We had Thanksgiving dinner alone this year (thank you, COVID) and it’s the first time we’ve ever prepared an entire Thanksgiving meal all on our own! We smoked a (much-too-large for our little family of 5) turkey on the Traeger which was a bit stressful on our first try but still turned out delicious. Of course there were mashed potatoes and gravy, cranberry sauce, and rolls (I tried a new roll recipe that didn’t blow us away). I simply roasted the green beans and made this sweet potato casserole my kids go nuts over (because it’s practically dessert). And today I’m sharing the recipe I’ve learned from my mama and always use to make stuffing.

This is a classic turkey stuffing recipe, that closely resembles a Betty Crocker recipe so I’m pretty sure that’s where my mom got it. I don’t actually stuff the bird but rather bake the stuffing in a dish and if you use a bit of turkey stock (don’t throw away the turkey neck and giblets and make your own it’s so easy and worth it!), it tastes just as good. Plus, you can control how moist it stays/crisp it gets and know that it’s completely cooked through! I also love how adaptable this recipe is (use your favorite mixture of breads, add more/less veggies, and you can adjust the seasonings to taste). My kids were suspicious of this stuffing when it appeared on their plates but were fighting over the leftovers. It’s so good!

Classic Turkey Stuffing

INGREDIENTS

Stuffing:
~12 cups dried bread cubes (I used a mixture of crusty white bread and whole wheat sandwich bread and dried them out in the oven at 350 F for about 10 min)
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1 large onion, diced
2 large carrot, peeled and diced
2-3 stalks celery, diced
~1 tsp. kosher salt 
~ 1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp. poultry seasoning* (or more to taste)
turkey or chicken stock, to moisten (I used turkey stock made with the turkey neck and giblets)

*Poultry Seasoning:
1/2 tsp. ground sage
3/4 tsp. ground thyme
1/2 tsp. ground marjoram (mine was not ground so I crushed it a bit)
1/4 tsp. ground rosemary (mine was not ground so I crushed it a bit) 
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS

1. To make the poultry seasoning, stir to combine the sage, thyme, marjoram, rosemary, nutmeg, and black pepper in a small bowl.
2. To prepare the stuffing, melt the butter in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, and celery and cook for about 10 minutes until the vegetables are tender. Stir in the salt and pepper and poultry seasoning. 
3. Place the bread cubes in a large bowl, pour the onion mixture over top and toss to combine. Adjust salt and pepper and poultry seasoning to taste. At this point the stuffing can be refrigerated until ready to use.
4. The stuffing can be cooked inside of a turkey, but I bake it separately in the oven. Grease or butter a 9×13 baking dish. Spread the stuffing in the dish and pour some turkey/chicken stock over top, mixing it in lightly with a fork. How much you’ll use depends on how moist you want the stuffing. I use quite a bit for flavor and so it can bake for a while alongside the other side dishes. 
5. Preheat oven to 400 F (or whatever temperature your other dishes are baking at will be fine!). Bake for 30-60 minutes (depending on how moist/crisp you want it and what else is baking alongside it) until crisp on the edges but still moist in the middle. 

Makes enough to fill a 9×13 baking dish.

(Adapted from my mom and Betty Crocker, poultry seasoning from Food)