If you’re looking for the best stuffing recipe to complete your holiday table, this is it! Our homemade stuffing is packed with fresh herbs and savory vegetables, with a rich buttery flavor and the perfect balance of crispy and soft textures. Best of all, it’s simple to prepare and can be prepped the day before!
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Why We Love This Homemade Stuffing Recipe
The most essential part of a Thanksgiving dinner? That would probably be the turkey. It’s the star of the table, after all and yes, I do have a recipe for how to cook a perfect Thanksgiving turkey! But, hey, stuffing really is essential too! And when you make it from scratch with this easy recipe, it tends to steal al the attention away from the bird. You won’t find a better classic homemade thanksgiving stuffing recipe than this!
- Easy to Make: This stuffing comes together with just a few basic ingredients and minimal prep work, making it perfect for busy days (you know, like Thanksgiving – the Olympics of home cooking).
- Make-Ahead Friendly: You can prepare this homemade stuffing ahead of time and bake it just before serving, saving you time on busy holidays.
- Great for Leftovers: Leftovers reheat beautifully, and they even taste great mixed into a sandwich or casserole the next day.
- Feeds a Crowd: This stuffing recipe makes enough to feed a large family, and you can easily double or halve it depending on your guest list.
Check out my recipe for sausage stuffing if that’s more your speed! And of course, you can’t serve ANY stuffing without some classic turkey gravy.
Key Ingredients
Below you will find helpful notes for key ingredients used to make this recipe for the best stuffing. Scroll down to the recipe card below for the full ingredient list and exact amounts!
- Bread: I like to use cubed Texas toast for my stuffing. The thick slices make perfect nice big cubes of stuffing. However, French bread also works well!
- Butter: I recommend using unsalted butter because we’ll add in more salt later, but if all you have is salted butter, use it! Just be careful how much salt you add later.
- Onion: You can use white or yellow, whatever you like.
- Celery Stalks: Slice your celery into ¼ inch pieces before you begin. I always give my celery a rinse prior to chopping in case there’s any residue leftover from where it was farmed.
- Seasoning/Herbs: Use a mix of salt, pepper, minced garlic, chopped fresh sage, chopped thyme, and chopped parsley. You can play around with this flavor palate, but I’ve found that it really creates the best savory and herbaceous flavor.
- Eggs: Lightly beaten eggs will hold your bread cubes, onion, and celery together.
- Broth: I use chicken broth, but you could use vegetable broth, beef broth, etc. Turkey broth is the best if you happen to have it!
How to Make Homemade Stuffing
Calling all classic stuffing lovers! Below is a quick recipe overview, but please scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post for full instructions and to watch the step-by-step video.
- Prepare the bread: Place cubed pieces of Texas toast on a non-stick cookie sheet/baking pan, and bake until dry and crispy. Stir the cubes occasionally (about every 8-10 minutes). It may take 40-60 minutes to toast 1 whole loaf of Texas toast. Let everything cool completely, then place the cubes in a large bowl to be coated with seasoning.
- Cook the veggies: In a large stovetop skillet or pan, melt the butter and cook the onions, celery and garlic for 4 minutes until softened.
- Toss together: Pour the vegetable and butter mixture over the toasted bread cubes and toss to coat. Add the salt, pepper, sage, and parsley to season, then toss the bread cubes once more.
- Add eggs and broth: In a separate small bowl, whisk the eggs until well broken up. Pour the eggs over the bread evenly. Then pour the chicken broth evenly over the bread cubes. Stir/toss gently to coat all the bread cubes without breaking down their shape.
- Bake the Stuffing: Place the cubed bread mixture in a greased 2 quart casserole dish. Cover with tin foil. Place the dish on the middle rack of the oven at 350°F and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake for an additional 10 to 15 minutes, until browned on top.
Chef’s Tips and Variations
- French bread also works: Texas toast is usually my go-to, but French bread also works well. Just note that you may need more broth as French bread is a bit more dry than Texas toast. You can save time if you use the already cubed and toasted bread usually found in the bakery area of most grocery stores around the holidays!
- Toast the bread ahead of time: Toasting the cubes of bread can be done the day or two before to help with preparations the day of. I always do this to save time, just store the toasted bread in an air tight container until you’re ready to use it.
- Air fryer: Toasting the cubed Texas toast can also be done quickly in an air fryer. Just place the cubes in the basket on 300°F and – every 5 minutes – toss or stir the cubes until dried and crispy. Should take about 10 to 12 minutes per batch. 1 load of Texas toast would usually be 2-3 batches depending on the size of your air fryer.
- How to dry the bread cubes: If drying and crisping your Texas toast cubes in the oven, use 2-4 cookie sheets to spread the cubes thin across the surfaces to allow the process to move more quickly.
- Add-ins: If you feel the need to throw in some dried cranberries, dried cherries or nuts, go for it! I generally stick to the classic version of stuffing since some of my family can be a little picky, but those add-ins would definitely be a delicious addition!
What to Serve with Homemade Stuffing
- Thanksgiving classics: I’m talking mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce, roasted vegetables, etc. Oh, and turkey. That too.
Storing, Reheating, Freezing & Make Ahead
- Storing: Store any leftover stuffing in an airtight container for 2-3 days.
- Reheating: You can reheat it at 350°F (just like in the original directions), with a little extra chicken broth if you think it’s necessary.
- Freezing: You can freeze your homemade stuffing in an airtight container for 2-3 months. Let it thaw in the fridge overnight before reheating again.
- Make Ahead: You can totally make your stuffing 1-2 days in advance if you like. Simply prepare everything up until the last step, and then cover the casserole dish and place it in the fridge. Before baking the stuffing, remove the dish from the fridge and let it come to room temperature.
Yield: 8 servings
The Best Homemade Stuffing Recipe
Packed with flavor from fresh herbs and savory vegetables, this is truly the best stuffing recipe in our humble opinion! This recipe is a classic blend of fresh herbs, onions, and celery, tossed with golden, crispy bread cubes, then baked to perfection. Bonus: It's also easy to make & can be prepared ahead of time!
Ingredients
- 8 cups cubed Texas toast or French bread, about 1 loaf
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
- 2 cups white or yellow onion, diced
- 3 celery stalks, sliced into ¼ inch pieces
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
- 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons minced fresh sage
- ½ cup minced fresh parsley
- 3 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 ½ cups chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme
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Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300°F. Place cubed pieces of bread on a baking sheet and bake until dry and crispy. Stir occasionally, every 8 to 10 minutes. This may take 40 to 60 minutes to toast the whole loaf. Place bread cubes in a large bowl and set aside to cool.
- Turn oven heat up to 350°F. In a large stove top skillet or pan, melt the butter and cook the onions, celery, and garlic for 4 minutes, until softened.
- Pour the vegetable and butter mixture over the toasted bread cubes and toss to coat. Add the salt, pepper, sage, and parsley, and toss bread cubes once more.
- In a separate small bowl whisk the eggs until well beaten. Pour the eggs over the bread as evenly as you can. Then pour the chicken broth evenly over the bread cubes. Stir/ toss gently to coat all the bread cubes without breaking down their shape. If you like your stuffing more moist, you can add up to 1/2 a cup more broth if desired. I personally usually add a little more broth!
- Place the cubed bread mixture in a greased 9×13 casserole dish. Cover with tin foil. If you are not ready to bake it yet, refrigerate for up to 24 hours before baking.
- Bake on the middle rack of the oven at 350°F for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake for an additional 10 to 15 minutes, until browned on top. Serve immediately!
Notes
Storage: Store any leftover stuffing in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Make-Ahead: You can prepare this stuffing ahead of time, but do not bake it until ready to serve. Instead, wrap it tightly and store it in the fridge for up to 24 hours. Then set it on the counter to warm up for 30 minutes (or up to an hour) before baking as directed.
Pre-Cubed Toasted Bread: To save time and effort, many grocery stores sell already cubed and toasted bread for stuffing in the bakery area. Use approximately 8 heaping cups of the cubed bread for this recipe, if using more bread cubes, double the recipe!
Can I Toast the Bread Ahead of Time? Yes, toasting the cubes of Texas toast can be done the day before to help with preparations the day of.
Can I Use an Air Fryer? Toasting the cubed bread can also be done in an air fryer. Just place the cubes in the basket on 300°F and – every 5 minutes – toss or stir the cubes until dried and crispy. Should take about 6 to 8 minutes per batch.
Nutrition
Serving: 1, Calories: 82kcal, Carbohydrates: 9g, Protein: 4g, Fat: 4g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g, Cholesterol: 73mg, Sodium: 372mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 3g
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do you know how many ounces of bread you use? We don’t have Texas toast here in MA & the bread I have is 16 ounces & I wasn’t sure if I should use just 1 loaf or maybe a loaf & a half? (I did a Google search &/Texas toast seems to be 20 or 24 ounces) thanks!
20 oz will be perfect! Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!
I will share with you that my Mom and my Grandma never used eggs in the dressing. If they wanted a sweet dressing (always with duck), then they would add apples and raisins. To serve with turkey, always with 1 pound of sausage, fully cooked. Otherwise the recipes are similar. Love dressing!!
Can I make this a day ahead and re-heat? If so what would your suggestion for heat time?
You can, but it won’t be as good. Instead I would recommend prepping it the day before – all the way up until the baking step. Instead, cover and refrigerate it until the next day. Then bake before serving. This way it’s fresh and delicious!
The only Texas toast I can find in my store is the ones in the refrigerated section these are buttered and the other has buttered with garlic. So, can I use one of these if I can’t find a loaf?
No! I wouldn’t recommending using garlic bread. If you can’t find Texas toast, I would use a loaf of French bread and cut it into thick slices and then into good sized cubes! 🙂
Great Idea! We are now a two person household. I always baked my stuffing INSIDE the turkey–thus stuffing. Outside in a baking dish was called “dressing”. Either way, this looks like a great recipe. I like the idea of freezing so the I can use some for multiple meals over the course of the holidays. Thanks so much….. We always add some chopped apple to ours, so I might make that addition….
What exactly is Texas toast? I now live in England and have never heard of it here or in New Jersey, my home state.
I live in New Jersey and I’ve heard of Texas Toast but the frozen kind. I’ve never heard of it being in loaf form.
You can also use french bread or any other good bread you like! They sell Texas Toast here (not frozen) in the bakery and in the bread aisle.
It’s just a nice thick sliced bread!
Hello, This does look delicious. I have a really stupid question for you. Where in the grocery store would I find texas toast? I don’t have a problem using french bread but I would like to have options. Thank you.
It’s in the frozen section! I think they also have a plain one too! My mom went to heaven in Sept 94 and I have always cooked her dressing recipe etc. This year I’m trying new recipes like this one, so much easier! Happy Thanksgiving!
Hi Bonnie! Here in Florida I can find it two places. I can find it with the regular sandwich bread in the bread aisle and in the bakery!
Is it possible to stiff the turkey with this recipe?
Yes, but I would not use any eggs and would use more broth to make up for the lack of eggs. The issue with cooking stuffing inside a turkey is that the stuffing doesn’t get cooked all the way, or if it is cooked to the proper temperature, then you have overcooked the turkey on the outside. So knowing that, we know the eggs in the stuffing – used to hold it together – would be a bad idea inside the bird. So that’s why I cook my stuffing outside the turkey these days! Hope this helps!