Classic Bread Stuffing Recipe

I recently asked on Facebook what your favorite Thanksgiving side dish is. Mine, hands down, is stuffing. In fact, I usually fill myself up on stuffing, mashed potatoes and rolls and eat just a tad bit of turkey. You know, for tradition’s sake. I think I may have a carbs problem. Which is not exactly an earth-shattering revolution. I have loved just about every variety of stuffing I have ever tried. Regular bread stuffing. Cornbread stuffing. Sausage stuffing. Even Stove Top for crying out loud. If it’s stuffing, there’s a 99.9% chance that I will gobble it up. But there is a soft spot in my heart for a regular, classic bread stuffing. And amazingly, my family doesn’t have a standard recipe. It seems that someone just randomly makes some each year. So I decided I needed to find a basic, awesome recipe to make year after year. And this is the winner.

There is, of course, two schools of thought in terms of stuffing: in the bird, or baked separately outside of the bird. We are definitely an outside-of-the-bird stuffing family. I love how crisp it gets on top when it’s baked in the oven, and you don’t have to worry about anything funky going on inside that turkey. Maybe it’s just me, but it makes me skeeve a little bit Which side of the fence do you fall on?

One year ago: Chocolate-Pistachio Biscotti

Classic Bread Stuffing Recipe

Yield: 8 to 10 servings

Prep Time: 15 minutes | Bake Time: 45 minutes

8 ounces (1 cup) butter

1 cup chopped onion

½ cup pine nuts

6 to 8 cups fresh bread crumbs

1 tablespoon minced fresh sage leaves (or 1 teaspoon dried)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

½ cup chopped scallion

½ cup chopped fresh parsley leaves

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

2. Place the butter in a large, deep skillet or Dutch oven over medium heat. When melted, add the onion and cook,stirring, until it softens, about 5 minutes. Add the nuts and cook, stirring almost constantly, until they begin to brown, about 3 minutes.

3. Add the bread crumbs and the sage and toss to mix. Turn the heat down to low. Add the salt, pepper, and scallion. Toss again; taste and adjust the seasoning. Add the parsley and stir. Turn off the heat. (At this point, you can refrigerate the stuffing in a covered container, for up to a day before proceeding.)

4. Place the stuffing in a casserole dish (3 quart or 9×13-inch) and bake for about 45 minutes, or until crisp and heated through.

(Recipe adapted from How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman)

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