My Grandma’s Thanksgiving Turkey Stuffing has stood the test of time. This buttery, savory, melt-in-your-mouth stuffing is the best stuffing recipe around!
Grandma’s Thanksgiving Turkey Stuffing Recipe
Are you all so excited that Thanksgiving is almost here? I think I love Thanksgiving more than Christmas. And one reason why? The food, of course! It’s all about the corn casserole, mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie.
Today we are sharing with you one of our classic family recipes that without fail, ends up on our Thanksgiving table: Grandma’s Thanksgiving Turkey Stuffing. This recipe was my Grandma’s recipe and was passed down to my mom. I grew up enjoying this savory Thanksgiving turkey stuffing, and now my kids are enjoying the tradition, too!
What spices do you put in turkey stuffing?
Our recipe has just a few key seasonings: poultry seasoning, salt and black pepper. You’ll also get flavor from the butter, onion, celery and chicken stock, but for the most part, all that savory flavor comes from poultry seasoning.
What does poultry seasoning have in it?
We use a pre-mixed poultry seasoning that you can buy in the spice aisle at the grocery store. You can mix your own if you’d like. It generally has sage, rosemary, thyme, marjoram, a touch of nutmeg and black pepper.
How do you make traditional stuffing?
If you’ve never made Thanksgiving turkey stuffing before, you may think it is difficult. Our recipe is very simple, though and calls for just a handful ingredients: bread, butter, onion, celery, chicken broth, eggs and spices.
You’ll want to start this recipe about two days beforehand. Cut fresh bread into 1″ cubes and put them in a big bowl. I like to use a heavier white bread (even Italian bread) or partial bags of hot dog/hamburger buns, but sometimes throw in some whole wheat bread. Use whatever kind of bread you prefer.
**Note: We say to use 13-15 cups of bread cubes. Make sure the bread cubes are slightly packed into the cup. Don’t drop them in so there is a lot of air around them, but press them down into the cup a little. This will help make sure you have enough bread to soak up the liquid. If you like a drier stuffing, use more bread crumbs.**
Leave the bread cubes sitting out for about 48 hours so they dry out. Stir them once or twice a day so all of the bread dries out evenly. If you run out of time, dry the bread cubes in the oven preheated to a low heat.
When it comes time to make the stuffing, saute the onions and celery in butter over medium heat until the veggies are tender. This is the best aroma ever. Of all the smells of Thanksgiving dinner cooking, this is the one that always starts it all off. There’s just nothing better!
Why Put Eggs in Stuffing?
Thanksgiving leftovers? Try this casserole!
Pour this mixture over the dry bread cubes, then add the chicken stock, eggs and spices. Why add eggs to bread stuffing? Many of you have asked this question. My main reason is because my grandma did it, my mom continued making stuffing this way, and there is just no better stuffing. 🙂 Simple, right? I’ve never not put eggs in stuffing, but my guess is that it makes the stuffing more moist. The eggs also act as a bit of a binder. It’s not tightly bound but helps the stuffing not to be crumbly.
Is it safe to stuff a turkey?
Mix it all up well and you’re ready to either stuff the bird or bake the stuffing in a casserole dish. It’s a big debate over who likes to stuff the turkey and who doesn’t, I realize. Do what you’d like. Are both methods safe? Yes. If you stuff a turkey with bread stuffing, make sure the center of the stuffing cooks to 165 degrees Fahrenheit. You’ll need a long thermometer to go through the turkey and test it. But it is safe to eat if cooked to the correct temperature.
I like both stuffed turkeys and unstuffed. I prefer my stuffing just a little crispier, so cooking it in a casserole dish allows the top of the bread to get a little toasty. And who doesn’t like herbed, buttered, toasted bread?!
For food safety guidelines as far as stuffing the turkey, you can read some info from the USDA here.
How to Stuff a Turkey
It’s important to spoon the stuffing into the turkey loosely. You don’t want to pack it in. Plan about 3/4 cup of stuffing per 1 pound of turkey.
When to Stuff a Turkey
For food safety reasons, stuff the turkey immediately before you place it in the oven. Have the oven preheated and ready to go. Stuff the turkey, then pop it in the oven.
Best Homemade Stuffing Recipe
I hope you enjoy this Thanksgiving turkey stuffing recipe as much as my family has over the past decades. Just read the reviews below to see how many people have loved this! It’s continually one of our most popular holiday recipes and we thank you for that.
Q: Do you have a recipe that has stood the test of time?
Looking for a cute way to serve stuffing? Take a look at these cute platters and dishes!
- “Let the Stuffing Begin” Casserole Dish and Spoon
- “Happy Thankstuffing” Serving Bowl and Spoon
- “Let the Stuffing Begin” Serving Spoon
Other Stuffing Recipes
Grandma's Thanksgiving Turkey Stuffing
Ingredients
- 13-15 cups dry bread cubes* (We like to use a heavier bread so it soaks up more juice)
- 1 cup chopped celery
- 1 cup diced onion
- 1 1/2 cups butter
- 2 1/4 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 1/2 tablespoons poultry seasoning
- 1 1/2 cups chicken stock
- 2 large eggs
Instructions
- In a frying pan, saute the onion and celery in the butter for 10-12 minutes, or until the onion and celery are tender.
- Place the bread cubes in a large bowl. Pour the butter, onion and celery mixture over the breadcrumbs and mix. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well.
- Spray a 2-quart casserole dish with cooking spray. Put the stuffing in the prepared pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
E. Howard says
Great recipe! Last year, we moved halfway across the country from all of our family. This was our first Christmas making a big holiday dinner all by ourselves. I so much prefer making homemade – cleaner, cheaper AND tastes better! This recipe was my first foray into homemade stuffing. My kids won’t touch stuffing of any kind (and I question their lineage as a result, LOL), but my picky husband gave this an enthusiastic thumbs up and he is a hard one to please!! Thanks for an easy AND delicious stuffing recipe.
Sarah says
Made for Christmas feast and everyone loved it. We did a smoked turkey and I was so sad I wouldn’t have my family recipe of stuffing, but this tastes almost the same! Everyone loved this, and a huge plus, my sister in law, who is a vegetarian was finally able to eat stuffing with the family.
Brooke says
It uses chicken broth and is not a vegetarian dish. It is a common mistake, so no worries. Just make sure you let vegetarians know as some do not eat animal based broth.
Ryan says
I ran out of casserole dishes so ended up putting the mixture into a muffin tray instead. Worked a treat because it made the edges all crispy and made for easy individual serves!
Brooke says
It uses chicken broth and is not a vegetarian dish. It is a common mistake, so no worries. Just make sure you let vegetarians know as some do not eat animal based broth.
Mary says
Great recipe!! Everyone loved it. Can you freeze any leftovers?
Julie Clark says
Yes, we’ve frozen stuffing.
Anonymous says
Love this recipe. The only thing I do differently is simmer the poultry seasoning and celery in the stock while the onion sautés.
Jerome says
bruh 10 outta 10 would make again 👌🏿👌🏿👏🏿👏🏿👌🏿💯💯💯‼️‼️🔥 🔥 reminds me of my grandma #respekmagranny
Kerri says
I used chicken broth with no salt and cut back on the salt in the recipe to under 2 tsp, but was still insanely salty. The flavours were great otherwise. I would make it again, but keep salt to under a teaspoon for sure.
Jeri says
About how many loads of bread do need to make this recipe?
Thank you
Jeri says
I meant loafs… Lol
Julie Clark says
It depends on how thick the bread is, but I’d get 2 loaves to be safe.
Jared says
Thanks for the great recipe! I’ve never made a stuffing before, and we were hosting Easter Sunday dinner. I got day old buns on sale from the grocery store, and chopped them into cubes. I didn’t have too much time to let them dry out, so I toasted them lightly in the oven then left them out overnight. Everybody was raving about the stuffing! Some said it was the best stuffing they ever had! Use this recipe, you won’t be sorry.
Julie Clark says
Thank you so much! Buying day old bread is a great idea!
Connie Broyhill says
I have been making my dressing the exact same way for at least 50 years and it is so good. I start saving the heels of bread several months in advance by putting in paper bag. Is best to break up first. Sometimes I add chicken or oysters. Yum!
Ashley P says
My husband and I were married in July ‘18, bought our first home Sept ‘18, brought home our first puppy the weekend before Thanksgiving, we we hosted our first Thanksgiving of 15 people in ‘18 too! This stuffing was SO easy yet SOOO delicious. My husbands mother and grandmother are known to have the BEST homemade stuffing. My husband said this stuffing was better than his mother and grandmothers and he hated to say that! (He also made me promise not go tell his mother he said that too!). Here we are in August ‘19 and my husband requested pork chops and this stuffing for dinner. I pulled up the recipe from my email and realized I forgot to comment on how amazingly well it went over for our Thanksgiving last year. This is now a holiday staple recipe in our home and I am looking forward to making it this year as well!
Julie Clark says
Wow! Thank you!