?
I am talking from my personal experience. Don't pre cook the stuffing and then stuff it in your Turkey.
Rather, make fresh turkey stuffing and "stuff" it immediately in your Turkey's cavity. Don't overstuff your Turkey.
I like to stuff about 3/4 cup for 1 pound of Turkey.
More Thanksgiving Sides
Recipe
Best Turkey Stuffing Recipe
INGREDIENTS
- 15 cups Dry Bread Cubes read blog for to know the type of bread
- 1 cup onions diced (red or white or yellow)
- 1 cup celery chopped
- 2 cups butter
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 tablespoon poultry seasoning
- 1½ cup chicken stock
- 1 large egg beaten
- chopped parsley or fresh rosemary for garnish (optional)
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and lightly grease a baking dish with cooking spray.
- In a large pan add 2 cups of butter over medium heat and allow the butter to soften. Add 1 cup onion and 1 cup celery. Cook on low for 10-minutes until onions and celery and tender.
- Turn off the heat. Add dry bread cubes into the skillet. Add beaten egg, garlic powder, salt, ground black pepper, red pepper flakes, and poultry seasoning. Toss well until combined. Pour Chicken Stock and toss lightly.
- Transfer the contents of the skillet to a lightly greased baking dish.
- Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F for 30-35 minutes or until the top is lightly golden brown and the bread looks crusty. Garnish with chopped parsley or fresh rosemary sprig. Serve immediately.
Video
Notes
- Please use High Quality Dry Bread loaf or else your bread will become soggy and it won't taste so good.
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