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This homemade buttery herb stuffing is the perfect classic holiday recipe! It’s made with toasted bread, onion, celery, tons of fresh herbs, and, of course, butter!
It’s buttery herb stuffing time!
At this point, we are well aware that I’m a lover of all things stuffing. I want it for every single holiday meal, and I will eat my weight in the stuff.
My plate is always 75% stuffing and Cheesy Potatoes (Funeral Potatoes). Carbs are the best part about the holidays—a hill I will die on.
Now, for this stuffing, I went full-on traditional. I have nine different stuffings on this blog, but I didn’t have a basic recipe. It was high time I changed that, so I came up with this BUTTERY herb stuffing. Yes, I capitalized buttery. The butyraceous life is the only life.
I also added a lot of herbs because dressing is the perfect vehicle for fresh herbs. I’m combining parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme. The last three herbs are typically found in a pack titled “poultry blend” if you don’t feel like buying three different packs of fresh herbs.
This stuffing can also be prepped the day before. Further down in the post, I will give you a few tips on how to make it ahead, reheat it, and even freeze it!
Ingredients needed
- French bread – I used a mix of white and whole-wheat French bread. You can use whatever type of bread you like. In total, I used 28 ounces.
- Butter – Use high-quality butter. Preferably unsalted, we add kosher salt and chicken stock to this dish.
- Yellow onion & celery – This is my general go-to vegetables for stuffing.
- Parsley – I like to use flat-leaf parsley for all my cooking.
- Fresh herbs – I’m using a mix of fresh sage, rosemary, and thyme—the perfect holiday trifecta!
- Chicken stock – I like to use flavorful chicken stock for stuffing. It adds big-time flavor!
- Eggs – Help firm up the stuffing and help it set up. If you’re egg-free, you can opt to leave them out.
How to make herb stuffing
Making stuffing isn’t complicated but usually involves a bit of chopping and ensuring your bread is ready before you start cooking.
Make sure to either tear (or cut) your bread the day and let it sit out for at least 24 hours, but ideally, 48 to 72 hours, to get stale and slightly hardened, OR you can toast the bread the day off in the oven while preparing the rest of the filling. Either option is acceptable, but you must consider this step before starting.
- In a skillet, add your butter and let it melt over medium-high heat.
- Once melted, saute your onions and celery. Once the onions become translucent, add fresh herbs and garlic and saute for 5 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and set aside while you combine the stuffing.
- Add your bread cubes, butter herb mixture, and chicken stock in a large mixing bowl. Stir to combine.
- Lastly, stir in your beaten eggs.
- Add to your casserole dish and bake until golden brown and internally registers 160 degrees F.
Making ahead of time
This recipe makes it easy to prep your stuffing the day before or even the morning of your holiday dinner.
- Prepare the stuffing as written in the 9×13 pan.
- Cover the pan in foil and store in the fridge for up to 24 hours.
- When you’re ready to bake the stuffing, remove from the fridge for 30 minutes, keep the foil on, and bake for 40 minutes.
- Remove the foil and continue baking until the stuffing is browned and reaches 160 degrees F internally. Because the stuffing goes into the oven cold, cooking may take longer—usually 10-15 minutes longer.
FAQ’s
More stuffing recipes
Homemade Buttery Herb Stuffing
Ingredients
- 1 (14 ounce) loaf white French bread
- 1 (14 ounce) loaf whole wheat French bread
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 2 cups diced yellow onion
- 2 cups diced celery
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
- 2 tablespoons minced fresh sage
- 2 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary
- 2 tablespoon minced fresh thyme
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon Black pepper
- 3 cups chicken stock
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
Instructions
- Preheat you oven to 350 degrees F and set out a deep 9×13 casserole dish.
- Pull roughly 1-inch chunks of bread from the loaves and add the chunks to two large rimmed baking sheet pans. Option one: let the bread sit out for 24-72 hours to harden and become stale. Option two: add the bread to the preheated oven for about 15 minutes or until the bread is lightly toasted and hardened.
- In a large 12-inch skillet, add butter and set over medium-high heat.
- Once the butter is melted, add the yellow onion and celery. Saute until the onions become translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Add garlic, parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme, kosher salt, and black pepper. Saute for another 5 minutes to combine the flavors. Remove from the heat and set aside while you assemble the stuffing.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the cubed bread, butter herb mixture, and chicken stock. Stir to combine.
- Add in the beaten egg and stir to fully combine. The egg helps the mixture set up fully while it bakes so make sure it's throuroughly incorportated.
- Add your stuffing mixture to the 9×13 pan and bake for 50-55 minutes or until it is lightly browned and firm to the touch. Internally the tempertaure should register 160 degrees F. If the mixture starts to brown too quickly tent with foil.
Notes
- Add up to 1 cup of chicken stock if the stuffing feels dry.
- I like using French bread for this recipe, but Italian, sourdough, or sandwich bread could be used.
- I tore my bread into chunks, but you can also cut the bread into 1-inch squares.
- Turkey stock can be used in place of chicken stock.
- If you’re egg-free, leave the large eggs out. The stuffing will still work.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
