This Traditional Stuffing recipe has the classic flavors of the holidays that you know and love! Made with fresh bread cubes, onions, celery, and fresh herbs, it's an easy to make recipe that you'll want to make every year!

If there's one quintessential holiday side dish in this world, it's stuffing!

Everyone has a favorite: some like traditional bread stuffing and others prefer Old Fashioned Cornbread Dressing.  Either way, this classic side dish graces tables on Thanksgiving and often on Christmas, too.  If you're like me, you'll want to eat this traditional stuffing year-round and not just on holidays!

Stuffing doesn't have to be complicated, and this recipe is super easy to make.  Once you get all of the veggies and bread diced, you'll be well on your way to delicious, traditional, holiday-worthy stuffing!

HOW TO MAKE TRADITIONAL STUFFING

Making classic stuffing is easier than you think! Fresh bread cubes are combined with celery, onions, poultry seasoning, chicken broth, salt, pepper, and fresh herbs and then baked in the oven in a casserole dish. See below for detailed recipe instructions.

CAN I USE BAGGED STUFFING MIX INSTEAD OF FRESH BREAD?

I love to use dried fresh bread cubes in stuffing, but you can substitute packaged dry stuffing mix! I don't recommend using 100% packaged stuffing mix for this recipe, but you can substitute up to half of the fresh bread cubes with the packaged mix. Sometimes grocery stores sell fresh, dried bread cubes in the bakery section, so keep your eye out for those, too! A combination of stuffing cubes is totally okay for this recipe.

SHOULD I COOK MY STUFFING IN THE TURKEY OR IN A DISH?

This recipe is for stuffing cooked in a baking dish instead of stuffed in a turkey. You can stuff your turkey with stuffing, but you have to be sure the stuffing is cooked to 165 degrees F before serving. You will love this stuffing cooked in a baking dish, though, and that is the way I recommend preparing it!

SHOULD I BAKE STUFFING COVERED OR UNCOVERED?

This classic stuffing recipe is baked both covered and uncovered. Baking covered in the beginning keeps the stuffing nice and moist, and removing the foil for the end portion of the cooking time allows the stuffing to crisp up on top.

MORE CLASSIC HOLIDAY SIDE DISH RECIPES

Looking for more recipes for the holidays that taste like home? You'll love these traditional side dish recipes from the archives!

Pictured:
Brown Sugar Pecan Sweet Potato Casserole
Sour Cream Green Bean Casserole
Homemade Cranberry Sauce
Baked Creamed Corn

If you try this traditional stuffing recipe, I'd love to know what you think in the comments below! Enjoy!

16 servings

Super Simple Traditional Stuffing

This Traditional Stuffing recipe has the classic flavors of the holidays that you know and love!

  prep time: 15 MINcook time: 45 MINtotal time: 60 MIN 

INGREDIENTS

2 (16 ounce) loaves of french bread
4 stalks celery, diced
1 1/2 large onions, diced
1 stick butter
1 tablespoon poultry seasoning
4 cups chicken broth
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1/4 cup fresh parsley, minced

INSTRUCTIONS

1. The day before you are planning to cook the stuffing, cut the french bread loaves into 1/2-inch cubes. Spread the bread cubes out onto 2 baking sheets in a single layer. Leave the bread cubes on the counter overnight. If you don't have the time to leave the bread cubes overnight, bake the cubes in an oven at 250 degrees F for 30-45 minutes or until dried and crisp.

2. When ready to bake, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Saute the celery and onions in the butter over medium-high heat until softened. Stir the poultry seasoning into the celery and onions.

3. In a large bowl, combine the bread cubes, celery and onions, salt, pepper, and parsley. Toss with a large spoon to combine. Add the chicken broth a little at a time, tossing between each addition of more chicken broth.  Be careful not to over-mix or the bread cubes with become mush and fall apart.

*This is the point where you can adjust the recipe to suit your tastes. If you like your stuffing extra moist, you can add a bit more chicken broth. A tip from my mom is to take a handful of stuffing and squeeze it together in your palm. If the bread cubes stick together and don't fall apart, you've added enough chicken broth! You can also add more poultry seasoning at this time if you prefer more seasoning. Don't be afraid to taste a little bit to be sure it's seasoned how you like it!

4. Transfer the stuffing to a greased 9 x 13 baking dish and cover with aluminum foil. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, uncover, and continue baking for an additional 25 minutes. If the top of the stuffing isn't as crisp as you'd like, raise the temperature to 400 degrees and bake until the top is crisped to your liking.

NOTES

Author: Becky

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