Best Ever Bread Stuffing Recipe

bread stuffing in white baking dish with serving utensil

5 from 46 votes

Best Ever Bread Stuffing Recipe

The best bread stuffing has perfectly moist bread cubes with savory herbs, onions, and celery under a buttery-crisp golden topping. This old-fashioned Thanksgiving dressing disappears fast!

Prep Time20

Cook Time1

Total Time1 20

Course: Side Dish, Thanksgiving

Cuisine: American

Diet: Vegetarian

Servings: cups

Calories: 114kcal

Author: Traci

Equipment

chef's knife
bread knife optional
cutting board
11-inch skillet
mixing bowl
stirring utensil
10 x 10 baking dish or 9 x 13 size

Ingredients

8 cups Dried Bread Cubes Note: 1 pound loaf = approx 12 cups
1 stick Butter divided
1 medium Onion diced
2 ribs Celery diced
2 cloves Garlic minced
2 Eggs
1 ½ cups Broth or Stock or more as needed
1 teaspoon Poultry Seasoning or 1 teaspoon each: fresh sage, rosemary, and thyme
1 teaspoon Salt
½ teaspoon Black Pepper

Optional garnish

Fresh Parsley about ¼ cup

Instructions

Note: This recipe yields 10 cups of stuffing. Visit the footnotes for a bakeware tip when scaling 2x or 3x.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and center the oven rack.
In a skillet over medium-high heat, melt half of the BUTTER. Add ONIONS, CELERY, and GARLIC, and saute until tender. Set aside briefly to cool.
In a mixing bowl, whisk together EGGS, 1 cup of the BROTH, SEASONINGS, SALT, and PEPPER until combined.
Stir in the cooked onions and celery along with the BREAD CUBES.
Drizzle more BROTH into the mixture while gently stirring, adding just enough to moisten the bread cubes without soaking them.
Transfer this mixture to a prepared baking dish. Cut the remaining BUTTER into small cubes and dot the surface with it.
Cover the stuffing with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Then, remove the foil and bake an additional 30 minutes until the stuffing is cooked through and golden brown.
Rest the stuffing for 10 minutes and serve warm.
To store, cool completely and refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

Video

Notes

This recipe is baked outside the bird for convenience but can be used as a traditional stuffing inside the bird at your discretion.
To scale this recipe up 2x or 3x, you'll need a larger skillet and a 5-quart mixing bowl for prep. To bake, distribute the stuffing mixture into multiple 9 x 13 pans or, space permitting, a full-size hotel pan. Then, resume the recipe baking instructions.
Use any bread loaf variety, including sourdough, Italian bread, brioche, challah, or baguettes.
The quickest way to make dry bread cubes out of fresh bread is to bake them in a 200-degree Fahrenheit oven for one hour.
Store-bought stuffing cubes can be used in place of fresh bread.
When adding broth to the stuffing cubes, stir gently to avoid over-mixing. This will keep your stuffing cubes light and fluffy.
Customize your stuffing by adding nuts or fried sage for flavor and texture.
To reheat leftover stuffing, cover and bake it at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 minutes or until warmed through. You can also cover and reheat leftovers in the microwave in short intervals, stirring as needed.

Nutrition