Classic Thanksgiving dressing is made with simple ingredients, is easy to prepare (and can be prepped ahead) and will be your favorite side dish on the holiday table!

We are two weeks from turkey day my friends, and I cannot wait! All the food, all the family, all the fun! 🦃❤️

And as far as looking ahead, I have to say that Thanksgiving dressing is probably my very favorite part of the big meal.

Something about how comforting it is, the delicious mix of flavors and textures and the way you can pair a bite with pretty much everything else on the plate… well, it speaks to me. 

I’ve previously shared my turkey sausage and apple dressing, which is super flavorful and a more recent favorite at our holiday table. I started making it 5 or so years ago and we love it.

And this wild rice dressing is a good option for a gluten-free and vegan friendly side dish if you need one for the holidays. My Southern cornbread dressing is also gluten-free and vegetarian. 

But today’s recipe for classic Thanksgiving dressing, this is what I grew up with. And this is what I come back to time and time again.

It was originally my Aunt Edith’s recipe, and she was the one in charge of the Thanksgiving meal when I was a kid. (The rest of us were there to take orders. Or to stay out of the way. 😂)

It’s made with simple, basic ingredients and it’s really easy to put together. And yet it has such warm, delicious flavors running throughout it.

It’s the perfect complement to your roast turkey (or slow cooker turkey breast, which is my stress-free, fool-proof way to do turkey at Thanksgiving) and all the other gorgeous side dishes on your holiday table.

(But secretly, I bet this will be your favorite dish too!)

Oh, and you can check out my Google web story for this Thanksgiving dressing recipe, too.

OK, let’s get cooking!

Now, I’ve got some notes, tips and substitutions coming up below on how to make classic Thanksgiving dressing. Just tryin’ to be helpful.

(I’ve also made this dressing recipe a lot, so I want to share what works as well as some troubleshooting tips that are especially helpful for the holidays.)

If you want to jump on down to the recipe, simply scroll right on through the rest of the text. The recipe card is near the bottom of the page, above the comments section.

Notes on classic Thanksgiving dressing:

• This recipe calls for turkey drippings or broth — or a combination of the two. I almost never have turkey drippings already on hand when I go to make this recipe, so turkey broth is a good substitute. If you can’t find any of that, chicken broth will work as well.
• If you need this to be vegetarian, you could also use vegetable broth. It’ll be a little less flavorful, but still really good.
• Make sure the dressing has enough liquid before you bake it. It shouldn’t be sitting in a pool of broth, but all of the bread should seem completely moistened. I almost always use a full 4 cups. You may even want an extra splash or two, depending on how dry/stale your bread is.
• You can follow the recipe and use a bag of store-bought stuffing mix or you can substitute additional fresh baked bread. I’ve made it both ways many times. Details on that below. Also no worries if your bread isn’t already stale when you go to make this. I have tips on that below as well.

Also of note: this recipe bakes at 350 degrees F. However, if you need your oven at 325 or 375 for a different recipe at the same time, this one is pretty forgiving. You can go ahead and cook it at the other temp. Just check and adjust the total cook time as needed so the dressing doesn’t dry out.

OK, so those are the basics.

But I have lots more to share so that you can make this recipe your very own – whether that’s adjusting it to your tastes, to what you can find at the store or to troubleshoot on the big day when the kitchen feels like crazy town.

Cause it’s the holidays, we have company over and we’re not messing around. 😉

How to make classic Thanksgiving dressing without stuffing mix:

The recipe calls for a bag of stuffing mix. However, I’ve made this without it before by substituting more day-old or stale bread.

You’ll want to substitute an equal amount (in this case, 6 cups) of crumbled, dry bread in place of the store-bought stuffing mix.

Specifically, I used a rosemary olive oil bread and a whole wheat loaf as the two types last time I made it that way, using 6 cups of each to get the total of 12 cups of dry bread needed for this recipe.

I’ve also made this with half of the bread from an Italian loaf bread and that worked great too.

What if you don’t have dry, day-old bread? Oh, I feel you on that one.

Since we normally celebrate Thanksgiving out of town, we often buy our groceries on the day before Thanksgiving. We also prep all of our recipes that day, so we have only fresh, soft bread to use.

In other words, not what we need.

So I’ve come up with some easy work-arounds depending on how much time you have.

How to quickly dry out bread for recipes:

Take your fresh loaf of bread and cut it up according to how you’ll use it in the recipe. (In this case, we need it cut down into small rough chunks.)

Spread the bread out on 1-2 baking sheets so it’s all in an even, single layer.

If you have several hours or almost a full day, you can leave the bread sitting out in a warm, dry area. Toss it occasionally and let it dry out on its own. (Having it in smaller pieces helps because more surface area is exposed.)

If you don’t have much time, place the baking sheets of cubed bread into the oven and cook at 300 for 20 or so minutes. This will draw out the moisture and create more stale-like bread right away to use in your recipe.

In fact, I’ve even stuck the bread in the oven when I turned it on to preheat for this dressing and by the time it comes to temperature, or just after, it’s ready to use.

I’m all about some efficiency when it comes to Thanksgiving prep and cooking! 👍

And because it’s Thanksgiving, and because we have 843 other things to do in the kitchen that day, here’s some tips on prepping this dish ahead.

Make ahead notes for Thanksgiving dressing:

• Prepare the dressing as instructed, but use only 1 egg and 2 1/2 cups of the turkey drippings or broth. Store, covered, in a large bowl or a large plastic container in the fridge for up to 2 days. You can even put it right into your greased casserole dish if you’d prefer.
• Remove from the fridge and let sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes.
• Add the remaining egg and up to 1 1/2 cups of additional turkey drippings or broth to the dressing mixture. Stir well to get everything well combined.
• Transfer to the prepared casserole dish (if it’s not already in it) and bake as instructed, adding an extra 5-10 minutes if needed to get everything warmed through.

Reserving that extra egg and liquid helps ensure that the consistency of the dressing stays just right. It doesn’t break down too much from all the liquids as it sits overnight in the fridge and it doesn’t dry out in the oven because the bread had already absorbed the liquids before baking. It’s the perfect balance. 👌

Got leftovers? Oh, they are my very favorite part of the holiday. 😍

What to do with Thanksgiving dressing leftovers

My most beloved way to use any extras is for my Thanksgiving leftovers breakfast hash. I get giddy for the holidays just knowing I will get to enjoy this!

Also, we love to heat up leftover dressing in the microwave along with some gravy and have it as a side dish again on another night. It reheats great.

And just to note, I do really prefer the microwave. Reheating the casserole in the oven, even if you have a lot left in the original dish, takes forever to get it really well warmed through. So in addition to being time-consuming, you also now run the risk of drying it out.

Microwave it is.

Want to freeze your leftovers? I’ve done this too.

How to freeze leftover Thanksgiving dressing

– Let the dressing cool down all the way before packing it up for the freezer.

– Place 1-2 servings each into freezer-safe plastic bags or containers. Label with the contents and the date, then place in the freezer.

– Freeze for up to 3 months.

– Defrost overnight in the refrigerator. Reheat in individual portions in the microwave. (I’d say start with 45 seconds, stir it a bit then add 15-30 more seconds as needed until it’s completely warmed through.)

If you have a super sophisticated palate, you may think the flavor and consistency changes a bit after freezing.

I am not very picky and I think it’s still super delicious. (Do make sure yours isn’t super dry going into the freezer. That might not work.)

Finally, I don’t recommend making and freezing the entire casserole ahead of time, whether baked or unbaked. You can assemble it up to 1-2 days ahead of the holiday though, as mentioned above, so you can mostly knock it out in advance if needed.

And because I love to share Thanksgiving side dishes, check out these other ideas:

Favorite Thanksgiving side dishes:

• Classic green bean casserole
• Bourbon sweet potato casserole
• Classic baked macaroni and cheese
• Creamy mashed potatoes
• 15-minute easy cranberry sauce

Or browse my round-up of 45 Thanksgiving side dishes for more inspiration!

I hope my family’s classic Thanksgiving dressing will be a hit at your holiday table too.

Happy holidays and happy cooking!

XO,

Kathryn

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Yield: 8-10 servings

Classic Thanksgiving dressing

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Classic Thanksgiving dressing is made with simple ingredients, is easy to prepare (and can be prepped ahead) and will be your favorite side dish on the holiday table!

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes

Additional Time 5 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoon unsalted butter, divided
• 1 cup diced onion
• 1 cup diced celery
• 1/4 cup diced red bell pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 (12 oz.) package Pepperidge Farm dry stuffing mix (see notes)
• 6 cups stale bread, coarsely crumbled or roughly chopped (see notes)
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 cups turkey drippings or broth (see notes)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 9x13 pan or a 3-quart casserole dish with cooking spray and set aside.
2. Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in a large skillet. Add the onion, celery and red bell pepper and sauté for 4-5 minutes, until softened. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
3. In a large bowl, combine the stuffing mix and crumbled bread. Add the sautéed veggies and the eggs and stir to mix. Add the turkey drippings or broth, starting with 3 1/2 cups and adding more as needed to get the mixture very moist.
4. Transfer the dressing mixture to the prepared pan or casserole dish and smooth into a single layer. Dot the top of the casserole with the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter (cut or broken apart into smaller pieces).
5. Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes, until golden brown and set.
6. Let rest for 5-10 minutes before serving so it sets up completely.

Notes

Broth: This recipe calls for turkey drippings or broth — or a combination of the two. I almost never have turkey drippings on hand when I go to make this recipe, so turkey broth is a good substitute. If you can’t find any of that, chicken broth will work as well. If you need this to be vegetarian, you could also use vegetable broth.

Dry stuffing mix: You can follow the recipe and use a bag of store-bought stuffing mix (classic or herb flavored are fine) or you can substitute additional fresh baked bread. I’ve made it both ways many times. You’ll want to substitute an equal amount (in this case, 6 cups) of crumbled, dry bread instead of the bagged mix. I have used a rosemary olive oil bread and a whole wheat loaf as the two types, using 6 cups of each to get the total of 12 cups of dry bread needed for this recipe. I’ve also made this with half of the bread from an Italian loaf bread and that worked great too.

How to get bread stale fast: Don't have any day-old or stale bread? No worries. Take your fresh loaf of bread and cut it up according to how you’ll use it in the recipe. (In this case, we need it cut down into small rough chunks.) Spread the bread out on 1-2 baking sheets so it’s all in an even, single layer.

If you have several hours or almost a full day, you can leave the bread sitting out in a warm, dry area. Toss it occasionally and let it dry out on its own. (Having it in smaller pieces helps as more surface area is exposed.)

If you don’t have much time, place the baking sheets of cubed bread into the oven and cook at 300 for 20 or so minutes. This will draw out the moisture and create more stale-like bread right away to use in your recipe. (You can even just stick it in the oven as it preheats for this recipe.

Make-ahead notes: Prepare the dressing as instructed, but use only 1 egg and 2 1/2 cups of the turkey drippings or broth. Store, covered, in a large bowl or a large plastic container in the fridge for up to 2 days. You can even go ahead and put it in your prepared casserole dish. Remove from the fridge and let sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before baking. Add the remaining egg and up to 1 1/2 cups of additional turkey drippings or broth to the dressing mixture. Stir well to get everything well combined. Transfer to the prepared casserole dish (if it's not already in there) and bake as instructed, adding an extra 5-10 minutes if needed to get everything warmed through.

Leftovers: Leftovers will keep in the fridge for 4-5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Reheat in the microwave or in a pan on the stove to get it warmed through again.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

10

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 538Total Fat: 22gSaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 13gCholesterol: 279mgSodium: 519mgCarbohydrates: 17gFiber: 1gSugar: 3gProtein: 65g