This homemade version of instant, stove-top stuffing is better than store-bought, but it still saves you just as much time during the Thanksgiving pinch.
Thanksgiving, for those of us cooking, is a hectic week of preparation. Because I’m a bit of a stressball, I like to do as much ahead of time as I possibly can so I don’t panic the day of and mess everything up. The stuffing has always been a bit of a white whale for me. I love homemade stuffing (thanks, mom, for those years of making traditional stuffing so good I can’t bear the box kind), but I never thought I could make it in advance. Not so, not so! This year, I’m going for the stove-top version to save myself anxiety and a few glasses of wine. But of course, it has to be homemade, too, with the same flavors my mom uses, namely, sage and thyme.
Because this stuffing “mix” is so easy to make, I’ll no longer relegate the side dish to Thanksgiving, either. This is an all-year kind of thing, folks.
A few notes about the recipe: Feel free to make your own variations. For example, substitute a bit of white wine for the broth. Add some celery, onion, walnuts, cranberries, carrots, whatever your heart desires. Just add any of these things at the melting-butter step and let them cook for a few minutes until softened. You can also slice the bread into cubes before toasting if you want more uniform pieces, but my mom used to break apart her bread, and I’m nostalgic, so that’s why I break it up in choppy pieces after toasting.
While this recipe is meant for the easiest preparation possible, stove-top cooking, you can also combine all the ingredients in a casserole dish and bake the stuffing in the oven, covered with foil for about twenty minutes, and then uncovered for an additional ten minutes. You may need a bit more broth though.
I’ve divided the recipe into four containers. This is for simple portioning, cooking, serving and saving. Cooking for two? Use only one container. Cooking for four? Use two containers. Cooking for everybody? Use all four containers. Save any un-used containers of stuffing mix for up to five days at room temperature, if kept sealed and as long as your bread is toasted enough to keep the bread dry. This works well for Thanksgiving if you run out of stuffing but still have other leftovers to use up.
By the way, I’m more than just stuffing. Check out this post for additional tips and links to make Thanksgiving day run smoothly. And since you’re saving so much time on your stuffing, you can make this awesome turkey chocolate cake.
This recipe for Homemade Stove-Top Stuffing also appears on Food Fanatic.
Need more Thanksgiving day ideas?
HI i was wondering how long the dressing would last in the jar I was going too make this recipe and give it as a gift. for the holidays. . Thanks Do you have any recipes for gift in a jar that would be ideal for Christmas
Hi Gail! Love that idea. As long as you toast the bread well so it’s fully dry, I’d say about 5 days. (Off the record, I made stuffing from one of the jars like two weeks later and it was great, but that just feels like a long time to advise others.) This snowman marshmallow hot cocoa jar gift is another favorite of mine. I’ll be updating that post soon with a video. And I’ll work on a roundup of cool mason jar gifts ahead! https://thedecoratedcookie.com/2009/12/sweet-snowy-gifts-gingerbread-snowflake-ornaments-and-snowman-cocoa-jars/