Simple, Straightforward Traditional Bread Stuffing

This traditional bread stuffing will make your next holiday meal a delicious success. It’s a no fuss, straightforward classic side dish perfect for Thanksgiving dinner, Christmas dinner or any weeknight meal. That’s right, you can eat stuffing even if it’s not a holiday! You’ll love the buttery flavour, traditional herbs and vegetarian ingredients used in this recipe. Make ahead, make from scratch.

stuffing in dish on table
When all you want is a no fuss, straightforward classic stuffing. THIS IS IT!

Also Read: 11 Ways to Use Leftover Bread, Homemade Cranberry Sauce, Make Ahead Mashed Potatoes

Note from Getty: Stuffing is not something I grew up with, so I’m super glad my friend Katie shared her Grandma’s stuffing recipe with us! This recipe has now become our family’s favourite stuffing recipe. It’s a classic, straightforward bread stuffing. The rest of this post is from Katie.

I used to wait for my Grandma to deliver this savoury side dish to our Thanksgiving meal. Recently (reluctantly), I have learned how to make this classic stuffing from scratch, for myself. Turns out, the love I make it with for my family works too. Grandma would be proud.

turkey dinner on table
A Happy Thanksgiving meal with traditional bread stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, green beans and turkey.

A traditional bread stuffing recipe for all occasions

No need to wait for the holiday season to get your stuffing-fix. In our house, we serve it all the time! Wherever you’d serve buns or roasted potatoes, you can use stuffing made from scratch as a quick and easy side dish.

No special occasion needed! Stuffing is a tasty, economical side dish any time of the year.

When I met my husband a million years ago and we were busy falling in love, I discovered that he would eat an entire box (box!!) of stuffing for supper, on the regular. So let me tell you, this is a man who knows stuffing! When he met my Grandma (and her classic stuffing recipe) he managed to pass her third degree interrogation. Needless to say, her stuffing passed his taste tests with flying colours.

Boyfriend and husband approved stuffing. This classic stuffing recipe, full of rich butter and herbs, works all year round.

Top Tips for Making Stuffing from Scratch

The real treasure in this stuffing recipe

The flavour and richness in this recipe come from the sautéing at the start. And the butter. Let’s not kid ourselves -it’s mostly the butter! Even if you wish to switch out the herbs or you love carrots or cranberries in your stuffing, don’t skip this step. Sauté those aromatics, veggies and herbs together in the butter. Just until the edges start to brown.

celery, onion, butter, herbs in pan ready to saute
Onion, celery, BUTTER and herbs. I recommend sautéing with your herbs from the start.

Use fresh or stale bread

This recipe works well with large cubes of bread (crouton-sized). Use up leftover bread or cut up a fresh loaf. When you toss in your sautéed veggies and stock, be sure to coat and moisten the bread evenly. This combined with the butter means you’ll get some soft pieces of stuffing and lots of crispy, toasty bites on the top.

ingredients for stuffing
Classic, simple ingredients.

Make Ahead Stuffing

This stuffing can be prepared up to 3 days in advance. Just prep it, but don’t bake it. Cover well and store in fridge until it’s time to bake. Bake as directed and enjoy.

If you’re really keen and want to prep it even further in advance, you can also freeze it before baking for up to 3 months. When ready to bake, you don’t need to thaw it, just bake at 350°F covered with foil for 1 hour, uncover and bake another 15 minutes or so. If you have space in the fridge to thaw the frozen stuffing overnight, bake it for 30 minutes covered and another 15-20 minutes uncovered.

Dry or fresh herbs

This recipe is made using dry herbs. If you have fresh herbs on hand, amazing! Use 3 times the amount listed if using fresh herbs instead of dry (1 tsp dry herbs = 3 tsp fresh herbs).

Should I Stuff the Turkey or Make Stuffing on the Side?

After adding the onion, celery and herb mixture I add 1 cup of vegetable or fine herb stock to this stuffing since I am not cooking it inside a bird. (There’s nothing worse than dry stuffing!)

If you are going to cook this stuffing in the cavity of a turkey or chicken I recommend you omit the stock. The fat and juices from the bird will add lots of moisture and depth of flavour: The bird is giving you the original stock, no need to add.

If you’re thinking of stuffing a bird, here’s some helpful info for stuffing and cooking a whole chicken from Chicken Canada.

Dressing or Stuffing – What’s the Difference?

I’ve told you all about my family’s love of stuffing. But I understand many call it dressing! Which begs the question, is there actually a difference?

You might think that “stuffing” is used to stuff the cavity of a bird and dressing is to “dress” up the side of the plate. But no, that’s not actually a thing. It’s really more a reflection of where you grew up and what your family called it. It seems like dressing is used further south, while stuffing is used further north. Is that true? I don’t know – what does your family call it?

stuffing served on the tables
Call it what you will – stuffing or dressing, either way it’s delicious.

Traditional stuffing recipe made with love

Here’s my Grandma’s stuffing recipe. Share it with your loved ones. Let the heart-warming traditions begin.

stuffing in bowl
Print Recipe
4.78 from 9 votes

Traditional Bread Stuffing Recipe

This easy traditional vegetarian stuffing recipe is perfect for sharing with your whole family. This recipe is designed to be cooked separate from the holiday turkey. If you want to use this as a stuffing for a turkey or chicken, omit the stock.
Prep : 10 minutes
Cook : 50 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour
Servings: 8
Author: Getty Stewart

Ingredients

  • 8 cups bread cubes (crouton size, fresh or stale) ~15-18 slices
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1/2 cup chopped celery
  • 3/4 cup chopped onion
  • 2 tsp dry poultry seasoning
  • 1 Tbsp dry parsley
  • 1 cup vegetable or chicken stock

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 375°F.
  • Set bread cubes aside in a large bowl.
  • In large saucepan, melt butter and sauté celery, onion, poultry seasoning and parsley until tender and translucent, about 8-10 minutes.
  • Pour the herbed butter mixture over bread cubes and toss to coat evenly.
  • Pour stock over bread and toss to coat evenly. Taste and adjust seasoning – add salt or pepper if needed.
  • Pour mixture into a ceramic or metal baking dish.
  • Bake for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and toss. Put back in for another 12-15 minutes. Bake until crispy on the top and brown on the edges.

Notes

This is a vegetarian stuffing: Be sure to use only vegetable stock if you are preparing this for vegetarian eaters. If it’s a meat eating crowd, chicken stock works great.
Poultry Seasoning: ¾ tsp sage + ¼ tsp thyme OR 1 tsp rosemary
Tried this recipe?Mention @GetGettyS or tag #GetGettyS

Nutrition Facts (per serving)

Calories: 288kcal | Carbohydrates: 32g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 15g | Sodium: 466mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 5g | Iron: 2mg
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Keyword: bread stuffing, easy stuffing, holiday stuffing, quick stuffing, vegetarian stuffing

Every family marches to it’s own drum and has it’s own mix of traditional favourites and trendy additions. Tell us. What do you like to serve at your family dinners? Do you have a classic no-fail stuffing recipe? And most importantly do you call it dressing or stuffing? Comment below or share your photos and ideas with us on Instagram @getgettys or Facebook @GettyStewart.HomeEconomist.

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