Traditional Classic Bread Stuffing Recipe
Last Updated on December 2, 2018 by Annie Bernauer
My favorite part of Thanksgiving dinner has always been the stuffing and that is because of this delicious traditional, classic bread stuffing recipe that has been passed down through the generations in my family. It is so simple and easy to make and so yummy! I’ve never been a fan of boxed stuffing or stuffing with fancy ingredients added in. Give me a simple, classic, basic bread stuffing and my taste buds are thrilled!
I remember the first time I made homemade stuffing on my own in college. I called my mom and had her give me the recipe over the phone. This is one of those classic family recipes she knows by heart and never had it written down. It was a pretty funny conversation with her trying to explain over the phone instead of in person what “a little of this and a little of that” should be in the recipe.
For the sake of sharing our family’s traditional classic bread stuffing recipe with you all, I made sure I have defined quantities written out in the recipe so you can replicate this deliciousness in your own kitchen!
This recipe uses bread cubes, which years ago I would buy from the bakery section in the grocery store. Then I realized that I was spending more money on a pre-cut loaf of bread so I shifted to buying a loaf of bread and chopping it into cubes myself. Then eventually I started consistently making homemade bread instead of buying it at the store. This allowed me to switch to making homemade stuffing with homemade bread. Now talk about delicious!! Here’s my favorite bread recipe that I make when baking bread to cube for our traditional bread stuffing.
My Family’s Traditional Classic Bread Stuffing Recipe
I use my food processor to chop the ingredients for this stuffing recipe (we have one like this and absolutely love it!) Using the food processor makes prep quick and easy.
Ingredients
8 cups cubed bread
1 large yellow onion
6 stalks of celery
1 bunch of fresh curly parsley
2 cups milk
6 Tablespoons butter
2 eggs, beaten
salt and pepper
Directions
Step 1: Thinly slice the celery, dice the onion and finely chop the parsley. This can all be done quickly and easily in a food processor.
Step 2: Put the bread cubes in a large mixing bowl. Stir in the celery, onion and parsley. Stir in the beaten eggs.
Step 3: Heat the milk and butter until the butter is melted but do not boil it. Stir until mixed.
Step 4: Pour the liquid over the bread mixture and mix well. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Step 5: Place the stuffing mixture in a large baking dish, cover it and bake at 350 degrees about one hour or until the stuffing is golden brown on top. Check the stuffing several times while baking and add a little water to keep it moist if needed.
Since our family has a tradition of baking our Thanksgiving dinner outdoors and off-grid, I always bake my stuffing outside in a dutch oven. If you want to give it a try, here’s our post on how to bake outdoors in a dutch oven.
Traditional Classic Bread Stuffing Recipe
Ingredients
- 8 cups cubed bread
- 1 large yellow onion
- 6 stalks celery
- 1 bunch fresh curly parsley
- 2 cups milk
- 6 TBS butter
- 2 eggs, beaten
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- Thinly slice the celery, dice the onion and finely chop the parsley. This can all be done quickly and easily in a food processor.
- Put the bread cubes in a large mixing bowl. Stir in the celery, onion and parsley. Stir in the beaten eggs.
- Heat the milk and butter until the butter is melted but do not boil it. Stir until mixed.
- Pour the liquid over the bread mixture and mix well. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Place the stuffing mixture in a large baking dish, cover it and bake at 350 degrees about one hour or until the stuffing is golden brown on top. Check the stuffing several times while baking and add a little water to keep it moist if needed.
Thank you for sharing your evolutionary experiences with us. This episode featuring bread stuffing reawakened memories from my past, …namely Thanksgiving.
My family is descended from Italian immigrants ,,,mt father’s famuily from the north near Austria & Slovenia, and my mother’s from the south near Naples. My grandparents had 6 children who created 20 grand children & we would always share holidays together (…that meant 30 people before guests, …who were usually another 5 on average, …so the little 2 story house on Gunther Avenue (in the Bronx, NY) was “stuffed” to the limit). And we always had a wonderful experience.
I went away to college in Indiana when I just turned 17, a distance of 750 miles from home, so I didn’t have the opportunity share Thanksgivings during my college years.
Consequently I clearly remember one bleak Thanksgiving day when I ate my turkey dinner alone as the only person (other than the attendant) at the dining counter of a Walgreen’s drugstore in Ft Wayne, IN. …And it was a 1 mile walk from the college to the Walgreen’s pharmacy, so it was an especiallly lonely holiday for me.
Since that time I have always celebrated Thanksgiving with a serious feast. When I later lived in CA I had a large house & 4 children who had many friends, …so we would frequently have 30-35 people over for dinner. Always a HUGE feast. …And stuffing was always a challenge since I didn’t realize (until more recently) that the best stuffing is simple …like your mother’s.
So that’s what I’ll be making to go along with our turkey.
Thank you. You have already brightened up my holiday.
Happy Thanksgiving.
Richard Schinella
Thank you for sharing those wonderful memories!