Thanksgiving Stuffing or Dressing
Notes
- Prefer smaller chunks of bread (under 1”).
- Don’t forget to grease the pan!
Yield
One 9” x 13” pan of stuffing.
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter plus more for baking dish
- 1 pound good-quality day-old white bread, torn into 1-inch pieces (about 10 cups)
- 2 1/2 cups chopped yellow onions
- 1 1/2 cups 1/4-inch slices celery
- 1 lb. sausage (optional)
- 1/2 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage (or 2 tsp dried sage)
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary (or 1 tsp dried rosemary)
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme (or 1 tsp dried thyme)
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth, divided
- 2 large eggs
Steps
- Preheat oven to 250°. Butter a 9” x 13” x 2” 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.
- Meanwhile, melt 3/4 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.
- In that same skillet, break apart and brown the sausage. Add to bowl with bread; stir in herbs, salt, and pepper. Drizzle in 1 1/4 cups broth and toss gently. Let cool.
- Preheat oven to 350°. Whisk 1 1/4 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.
- Continue to bake dressing, uncovered, until set and top is browned and crisp, 25-30 minutes longer, tossing the stuffing every 10 minutes.
Make-Ahead Notes
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.