Our Homemade Thanksgiving stuffing recipe made with just 6 simple ingredients! Easy Thanksgiving Dressing recipe combines fresh bread, vegetables, & chicken broth for a simple & flavorful turkey side dish.
This homemade stuffing is actually my mom’s recipe and I have such wonderful memories of helping her prepare it! It’s an easy dressing recipe that uses 6 ingredients and is so quick to pull together that you can make it while your turkey is resting. You can also add in more fresh herbs to the mix to get them to match more with whatever flavor profile you gave your turkey. Sage, thyme, rosemary, etc. all are excellent ideas!
Making this easy Thanksgiving stuffing
You’re going to want to use a loaf of white bread. I recommend ripping the pieces apart while fresh and leaving them to dry overnight on a large baking sheet. You don’t want to use a knife to do this, your hands help give that jagged edge to the bread which makes the appearances nice when done. Not to mention, it’s very therapeutic to rip the bread apart.
The chances are high that you won’t need to use the entire can of chicken broth, so make sure to follow the steps slowly, so you don’t end up with soggy stuffing.
You can also choose between fresh or dried sage, either works great!
How do you dry bread more quickly?
You can dry out your bread for stuffing much more quickly by placing it on a cookie sheet and sticking it in the oven at 200 degrees for about 30 minutes, stirring the pieces around about halfway through to prevent burning.
Can I make stuffing a day ahead?
It’s recommended not to keep raw prepared stuffing for too long. Not only does it make the dish extra soggy, but it can also make it into a very unappealing dish both appearance-wise and texturally.
Homemade Stuffing is MUCH better made fresh and served the same day. I usually make it in the morning, then let it sit a few hours and bake it just before serving.
Easy Thanksgiving Stuffing Ingredients
-1 loaf of white bread
-4 stalks of celery
-1 onion
-14 oz can of chicken broth
-1/2 stick butter
-1 tbsp. sage
-Salt & pepper
How to make homemade stuffing in the oven
Break apart your bread and let it dry overnight (or do the quick oven method).
In a saucepan, melt your butter and then add in the chopped celery and onions. Add in the salt, pepper, and sage (you can use fresh or dried) adjusting to taste.
Cook for 10 minutes until the veggies are soft (do not let it brown).
In a medium sized baking dish, alternate adding the bread and chicken broth until the mixture is damp but not too wet.
Let it sit for as long as you can up to 4 hours (but at least a minimum of 15 minutes) to allow the flavors to sink in and develop.
Cover the pan with foil and then bake in a preheated oven for 30-45 minutes at 350 degrees. Remove the foil for the last 10 minutes of baking.
(THE BEST) HOMEMADE THANKSGIVING STUFFING!
Ingredients
- 1 loaf of white bread dried- see step 1
- 4 stalks of celery
- 1 onion diced
- 1 can of chicken broth you most likely won’t use the entire can
- 4 TBSP butter
- 1 TBSP fresh sage or 1 tsp dried sage
- Salt & pepper
Instructions
- Tear the bread up by hand and either let it sit out overnight to dry or bake in a 200°F oven for 30 minutes, tossing bread every 7-8 minutes.
- Melt butter in a sauce pan. Add chopped celery and onions. Add sage, as well as a few shakes of salt & pepper. (You can taste it later and add more, if desired.)
- Cook 10 minutes until soft (don’t brown).
- Place dried bread in a large bowl. Pour butter mixture on top. Gently stir/ toss while adding in the chicken broth a little at a time. The mixture should be damp- not too wet so that it's soggy, but not too try. The amount of broth you use really depends on what type of bread you use. Some are drier than others and need more broth. Transfer stuffing to a medium sized baking dish.
- Let the stuffing sit out at least 15 minutes, up to 3-4 hours, so that the flavors meld.
- Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 30 – 45 minutes. Remove the foil for the last 10 minutes of baking.
Nutrition
📫 Save this recipe! Send it to your email! 📩
I consent to receiving emails from this site.
How long can you keep stuffing in the refrigerator?
After baking your stuffing, you will see that if you keep it well-covered you can get it to last up to 4 days in the fridge.
Can I freeze stuffing after cooking?
Yes! For a longer storage solution, you can freeze your homemade stuffing. You want to make sure that it has fully cooled before covering with foil or moving to a freezer-friendly storage container. Once in the freezer, you can expect it to last up to 3 months (anything longer than that and you might lose flavor quality due to freezer burn).
How to reheat your homemade stuffing
To reheat your stuffing, you’ll want to reheat in an oven at 325 degrees (while covered) for 15 minutes, possibly longer depending on how frozen and how large of a chunk of stuffing you are trying to cook.
Other homemade holiday favorites you’ll love!
- Holiday Ham in a Crockpot
- Savory Crepes with Thanksgiving Turkey and Stuffing
- Roasted Thanksgiving Turkey
- Pumpkin Ice Cream Dessert
- Slow Cooker Sweet Potatoes and Cranberries
- Mashed Sweet Potatoes with Cinnamon Maple Butter Sauce
- No-Bake Cranberry Cheesecake
- Spiced Caramel Apple Cider
- Dinner Rolls
- Caramel Pecan Apple Pie
Donna says
STUFFING IS EXACTLY THAT STUFFING
If it’s not stuffed inside the Turkey to cook
It’s NOT stuffing !!
This is a bread dressing recipe !!!!!!!
IT IS cooked OUTSIDE the Turkey, not STUFFED inside the Turkey
Hence , it is not STUFFING
Nellie says
Thanks for the clarification Donna! We’ve always just called it stuffing whether it was in or out of the turkey!