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
MARY MCCORMICK says
Very similar to my long time family recipe.. we go a little rustic and make memories by all sitting around the table breaking bread… tearing in small bits I remembered it being done as a child then doing w my mom and children and now whomever is guest and my kids… we also use a little extra ground sage in ours … and some where over the years I stopped using egg … but use extra stock n butter not sure why but always stays moist and combined so no worry
Heather James says
What if my bread crumbs are crispy? Will this turn out ok?
Julie Clark says
It should be fine! You can judge whether you may need to add a touch more broth if you’d like.
Kris says
This is the closest recipe that I could find that is similar to my mom’s, and I have looked tried recipe for years.
After making it this morning, the smells conjured up such sweet nostalgia and I think it may be just the recipe I’ve been looking for.
I will let you know tomorrow how it went over with my family!
Happy thanksgiving!
Julie Clark says
I hope you have a great Thanksgiving!
Kris says
Thank you!
Likewise
Karen says
If I’m doubling the bread, should I also double everything else?
Julie Clark says
Yes, double everything. That’s what we have in the oven right now!
Cindy Merrifield says
Grandma’s Stuffing came out delicious! Everyone loved it . Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Teresa says
By far the best flavor and consistency of any dressing I’ve ever made or remember eating. This will be my go to every year from now on. Your grandmother knew what she was doing, husband really liked the flavor of the bit I used to stuff the turkey. Thank you!
Kev says
Is the 1.5 cups of butter a typo? That’s 3 sticks of butter (24 Tbsp)
Was it supposed to 1.5 sticks of butter? (12 Tbsp)
Thanks!
Julie Clark says
No, it is 3 sticks of butter. 1 1/2 cups.
Britnae Sanelli says
Hi! If you can’t find poultry seasoning, but have fresh sage, thyme, and rosemary, how much do you recommend adding? Thanks!
Julie Clark says
Hi there! I’ve not done this so can’t say for sure, but I’d do at least 1 tablespoon of each. If not a little more??
DEBBIE says
My family thought the stuffing was very tasty. I am not sure if I had 13 cups of bread cubes. I cut up 1 1/2 loaves of white bread for the recipe and was able to make two 8×8 pans of stuffing with it. It was very good, but next time I think I would cut back on the butter to maybe 1 cup because it tasted a little too buttery for me.
Sydney says
Usesd this recipe for my first ever attempt for homemade stuffing, it turned out amazing! I used half a loaf of French bread I had left over from the night before dinner and about 8 slices of just regular white sandwich bread, left out overnight after I had cut them up into 1″ pieces and mixed just like she suggested every few hours. I wouldn’t go so heavy on the butter I used 1 cup and was still a lot I thought, kept the onions and celery finely chopped. Entire family loved it will absolutely build off this recipe! Thank you so much
Gay Ross says
I have looked for a recipe that was close to my grandmother’s dressing. This was a perfect match. My grown children even agreed. My grandmother never wrote it down, I just knew the ingredients. Now I can pass it down to my children. Thank you.
Julie Clark says
Wonderful!! I’m so happy to hear that.
Nancy Edwards says
This was stupendous!! I followed the author’s procedure of drying out the bread cubes for 2 days. I cut my cubes half the size of the author’s. I prefer small cubes because it makes it easier to use if you are stuffing inside a turkey. I doubled this recipe. Half of it I stuffed in the Thanksgiving Day Turkey and the other half I prepared in the casserole dish and baked it in the toaster oven while the turkey was cooking in our regular oven. Then once the turkey came out of the oven, I combined the stuffing that came out of the bird with the dressing I made in the casserole dish. That way, with the juices from the roasted turkey that were infused with it’s stuffing joined with the stuffing made in the casserole dish. I used two loaves of sourdough French bread from our local bakery. My Thanksgiving guests raved over the stuffing. They said this recipe has now got to be used for every Thanksgiving in the future, no matter who in our family is hosting it. That’s a great testament to how wonderful this recipe is!!
Julie Clark says
That’s awesome! Thank you so much!
Greg says
The recipe, as written, turns out to be a wet mess. I made it. Cooked 45 minutes, drained a half cup of liquid halfway through cooking, and it was still a wet mess. Lots of leftovers because it was a buttery mess.
Nicole says
This came out so delicious. The only issue I had was with the salt. I’m not sure if it’s because my poultry seasoning already had salt and also the chicken stock. So I’m making this today and just putting a dash of salt. Otherwise, this had my house smelling stupendous and everyone loved it!!
Thanks so much for sharing! Happy Holidays.
Robbie Underwoid says
This recipe is almost like my family recipe for dressing. The difference is we add equal part of crumbled cornbread. It is mouthwatering. Dressing and giblet gravy is my favorite Thanksgiving dish. I hate to run out of gravy when there’s lots of dressing left 🙁 That’s what happened today. Well the turkey carcass was still in the fridge so I put it in a cake pan sorta broke it up to fit. I added a cup of water and covered it very tightly with foil so steam wouldn’t escape. Baked at 285 for two hours. I wound up with a quart of rich broth! I’m satiated with turkey and trimming now. I’ll put leftovers in freezer and in a week or two I can prepare another nice pan of gravy with my salvaged broth and do it all over again 🙂
Ashley says
I made this recipe last week for Thanksgiving. I followed the recipe exactly except I dried out the cubed bread in my oven since I did not have them to dry my bread out. I also added 2Tbsp of fresh chopped rosemary, thyme and sage along with the poultry seasoning, salt and pepper. I had family members say “I am a stuffing snob and I LOVE yours!” My husband (first year married, first thanksgiving I cooked) said he liked my stuffing better than his mother’s which was a big deal for me. This is my go to recipe!
Jackie says
This dressing was outstanding everyone loved it
Debbie says
Sounded so good—way too much butter—very greasy—I think it could use half the butter—too bad because it sounded so good and easy.
Desiree Barbazon says
Everyone Raved about this dressing and I had NO leftovers………………….SO delicious!!!