A good stuffing recipe can be the star at the Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner. Whether you stuff it in the bird or not, this one is moist and fragrant. And, it has a wonderful texture of soft, moist, and crispy bread.
Table of Content
One of my fond memories as a kid was stuffed roast chicken for Christmas. While I loved the crispy stuffing around the chicken, everybody would dig into the chicken for the soaked bread stuffing. Back then, it was common to put stuffing inside the bird.
Personally, I never stuff the bird with my stuffing for hygiene reasons. I just think it is safer to have the stuffing in a baking dish besides the bird rather than inside.
The main issue with stuffing the bird of course is that the bread soaks up all the raw chicken juices. And, while some say that it cooks off while baking, experts say that it may not reach 165 F, which is the ideal temperature to ensure that all bacteria is killed. Also, another issue is that it takes longer to cook a stuffed bird than it takes to cook an unstuffed bird. You can read more about - why you should not stuff the turkey here.
About this stuffing
This is probably the easiest and simplest bread stuffing recipe that my mom made. And it is also, the perfect base to use for other variations. It takes just about 15 minutes of actual prep work. The rest is baking time in the oven.
The best thing about this recipe is that you can make almost everything ahead of time. There are three components to this stuffing recipe.
- Bread - Should you toast it? Well, if you like soft bread stuffing then don't toast it. And, if you like crispy stuffing, toast it. Or you can also use store-bought toast or rusk instead. But, I like a combination of the two so I toast it. As a result, the bottom becomes soft while the top stays nice and crispy. And, this can also be prepared up to two days ahead and kept in an airtight container.
- The veggies - Sautéing the onions, celery, and herbs in butter is a great way to add flavor to all that dry bread. And, you can make this up to two days ahead and keep it in the fridge.
- Egg mixture - This is eggs with stock that can be made just before baking your stuffing.
Ingredients and substitutes
- Bread - Today, I am using challah. And yet, any bread you like would work. In addition, I like to toast my bread so my stuffing has a combination of both soft and crispy bread cubes.
- Onion - It looks like a lot when you sauté, but once you add the bread it kinda gets lost.
- Celery - Adds a wonderful refreshing flavor to the stuffing. You can even add small diced carrots.
- Herbs - Today, I am using sage, rosemary, thyme, and a sprinkle of parsley. You can use all or omit any of these as well.
Step by step ingredients
- Preheat the oven at 180 C/ 360 F.
- Toast bread - Using a bread knife, cut the loaf of bread into 1-inch cubes. Spread on a large baking tray and toast for about 15 to 20 minutes at 180 C.
Tip - You want the bread to be toasted but not brown. So a low oven is better than a hot oven.
- Saute veggies - Meanwhile, in a frying pan, saute the onions and celery in butter for 2 minutes. Then, add the garlic, sage, thyme, and rosemary. Season with salt and pepper.
- Assemble - In a large bowl, combine the sauteed onions and toasted bread. Add the parsley, and season with salt and pepper.
Tip - Use a large spoon and make sure everything is well combined. Once you pour the egg mixture you don't want to stir it. - Baking dish - Grease a 13 x 9 baking dish with cooking spray or oil. Pour the stuffing mixture into the baking dish. And spread evenly.
- Egg mixture - In the same empty bowl, beat the eggs with the stock until well combined. Pour it over the stuffing and wrap the baking dish tightly with aluminum foil.
- Bake - Bake in the oven at 180 C / 356 F for 25 minutes. Then, remove the foil and bake uncovered for another 15 minutes.
- Cool - Let the stuffing cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.
Frequently asked questions
This stuffing will keep in the fridge for 4 to 5 days. You can even freeze it in the fridge for up to a month
Yes, you can. Similar to making overnight French toast you assemble this dish in the baking dish. Cover with aluminum foil and place it in the fridge for up to 24 hours. Remove an hour before baking and bake as directed below.
This is the classic or basic stuffing that can be used as a base for any other stuffing. You can add mushrooms to the veggies to make a mushroom stuffing. Saute ground beef or sausage meat until brown then add the butter and veggies.
Too much liquid can cause the stuffing to be too soft and mushy. But, if you follow this recipe you should have the bottom soft but not mushy and the top bread moist but toasted.
A roast chicken works great with a few side dishes like:
Skinny Mashed Potatoes
Oven-Baked Potato Wedges or Potato Chips
Leek Potato Patties
Homemade Onion and Rosemary Focaccia
Roasted Red Pepper Garlic Tapenade (3 ingredients)
Goats Cheese Crostini
Garlic Parmesan Asparagus or sesame green beans
Easy Swiss Chard Patties or spinach potato patties
Roasted Lemon Dill Potatoes - or garlic roasted potatoes
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Easy Stuffing Recipe
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Conversions Used
1 lb = 453 grams, 1 cup = 240 ml, 1 stick = 113g, 1 tbsp= 15 ml, 1 tsp= 5 ml,
Ingredients
- 10 cups Bread ((1 large challah cut into 1" cubes))
- ½ teaspoon Pepper
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 4 tablespoon Parsley (chopped finely)
Saute
- 6 tablespoon (90 g) Butter
- 1 cup Onion (diced small)
- ½ cup Celery (diced small)
- ½ teaspoon Galic (minced)
- ½ teaspoon Sage (chopped finely)
- 1 teaspoon Rosemary (chopped finely)
- 1 teaspoon Thyme (chopped finely)
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- ½ teaspoon Pepper
Egg mixture
- 2 large Eggs
- 2 cups (470 ml) Chicken stock
Instructions
- Preheat the oven at 180 C/ 356 F.
- Toast bread - Using a bread knife, cut the loaf of bread into 1-inch cubes. Spread on a large baking tray and toast for about 15 to 20 minutes at 180 C. Tip - You want the bread to be toasted but not brown. So a low oven is better than a hot oven.
- Saute veggies - Meanwhile, in a frying pan, saute the onions and celery in butter for 2 minutes. Then, add the garlic, sage, thyme, and rosemary. Season with salt and pepper.
- Assemble - In a large bowl, combine the sauteed onions and toasted bread. Add the parsley, and season with salt and pepper. Tip - Use a large spoon and make sure everything is well combined. Once you pour the egg mixture you don't want to stir it.
- Baking dish - Grease a 13 x 9 baking dish with cooking spray or oil. Pour the stuffing mixture into the baking dish. And, spread evenly.
- Egg mixture - In the same empty bowl, beat the eggs with the stock until well combined. Pour it over the stuffing and wrap the baking dish tightly with aluminum foil.
- Bake - Bake in the oven at 180 C / 356 F for 25 minutes. Then, remove the foil and bake uncovered for another 15 minutes.
- Cool - Let the stuffing cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.
Recipe Notes & Tips
- Use stale bread for stuffing. I like to keep my bread at room temperature for at least 2 days so it has time to air dry. Then I toast it at a low temperature so it does not get too much color.
- The bread can be toasted up to 2 days ahead and kept at room temperature in an airtight container
- The veggies can be made up to two days ahead and kept in the fridge until you are ready to assemble
- When ready to assemble combine everything and pour the egg mixture over.
- If you want to stuff the bird with this stuffing you must do it just before roasting. Make sure to dry the bird cavity well. Season with salt and pepper then add the stuffing. Place any remaining in the baking tray or around the chicken.
- I pour the egg mixture over so I can have two layers of texture, some soft at the bottom and some crisp on the top.
- Alternatively, you can combine it all in the bowl then pour it into the baking dish
Nutrition Information
The nutrition information and metric conversion are calculated automatically. I cannot guarantee its accuracy. If this data is important to you please verify with your trusted nutrition calculator. Thank you
sarah johnson
I'm a fellow stuffing lover, I actually prefer good stuffing over the poultry any day! I like that you used the Challah bread in the recipe I sure it would give a really lovely extra richness to the stuffing, I'm definitely going to try this for my next turkey dinner.
Gina
Such a great recipe to have for any meal, using challah bread really does make the best stuffing!
Laura
The egg mixture is an interesting addition to this stuffing that I hadn't tried before. Such great flavor in this dish.
Danielle Wolter
I absolutely love a simple stuffing recipe. You're step by step instructions were so thorough, this came out perfect!