My grandma’s old fashioned stuffing recipe with bread and fresh sage is the one I make every Thanksgiving, and it fills the house with the same buttery, herby aroma I grew up with.
This is a simple stuffing recipe made from scratch that bakes up golden and crisp on top while staying soft and savory in the middle. It's always the best part of the holiday table! You can keep it vegetarian or you can add sausage, depending on what your family prefers.
Our old fashioned family stuffing recipe is made with a big loaf of bakery bread, fresh onions, celery, and plenty of herbs like sage, parsley, and rosemary. The top bakes up golden and crisp while the inside stays soft, buttery, and full of flavor. It’s everything you want in a classic Thanksgiving side dish.
You'll never go back to Stove Top again once you realize how simple and adaptable this dressing recipe is!
What You Need to Know
- Start with a fresh loaf of bakery bread like Italian or sourdough. It's totally fine to mix varieties of bakery breads.
- Fresh herbs make all the difference in flavor, grocery stores often sell a multi herb Thanksgiving pack which is cheaper than buying individual fresh herbs.
- Bake in a buttered dish for the crispiest golden top
- Easy to keep vegetarian or add sausage for extra richness
Ingredients Overview
- Bakery bread cubes: A fresh Italian, French, or sourdough loaf gives this stuffing a hearty base with rustic flavor. Drying it first helps it soak up the broth without turning mushy.
- Sweet onions: you can also use red onion, yellow, or white.
- Celery: A must for traditional stuffing. It adds flavor and crunch.
- Fresh parsley
- Fresh sage: The star of the show. Sage is what makes stuffing taste like Thanksgiving.
- Fresh rosemary
- Eggs: Helps to hold everything together!
- Broth: Vegetable, chicken, or turkey broth keeps the stuffing moist.
- Butter: Adds richness and gives you that golden brown top.
- Optional - 1 lb of ground Italian sausage. We sometimes make this recipe with sausage, and other times without.
How to Make Grandma's Stuffing Recipe
Step 1. Preheat the oven to 250°F. Cut or tear the bread into 1-inch cubes. Spread on a baking sheet and bake 40–60 minutes, stirring occasionally, until dried out. Let cool.
Step 2. Increase the oven to 350°F. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook the onions and celery until softened and lightly browned.
Step 3. In a large bowl, mix the bread cubes with the cooked vegetables and fresh herbs.
Step 4. In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, broth, salt, and pepper. Pour over the bread mixture and stir until combined.
Step 5. Butter a 9x13 baking dish with 2 tablespoons butter. Add the bread mixture, then dot the top with the remaining butter.
Step 6. Bake 45–50 minutes until hot through and golden brown on top.
Grandma’s Tips
- Let the bread sit out for 2–3 days to get stale if you don’t want to oven dry it. You can also oven dry it in advance, which we highly recommend!
- Add apples for a little sweetness
- Cook sausage with the onions and celery if you want a heartier version
- You can assemble the stuffing the day before and bake it the day of.
More Old Fashioned Thanksgiving Recipes
Make an entire Old fashioned grandma inspired Thanksgiving with our all of our recipes!
- Green bean casserole
- Sweet potato casserole
- Mashed potatoes
- Cranberry sauce
- Roasted turkey in the oven
- Gravy
- Cranberry fluff salad
- Raw broccoli salad
- Pumpkin pie
FAQs
Should I cook stuffing inside the turkey?
My grandma always tucked a little stuffing into her turkey, and it came out so flavorful. The USDA now recommends baking stuffing in a casserole dish to make sure it reaches a safe temperature. If you want that classic turkey flavor, you can place a few scoops inside the cavity while roasting, but keep the majority baked separately so it cooks evenly.
What was stuffing originally made of?
Stuffing has been around for centuries. The earliest versions were made with bread, herbs, onions, and sometimes meat to help stretch a meal. That’s why this old fashioned stuffing recipe with bread and sage feels so timeless — it’s close to how families have been making it for generations.
What's the difference between stuffing and dressing?
Stuffing and dressing are essentially the same dish, a savory bread mixture with herbs, onions, and other add-ins, but the difference comes down to how it is cooked and where you live.
Traditionally, stuffing is cooked inside the bird, while dressing is baked separately in a casserole dish, a method that became more common for food safety reasons. Regionally, Southerners almost always say “dressing” and often make it with cornbread, while Northerners and Westerners usually call it “stuffing,” even if it is not stuffed inside the turkey.
Traditional Turkey Stuffing (Homemade Old Fashioned Recipe)
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Preheat oven to 250°F. Cut or tear the bread into 1-inch cubes. Spread cubes on a large baking sheet and bake for 40–60 minutes, stirring once or twice, until dried out. Cool completely.
- Raise oven to 350°F. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and celery and cook 8–10 minutes until softened and lightly browned.
- In a large bowl, mix the bread cubes with the cooked vegetables, parsley, sage, and rosemary.
- In a small bowl, whisk together eggs, broth, salt, and pepper. Pour over the bread mixture and toss gently until evenly coated.
- Butter a 9x13 baking dish with 2 tablespoons butter. Spread the stuffing mixture into the pan and dot the top with the remaining butter.
- Cover loosely with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake another 15–20 minutes until the top is golden brown and crisp and the center is hot.
Notes
- Use pre-cut bakery bread cubes if available to save time.
- Stir in diced apples when cooking the vegetables for a sweet twist.
- Add browned sausage to the skillet for a heartier stuffing.
- Recipe can be halved for smaller gatherings or scaled up 50% for a crowd.
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