This Sourdough Bread Stuffing recipe is, in my opinion, the ultimate stuffing recipe. You have all the rich flavors of classic stuffing – butter, garlic, onion, celery, herbs, and plenty of parmesan cheese – but also the slight tang and delicious bite from sourdough. It has a crispy top, fluffy center, and then some extra crisp bottom bits.
Ingredients
Below is an overview of ingredients used for this recipe; quantities can be found in the recipe card at the end of this post.
- Sourdough bread: tangy sourdough bread is a welcomed flavor for stuffing and has the best texture. You'll need one loaf of sourdough bread (sometimes also called a boule), either homemade or store bought. I typically go to my local bakery to find sourdough because my grocery store doesn't often have it.
- Butter: one stick of unsalted butter - I like Kerrygold, Plugra, Tillamook, or Vital Farms. One stick may seem like a lot, but it’s a lot of bread, and butter is a delicious flavor.
- Garlic: four cloves minced.
- Onion and shallot: both minced, I like the combination of both - the onion a little more sharp and the shallot a bit more mild.
- Celery: a classic stuffing ingredient. I like it minced pretty small so you don't get a big celery bite.
- Fresh herbs: a combination of fresh sage, thyme, and parsley.
- Egg: one large egg acts as the binder.
- Chicken broth: keeps the stuffing moist. Chicken stock, chicken broth, vegetable stock, and vegetable broth are all interchangeable for the purposes of this recipe. You could also use homemade turkey broth / stock if you have extra on hand from the holidays.
- Parmesan cheese: while fresh grated is always best, I know shortcuts around the holidays are necessary so store bought is completely fine (from the refrigerated section ideally).
- Salt and pepper: kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper, if you can.
How to make sourdough bread stuffing
1. Cube the bread. Cut or tear the sourdough into 1-inch cubes.
2. Toast the bread. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Put the bread cubes on a rimmed baking sheet or in the dish you are going to bake the stuffing in, and toast for about 15-20 minutes.
3. Cook the onion, shallot, garlic, and celery. While the bread toasts, melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Once melted, add the onion, shallot, garlic, and celery. Cook, stirring occasionally, until all are softened - about 10 minutes.
4. Add the herbs. To the cooked vegetables add the fresh sage, thyme and parsley - cook for another 2 minutes to bloom their flavors. Set the mixture aside and let it cool slightly to room temperature.
5. Whisk the egg and stock. In a large mixing bowl whisk together the egg and chicken stock.
6. Add the herb mixture and parmesan. To the egg mixture whisk in the herb mixture, parmesan cheese, kosher salt and pepper.
7. Toss with the bread and transfer to a baking dish. Add the toasted cubed bread to the bowl and toss to combine well. All of the bread should be saturated, with a little additional liquid left at the bottom of the bowl. Transfer to your baking dish.
8. Bake. Bake in a preheated 375°F covered for 30 minutes and uncovered for an additional 30 minutes until deeply golden brown.
Tips and tricks
Use day-old bread if you can
Day-old stale bread is optimal because it will hold its shape better than fresh bread. But since we toast the bread for this recipe you shouldn’t have any issues with fresh bread.
To make in advance
You can toast the bread and make the herb/stock liquid mixture up to 2 days in advance, but keep them separated. Combine them before you bake otherwise your bread will absorb too much of the liquid mixture.
If the top is getting too browned
If the top is getting too browned in the oven, put the aluminum foil back over top to help prevent it from burning.
To reheat or keep warm
Keep in a 200°F oven - this will not brown or heavily bake it any further, but will keep it warm while you juggle other kitchen items. Add a splash of broth if it looks like it's getting dry.
Make sure there is enough liquid
If for some reason all your bread doesn’t get saturated by the stock mixture add a splash of broth in ¼ cup increments until it is. Enough liquid is key to keeping stuffing moist.
Type of baking dish
You want to use a dish that is oven safe, generally non-stick, and large. The stuffing should lay about 2 inches high. A square, oval, or rectangular dish all work. Butter the dish or spray it if you're unsure that it's non-stick.
Storage and reheating
If you have leftover stuffing follow the below for how to best store and reheat it.
- Store: in the fridge covered or in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
- Reheat: in the oven at 350°F for 10-15 minutes, or in the microwave for ~3 minutes.
How to serve stuffing
Stuffing is a classic Thanksgiving recipe and a perfect addition to any holiday season table; so I like to consider what else to serve in the context of my ideal dishes for that meal –
- Roasted turkey or chicken
- Cranberry sauce
- Kale and white bean salad
- Bourbon mashed sweet potatoes or garlic mashed potatoes
- Garlic roasted green beans
- French onion mac and cheese (caramelized onion mac and cheese)
- Baguette garlic bread
FAQs
It’s leavened with a natural “starter” that contains yeast and bacteria, rather than store bought yeast. This gives it a tangy flavor and chewy texture, and also makes it easier to digest given the longer fermentation process.
If you must, I would recommend some sweet Italian sausage or ground turkey sausage.
No, this recipe was developed to be cooked separately from the turkey.
Generally the difference is whether or not it is baked separately or within the turkey. While technically "stuffing" is baked inside the bird and "dressing" is baked separately, no one really bakes it inside the bird where I grew up so I refer to it (outside the bird) as stuffing.
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📖 Recipe
Sourdough Bread Stuffing
Ingredients
- 1 loaf of sourdough bread, 8 cups cubed
- 1 stick unsalted butter
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 yellow onion minced
- 1 shallot minced
- 1 cup celery chopped, 2-3 stalks
- 3 tablespoon fresh sage chopped
- 2 tablespoon fresh thyme chopped
- ½ cup fresh parsley chopped
- 1 large egg
- 1 ½ cups chicken broth
- 1 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Cube the bread. Cut or tear the sourdough into 1-inch cubes.
- Toast the bread. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Put the bread cubes on a rimmed baking sheet or in the dish you are going to bake the stuffing in, and toast for about 15-20 minutes.
- Cook the onion, shallot, garlic, and celery. While the bread toasts, melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Once melted, add the onion, shallot, garlic, and celery. Cook, stirring occasionally, until all are softened - about 10 minutes.
- Add the herbs. To the cooked vegetables add the fresh sage, thyme and parsley - cook for another 2 minutes to bloom their flavors. Set the mixture aside and let it cool slightly to room temperature.
- Whisk the egg and stock. In a large mixing bowl whisk together the egg and chicken stock.
- Add the herb mixture and parmesan. To the egg mixture whisk in the herb mixture, parmesan cheese, kosher salt and pepper.
- Toss with the bread and transfer to a baking dish. Add the toasted cubed bread to the bowl and toss to combine well. All of the bread should be saturated, with a little additional liquid left at the bottom of the bowl. Transfer to your baking dish.
- Bake. Bake in a preheated 375°F covered for 30 minutes and uncovered for an additional 30 minutes until deeply golden brown.
