Homemade Herbed Stuffing
There's no Thanksgiving dish that compares to this homemade stuffing recipe. It's filled with fresh herbs and it's a make-ahead recipe so there's one less dish to worry about the day of!
Ingredients
- 12 cups whole grain bread (or your favorite bread)
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
- 1 and ½ cups sweet onion, diced (about 1 medium)
- 1 and ½ cups celery, diced (about 5-6 stalks)
- 1 and ½ cups carrots, diced (about 3-4 large)
- 1 teaspoon fresh garlic, minced
- 1 Tablespoon fresh thyme, minced
- 2 Tablespoons fresh sage, minced
- 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, minced
- 2 and ¾ cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 and ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spread the bread cubes on two large baking sheets and bake for 15 minutes until brown and crisp. Set aside.
- In a large deep skillet, like a dutch oven over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the onion, carrots, celery, salt and pepper. Sauté for about 5 minutes until vegetables begin to soften. Add the garlic, thyme, sage, and rosemary. Cook for an additional 5 minutes until the carrots are soft.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the toasted bread. Give it a stir. Stir in the chicken broth and give it a big stir.
- If using to stuff the turkey, set aside the stuffing to cool before placing it in the turkey. If baking the separately, bake at 350°F. Grease an 11x13-inch casserole dish. Spoon the stuffing into the dish, then bake for 40 minutes covered, and then remove the cover and bake for an additional 20 minutes until lightly brown and crisp on top.
- Garnish with fresh herbs before serving, if desired. Serve warm. Cover leftovers tightly and store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Reheat in the microwave.
Notes
- Make-Ahead Instructions & Freezing Instructions: The stuffing tastes even better when prepared in advance! There's a few options for making the stuffing ahead of time:
- Option 1: Make the separate parts ahead of time by cooking the vegetables and toasting the bread. Store the cooked vegetables in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Store the baked bread in a zip-topped bag. Then, on Thanksgiving continue with step 3.
- Option 2: Make the entire stuffing and then refrigerate for up to 3-4 days. Then, on Thanksgiving continue with step 4.
- Option 3: Make the entire stuffing and then freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerate. Then, on Thanksgiving continue with step 4.
- Bread: Any type of fresh bread works for this recipe. I prefer to whole grains for a heartier texture.
- Chicken Stock: You can either use chicken stock or vegetable stock.
- Spices: If you don't have fresh herbs, that's OK— you can use dried herbs too! Use the substitutions below:
- Dried Thyme: 1 teaspoon
- Dried Rosemary: 1 and ½ teaspoons
- Dried Sage: ½ teaspoon
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!