Homemade Stuffing Recipe - The Recipe Rebel (2024)

This Homemade Stuffing Recipe is everyone’s favorite holiday side dish! It’s loaded with all the best flavors and textures and can easily be prepped ahead of time!

Need a more hands off approach? Try my Crockpot Stuffing!

Stuffing is a must have at every holiday dinner!

This Homemade Stuffing recipe is better than the box and just as easy to make.

Onion, celery and apple add a ton of flavor (I promise the apple won’t make it sweet!), and you can customize the recipe to be softer or crispier depending on your preferences.

It might be the only thing you want for Thanksgiving from here on out — followed closely by a big slice of Cream Cheese Pumpkin Pie, of course!

Serve with Garlic Brown Sugar Dry Brine Turkey, Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Broccoli Casserole and a batch of Mom’s Homemade Buns for the perfect Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner.

Ingredients Needed:

• Cubed Bread: you’ll need about 10 slices of day old bread. If you don’t have day old bread, you can simply leave your bread out on the counter for a couple of hours or toast it briefly to dry it out. Any bread will do!
• Melted Butter: melted butter is used to sauté the mix-ins and to add moisture to the stuffing.
• Mix-Ins: we’re using a classic combination of diced onion, diced celery, and peeled and diced baking apple to add texture and flavor.
• Seasonings: a simple blend of minced garlic, dried sage, dried thyme, salt, and black pepper is all you need.
• Chicken Broth: use low sodium chicken broth so you can control the saltiness of your stuffing. If you only have regular chicken broth, add less yourself to start, then adjust only as needed.

How to Make Stuffing

This recipe is so simple to prep! See the recipe card below for the full instructions.

1. Sauté the mix-ins: In a skillet, cook onion, celery, and apple in butter, then sprinkle in the seasonings.
2. Stir vegetables together with cubed bread. Make sure your bread is either slightly dried out or lightly toasted so it soaks up all that flavor.
3. Combine and bake: Add the skillet mixture and bread cubes to a greased baking dish and mix to combine. Brush the top with melted butter, then bake until heated through and cooked to your liking. For softer stuffing, add a little more broth or cover with foil. For crispier stuffing, bake uncovered.

Homemade Stuffing Recipe FAQs

Tips and Notes

• Use stale bread. Day old bread works better in this recipe than fresh does. The tougher texture holds up better in the broth creating the perfect Homemade Stuffing.
• No day old bread? Leave it on the counter for at least 60 minutes OR toast it briefly before assembling your stuffing.
• Cut into 3/4″ cubes. Even 3/4″ cubes of bread are small enough to cook all the way through, but not so small that they will just get soggy in the broth.
• Play with texture. Prefer a softer texture? Cover the baking dish or bake less. Like it a little crunchier? Leave it uncovered or bake longer. It’s your stuffing! Make it your way!
• Make it vegetarian. You can easily make this into a vegetarian-friendly side dish by swapping the chicken broth for veggie broth.

Serving Suggestions

This Homemade Stuffing Recipe is a classic holiday side dish, so serve it alongside your next Roast Spiral Ham or Roast Turkey and with all of your favorite holiday sides.

More Holiday Side Dishes You’ll Love