Some people count down to Thanksgiving for the turkey. Others wait all year for the pie. Cheryl Alters Jamison, a four-time James Beard Award winner and TABLE contributing editor, is firmly on team stuffing. She thinks about it long after the holidays end, and this recipe, adapted from American Home Cooking, the cookbook she wrote with her late husband, Bill Jamison, shows why. Cubes of country bread are toasted until crisp, then tossed with butter, leeks, celery, mushrooms, plenty of sage, and rich homemade stock before baking into a golden, crisp-edged dish that stays soft and savory in the middle.
What makes it the ultimate stuffing, though, is its flexibility. Cheryl treats the recipe as a template. Hosting guests who love sausage? Fold some in. Oyster fans at the table? Add them. Cooking for a vegan guest? Swap the butter and stock. Want more herbs, or a little sweetness from dried fruit? Go for it. The base is sturdy enough to handle nearly any addition, making it the only stuffing recipe you’ll ever need.
Why Make Homemade Stock for Stuffing?
A good boxed broth will do in a pinch, but Cheryl makes the case for starting from scratch, since a holiday meal deserves a little extra effort. Her method is quick and deeply flavorful. Brown about a pound of chicken or turkey necks, backs, wings, or giblets over high heat, then cover the pot and let the pieces sweat over medium-low heat for about 20 minutes, adding chopped onion and celery partway through. Sweating draws out the juices and builds a richer flavor than simmering alone. Add six cups of water, simmer for 30 minutes, and strain. The result is a golden, full-bodied stock that tastes like the holidays.
Best of all, the stock can be made a day ahead and refrigerated, which frees up the stovetop when the kitchen gets crowded. Use any extra for gravy or soup.
How Do You Make the Ultimate Stuffing Recipe?
Start with good bread. A pound of country white or French bread, cut into ¾-inch cubes, gives the stuffing structure. Toast the cubes on two baking sheets at 325°F for about 25 minutes, until crisp and lightly browned.
Next, melt the butter and sauté thinly sliced leeks, celery, and button or wild mushrooms until very soft, about 7 minutes. Leeks add sweetness; mushrooms add earthy depth. Stir in dried sage, thyme or marjoram, salt, and pepper, then toss the vegetables with the toasted bread.
Add stock a cup at a time until the mixture is moist but not soupy; two to three cups is usually right. Just before baking, whisk two eggs with baking powder and stir them in. The eggs bind the stuffing, and the baking powder helps keep the texture light. Spoon it into a buttered 9-by-13-inch dish, bake covered for 25 minutes, then uncover and bake 15 to 20 minutes more, until the top turns golden and crisp.
For individual servings, bake the stuffing in buttered ramekins, covered for 15 minutes and then uncovered for 10 to 15 minutes.
Tips for Recipe Success
Toast the bread all the way through. The cubes should be dry and crisp at the center, not just golden outside. Dry bread soaks up stock and butter without turning to mush.
Add stock gradually. Every loaf absorbs liquid differently, so let the texture, not the measuring cup, tell you when to stop.
Add the eggs last. Stirring in the eggs and baking powder right before baking keeps the stuffing light and lets you prepare everything else ahead.
Customize it. Brown crumbled sausage with the leeks for a heartier dish, fold in oysters, or stir in a handful of dried cranberries or raisins. Extra fresh herbs brighten the flavor.
Can I Make This Stuffing Recipe Ahead of time?
Make the stock a day ahead. Toast the bread and combine the stuffing up to a day in advance, then refrigerate. Stir in the eggs and baking powder just before baking, and add a few minutes to the covered bake time.
Why Is My Stuffing Soggy?
Soggy stuffing usually comes from too much stock or bread that wasn’t fully dried. If the mixture looks wet before it goes into the oven, toss in a handful of extra toasted cubes. If it’s already baked and still soft, uncover it and return it to the oven for another 10 minutes to drive off moisture. Stuffing that turned out too dry is an easy fix, too: drizzle a little warm stock over the top and cover it for the last few minutes of baking.
What Dietary Swaps Can You Make for This Recipe?
Vegan: Use vegan butter and vegetable stock, and replace the eggs with an egg replacer.
Gluten-free: Use a sturdy gluten-free country loaf, and check that your baking powder and stock are labeled gluten-free. Gluten-free bread toasts faster, so start checking it after 15 minutes.
Dairy-free: Replace the butter with a plant-based butter or olive oil.
What Can I Serve With Holiday Stuffing?
This stuffing belongs next to a roast turkey, glazed ham, or golden roast chicken, with cranberry sauce and gravy made from the extra stock. Roasted root vegetables and a crisp green salad round out the plate.
For more inspiration, try two more TABLE takes on the classic: Quelcy Kogel’s Inspired Holiday Stuffing, with five mix-and-match flavor combinations, and Anna Franklin’s Bread Pudding Stuffed Squash with Savory Black Truffle.
Cheryl’s Baked Apples with Sausage Stuffing bring the same sage-scented flavors to breakfast, and her Baked Baby Pumpkins make a showstopping side. For the rest of your holiday feast, explore our Thanksgiving Finger Foods and Thanksgiving Drinks to Inspire Gratitude This Year, or browse even more seasonal Side Dishes.
Print
The Ultimate Stuffing Recipe
- Total Time: 2 hours 15 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings (one 9×13-inch dish)Serves 8 1x
Description
A classic holiday stuffing of toasted country bread, leeks, celery, mushrooms, sage, and homemade poultry stock, baked until golden and crisp on top. Serve with turkey, ham, or roast chicken.
Ingredients
For the stock:
- About 1 lb chicken or turkey necks, backs, wings, or giblets, chopped
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 celery stalks, chopped
- 1 carrot, chopped
- 6 cups water
For the stuffing:
- About 10 cups (1 lb) country white or French bread, cut into 3/4-inch cubes
- 6 tbsp unsalted butter, plus more for the dish
- 3 cups thinly sliced leeks
- 1 1/2 cups thinly sliced celery
- 4 to 6 oz button or wild mushrooms, sliced
- 2 tsp dried sage, or more to taste
- 1 1/2 tsp dried thyme, dried marjoram, or a combination
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 2 to 3 cups turkey, chicken, or vegetable stock
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
Instructions
- Make the stock: In a heavy pot over high heat, brown the poultry parts. Cover, reduce the heat to medium-low, and sweat for about 20 minutes, adding the onion, celery, and carrot partway through. Add the water, simmer about 30 minutes, and strain. The stock can be made 1 day ahead.
- Toast the bread: Preheat the oven to 325°F. Spread the bread cubes on 2 baking sheets and bake about 25 minutes, until crisp and lightly browned. Transfer to a large bowl. Raise the oven to 350°F and butter a 9×13-inch baking dish.
- Cook the vegetables: Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the leeks, celery, and mushrooms and cook about 7 minutes, until very soft. Stir in the sage, thyme or marjoram, salt, and pepper.
- Combine: Stir the vegetables into the bread. Add stock 1 cup at a time until the mixture is moist but not soupy, usually 2 to 3 cups. Refrigerate at this point if making ahead.
- Add the eggs: Whisk the eggs with the baking powder and stir into the stuffing.
- Bake: Transfer to the prepared dish. Bake covered for 25 minutes, then uncover and bake 15 to 20 minutes more, until golden on top.
Notes
- Ramekins: Bake individual portions covered for 15 minutes, then uncovered for 10 to 15 minutes.
- Add-ins: Stir in browned sausage, oysters, dried cranberries, raisins, or extra fresh herbs.
- Make ahead: Prepare through step 4 up to 1 day ahead and refrigerate. Add the eggs just before baking and add a few minutes to the covered bake.
- Vegan: Use vegan butter, vegetable stock, and an egg replacer.
- Gluten-free: Use gluten-free bread and confirm the stock and baking powder are gluten-free.
- Dairy-free: Use plant-based butter or olive oil.
- Time-saver: With store-bought stock, total time drops to about 1 hour 30 minutes.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour 45 minutes
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup
- Calories: 280
©2000 Cheryl Alters Jamison and Bill Jamison, adapted from American Home Cooking.
About the Recipe Author
Cheryl Alters Jamison | Contributing Editor. This four-time James Beard award-winner moved from the Midwest to the Southwest more than 40 years ago, in search of chile-laced food and ski slopes. Her 20 cookbooks include Tasting New Mexico, The Rancho de Chimayó Cookbook, and The Border Cookbook. She works with Hutton Broadcasting, hosting the weekly food radio show, Heating it Up. Read more of her recipes at TABLE.
About the Photographer
Tira Howard is a Contributing Editor for TABLE Magazine New Mexico. Tira thrives on creating images at the intersection of food and fashion. The beauty of food and the people who feed us is endlessly inspiring to her and guides her photography into the realm of emotion and storytelling.
About the Stylist
Keith Recker is Editor in Chief and Co-Owner of TABLE Magazine, directing coverage of food and drink, design, fashion, travel, and the arts across its Pittsburgh and New Mexico editions. A color and trend forecaster for clients including Pantone and WGSN, he is the author of three books on color and craft, most recently Deep Color: The Shades That Shape Our Souls. Read Keith’s articles.
Subscribe to TABLE Magazine’s print edition
