Classic Bread Stuffing

Thanksgiving is a few short weeks away! I know this seems a little early to post a Thanksgiving recipe, but we had a Friendsgiving on Saturday and I made this stuffing and I wanted to share it with you in case you were on the hunt for a yummy side dish to take to a Thanksgiving potluck. 

​Thanksgiving is actually my favorite favorite holiday. I have very fond memories of having a late Thanksgiving lunch with my family sitting around one big table at my parents' house. Afterwards we would all sit around in a food-induced coma and play board games. Those were some of the greatest afternoons we spent together. 

Two years ago, my maternal grandmother (who is 99!) moved to a city 4 hours away to live with my aunt, my mother's only sister. We went up to visit them the week before Thanksgiving and my aunt made this amazing stuffing.  Since I hosted Thanksgiving last year, I asked her for the recipe because I definitely knew I wanted to make this. The original recipe didn't include carrots or parmesan cheese, but I added those in because I felt like the color would just make it so much better and because, well, cheese. 

I'm pretty sure that the simplicity of the ingredients in this recipe is what makes it so good. It uses fresh ingredients and the flavors all melt together beautifully. I feel like this is a dish I'll be making for many years to come when Thanksgiving rolls around. It was a hit last year and it was a hit at our friendsgiving celebration. 

drying out the bread in the oven. I heated the oven to 150F and left the bread in there for about an hour and a half, moving it around every 30 minutes or so.

before it went in the oven

Classic Bread Stuffing
(makes 10 cups)

Ingredients

• 8 tbsp unsalted butter
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 3 celery ribs, chopped
• 2 large carrots, chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped celery leaves (from inner celery ribs)
• 1 lb firm white bread, cut into 1/2 inch cubes and dried overnight (or in the oven)
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 1 cup Parmesan cheese
• 2 teaspoons poultry seasoning
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• 2 cups turkey broth (or chicken broth)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350F. 
2. In a big skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add in onions, celery, carrots, and celery leaves.
3. Cook, stirring often, until the onions are golden (about 8 minutes). 
4. Scrape the vegetable mixture into a big bowl. Mix in the bread cubes, parsley, parmesan cheese, poultry seasoning, salt, and pepper. 
5. Gradually stir in about 1 1/2 cups of broth, until the stuffing is evenly  moistened but not soggy. 
6. Transfer stuffing to a lightly buttered casserole dish. Drizzle with 1/2 cup of broth and cover with aluminum foil. Bake for 40-45 minutes (if you like it crispy, remove foil for the last 15 minutes of baking). 
7. Serve warm and enjoy! 

 

pictured with a delicious fried turkey. Maybe I can get the hubby to share his recipe for it before Thanksgiving. :)

If you decide to make this, I'd love to hear your thoughts and how it turned out for you below! 

xoxo, 

Jenise