Sides · American
Classic Stuffing
Baked in its own dish: soft in the middle, crisp on top, and cooked all the way through.
- Hands-on
- 25 min
- Hands-off
- 55 min
- Oven preheat
- 15 min
- Total
- 1 h 20 min
- Makes
- 8 servings (8 to 10)
- Serves
- 8
Assumes the bread is already stale. Oven-drying fresh bread adds about 20 minutes plus cooling.
Oven 190 °C · 170 °C fan (375 °F)
Pan 2.8 L (3-quart) baking dish, such as 23 x 33 cm (US: 3-quart baking dish, such as 9 x 13 in)
- easy
- thanksgiving
- christmas
- holiday
- make-ahead
Verified against at least two trusted test kitchens or food-safety guides · Last checked · What this means
Scaling? For a half batch, use a smaller dish of about the same depth. Deeper or fuller dishes take longer to heat through, so check the centre with a thermometer rather than trusting the clock. Some items (like eggs) don’t halve neatly: beat them, then measure out half.
Ingredients
You need: 3-quart (about 2.8 L) baking dish, e.g. 23 x 33 cm / 9 x 13 in · large pot or Dutch oven · large mixing bowl · whisk · aluminium foil · instant-read thermometer · oven mitts · baking sheets (only if drying fresh bread)
Contains: egg · milk · wheat
Method
Dry the bread (only if fresh)
If your bread isn't a day old, spread the cubes on baking sheets and bake at 150°C (130°C fan, gas 2, 300°F) for about 20 minutes. Let them cool.
Ready when: The cubes are dry and crisp all the way through but not browned.
Heat the oven
Heat the oven to 190°C (170°C fan, gas 5, 375°F) and butter the baking dish.
Ready when: The oven has reached 190°C (375°F).
Soften the vegetables
Melt the 113 g butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, sage, thyme, 1 tsp salt and some pepper, and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring.
Ready when: The onion and celery are tender and the butter smells of herbs.
Add the broth
Pour in the 720 ml (3 cups) broth, bring it to a boil, then take the pot off the heat.
Ready when: Bubbles are breaking across the whole surface.
Mix it together
Whisk the 2 eggs with the parsley in a large bowl. Add the bread cubes and the hot broth mixture and stir until every cube is moist.
Into the dish
Spread the stuffing in the buttered dish. Drizzle with the 2 tbsp melted butter or drippings and dust with ½ tsp paprika.
Otto tried this firstOtto tries to cram the stuffing inside the turkey. Nope: it bakes in its own dish, where it heats evenly and gets a crisp top.Bake covered
Cover tightly with foil and bake for 30 minutes.
Ready when: Steam rises when you lift a corner of the foil (lift it away from you).
Uncover and finish
Remove the foil and bake for 25-30 minutes more.
Ready when: The top is golden and crisp at the edges, and a thermometer in the centre reads at least 74°C (165°F). If it doesn't, keep baking and check every 5 minutes.
Swaps
- Instead of 1 tbsp each fresh sage and thyme: 1 tsp each dried sage and thyme uses the usual swap of 1½ tsp fresh herbs for ½ tsp dried (3 parts fresh to 1 part dried)
Make ahead, store & reheat
- Make ahead
- Up to 2 days ahead, dry the bread, chop the vegetables, whisk the eggs with the parsley (keep covered in the fridge), and have the broth ready. Mix everything and bake on the day.
- Storage
- Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours in a shallow container. Eat within 2 days or freeze.
- Reheat
- Reheat until steaming hot all the way through, 74°C (165°F).
If something goes wrong
- Soggy, collapsed stuffing
The bread was too fresh. Use bread at least a day old, or oven-dry the cubes until crisp, so they soak up broth and still hold their shape. - Pale top
Bake uncovered a little longer. The crisp, golden top comes from the uncovered stage. - Top is brown but the centre is below 74°C (165°F)
Put the foil back on loosely and keep baking until the centre reaches 74°C (165°F).
Safety
- Bake stuffing in its own dish, not inside the bird. Stuffing in the cavity heats slowly and unevenly, and food-safety guidance is not to stuff turkeys. Either way, the centre must reach 74°C (165°F).
- The mix contains raw egg: don't taste it before baking.
- Lift foil off hot dishes away from your face, because the trapped steam burns. Kids stay back while the dish comes out.