So the comedy in sharing this recipe with you all today is that I have actually never like stuffing before in my life – until NOW! It’s true I tell you, up until earlier this year when I made this recipe for the first time, I have never before in my life liked stuffing. When I was in high school, I thought maybe my taste buds had matured enough, that all those thanksgivings as a kid, trying bites of stuffing that I did not like would finally have trained my taste buds to like it – nope! I should put this disclaimer out there, that I am not a picky eater. Yet here I was well into my 30’s still not liking stuffing. In fact if you asked me what was my least favorite food, stuffing would have been my answer – until now!
You have got to try this recipe ~
Here’s the thing, one of my husbands favorite side dishes is – STUFFING! (Poor guy, thanks hun for sticking it with me through all those boxes of instant stuffing :P) So every time he requested stuffing.. you guessed it, it came out of a box, or package.. or whatever! Finally a few years ago, when my confidence in the kitchen had grown, I decided to try my hand at making stuffing from scratch!
Using day old sandwich bread, I tried my first attempt at making stuffing from scratch. The kitchen smelt heavenly, and I’ll admit it definitely tasted better than boxed stuffing mix, but it still wasn’t my cup of tea.
Then earlier this year, in the beginning of Covid, I was making roasted chicken for dinner, with mashed potatoes and a vegetable, and since Covid had us all feeling uneasy, I wanted to make a meal that brought us all comfort. Knowing how much my husband, and now daughter, love stuffing I decided to make it again.
However this time when choosing the bread, I grabbed a loaf from our grocery store bakery.
In my experience, when I use brioche bread to make french toast instead of regular sandwich bread, it comes out so much better, so I used the same logic when choosing a loaf of bread from the bakery this time.
We love the Portuguese loafs from the bakery (P.S. they make the best panini’s!!), so I decided this time around I would make the stuffing using our favorite bread.
The outcome was magical!! You guys, I can’t even begin to tell you how amazing just simply switching the bread made this Thanksgiving side dish I was never a fan of, become obsessed with it!
It’s so savory, and buttery, and will have you going back for seconds, I guarantee it!
The secret for sure is in the bread! But I also only use freshly chopped herbs, nothing dried! And the result is crispy but soft bread chunks on top, with warm gooey bread underneath. It’s like a savory bread pudding, I don’t even like to call it stuffing, because it resembles nothing of the stuff I tried all those years, and everything a good classic stuffing should be!
~ Here’s the Recipe ~
Ingredients
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, divided
- 4 cups Portuguese bread, diced into 1/2-inch cubes and dried
- 2 cups yellow onion, diced small
- 1 1/2 cups celery, diced small
- 2/3 cup Italian flat-leaf parsley leaves, finely minced
- 3 tablespoons fresh rosemary (sticks discarded), finely minced
- 2 tablespoons fresh thyme (sticks discarded), finely minced
- 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
- 1 teaspoon pepper, or to taste
- 2 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth, divided
- 2 large eggs
Directions
- Preheat oven to 250F. Place cubed bread on a baking sheet and bake, stirring occasionally, until dried out, about 45 minutes. You must begin with very dry bread or it’ll turn to mush.
- When you’re ready to make the stuffing, transfer bread to a very large bowl; set aside.
- Preheat oven to 350F and spray a 9×13-inch pan or 3-quart baking dish with cooking spray; set aside.
- In a large skillet, add 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter and heat over medium-high heat to melt.
- Add the onions, celery, and cook until vegetables have softened and are just beginning to lightly brown, about 10 minutes. Stir frequently. Transfer vegetables to bowl with bread.
- Add the parsley, rosemary, thyme, salt, pepper, 1 1/4 cups chicken broth, and toss well to combine; set aside.
- To a small bowl, add the remaining 1 1/4 cups chicken broth, 2 eggs, and whisk to combine. Pour mixture over bread and toss well to combine. Turn mixture out into prepared baking dish.
- Dice the remaining 1/4 cup (half of 1 stick) butter into 8 to 10 pieces and evenly dot the butter over the top of the stuffing. Cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes. Uncover and bake for an additional 40 to 45 minutes, or until top is as lightly golden browned as desired. Serve immediately.
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Your recipe looks divine. I love stuffing, and with 2 sticks of butter, how can I not love this recipe. Looking forward to trying it soon.
I”m not normally a stuffing gal myself, but this looks so delicious I’m going to have to try it!
hey girl- this looks oh so yummy! I have always loved stuffing- and I have made it a couple of times. ( once in the crock pot) Now it seems I am going the stove top route- my husband has bought quite a few boxes the past 7 months.
Here in the South, we make ‘Dressin’ with buttermilk cornbread,lol!!! When a new family member from north called it Stuffing, I had to correct her 🙂
My husband makes his own stuffing too and it is so much better than the boxed version. Your recipe looks so buttery and delicious!