A decade after Victoria Granoff introduced this easy Thanksgiving stuffing recipe, it remains a staff and fan favorite. As former BA test kitchen director Carla Lalli Music says, it’s “everything you want about stuffing—straight down the middle.” (Catch her making it here.) And yes, while we refer to it as a bread stuffing, it’s technically more of a dressing because it’s cooked outside of the bird in a separate casserole dish and not inside the cavity of a turkey. Why do it that way? It’s key to achieving both a golden brown crust and a buttery, custardy center.
Cooking an entire Thanksgiving dinner is time-intensive enough, so this recipe gets right to the point while maximizing flavor and texture. For that crispy top, skip the bread cubes and tear into a good loaf of dried-out crusty white bread—meaning an Italian or French bread, like a pane Pugliese, boule, miche, or a sourdough bread such as pain de campagne, not packaged sandwich bread. Those irregular chunks will make for a more interesting texture than uniform cubes and an appealing rustic look to boot.
If you’re short on prep time, store-bought chicken broth is fine; be sure to go low-sodium to keep the salt in check. (Of course, we always recommend making chicken stock ahead of time, if possible). But we won’t concede on dried herbs. Fresh parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme (sing it with us) make this classic stuffing stand out—and they’re helpful to have on hand for other holiday classics.
If you want to mix it up with other kinds of bread (we see you, brioche and cornbread!) or without any bread at all, we’ve got plenty more homemade stuffing recipes to choose from.
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What you’ll need
Large Skillet
$90 At Amazon
13x9" Baking Dish
$18 At Amazon
Rimmed Baking Sheet
$28 At Amazon
Large Bowl
$23 At Amazon
Whisk
$12 At Amazon
Recipe information
Total Time
2 hours 45 minutes
Yield
8–10 servings
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Preheat oven to 250°. Butter a 13x9x2-inch baking dish and set aside. Scatter bread in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake, stirring occasionally, until dried out, about 1 hour. Let cool; transfer to a very large bowl.
Step 2
Meanwhile, melt ¾ cup butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat; add onions and celery. Stir often until just beginning to brown, about 10 minutes. Add to bowl with bread; stir in herbs, salt, and pepper. Drizzle in 1¼ cups broth and toss gently. Let cool.
Step 3
Preheat oven to 350°. Whisk 1¼ cups broth and eggs in a small bowl. Add to bread mixture; fold gently until thoroughly combined. Transfer to prepared dish, cover with foil, and bake until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of dressing registers 160°, about 40 minutes.
Step 4
Continue to bake dressing, uncovered, until set and top is browned and crisp, 40–45 minutes longer.
Do ahead: Dressing can be baked (before browning) 1 day ahead. Uncover and let cool, then cover and chill. Uncover and bake until top is browned and crisp, 50–60 minutes.
Editor’s note: This recipe was originally printed in our November 2012 issue as “Simple Is Best Dressing.” Head this way for more of our all-time favorite Thanksgiving recipes →
Nutrition Per Serving
Recipe notes
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