My homemade Classic Stuffing recipe is a family favorite and so easy to make at home! This bread stuffing uses onions, peppers, and fresh herbs to add flavor. It can be stuffed into a turkey or cooked in a baking dish.
This is our family’s favorite stuffing recipe. For as long as I can remember, this has been our go-to and we truly have never felt the need to experiment with any other recipe. When something hits all of the spots, why bother changing anything? My mom taught me how to make stuffing and since I have now taken over the duty of preparing Thanksgiving dinner each year, I have continued the tradition of this classic stuffing recipe.
If you find stuffing intimidating to make from scratch, I am here to tell you it isn’t hard at all! I learned how to make stuffing as a teen (perhaps earlier than that!) so if I can do it as a kid, you can too!
This recipe uses components of a classic stuffing (a bread stuffing base of cubed bread, onions and herbs) with some twists. While many traditional stuffing recipes use celery as a flavor component, my family uses peppers instead. I am not a fan of celery, personally, and the peppers add such a delicious flavor that we all adore. We also add pine nuts for a delicious crunchy component. Walnuts work great here too or you can omit them if you have a nut allergy.
Does bread stuffing need eggs?
Another difference you’ll notice in this recipe is the inclusion of eggs. I have listed them as optional in the recipe. If you have any family members with an egg allergy, leave them out. The recipe will still work. If you are stuffing it into a turkey, leave them out. They aren’t needed to bind the stuffing as the moisture in the turkey will do the job.
If you are baking the stuffing in a dish (traditionally called a dressing, though where I live its all stuffing whether cooked in a turkey or not), the eggs can help to bind the stuffing and make it fluffy. Simply whisk the eggs together and toss it in with the rest of the ingredients in the baking dish and bake! Once again though, feel free to leave them out if any of your guests have an egg allergy.
Stuffing a turkey vs. baking in a dish
My favorite way to prepare stuffing is inside the turkey – you really can’t beat the moist texture and extra flavor when it is cooked this way! But if you like, you can bake this in a baking dish. In fact, since we love our stuffing so much, this recipe makes enough for both stuffing a turkey and cooking some in a dish. This way, we all get as much stuffing as our hearts desire with some leftovers too so we can enjoy it again!
Baking the stuffing separately also allows for a mix in textures. The edges crisp up nicely and have a nice crunch to them while the inside remains moist. This is something you don’t get inside a turkey- it all gets moist!
As mentioned before, I know technically it is supposed to be called dressing if it isn’t cooked inside a turkey but around these parts, its all stuffing. Either way, we enjoy stuffing our faces with it, so stuffing it is!
What you need to make stuffing:
- white sandwich bread (preferably stale) or your favorite bread for stuffing
- olive oil
- onions
- bell peppers, any color
- pine nuts
- chicken base powder
- chicken broth
- fresh sage, rosemary and thyme
- salt and pepper
- eggs (optional)
How to make classic stuffing
- Preheat oven to 350F and brush a 9×13 baking dish with oil or nonstick spray.
- In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat and add the onions and peppers. Saute until they are nice and soft and then add the pine nuts. Continue cooking for 2 more minutes, stirring often.
- Sprinkle the veggies with the chicken base powder and pepper and remove from heat. Add the cubed bread, chicken broth and fresh herbs. Toss to ensure the mixture is well mixed. Taste and add salt to taste. If you are using eggs, add them in and then transfer the mixture to the baking dish.
- Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and bake in the oven for about 35 minutes. Remove the aluminum foil and continue baking for 15 minutes or until it is a nice golden color and cooked through.
Note: If you are cooking your stuffing in the turkey, omit the eggs.
Tips for making the best classic stuffing and substitutions
- If possible, cube your bread the day before. Place it in a bowl and cover it with plastic food wrap.
- Use stale bread for the best results.
- Omit the eggs if you are stuffing this into a turkey.
- If you are stuffing this into a turkey, make sure to check the temperature of your stuffing to ensure it is fully cooked through and reaches a safe temperature.
- If you don’t have fresh herbs, you can substitute dried herbs. As a general rule, use 1/3 of the amount listed of fresh herbs (so instead of 3 tablespoons of fresh rosemary, use 1 tablespoon).
- Nuts add a nice crunch to the stuffing. I add pine nuts to mine but we have used walnuts in the past too. If someone has a nut allergy, you can omit these.
- If you don’t have chicken base powder, you can use a chicken bouillon cube. Just add it to the onions and peppers when they are sautéing so that it can break down.
I hope you enjoy this bread stuffing recipe as much as my family does!
-Cathy
You may also like:
Roasted Turkey Drumsticks
Turkey Gravy from Drippings
Homemade Cranberry Sauce
Classic Apple Pie
Cranberry Sauce Muffins
I hope you enjoy this recipe! If you try it and love it as much as I do, I would love to hear about it! Leave a rating and/or comment below to let me know!
Classic Stuffing
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 loaves white sandwich bread (preferably stale) or your favorite bread for stuffing
- 1 cup olive oil or butter
- 2 medium onions finely chopped
- 4 bell peppers any color, chopped
- 3/4 cup pine nuts
- 1 1/2 tablespoon chicken base powder*
- 3/4 cup chicken broth
- 3 tablespoons fresh sage chopped
- 3 tablespoons fresh rosemary chopped
- 3 tablespoons fresh thyme chopped
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 large eggs whisked (optional)
Instructions
- If possible, chop the bread into cubes the night before and place in a large container covered with plastic food wrap.
- Preheat oven to 350F and brush a 9×13 baking dish with oil or nonstick spray.
- In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat and add the onions and peppers. Saute until they are nice and soft and then add the pine nuts. Continue cooking for 2 more minutes, stirring often.
- Sprinkle the veggies with the chicken base powder and pepper and remove from heat. Add the cubed bread, chicken broth and fresh herbs. Toss to ensure the mixture is well mixed. Taste and add salt to taste. If you are using eggs, add them in and then transfer the mixture to the baking dish.
- Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and bake in the oven for about 35 minutes. Remove the aluminum foil and continue baking for 15 minutes or until it is a nice golden color and cooked through.
Notes
Note: Metric ingredient measurements are provided as a courtesy using a third-party calculator and are rounded to the nearest unit. The recipes provided on this site have not been tested with metric measurements and their accuracy cannot be verified.
Nutrition
The nutritional information provided is based on third-party calculations and is an estimate only. Accurate nutritional facts will vary based on the particular brands used, portion sizes, measurement accuracy and more.
