22 Downright Delicious Thanksgiving Stuffing Recipes (2024)

FAQs

Should I put an egg in my stuffing? ›

The most important ingredient of stuffing may be the binder, which keeps all the other elements in place. For a fluffy texture, use eggs. Stock is the most-used binder. Less conventional possibilities include fruit juice (such as apple or orange) and alcohol (wine or liqueur).

Mix in specialty flavors.

The sausage adds flavor and moisture to the stuffing when you cook it all together in the same pan. Some of my specialty stuffing recipes have sweet flavors mixed in to balance the savory dish like cubed apples, chopped figs, or dried raisins or craisins.

The short answer to whether you can making stuffing ahead of time is yes.

If you don't plan on stuffing the bird, but preparing the dressing as a side dish, you can prepare uncooked stuffing ahead of time as long as you freeze the stuffing immediately after mixing the wet and dry ingredients. USDA recommends that you never refrigerate uncooked stuffing.

Your Bread Is Too Fresh

There's nothing better than soft, fresh bread—except for when it comes to stuffing. If you want your stuffing to hold up and not end up a soupy, soggy mess, make sure your bread is dried out or staled for a few days.

Make the stuffing, melt butter in a large frying pan and gently sauté onion and garlic for five minutes until soft. Stir in the herbs for one minute then add breadcrumbs to absorb butter. Mix in zest, pine nuts and seasoning and cook over medium heat for about seven minutes until crumbs start to brown and crisp.

Homemade stock is the best, but if you don't have homemade, a good store bought stock will work as well. If you use a store bought stock, try to buy one with no/low sodium. I personally have started using bone broth in my stuffing and LOVE it.

The verdict: It's often said that we eat with our eyes first, and Stove Top's Traditional Sage stuffing was far and away the most visually appealing. Tasters appreciated that there was a a decent crunch in each bite, but we were most impressed by its seasoning.

The stuffing should be moist but not wet. If there is a puddle of broth at the bottom of the bowl, you've added too much. Add more bread to soak up the excess moisture. If the mix is still dry and crumbly, add more liquid and toss gently until it starts to clump together.

If you use soft, fresh bread, you'll ultimately wind up with a soggy, mushy stuffing. So, how do you dry bread for stuffing? There are two ways to go about it. If you've planned your Thanksgiving dinner ahead of time, you can cut your bread into cubes and leave them out to become stale overnight.

Is it better to freeze stuffing, cooked or uncooked? ›

“One advantage of freezing uncooked stuffing is that it has less of a tendency to dry out when being cooked,” says Sarah Brekke, M.S., Better Homes & Gardens Test Kitchen culinary specialist.

Heat the oven to 350°F and transfer the stuffing to an oven-safe dish (or, you can keep it in the dish that it was originally cooked in). If it seems dry, you'll want to add a splash of broth. Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes, then remove foil and bake again until crisp, 15–20 minutes.

In fact, you'll cut a lot of stress out of turkey day if you prep a few side dishes now. Just stash them in the freezer for up to a month, and you'll have even more to be thankful for on Thanksgiving. These top recipes and prep tips for make-ahead Thanksgiving side dishes will save precious time on the big day itself.

Most commercial stuffing brands use animal products like milk, egg whites, butter, and chicken broth to bind the stuffing together. Some brands also use cornbread, which uses egg in the mixture. Homemade is the way to go if you want to incorporate only plant-based ingredients in your vegan stuffing mix.

The stuffing should be moist but not wet. If there is a puddle of broth at the bottom of the bowl, you've added too much. Add more bread to soak up the excess moisture.

Turkey stuffing was popularized in the early days of Thanksgiving, as it is written in many 16th-century Boston area documents. Stuffing most often uses dried bread, herbs, and vegetables that are reconstituted with liquid, stuffed into the turkey cavity, and baked until it is firm and finished cooking.