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This Make Ahead Stuffing is based on my favorite (and wildly popular) bread stuffing recipe. It’s a great way to get a jump-start on the holiday!
This Thanksgiving stuffing recipe is my mom’s creation and my favorite part about Thanksgiving. Add in the advantages of make-ahead convenience and you’re officially out of excuses not to make it!
And if you love getting ahead of the game (Thanksgiving is the Super Bowl of the food world, after all), check out my full Make Ahead Thanksgiving menu: Make Ahead Roasted Turkey, Make Ahead Mashed Potatoes (they won’t get watery in the freezer), and Make Ahead Pumpkin Pie.
Table of Contents
Recipe ingredients
At a Glance: Here is a quick snapshot of what ingredients are in this recipe.
Please see the recipe card below for specific quantities.
Ingredient notes
- Chicken broth: I keep jars of homemade chicken broth in the freezer (it’s a delicious by-product of poaching a chicken), but store-bought is also good. Or use turkey broth if you have that.
- Herbs: Fresh herbs taste the best in this stuffing, but dried work too. I rarely find fresh marjoram and almost always substitute dried. Or, customize with your favorite herbs like rosemary or poultry seasoning.
- French bread: Use any sturdy bread such as Italian, challah, or sourdough bread. Dry the bread up to 3 days in advance (keep it covered with a dry kitchen towel on counter, or slice and dry in a 300-degree oven for 30 to 40 minutes).
Step-by-step instructions
- Coat a 9″ by 13″ baking dish with butter. In a large skillet over medium high heat, melt butter until foaming. Add onion and celery and sauté until translucent, about 7 to 8 minutes.
- Meanwhile, whisk eggs in large bowl. Stir in broth, 1 teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper.
- To skillet, add parsley, sage, thyme, and marjoram and stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Transfer the vegetables to the bowl with eggs mixture and stir well. Add bread cubes and toss to combine. Transfer to buttered casserole dish and cover with foil. Freeze until ready to bake.
- When ready to bake, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Keep stuffing tightly covered with foil and bake until mostly heated through, about 25 minutes. Remove foil and bake until crispy edges form, about 10 to 20 minutes longer.
Recipe tips and variations
- Yield: This recipe will serve at least 10 as a side dish.
- Storage: Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Freezer: For best results, assemble and freeze the bread stuffing uncooked. Bake from frozen as directed in the recipe.
- Classic stuffing recipe: To make my homemade Bread Stuffing recipe, preheat oven to 400 degrees and rub a 9×13 inch baking dish with butter. Add stuffing to the baking dish, cover tightly with foil, and bake until mostly heated through, about 25 minutes. Remove foil and bake until crispy edges form, about 10 to 20 minutes longer.
- Crockpot stuffing: Save your oven space and make bread stuffing in your slow cooker. You’ll still have soft, chewy bread cubes with plenty of crispy edges without using your oven.
- Gluten-free stuffing: transforms gluten-free bread into a side dish worth making. You’d never know the difference when you tuck into this glorious gluten-free bread stuffing.
- Small batch: My Bread Stuffing for Two is the same delicious, buttery stuffing with all your favorite flavors, but scaled down to a smaller quantity for small gatherings. See my full Thanksgiving for Two Menu which includes a pair of roasted Cornish Hens with Stuffing and two Mini Pumpkin Pies for dessert.
- Sausage stuffing: My homemade Cornbread Dressing is made with plenty of sausage for a spicy kick.
- Vegan stuffing: Filled with wild mushrooms, leeks, fresh kale, and all the classic Thanksgiving herbs you love, this Vegan Stuffing recipe has bread cubes that are soft and chewy on the inside with browned, crispy edges outside. The entire recipe is 100% vegan and delicious.
- More Thanksgiving side dishes: Round out your Thanksgiving dinner with Green Bean Casserole, Cranberry Sauce, Soft Yeast Dinner Rolls, and Vegetable Casserole.
Frequently Asked Questions
The best bread for stuffing is a sturdy loaf with a tight crumb. Bakery French bread, Italian bread, Challah, and Sourdough are all good choices. When you cut up a 1-pound loaf into cubes, it should fit in an even layer on a single half-size rimmed baking sheet. If you need 2 sheet trays to fit your pound of bread cubes, the bread is too soft an airy. It won’t make good stuffing and you’ll wind up with a dish full of mush, no matter how well you dry it out.
Dry the bread up to 3 days in advance (keep it covered with a dry kitchen towel on counter, or slice and dry in a 300-degree oven for 30 to 40 minutes).
Yes! I’ve tested this homemade stuffing recipe in a 9-inch by 13-inch aluminum foil pan.
For food safety reasons, and for a more evenly cooked bird, most modern recipes don’t encourage stuffing a turkey. If you decide to stuff your turkey, combine wet and dry stuffing components just before placing them in the cavity, ensuring any raw meat, poultry, or seafood used in the stuffing is fully cooked beforehand. Do not stuff a bird with cooked stuffing. Use a large spoon or your hands to loosely stuff the body and neck cavities (do not pack it tightly because the stuffing expands while it cooks). Truss the main cavity with trussing pins to keep the stuffing inside. The stuffing must register 165 degrees on an internal thermometer to be safe to eat. For more information, see the USDA website. Stuffing a chicken or Cornish hens is also discouraged.
More Thanksgiving recipes
Vegetable Recipes
Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Bacon
Casserole Recipes
Sweet Potato Casserole
Side Dish Recipes
Slow Cooker Green Bean Casserole
Bread Recipes
Homemade Crescent Rolls
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Make Ahead Stuffing
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter plus more for buttering baking dish (1 stick)
- 1 large yellow onion chopped
- 4 celery ribs sliced lengthwise and chopped
- 3 large eggs
- 2 cups chicken broth (see note 1)
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup fresh parsley minced (see note 2)
- 1 teaspoon fresh sage minced, or ½ teaspoon dried
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme minced, or ½ teaspoon dried
- 1 teaspoon fresh marjoram minced, or ½ teaspoon dried
- 1 large loaf French bread about 1 pound, cut into 1/2" cubes and dried overnight on counter (see note 3)
Instructions
- Coat a 9″ by 13″ baking dish with butter. In a large skillet over medium high heat, melt butter until foaming. Add onion and celery and sauté until translucent, about 7 to 8 minutes.
- Meanwhile, whisk eggs in large bowl. Stir in broth, 1 teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper.
- To skillet, add parsley, sage, thyme, and marjoram and stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Transfer to bowl with eggs and mix well.
- Add bread cubes and toss to combine. Transfer to buttered baking dish and cover with foil. Freeze until ready to bake.
- When ready to bake, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Keep stuffing tightly covered with foil and bake until mostly heated through, about 25 minutes. Remove foil and bake until crispy edges form, about 10 to 20 minutes longer.
Recipe Video
Notes
- Chicken broth: I keep jars of homemade chicken broth in the freezer (it’s a delicious by-product of poaching a chicken), but store-bought is also good. Or use turkey broth if you have that.
- Herbs: Fresh herbs taste the best in this stuffing, but dried work too. I rarely find fresh marjoram and almost always substitute dried.
- French bread: You can also use brioche, challah, or Italian bread. Dry the bread up to 3 days in advance (keep it covered with a dry kitchen towel on counter, or slice and dry in a 300-degree oven for 30 to 40 minutes).
- Yield: This recipe will serve at least 10 as a side dish.
- Storage: Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Nutrition
Meggan Hill is a classically-trained chef and professional writer. Her meticulously-tested recipes and detailed tutorials bring confidence and success to home cooks everywhere. Meggan has been featured on NPR, HuffPost, FoxNews, LA Times, and more.
I have made this three years running to RAVE reviews. It’s now the most requested Thanksgiving meal component by my kids!
That’s such a great compliment, Nancy! I’m so happy they love it! – Meggan
Love that it’s make ahead, and best stuffing I’ve ever eaten! Doesn’t need any liquid or anything added next day,perfect as is!
I’m glad you liked it Lisa! -Meggan
Never in my 73 years have I made stuffing except when I bought a bag of it in our local store. When I saw Megan’s recipe ( a fan) for this make ahead stuffing I thought I might give it a try. Very happy I did. I used a half loaf of country white bread and half a loaf of brioche. Cut it in 1/2 cubes and let it sit for 3 days. I did use home made chicken broth and added a lb of pork sweet Italian sausage. Sautéed onion, sausage, and celery together and did a mix and sit. Heated up as directed and it was fantastic. Wife even had some for breakfast. Ok….I had a couple bites. Printed out the recipe and it’s a shoo in when I need stuffing. Thanks Megan for putting it out there.
USDA recommends that you never refrigerate uncooked stuffing. Why? Remember, stuffing can harbor bacteria, and though bacteria grow slower in the refrigerator they can cause problems because stuffing is a good medium for bacteria growth, therefore a higher risk food in terms of cooking safely.
It is safe to freeze uncooked stuffing; however, the ingredients must be combined, put into a shallow container, and frozen immediately. To use it, do not thaw before cooking. Cook from the frozen state until the stuffing reaches 165°F.
Thank you Catpainter, I’ve updated the recipe to include the current USDA guideline. Thank you for your help. Happy Thanksgiving! – Meggan
If I prep this on Wednesday and bake it Thursday morning covered for 25 mins – will I be able to leave it out (covered)? And then around 3:30 bake it covered for the 10-20 mins? OR should I bake it fully Thursday morning and reheat? Reason I ask is that we are getting together and everyone is going to need the oven to cook/reheat their items they are brining.
If I prep this on Wednesday and bake it Thursday morning covered for 25 mins – will I be able to leave it out (covered)? Around 3:30 bake it covered for the 10-20 mins? OR should I bake it fully Thursday morning and reheat? Reason I ask is that we are getting together and everyone is going to need the oven to cook/reheat their items they are brining.
Would it be ok to add a 1/2 pound of Italian bulk sausage to this recipe?
Sure, sounds delicious! I would cook it along with the onions and celery in step 1. Take care! – Meggan
Leftover stuffing is wonderful! We have used the leftovers by putting into a muffin tin, freezing, then popping them out to store in a bag. Then, when the craving starts, just pull one out to heat and cover with gravy (who doesn’t like gravy). Our kids, who are all grown now with families of their own, labeled these “Stud Muffins” and would always look for them in the freezer! We have also made patties, fried them, and used for breakfast the next day.
That sounds absolutely delicious, Beth! What a great idea! I would love some pan-fried stuffing patties, yum! Take care again! – Meggan
As to the Crockpot reference, I have been hosting Thanksgiving for family for over 25 years. It is our big holiday and one that gets at least 40 of us together from all over the country. If it were not for my Crockpot collection, I am not sure I would have survived. I have done both cooking in the pot as well as cooking ahead of time and then using the pots as “serving” dishes for our buffet table. To make it even better, we use the crockpot liners to ensure easy cleanup. This also allows us to accommodate family/friends with dietary restrictions (we use fun place cards to designate). Besides, those that bring a contribution, only need to have it in the pot and plug it in. The best part is that it allows us to get to the real reason for the holiday…relaxing extended family visit!
Hi Beth, that’s so wonderful! What a lovely memory, thank you so much for sharing! I love the tip about using a liner as well, one of my slow cookers is challenging to wash as the insert doesn’t come out. (I love it, though!) I hope you and your family have a wonderful holiday. Take care! – Meggan
how do you heat this from frozen?
Hi Megan, you can bake as directed, it may just take a little longer.
Do you think I could do this in a crockpot instead of the oven? I am cooking for 50 and need to free oven space for the vegetables.
Hi Janet, I haven’t tried this myself but what a great idea! I’m adding this to my list to test. I would follow the recipe until step 4. After tossing the bread cubes and cooked vegetables, transfer to the slow cooker and cook on Low for 3 to 4 hours until the stuffing reaches 165 degrees. I worry that it may loose some of the crispy browned edges, but I think it would still be delicious. Take care and I hope your feast goes well! – Meggan
What do eggs do for the recipe, have never added egg to stuffing before. Thank you I want to try this and maybe add chestnuts/
Hi Frances, the eggs are a binder, helping hold the stuffing together and giving it structure. Sounds delicious! Take care! – Meggan
Hi Meggan! I just read that it is better if you can thaw this. SO I am making this on Wed and not serving until Sat, but I will have time to thaw. Do you recommend I freeze and thaw? Or just refrigerate..? OR freeze and directly bake frozen? What is the best outcome? Thanks Meggan!
Hi Jennifer, since you’re making it three days in advance I’d suggest freezing it and baking it straight from the freezer. No need to thaw. Hope you enjoy! – Meggan
Hi Megan. Love this recipe. Can I make this on a Wednesday and keep in fridge until Saturday afternoon to bake for Christmas?
Hi Mandy, yes! Hope you enjoy. – Meggan
How many cups of bread cubes. ‘large’ loaf could vary…a lot. Please help.
Hi Sherry, this recipe calls for a large loaf French bread that’s about 1 pound (or 16 ounces). Hope this helps. – Meggan
Call me a novice but what do you mean by “largge loaf of bread”? Be more specific! How many cups of cubed, dried bread? I’m very annoyed by the vagary here.
Hi Juley, it’s in the recipe card – “1 large loaf French bread about 1 pound, cut into 1/2″ cubes and dried overnight on counter (see note 3)”. Hope you have a great Thanksgiving! – Meggan
Hi Meggan- I am so curious to try this… what do you think having a combo of french bread cubes and corn bread cubes? Do you think the recipe would hold up?
Thanks!
Hi Cathy- yes! As with the regular bread cubes, make sure the cornbread cubes are dried out. I have a recipe here I love for cornbread dressing, too, if you’d like to check it out as well. Enjoy! – Meggan https://www.culinaryhill.com/cornbread-dressing-recipe-with-sausage/
If I assemble this on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving are you sure I can put it in the fridge with the raw eggs and bake it on Thursday? The eggs in the stuffing won’t go off?
I’m sure Melissa! This recipe is tried and true every Thanksgiving. Hope you enjoy. – Meggan
Have you ever used the bags of dried cubed bread from the grocery store to make stuffing? If not, any thoughts on how it would take to the recipe?
Hi Brittany, you totally can! Just make sure they are nice and dried out. – Meggan
Can I use a bag of already prepared cubed stuffing in place of toasting fresh bread?
Hi Randi, yes! I would just make sure they are nice and dried out. – Meggan
Hi Meggan:
I just read about baking, cooling and freezing the stuffing…then taking the stuffing from the freezer and rebaking it.
Should I thaw the stuffing before it goes into the oven?
Hi Lisa, you do not need to thaw the stuffing beforehand, just bake directly from the freezer. Hope you enjoy! – Meggan
I need to make gluten free stuffing. Do you think this will work with gluten free bread cubes bought from the store that are already dried? Also guests have an egg allergy, any suggestions to do without egg?
Hi Jennifer, unfortunately we haven’t tested this recipe with gluten free bread or without eggs. I would recommend finding a recipe that has already been tested with those things, I’m so sorry about that! – Meggan
Oh no!! I ended up baking it, letting it cool and then put it in the freezer. Did I ruin it? It tasted absolutely delicious when it came out of the oven!!
Andrea
Hi Andrea, it’s okay! Reheat in the oven covered with foil until it reaches 165 degrees. Also you can leave it uncovered for a couple minutes to make sure the top is crispy. – Meggan
Ok thank you!
Can’t wait to make this! I’m planning to make it tomorrow and freezing it until Thanksgiving. Should I bake it first and then freeze it? Or make the whole recipe and freeze it without baking it? Thanks!
Hi Andrea, I’m excited for you to try this! I recommend assembling the stuffing and freezing before baking. When you’re ready to bake it, bake in a 400-degree oven. Keep stuffing tightly covered with foil and bake until mostly heated through, about 25 minutes. Remove the foil and bake until crispy edges form, about 10 to 20 minutes longer. – Meggan
Can I make this in October and freeze it to serve on thanksgiving?
Hi Gina, yes! It will freeze up to three months. – Meggan
Just to clarify. If make and bake the stuffing on Thanksgiving morning, just before before putting the turkey in the oven, how long would it take to reheat? Having one smallish oven is a pain -:)
Hi Jeanne, I believe it would take about 25-30 minutes, depending on how well your oven could recover the heat. Another option would to be to assemble the stuffing, and once the turkey is out of the oven, and resting (I recommend about 30 minutes) you would be able to adjust the heat and bake the stuffing. (Also would be the time you may be making gravy.) I hope this helps! – Meggan
Hi Megan
Any substitutions for French loaf? I have ww bread. Would that ruin the outcome?
Thank you
Lynne
Hi Lynne, yes you can substitute for other types of bread. It may change the texture some but will still be delicious. Make sure to cube and dry it out so your stuffing isn’t soggy. I’m not entirely sure what ww bread is, if you could clarify I’d love to help you out! – Meggan
Looking Delicious! Thank you for sharing this recipe. I’ll definitely make this
Sounds delicious! I’ve never added eggs to my stuffing/dressing, but I’m going to try it this year. I also like grated carrots in my stuffing, maybe it’s more for color than flavor, maybe both. An elderly German lady told my mom to add some leftover mashed potatoes to her stuffing. She also added sausage to hers. I didn’t care for the sausage but the rest of the family loved it.
I’ll add eggs this Thanksgiving rather than mashed potatoes and see which one I prefer. I just don’t want a bread pudding I want stuffing, so I hope I don’t ruin one of my favorite sides!
can I use this night before recipe and put the stuffing in the turkey the next day?
Hi Johanna, for food safety reasons, and for a more evenly cooked turkey, most modern recipes don’t encourage stuffing a turkey with stuffing. I bake it delicious bread stuffing outside the bird. If you decide to stuff your turkey, make sure the stuffing is warm when it goes in so it has a head start in cooking (either because you just finished making it or because you made it in advance and reheated it). Use a large spoon or your hands to loosely stuff the body and neck cavities (do not pack it tightly because the stuffing expands while it cooks). Truss the main cavity with trussing pins to keep the stuffing inside. The stuffing must register 165 degrees on an internal thermometer to be safe to eat. – Meggan
This exceeded expectations. Thank you for the recipe.
Nice recipe post
If I double the recipe, how long should I cook the stuffing for? Does it extend the time? I am putting everything in one large, deep 9×13 cooking plan.
Hi Christine, I’ll make a double batch today and reply back with any info on the baking time (how much to extend). Thanks!
Hi Christine, I tested the double batch today. I was skeptical about it fitting in a deep 9×13, but it did (I have 3.68 quart baking dish that is 9×13, the sides are 2.25 inches tall)! At first it doesn’t look like it will, but once you toss the bread cubes in the broth/egg/vegetable mixture, you’re fine. I mixed everything in an 8-quart bowl with my hands and felt like the cubes may have disintegrated a bit, and once I packed it in the baking dish, it didn’t look as attractive as it normally does with the pretty cubes and all. So I would say, mix it gently and don’t pack it in if you don’t have to! It will naturally cook down a little as it bakes.
As for the cook time, I increased the time for softening the vegetables in butter from 7 minutes to 10 minutes. For the foil-covered leg of baking, 25 minutes was still good. For the uncovered portion of the bake time, 20 minutes was sufficient for my liking (you could do another 5 minutes if you wanted, but the top pieces had brown edges and were crunchy after 20 minutes).
I hope this helps, if you need anything else just let me know! I’ll email this response to you too, just to try to make sure you get it on time. Happy Thanksgiving! -Meggan
Thank you for writing a recipe to cook from. Most are guessing games that typically result in a mismatch between pan size (which is seldom mentioned), the amount of stuffing made and per person portions.
It’s nice to see a recipe written by someone who is first a cook and then a blogger.
When reheating frozen stuffing that was already cooked in advance, do you thaw it first or just go directly from freezer to oven?
Hi Marguerite, you can do either. Obviously you just have to bake it longer if it’s still frozen. My preference is always to thaw things in advance if I have time, but just imagine all the things that come out of a grocery store that are frozen solid. No issues! But I just prefer to bake things from a thawed stage because they bake faster. If you need anything else, just let me know! Thanks. -Meggan
This is a great post. Your Blog the very informative.
I always fry my stuffing and my family loves it like that.Am I the only one who makes it like that?
WHAT!!! I’ve never heard of this, but I absolutely have to try it. Do you just take all the normal stuffing ingredients and fry them in a pan? Like toss it around in a skillet with butter? Sounds divine. I can’t wait to try it. Please tell me more!!! -Meggan
I used to make my stuffing and then make little patties out ot the extra….and fry them in butter….this became a favorite for my boys when childen….they still get excited about “stuffin’ cakes” as they called them.