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Thanksgiving Stuffing is a must-have side dish for dinner!
I don’t know who’s idea was it to soak croutons to make a delicious savoury dish but I’m glad they did it!
I love stuffing and admittedly would have it over mashed potatoes! I’m a huge fan of different flavours and textures in my food so this Thanksgiving stuffing is perfect for me!
This Thanksgiving stuffing recipe is a tried and true recipe and is loved by many! I make this EVERY SINGLE Thanksgiving and will continue to do so forever!
Do you have holidays recipes that you’ll make forever? I’d love to know in the comments!
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I grew up with Filipino parents so Thanksgiving was not a holiday that we really celebrated. We did get together as a family but didn’t have traditional thanksgiving foods. We often did a turkey, some kind of potatoes, some vegetable sides, rice, pasta and lots of desserts.
I remember one year when I was still in high school and buying a small box of stuffing for $1 at the grocery store then rushing home to make it. Since then, I’ve been hooked on stuffing and can’t ever do a holiday without it!
I’ve definitely revised this recipe as the years passed by but for the past 2 years, I’ve made it exactly the same and will not be editing the ingredients any longer so that’s why I’m sharing it today!
Have you ever tried stuffing? Do you love it as much as I do?! I’d love to know!
This Thanksgiving Stuffing recipe is accompanied by a YouTube Tutorial. If you haven’t subscribed to my channel on YouTube, don’t forget to!
HERE IS HOW TO MAKE THE BEST THANKSGIVING STUFFING:
WHERE CAN I FIND THESE INGREDIENTS?
The ingredients to make THE BEST Thanksgiving stuffing can be found in most grocery stores! You can find croutons in the pantry aisles or bakery. The sausage can be found in the meat section. The celery, carrots, mushrooms, onions, garlic and apple can be found in produce. The pumpkin seeds, walnuts and cranberries can be found in the pantry aisle most likely where all the baking supplies are!
WHAT ARE THE INGREDIENTS?
The ingredients to make the best Thanksgiving stuffing ever are:
- Bread Croutons
- Ground Sausage
- Butter
- Sweet Onion
- Garlic
- Celery Sticks
- Carrots
- White Mushrooms
- Apple
- Dried Cranberries
- Chopped Walnuts
- Pumpkin Seeds
- Dried Thyme
- Dried Rosemary
- Chicken Bouillon
- Onion Powder
- Salt
- Pepper
WHAT TYPE OF BREAD CROUTONS SHOULD I USE?
To make this Thanksgiving stuffing recipe, you’ll need croutons but you can use whatever your favourite croutons are. I like making my own croutons by buying french bread and adding butter, salt, garlic and dried parsley then baking it until they are golden brown and dry.
Alternatively, you can purchase your own croutons at the store or even buy a box of instant stuffing. Kraft’s stovetop turkey stuffing mix is my go-to and if I just purchase regular croutons, I just choose whatever is on sale at the store at the time I’m shopping.
WHAT IS THE TIME BREAKDOWN TO MAKE THIS RECIPE?
This Thanksgiving stuffing definitely requires a lot of preparation as there is a lot of ingredients but I promise you, it is worth it! After you get through the chopping and everything, the actual cooking takes less than 2 minutes. The time breakdown for this recipe is:
To Prepare – this includes measuring and chopping up all the ingredients
Time: 20 Minutes
To Cook – this includes adding all the ingredients into the pot to cook
Time: 20 Minutes
Total time from start to finish: 40 Minutes
WHAT EQUIPMENT DO I NEED?
The equipment needed to make the BEST Thanksgiving stuffing is a large pot and wooden spoon and that’s really it. You’ll need some items for preparation like cutting boards, knives and a few bowls to place all your ingredients in. I always use my favourite dutch oven for most of my cooking!
WHAT ARE THE STEPS TO PREPARE?
The steps to make THE BEST Thanksgiving Stuffing are:
- Prepare, Chop & Measure – all the ingredients and equipment needed
- Cook & Combine – all the ingredients together in a pot
- Cool, Plate & Serve – and enjoy!
CAN I SUB/ADD ANYTHING OUT?
There are so many things you can add or substitute for this Thanksgiving stuffing!
The main thing you really need to keep is the breadcrumbs but you can certainly use gluten-free or whatever dietary/lifestyle you follow.
If you want to make this vegan or vegetarian, you can certainly use vegan butter and/or sausage.
I just use regular Italian sausage but any flavour of sausage or even ground beef, pork, chicken or turkey is fine.
The vegetables in this thanksgiving stuffing are celery, carrots, mushrooms, onions and garlic. You can, of course, add or remove whatever you’d like! I find that this combo is the best.
I would keep the apple and dried cranberries but if you don’t like apples, you can swap them out for pear. If you don’t like dried cranberries, you can use a dried fruit that you prefer like apricots or raisins. The sweetness from the fruits is an awesome balance but if you’re not into sweet and savoury dishes, you can for sure just keep it savoury.
The spices and seasonings are general spices you’d use to roast chicken so that’s what I used but if you don’t love rosemary and thyme, you can omit it and just use regular salt and pepper to taste.
WHAT DOES IT TASTE LIKE?
This Thanksgiving Stuffing is very overwhelming in flavours but so delicious! You literally get a taste of everything in every bite.
You taste all the seasonings, buttery bread pieces, savoury sausage pieces, sweet apples and cranberries and nutty walnuts and pumpkins seeds and earthiness from the mushrooms, celery, and carrots.
The texture may not be for everyone especially if you’ve never tasted stuffing before because admittedly, it’s basically soaked up savoury bread pieces. Regardless, it’s a delicious must-have side to compliment your big Thanksgiving turkey!
HOW LONG DOES IT KEEP FOR?
This Thanksgiving Stuffing is good for up to 2 days. As the texture is very soggy or mushy, the longer it’s in the fridge, the more you’ll probably not touch it! I’ve never had a Thanksgiving where I didn’t make my guests pack up everything that was on the table so there’s always plenty to share.
If you ever end up making way too much, you can store it in the freezer then defrost it when you want to eat it. I would just place it on a baking sheet to bake and heat up for about 10-15 minutes or so.
I also highly highly recommend that you make a Thanksgiving leftovers sandwich! The thanksgiving sandwich which I’ll share a recipe for soon includes a fresh ciabatta bun, stuffing, turkey and cranberry sauce! Stay tuned for this recipe, yum!
WHAT GOES WITH THE BEST THANKSGIVING STUFFING?
This Thanksgiving Stuffing is the perfect side to make every year for any occasion! It’s perfect if you’re having roast chicken or turkey for dinner. Thanksgiving stuffing is great with:
- Roasted chicken– all year round roast chicken dinners go well with stuffing
- Roasted turkey – for a special holiday or ocassion
- Baked salmon – perfect side for your meatless dinner
- By itself– I’ve often just eaten it by itself as its a filling side with everything in every bite
- A side salad – perfect with a fresh salad on the side
- A side soup– delicious with a warm bowl of soup
WHAT ARE OTHER VARIATIONS OF THANKSGIVING STUFFING?
Some other variations of Thanksgiving Stuffing that I would love to try making are:
MORE THANKSGIVING SIDE RECIPES?
Some other thanksgiving sides that are awesome are:
- Fall Harvest Salad with Maple Dressing
- Garlic Butter Mashed Potatoes
- Fall Vegetarian Tortellini Soup
- Easy Roasted Cauliflower
- Lemon Butter Parmesan Asparagus
INSPIRATIONS FOR THIS DISH?
I honestly don’t even remember how I started making this Thanksgiving stuffing but I just knew that I love stuffing from the moment I tried it!
I first tried the instant stuffing mix then it just evolved. over time. I have gone many holidays adding and removing ingredients til I found the right combination to stick with!
HOW CAN I MEAL PREP THIS RECIPE?
Normally you wouldn’t really meal prep this recipe as it’s meant to be eaten during a holiday dinner but if you do end up taking it for lunch, I recommend just preparing 2 container of it for lunch shortly after you cook it.
COST OF THIS THANKSGIVING STUFFING?
This Thanksgiving stuffing uses a lot of ingredients!
Based on my groceries in CAD, if you were buying EVERYTHING but the spices/seasonings from scratch:
THE BEST Thanksgiving Stuffing
- Bread croutons (1 loaf of bread) – $1.05
- Italian Pork Sausages (500g) – $7.10
- Mushrooms (454g) – $4.35
- Celery Stalk – $2.48
- Sweet Onion – $2.47
- Walnuts (100g) – $3.25
- Garlic – $0.95
- Carrots – $3.25
- Apple – $1.26
- Pumpkin Seeds (100g) – $2.70
- Dried Cranberries (170g) – $3.25
Total: $32.11 (not all the ingredients were used and leftovers can be used for other recipes)
As all of these ingredients are new, if you just priced out the actual ingredients used in this Thanksgiving stuffing, it would come up to about $20.
ANY OTHER NOTES?
THE BEST Thanksgiving Stuffing
Ingredients
- 4-5 Cups Bread Croutons
- 300 g Ground Sausage
- 2 Tbsp Salted Butter
- 1/2 Sweet Onions diced
- 5 Garlic Cloves minced
- 3 Celery Sticks chopped
- 2 Carrots chopped
- 1 Cup White Mushrooms diced
- 1 Apple diced
- 1/2 Dried Cranberries
- 2 Tbsp Chopped Walnuts
- 2 Tbsp Pumpkin Seeds
- 1 Tsp Dried Thyme
- 1 Tsp Dried Rosemary
- 1 Tsp Chicken Bouillon
- 1 Tsp Onion Powder
- 1 Tsp Salt
- 1 Tsp Ground Black Pepper
Instructions
- In a large pot, turn your stove onto medium-high heat and add in your butter to melt.
- Once the butter has melted, add in your onions and garlic to cook until fragrant (about 1-2 minutes).
- Next, dump in all your seasonings and spices then add in your ground sausage. Cook until the ground sausage has browned up.
- When your sausage has cooked through, add in your celery, carrots and mushrooms. Add a lid on the pot so it can create a bit of liquid for about 3-5 minutes.
- After all the vegetables have soften, add in your breadcrumbs to soak up all the moisture and become soft.
- Once the breadcrumbs have soaked up all the liquids, add in your apples, cranberries, pumpkin seeds and walnuts. Mix together and cook for another few minutes.
- Cool, serve and enjoy!
I hope you enjoyed reading how to make THE BEST Thanksgiving Stuffing!
This is literally my tried and true recipe and I’ll be making this forever!
Would you love this Thanksgiving stuffing recipe?! Let me know in the comments!
Xo,
Lynn
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I’m from the UK so we don’t actually celebrate Thanksgiving, but I love love love stuffing! Great recipe thanks for sharing x
Wow! This really does sound like the best stuffing of all time! I love that there are mushrooms in it. I’d put mushrooms in everything if I could haha. I would just need to make a few gluten free alterations and I’ll be good to go! Thanks for sharing the recipe 🙂
I’m not the biggest fan of stuffing but this does look tasty! I’d have to change the sausages to veggies ones tho x
I’ve actually never made stuffing before. I think I may give it a go this year. Thanks for sharing the recipe Lynn and how to make it vegan!
Hooray for stuffing! Your recipe sounds delicious and I may give it a try. I’m looking forward to Thanksgiving which begins my turkey devouring season! Thanks for sharing.
I love stuffing. Usually buy the store one never made a homemade one. I totally need to try that out. Sounds so good.
This is a lovely stuffing recipe, I don’t celebrate Thanksgiving but this recipe would be great for a roast dinner! x
Lucy | http://www.lucymary.co.uk
I love stuffing! It wasn’t something that my family made either. The first time I tried it was by the Stovetop brand. I’d love to make my own with fresh ingredients. Thanks for sharing!
If I one day make a turkey I will try this…. I think the stuffing will work for a chickent too?
I’m not a big stuffing eater and I’ve never made it before but this does sound pretty delicious xx
All of this looks just amazng!
I live in the UK and miss Thanksgiving. This looks like a gorgeous recipe. I like how you have used pumpkin seeds. I’ll have to give this a try!
I love this stuffing you created. I love the ingredients you used. I can predict it taste awesome. Thank you for sharing.