This Stove Top Stuffing recipe uses simple ingredients that will yield superior flavor and the best texture. After your first bite you’ll probably ask yourself why you’ve been settling for boxed stuffing all these years when this is delicious and frees up oven space. Follow our step-by-step guide to get this homemade version on your holiday table!
The Best Stove Top Stuffing
This classic Thanksgiving Recipe is great anytime of year, but especially among the other holiday classics of green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, and of course, the Thanksgiving turkey. The ingredient list might seem long, but you probably have a lot of these staple seasonings in your cabinet already, making this a quick one to whip up. Let’s get to it!
What You Will Need
- bread – Don’t throw out that stale bread! It’s perfect for soaking up all the yummy flavors in this recipe. Sometimes you can score pre-dried out bread cubes from the grocery store, but they’re hard to come by.
- butter – Just a bit to sauté the veggies. Unsalted butter or salted will both work great.
- garlic, celery, and yellow onion – Classic veggies that add just the right amount of crunch and earthy flavors.
- celery salt – Crushed celery seed is the secret addition that makes this unexpected salt pop with flavor.
- garlic powder – Helps to add a depth of flavor to the fresh garlic flavors.
- ground sage – A simple herb with complex flavors of pepper, mint, and lemon.
- dried parsley leaves, dried rosemary, and dried thyme – Classic herbs that immediately remind us of the holidays.
- kosher salt & ground black pepper – Just a bit of the classics to enhance all the other flavors.
- dried tarragon, marjoram, and oregano – This trio brings flavors of licorice, pine, and mint.
- chicken or turkey broth – An essential ingredient that lends the perfect texture the the bread, veggie, and seasoning mixture. You could use vegetable broth, but it will change the flavor of the dish.
How To Make Stove Top Stuffing
The first step is to prep your dried out bread. If you don’t have any on hand, simply cube up what you have and place it in the oven at 250 degrees F to help it dry out as much as possible. Check it intermittently to ensure it’s dried out to your liking.
Recipe Tip:
The more bread variety, the better! Keep your taste buds on their toes with a plethora of different flavors and textures.
Next prep your onion and veggies. A food processor will speed things up, but you can always use your trusty cutting board and knife.
Now for the cooking. Bring a cast iron skillet or a large pot to medium-high heat with butter. Once it has melted, add the garlic and move it around the pan for about 30 seconds before adding the celery and onion. Cook everything for about three minutes or until the veggies are softened.
Ensuring that your skillet or braiser is at medium-high heat, add in your cubed bread, the dry mix of seasonings, and toss to ensure all those flavors get combined into the whole mixture.
Now add your broth in increments. Start by adding half a cup and then stir. Then add another half cup and stir again. Finally, add the last 1/3 cup, cover the skillet, and remove it from the heat. Now let it stand for 5-10 minutes to let all those flavors soak in.
Once it’s ready, grab a fork and give it a taste test and adjust the seasonings to your liking. If it feels too dry, feel free to add in another splash of broth and toss.
Recipe FAQs
Good question. There’s two ways to do this. The first is for the proactive folks who have the forethought to cut theirs the night before and let it sit out over night on a sheet pan to get nice and stale/dried out. For those of us who have a lot on their plates and forgot to do this, scroll down to the recipe card for a great way to use the oven to dry out bread.
Variety is the spice of life, my friends. We used a mixture of whole wheat bread, white, and sourdough, which added a depth of flavor and texture to every bite.
Without counting the time to dry out the bread, this recipe takes about 30 minutes.
It can be if you use gluten-free bread!
Place leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days.
Made this simple recipe for thanksgiving dinner and loved it?! We would love it if you would take a minute and leave a star rating and review – it is also helpful if you made any substitutions or changes to the recipe to share that as well. THANK YOU!
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Other Stuffing Recipes You Might Like
Stove Top Stuffing Recipe
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 12 servings 1x
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Stove Top
- Cuisine: American
Description
Learn how to make stove top stuffing! Made with simple, real ingredients and packed with flavor! Perfect for Thanksgiving or any meal!
Ingredients
- 8–10 cups bread, cubed (dried)*
- 2 tablespoons butter, divided (regular or vegan)
- 1 teaspoon garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup celery, minced
- 1/3 cup yellow onion, minced
- 1 teaspoon celery salt
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 3 tablespoons ground sage
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley leaves
- 2 tablespoons dried rosemary, crushed
- 2 teaspoons dried thyme leaves
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried tarragon
- 1 teaspoon dried marjoram
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
- 1 1/2 cups chicken broth (or turkey broth)
Instructions
- Bread: ensure bread is dried out – if you don’t have dry bread then cut into cubes and place on baking sheet. Place in oven, middle rack, at your oven’s lowest temp (probably around 250 degrees F) and let dry out as much as possible (checking periodically).
- Saute: Using a large braiser or cast iron skillet (I used a 3 1/5 qt braiser) – bring to medium-high heat. Add butter and let melt. Add garlic and move around pan until fragrant – approx. 30 seconds. Add celery and onion. Saute for 2-3 minutes or until onions have softened a bit.
- Bread + Broth: Ensure braiser is still set to medium-high heat. Add in bread and seasonings. Toss to combine. Add 1/2 cup of broth. Stir to combine. Add another 1/2 cup of broth and stir to combine. Add 1/3 cup of broth, cover and remove from heat. Let stand 5-10 minutes.
- Taste + Adjust: Remove cover and fluff with fork. Taste and add any additional seasoning, as desired. Also, if you feel like it needs additional splashes of broth, feel free to add and toss.
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- Dried Out Bread: using dried out bread is key to making any good stuffing. I generally cut mine up the night before and place on a baking sheet and leave out to dry. Some stores do sell pre-dried out bread cubes for just this purpose – if you are lucky enough to find them. But you can dry out bread cubes pretty quick in the oven on the lowest temp – or at least dry them out enough for this recipe!
- Bread Type: I think stuffing turns out the best when you use a variety of different types of breads – of course this recipe works just fine if you use one type of bread, but if you have a couple different kinds (whole wheat, white, sourdough, etc). I think it just adds to the depth of flavor.
- Celery + Onion: for stuffing recipes I love pulsing celery and onion in the food processor so they are nice and fine – super quick
- Cook/Prep Time: the time required to dry out bread cubes is not included in the total cook time.
- Gluten-Free: feel free to use gluten-free bread.
- Storage: store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- Gravy: looking for a good gravy recipe to go on top of your stuffing – try our Homemade Turkey Gravy, Make Ahead Turkey Gravy, Chicken Gravy or Pork Gravy!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 4 oz
- Calories: 107
- Sugar: 2.1 g
- Sodium: 371 mg
- Fat: 3.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 16.7 g
- Protein: 3.1 g
- Cholesterol: 5.7 mg
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