Learn how to make the most delicious sourdough stuffing recipe from scratch. Homemade bread is toasted with butter, then combined with sautéed vegetables, herbs, and broth to create this comforting, good-for-you, side dish for your holiday table.
Today I’m going to share with you my favorite thanksgiving stuffing recipe.
If you are new here, we recently welcomed our newest baby, Daniel (you can find the whole birth story here). So if you watch the YouTube tutorial below on how to make this dish, you will see sweet little Daniel snuggled up in my wrap.
That is how I get anything done, or any food cooked during these newborn days. My babies are happy as a clam, all wrapped up and snuggling me, and I get to have my hands free to feed the rest of my family!
Back to the recipe: it is so delicious. This sourdough stuffing makes me want to eat Thanksgiving and holiday food all year round.
Really, though, it is just darn good farm food.
Why keep certain foods just for the holidays? Yes, this is traditionally served as part of thanksgiving dinner, but I propose we change this.
There really isn’t much better than sourdough bread toasted with butter, fresh herbs, and veggies, is there?
It’s also a great way to use up day-old bread. Rarely does bread last longer than a day around here, but if it does, I know what I’m going to do with it. Side note: I usually use fresh bread; either works.
Tips:
- If you do not have fresh herbs, you could also use dried. Just use about a teaspoon of each.
- Some people like to make a sourdough sausage stuffing with mild Italian sausage, this is always an option.
- You can make this classic recipe ahead of time and then keep it stored in the fridge and reheat it in the oven come thanksgiving.
- Make this dairy free (and vegan) by substituting butter for olive oil.
FAQ:
Why sourdough?
Sourdough is a way to ferment grains to make them more digestible and more nutritious.
Fermentation makes the nutrients naturally found in grains more bio-available for your body to absorb. Many people who can’t tolerate gluten can tolerate sourdough, especially if it is long fermented for 24-48 hours. (source).
Can you make this sourdough stuffing recipe vegetarian?
Yes. Use vegetable broth rather than chicken broth, and it is vegetarian. It would be difficult to make this vegan, however, because of the eggs and butter in this recipe. They add so much flavor, and the eggs are used as a binder to help thicken the stuffing and add some moisture.
What is the best bread to use for stuffing?
I like using my homemade whole wheat sourdough bread (link below), but you could use your own favorite sourdough bread recipe. You could also buy a loaf of sourdough from a local bakery, just make sure that what you are buying is the real deal.
Fresh bread or day-old bread will work.
How do you dry out bread for stuffing?
Just bake cubed bread tossed in melted butter, and placed on a baking dish in the oven at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes
Should you use stale bread for stuffing?
You can use stale bread, but dry bread works better and faster than waiting for bread to get stale.
Why do you toast bread for stuffing?
This helps the bread dry out so the stuffing mixture can absorb lots of flavor and seasonings without getting super mushy.
This post contains affiliate links, which means I make a small commission at no extra cost to you. See my full disclosure here.
Tools you may need:
- Large mixing bowl
- Cast iron skillet or regular large skillet
- Baking pan or casserole dish
- Measuring spoons
- Wooden Spoon
- Knife
- Cutting board
Ingredients:
Homemade sourdough bread – You could also use store-bought. Check out our family favorite whole wheat recipe.
Butter – Unsalted butter adds so much flavor to this dish. There is nothing like vegetables sautéed in butter, or crusty bread with butter. Use butter from grass-fed cows whenever possible.
Celery and onion – Adds a delicious, savory flavor and a little crunch.
Fresh herbs – Fresh sage leaves and thyme are the classic herbs used for stuffing. You could also use dried herbs if fresh isn’t available.
Salt and pepper
Unsalted Broth – homemade bone broth is simple and super healthy. Substitute vegetable broth if you’re looking to make this recipe vegetarian. You could also use chicken stock, or turkey broth. I use unsalted broth since I make it at home, this allows me to control the amount of salt added to the dish. If you use a store-bought broth you may want to add less salt than what the recipe calls for.
Eggs – Use pastured eggs whenever possible.
How To Make Sourdough Stuffing:
Prepare and bake homemade sourdough bread,
if making from scratch.
Preheat the oven to 350 F.
Add half of the butter to a baking dish (or cast iron skillet) and place in the oven to melt.
Cut the crusty sourdough bread into 1-inch cubes.
Take out the baking dish from the oven and toss the melted butter with the bread.
Bake for 20 minutes, stirring halfway in between so the bread cubes don’t get burnt, but rather get nice and toasty.
Dice onions and celery.
Sauté onions and celery over medium heat in a skillet with the remaining butter until they are a little soft, around 5-10 minutes.
Add salt and pepper.
Pull the toasted bread out of the oven.
In a large bowl, add bone broth and eggs and whisk together.
Add the vegetable mixture and herbs to the broth mixture and mix well.
Pour the broth and vegetable mixture over the toasted bread and let it sit for 10 minutes to allow bread to soak up the eggs and broth.
Bake for 25-30 minutes, until it starts to turn golden brown.
Storage:
Store leftover stuffing in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days or freeze for up to two months. Thaw in the fridge and bake to reheat.
Find More Farmhouse Holiday Recipes And Inspiration:
- Best Cranberry Sauce Recipe – Naturally Sweetened
- Sweet Potato Casserole With Pecans
- Farmhouse Thanksgiving Table Decor
- DIY Christmas Stockings from Sweaters
- DIY Christmas Ornaments- Eight Neutral Ornaments to Make
If you try this recipe and love it, I would appreciate if you could come back, comment on the post, and give it 5 stars! Thanks.
Sourdough Stuffing
Ingredients
- 1 small round sourdough bread 1 pound
- 1 stick salted butter
- 3 stalks celery chopped
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage or 1 teaspoon dried
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried
- 3 cups homemade chicken broth
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tablespoons salt
- 1/2 tablespoon pepper
Instructions
- Prepare and bake homemade sourdough bread, if making from scratch.
- Preheat the oven to 350 F.
- Add half of the butter to a baking dish (or cast iron skillet) and place in the oven to melt.
- Cut the crusty sourdough bread into 1-inch cubes.
- Take out the baking dish from the oven and toss the melted butter with the bread.
- Bake for 20 minutes, stirring halfway in between so the bread cubes don’t get burnt, but rather get nice and toasty.
- Dice onions and celery.
- Sauté onions and celery over medium heat in a skillet with the remaining butter until they are a little soft, around 5-10 minutes.
- Add salt and pepper.
- Pull the toasted bread out of the oven.
- In a large bowl, add bone broth and eggs and whisk together.
- Add the vegetable mixture and herbs to the broth mixture and mix well.
- Pour the broth and vegetable mixture over the toasted bread and let it sit for 10 minutes to allow bread to soak up the eggs and broth.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes, until it starts to turn golden brown.
Notes
- If you do not have fresh herbs, you could also use dried. Just use about a teaspoon of each.
- Some people like to make a sourdough sausage stuffing with mild Italian sausage, this is always an option.
- You can make this classic recipe ahead of time and then keep it stored in the fridge and reheat it in the oven come thanksgiving.
- Make this dairy free (and vegan) by substituting butter for olive oil.
Joe McNeil says
Wow! This was so delightful. Goodbye stovetop! The flavor was spot on and better. I eyeballed ask the seasonings & used fresh herbs. We don’t eat meat on Fridays so I tried it with vegetable broth to see how the flavor would be & it was so delicious. This will be our stuffing recipe now. Thank you!!!!
Lindsay says
Loved this delicious recipe! I prefer mine a little “soggier” so i think I won’t toast my bread this time (coming back to it to make it a second time) but it was really easy and really delicious!
Brittney says
I doubled this recipe for my family’s Thanksgiving and it is so good! Perfect flavor and texture! Definitely will be making again!
Penny says
Can this be made in advance? Have you ever added sausage to this? I was thinking I’d sauté with the celery/onions. Thank you!
Lisa says
It can be made a few days in advance and stored in the fridge. I haven’t personally tried it with sausage, but I’m sure that would be delicious!
Angie Mason says
I made this with our Christmas turkey, it was great! Stuffed half of it in the bird and baked the other half separately. The part that went into the bird was the best. I like to use your recipe for “How to Make Whole Wheat Sourdough Bread” but for stuffing I used unbleached white bread flour, and I usually skip the first rise and put the dough straight into loaf pans with a single long rise time. Thanks for all of the wonderful sourdough recipes Lisa!
Opal Wilke says
I tried out this recipe for thanksgiving, I had multiple people say it was the best stuffing they have ever had.
Skyla says
Another great recipe! I don’t normally risk trying a new recipe for a holiday or when we have guests, but I’ve cooked enough farmhouse on Boone recipes to trust that they are going to be good and this one is no exception! I will definitely be adding it to the thanksgiving repertoire!
Danielle F. says
Making this today for the 2nd year. Seriously INSANELY good and simple. Classic Lisa recipe for sure. Thanks for sharing as always!!
Holly Zuniga says
Made this with mild Italian sausage and garlic and it turned out incredible.
Joan says
Hi Lisa
I am making your stuffing this year. I am so excited. I already made the cranberry sauce with honey. I of course had to sample it! It was delicious!
My question is, how many will the dressing feed? I have 11 people coming. 4 of which are my grandchildren.
Thank you! Happy Thanksgiving!🦃