Best Thanksgiving Stuffing Recipe

Discover how easy it is to put together a delicious, warm stuffing, that you’ll never go back to the boxed kind. Yes, prepackaged stuffing tastes fine and is an absolute breeze to cook, but there is no comparison once you try making this homemade version. 

There’s something so special about home-cooked meals— nothing beats the comfort of making it yourself. Whether it’s a cozy favorite like mac and cheese or your own twist on a classic dish like my turmeric ginger chicken noodle soup, the flavors are just better at home. Sometimes, they even bring back nostalgic childhood memories! Do certain foods take you back, too?

This traditional Thanksgiving stuffing recipe uses the most quintessential ingredients. It’s made with bread, onion, celery, fresh herbs, and apples cooked in hearty chicken broth and thickened with heavy cream. The stuffing is lightly crusted on top and moist underneath. Expect fireworks in your mouth!

My classic stuffing recipe will make enough for 12 people, but if you are expecting a huge crowd at your Thanksgiving dinner, simply double or triple the ingredients. It is the season of giving, after all!

Is Stuffing the Same as Dressing?

Stuffing is not the same as dressing, according to my research. I’ve got it all wrong this entire time.  

Stuffing is a mixture of ingredients stuffed into poultry and cooked together as the bird cooks. Dressing, on the other hand, is the mixture of ingredients cooked separately from the poultry. It is then served alongside the cooked poultry. 

Technically, this makes this recipe a Thanksgiving dressing, not a Thanksgiving stuffing. I’m gonna have to get used to calling it a dressing though, because stuffing is a much more common name for it. Anyone else here with this dilemma? 

Check out more kitchen glossary terms in this blog post. 

Recipe Ingredients

Don’t let the length of the ingredients list intimidate you. It may look like a lot of things, but they’re all easily obtainable from the grocery store and will come together to make (I promise you) the BEST Thanksgiving Dressing (cough cough stuffing) you’ve ever had! 

This Thanksgiving stuffing recipe calls for:

• Italian bread – Buy 2 loaves of Italian bread. I love these because of their crusty exterior and fluffy interior which is perfect for this classic stuffing recipe. We want the bread to be really dry so that it doesn’t turn mushy when cooking. 
• Olive oil –  To lightly drizzle over the bread. We are drizzling, not drowning. 
• Salt and fresh ground pepper – To season the bread. 
• Butter – To saute the mirepoix for the stuffing, we will use ¾ cup of melted butter (equivalent to 1 ½ sticks). Ooh, it’s going to smell so good! 
• Sweet onions – Dice two small sweet onions. They give a light punchy flavor to the stuffing. 
• Celery stalks – Dice six celery stalks. Not only do they taste great in this stuffing, but they are also packed with vitamins and minerals. 
• Apples – Cut three apples into bite-sized cubes. Look for a sweet apple variety like Granny Smith or Pink Lady to balance out the savory flavors in this stuffing. 
• Chicken broth – The depth and umami you taste in Thanksgiving stuffing? It’s from chicken broth. Get 1 carton of your go-to brand.
• Herbs – Lift all the ingredients up with these must-have fresh herbs: rosemary, thyme, sage & oregano. Chop finely if using fresh herbs. Otherwise, you can use the dried herbs in bottles. But I would reccomend fresh herbs for best flavour.
• Egg – Whisk an egg in a separate bowl. This gives our stuffing a fluffy texture. 
• Heavy cream – 1 cup of heavy cream to thicken up the stuffing. 

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step One: Cut two loaves of Italian white bread into cubes and spread them over two large baking sheets. Drizzle the bread cubes with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Step Two: Bake in a 300°F oven for about 35 to 40 minutes. While baking, toss the bread cubes occasionally until lightly toasted and dried out. Let the bread cool, then transfer into a large oval roasting pan greased with unsalted butter.

Step Three: Make the stuffing. While the bread bakes, heat a skillet on medium-high heat. Sauté sweet onions, celery stalks, fresh rosemary, thyme, sage and oregano in butter. 

When the onions have softened, pour in chicken broth and cubed apples. Sauté for 5 minutes until the apples are slightly softened.

Step Four: Pour the mixture over the roasted bread cubes. Then, add the whisked egg and heavy cream. Gently stir to combine and leave to soak for 30 minutes. 

Pro Tip: Your stuffing should be moist, but not wet. It can be hard to tell as there’s a really fine line between moist and wet, but if the broth has puddled at the bottom of the bowl, it’s wet.

Add more bread to soak up the excess moisture (good to have extra bread handy!). If the mix is dry and crumbly, add more broth and toss gently until it starts to clump together.

Step Five: Cover the pan with foil and bake at 375°F for 45 minutes. Then, uncover and continue baking for 30-45 minutes, or until the stuffing is set and the top is golden brown and crisp. If the top starts to brown too quickly before the stuffing is fully set, tent the pan loosely with foil to prevent over-browning.

Expert Tips & Tricks

To make holiday stuffing in advance: You can make the stuffing 1 to 2 days in advance and refrigerate it. Leftover stuffing can be refrigerated for up to 4 days.

To freeze Thanksgiving stuffing: This classic holiday staple will hold up in the freezer for up to three months. Store it in small portions in an airtight container (this helps especially when you’re not going to eat the entire batch and feel like reliving Thanksgiving three months later).

To reheat Thanksgiving stuffing: Remove the stuffing from the refrigerator and let it come to room temperature. It will cook more evenly than if it goes directly from the refrigerator to the oven. 

Cover the pan with tin foil, then place it in a 350°F oven and reheat it for about 30 minutes until it reaches an internal temperature of 165°F. 

To recreate the crispy top after storing it in the fridge, remove the foil for the last 10-15 minutes of reheating. You can also pop it under the broiler for a few minutes. If the stuffing feels dry, add a splash of chicken stock before reheating.

Wishing you and your loved ones a very Happy Thanksgiving!