Classic Herb Stuffing

The Bread to Use for Stuffing

It is impossible to name all the different types of bread that can be used to make a good stuffing because just about anything works—sourdough, cornbread, wheat bread and even bagels. Traditionally dry, stale white bread is used which requires extra prep steps if you don’t have it on hand.

This Classic Herb Stuffing recipe, developed and tested by the Pillsbury Kitchens, uses fresh, soft bread cubes to show how simple stuffing can be! No need to worry about drying out your bread. This recipe works with day-old bread or croutons, but you may need to adjust it. Add additional broth 1/4 cup at a time, ensuring the dry, stale bread absorbs the liquid until softened and no extra liquid remains in the bowl. Bake as directed, noting that the uncovered baking time may increase.

Some people purchase pre-dried bread in a bag, but it’s incredibly easy to create your own stuffing croutons with just a little bit of planning. To dry fresh bread, simply leave it out on your counter for 24 to 48 hours, or if you’re in a rush, you can dry it out for an hour or so in a low-temperature oven (around 250°F), flipping the slices halfway through the cook time. Then, let it cool and tear (for a more rustic stuffing) or cut the bread to your desired size.

You certainly can use no bread at all. If you’d like to do a grain stuffing, you can use rice and quinoa in place of the bread if you are avoiding gluten. You can also include a grain like wild rice with bread cubes for a combo grain + bread stuffing. Farro and barley can also be used to make grain stuffing but know that these two grains contain gluten. Just remember, if cooking gluten free, always read labels to make sure each recipe ingredient is gluten free. Products and ingredient sources can change.

Stuffing Mix-Ins

The basis for stuffing, apart from the bread, is the rich vegetables and seasonings with other optional touches for personal flair.

Veggies and Seasonings:

A mixture of celery and onion cooked in butter or oil and seasoned with salt and pepper is a staple in any stuffing. Then you’ll add hearty herbs such as sage, thyme, and perhaps rosemary.

Binding Options:

A bit of liquid like broth, water, milk, or buttermilk keeps the mixture a little wet and helps it stick together. Lightly beaten egg is an optional binder, often paired with one of the liquids mentioned above, to help prevent dry stuffing. Egg yolk adds richness, flavor, and more binding power as eggs are emulsifiers. Pair egg with milk, buttermilk, or heavy cream for more of a richer, savory custard-like stuffing.

Meat or Seafood:

From there, you can add whatever you want. Some people add meat like sausage but if you’re using meat in your stuffing, it will need to be cooked thoroughly before being added to the rest of the ingredients. If you go for sausage, we recommend switching up the order of your steps to cook your celery and onions in the fat rendered from the meat, adding an extra layer of deliciousness. Some east coast recipes add seafood to their stuffing, including clams, oysters, shrimp, or crabmeat.

More Mix-ins:

To make a meatless dressing, simply add some dried fruit, nuts, lentils or cooked mushrooms to the bread mixture and use vegetable instead of chicken broth. Of course, these are great additions to the options above, but they will really round out a meat-free stuffing or dressing.

Other Cooking Methods

If you are short on oven space, but need to keep your cooking on schedule, try making a stovetop or slow cooker stuffing. Results are great, but texturally different from oven baked stuffing.  

To achieve the chewy, crunchy richness of baked stuffing, transfer the finished stovetop or slow-cooked stuffing into a buttered casserole dish and bake in a 350°F oven for 12 to 15 minutes when space allows. You may have to do an extra step, but it saves precious oven space initially!

Storing and Reheating Leftover Stuffing

How to Store Leftover Stuffing:

All leftovers should be refrigerated within two hours of the end of the cooking time. That means on holidays, like Thanksgiving, when guests tend to stay around the table for a while, it’s important to make sure this gets taken care of. Leftover stuffing can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to four days. If you freeze your leftovers, they’ll have the best flavor if eaten within a couple months.

How to Reheat Leftover Stuffing:

Leftover stuffing is absolutely delicious! The texture you crave can help you decide which method you pick. If you are in a hurry and don’t mind softer stuffing, the microwave will do the job in a snap. If you want a chewier texture, put the leftover stuffing into an oven-safe dish, cover it with foil and bake at 350°F for 20 to 25 minutes. Want something crispy? Pan fry on the stovetop or press into a waffle iron for a fun twist.  No matter which method you choose, just be sure your stuffing reaches a safe food temperature of 165°F.

Stuffing Pro Tips

In order to be called “stuffing,” the dish technically needs to be stuffed and cooked inside of a bird, most traditionally a turkey. If it’s simply baked in a casserole dish, it’s referred to as dressing. Other than that, there isn’t much of a difference between stuffing and dressing. When you stuff a bird the resulting dish will be rich with the fat drippings from the bird. But add a bit of butter or oil to the dressing before baking and you can achieve a similar result.

Add your liquid in parts
If you pour all your liquid in at once, you risk over-soaking the mixture, leading to a mushy or gummy texture. It’s much easier to add more liquid than to fix an overly wet mixture, so start by adding the liquid 1/4 cup at a time. Stir the mixture and check before each addition. Add until the stuffing reaches a moist but not soggy texture that will hold together without falling apart. The bread should absorb most of the liquid with no extra at the bottom of the bowl. However, don’t skimp on liquid as too little liquid will leave your stuffing dry and crumbly.

Don’t over-season the stuffing
Season at each stage of cooking. Salt and pepper are your friends for building layers of flavor! But be sure not to use too much of any herb since the hearty herbs called for in stuffing can be very strong. Thyme, rosemary, and sage are all lovely, but just don’t overdo it or your tasty textures and flavors will be overpowered.

When in doubt, go with fresh ingredients
Packaged croutons might save you a little time, but they won’t be as delicious as if you made your own. If you are opting for stale bread, prep your bread the day before. Otherwise follow this recipe that uses fresh soft bread to create a classic version of stuffing.

Food Safety
When cooking your stuffing inside a bird, it needs to be brought up to 165°F (same temperature as the turkey) in order to be considered safe to eat. This can be tricky business because often the stuffing may not be up to temperature when the turkey is done. If this is the case, it’s best to remove the stuffing into a casserole dish to finish cooking until it has reached 165°F so as not to overcook the bird. Because of this, we recommend structuring this dish as a dressing which is described in the recipe steps below.