Thanksgiving Stuffing (Our Best Ever)

Editor’s Note: If you’ve cooked this beloved recipe before, it might look a little different these days! We recently improved it to make it even easier to follow and more delicious.

Roasted turkey gets the magazine covers and the big platters, but stuffing is the real star of the show, at least when it comes to my Thanksgiving dinner. And when I say stuffing, I mean the most classic, herby, moist, and fragrant bread stuffing — just like your favorite boxed stuffing mix, but even better.  

This stuffing recipe relies on buttery toasted bread that’s soaked in a flavorful mix of vegetables, herbs, eggs, and broth. It’s a simple but perfect from-scratch recipe that can be prepped ahead and baked while the turkey finishes.

• The flavor is quintessentially Thanksgiving. With butter, fresh herbs, and sautéed onions, celery, and garlic, you’ll want a bit of this classic stuffing with every bite of turkey and gravy.
• You can make it in advance. Thanksgiving is the biggest cooking day of the year. One way to make this holiday less stressful and more enjoyable is to make what you can in advance. This stuffing can be prepared up to 24 hours in advance and refrigerated until the holiday.

• Bread: Sturdy loaves with a tight crumb (no large air holes) make the best bread for stuffing. Sourdough, Italian, and French breads are all great options, but avoid baguettes (too chewy) and sandwich breads (too soft). Make sure the loaf is unsliced so you can tear or cut it yourself.
• Aromatics: Onion, garlic, and celery add the classic flavor to the stuffing.
• Herbs: Use fresh herbs, including sage, thyme, and parsley, to infuse the stuffing with earthy flavor. 
• Broth: You can use low-sodium store-bought broth or homemade chicken or vegetable stock to moisten the dried bread. But the single biggest boost you can give your stuffing is homemade turkey broth — the richer, the better.
• Eggs: Eggs help bind and add richness to the stuffing. You’ll need 2 large eggs for this amount of stuffing.

1. Prepare and dry the bread. Tear or cut the bread into bite-size pieces. We prefer the irregular shape of torn bread because it has greater surface area for absorbing the broth and eggs. Plus the pieces nestle into one another so the interior bakes up rich and tender while the edges brown and crisp. (Prefer cubed bread? Here’s our best advice for cutting bread for stuffing.) Bake the bread until completely dry and lightly browned, then cool completely. 
2. Sauté the aromatics and add herbs. Cook the onion, celery, and garlic in unsalted butter until soft, then deglaze with broth to scrape up any flavorful browned bits from the pan. Add the herbs once the pan is off the heat to maintain their fresh flavor.
3. Mix liquid ingredients. Whisk broth, eggs, kosher salt, black pepper together so that they evenly disperse throughout the stuffing. 
4. Combine stuffing ingredients. Mix bread, aromatics, and broth mixture together until all of the liquid is absorbed and the ingredients are evenly distributed.
5. Bake the stuffing. Spread the stuffing into an even layer in a baking dish (not inside the turkey), but avoid pressing down and compacting the stuffing. Top with pats of unsalted butter, then bake covered with aluminum foil to cook through and maintain moisture. Finish by uncovering to brown and crisp the top.

“This was my first time making stuffing and it turned out great!”

“Everyone said it was the their favorite dish of the whole meal!”

“I’ve been making this for years – the family loves it!”

Is there actually a difference between stuffing and dressing? Technically, it’s only stuffing if it’s baked inside the turkey, which we never do. We don’t stuff turkeys because there are very real health hazards. This can also slow the turkey’s cook time and result in overcooked, dry meat and undercooked (and unsafe) stuffing. Don’t let the terminology trip you up. Some will call it stuffing or others call it dressing, but everyone will call it delicious.

This stuffing bakes at 375°F. You’ll bake it covered with aluminum foil for the first 25 minutes, which ensures it stays moist. Then, to give it that nice golden-brown color, you’ll bake it uncovered for the final 15 minutes.

This stuffing can be completely assembled in a casserole dish and refrigerated overnight or up to 24 hours in advance. If you’re baking it directly from the refrigerator, add about 10 extra minutes to the covered baking time. We don’t recommend freezing this stuffing.

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