The Best Homemade Stuffing | An Easy Thanksgiving Side Dish Recipe! (2024)

Texas toast is baked with butter, onions, celery, a bunch of fresh herbs, and chicken broth to create the best Homemade Stuffing recipe! There’s no better side dish for your heartiest fall/wintertime dinners.

Table of Contents

• Easy Thanksgiving Stuffing Recipe
• What You’ll Need
• How to Make Homemade Stuffing
• Can I Make this in Advance?
• Tips for Success
• Serving Suggestions
• How to Store Leftovers
• Can I Freeze This?
• Get the Recipe

Easy Thanksgiving Stuffing Recipe

The most essential part of a Thanksgiving dinner? That would probably be the turkey. It is 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, a lot of the time, it feels easiest to just go to the store, grab a box of it, and check that item off of the Thanksgiving to-do list.

Now, while there’s nothing wrong with that, I highly recommend that you try this Easy Thanksgiving Homemade Stuffing recipe this year instead. It’s SO simple, it serves a large crowd, and it won’t take you all that long to throw together….but the flavor pay off is incredibly worth it! You won’t find a better classic homemade thanksgiving stuffing recipe than this!

This Thanksgiving stuffing recipe starts with thick Texas toast, which you’ll bake until it’s nice and crispy. Combine that with buttery onions, fresh herbs and celery, pour in some chicken broth, bake for 40-45 minutes, and boom – you’ve got beautifully golden stuffing that everybody will want seconds from!

What You’ll Need

None of the ingredients listed here will shock you. Comforting, traditional stuffing is the name of the game today. Here’s what you’ll need to round up:

• Bread: I like to use cubed Texas toast for my stuffing. The thick slices make perfect nice big cubes of stuffing.
• 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.
• Seasoning/Herbs: Use a mix of salt, pepper, minced garlic, chopped fresh sage, chopped thyme, and chopped parsley.
• 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

Though I always associate stuffing with Thanksgiving and sometimes Christmas dinners, it can totally be made with any cold weather meal. It goes with literally any protein you can think of. (Steak, beef tips, chicken, pork chops, salmon, etc.)

While you mull all that over, these are the steps to creating the best homemade stuffing:

Preheat the Oven to 300°F: 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.

Turn the Oven Heat Up to 350°F: In a large stovetop skillet or pan, melt the butter and cook the onions, celery and garlic for 4 minutes until softened.

Season the Bread Cubes: 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 Chicken 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.

Can I Make this in Advance?

Yes! 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.

In a pinch, you could also bake it ahead of time, refrigerate it, and then just reheat before eating. However, I think it’s best baked fresh because you get that perfect mixture of crispy top and edge pieces with soft center pieces!

Tips for Success

Before you begin, I’ve got some tips on how to deal with Texas toast that could be helpful when prepping this homemade stuffing:

• Do I Have to Use Texas Toast? No, any dried bread should work. You can, for example, use a loaf of French bread cut into cubes instead.
• Can I Toast the Bread Ahead of Time? Yes, toasting the cubes of Texas toast 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.
• Can I Use an 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.

Serving Suggestions

This homemade stuffing is best served alongside all of the classics! I’m talking mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce, roasted vegetables, etc. Oh, and turkey. That too.

Also, 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!

How to Store Leftovers

Store any leftover stuffing in an airtight container for 2-3 days. 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.

Can I Freeze This?

Definitely. You can freeze your homemade stuffing in an airtight container for 2-3 months. Let it thaw in the fridge overnight before reheating again.

More THanksgiving Dishes to Try

Looking for more easy Thanksgiving recipes? I’ve got you covered:

• How to Cook a Perfect Thanksgiving Turkey
• Sweet Potato Casserole
• Garlic Mashed Potatoes
• The Best Green Bean Casserole
• Instant Pot Mashed Maple Sweet Potatoes
• Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake
• Corn Casserole
• Fried Apples
• Homemade Cranberry Relish

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