Classic Stuffing Recipe with Baon (2024)

This TRADITIONAL STUFFING RECIPE is loaded with crispy fried bacon, plenty of veggies, and loads of herbs. It’s sure to be a favorite at Thanksgiving with the crispy top, moist center, and classic flavor.

Classic Stuffing Recipe with Baon (1)

I have a confession, guys.

I’m a lying liar who lies.

This recipe is actually for dressing, but every single person I know calls dressing stuffing. Do you know the difference?

Stuffing is actually stuffed inside of a turkey. Dressing is baked in a casserole dish alongside the turkey (or alongside whatever you want).

See? I called this recipe stuffing, but actually it’s dressing and that makes me a liar.

Forgive me?

Table of Contents

What Readers are Saying!

“I love your explanation of stuffing and dressing. Very clear. Bacon in this dressing is probably going to make this everyone’s favorite dressing recipe!” -Carol

The good news is that it really doesn’t matter what you call it, this is goooooood stuff. I have a favorite sausage dressing recipe that I make every single year for Thanksgiving and Christmas, but my mama doesn’t like sausage and so she never eats it. It makes me all sad, because it is seriously amazing stuff and she’s missing out.

I was dreaming about my sausage dressing the other day when I had an epiphany. A bacon epiphany. They’re both pork, they’re both delicious and fatty, I could totally swap one for the other.

And I did and it was glorious.

Classic Stuffing Recipe with Baon (2)

I ended up changing the recipe quite a bit from our grandpa’s sausage version – this is more of a traditional stuffing recipe with loads of herbs, crusty French bread, and plenty of bacon.

So tell me…what does your family make every year? Dressing or stuffing? Inquiring minds want to know!

How to make bacon stuffing:

Chop up about a pound of French bread and toss it on a baking sheet. You’ll want to toast this in a warm oven for about 10 minutes to dry it out. This will help the bread soak up all the delicious liquid and seasonings.

Classic Stuffing Recipe with Baon (3)

While the bread is toasting, dice your bacon and cook it over medium heat until it’s just starting to crisp up around the edges.

Add onion and celery to the pan and cook for five minutes or until they soften up. Be sure to stir this fairly often.

Add your bread to a large mixing bowl and pour the bacon and veggies (and grease – don’t you dare drain that grease!) right on top. Sprinkle in your herbs, poultry seasoning, and spices. Top with chicken broth.

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Our secret ingredient here is cream of chicken soup. We love the way it makes the stuffing a bit creamy – it gives it a great texture! If you don’t want to use the canned stuff, use my substitute for cream of chicken soup.

Stir this up and pour into a 2-3quart dish (we use an oval dish, but a 9×9 would work well, too) pan and cover with foil. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to let the liquid soak into the bread.

Bake for 30 minutes and then remove the foil and bake for 30 minutes more.

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Reasons To Love This Recipe:

First of all, it has bacon. That’s enough for most of us to love it right there.

Beyond that, we love the use of French bread instead of the bag of stuffing cubes or the white bread that our sausage dressing uses. It feels a little fancier too!

There are loads of herbs and seasonings in here, from fresh parsley to dried sage and rosemary, to poultry seasoning. Big flavors all the way around!

This recipe is very simple and easy to customize. Add in some dried cranberries or chopped apples. Swap the bacon for sausage. Use whatever mix of herbs you like best.

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Thanksgiving dinner menu

  • Air Fryer Turkey Breast
  • Canned Sweet Potato Casserole
  • Broccoli Cheese Casserole
  • Cheesy Hashbrown Casserole
  • Green Bean Casserole with Bacon
  • Jiffy Corn Casserole
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thanksgiving desserts

  • Pumpkin Pecan Pie
  • Pumpkin Crunch Cake
  • Apple Cobbler
  • Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars
  • Fresh Apple Cake
  • Sweet Potato Pie
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Classic Stuffing Recipe with Baon (9)

Recipe

Traditional Stuffing with Bacon

This stuffing recipe starts with crusty French bread, plenty of fried bacon, and loads of celery, onions, herbs, and spices. It's flavorful, easy, and perfect for a holiday dinner.

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Prep30 minutes minutes

Cook1 hour hour

Total1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Serves 8 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 pound French bread
  • 8 slices bacon diced
  • 1 medium sweet onion chopped
  • 2 stalks celery chopped
  • 10 ounces cream of chicken soup
  • ¾ cup chicken broth plus more as needed
  • ¼ cup fresh minced parsley
  • 2 teaspoons dried sage
  • 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
  • 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon pepper

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 200 degrees.

  • Cut bread into small cubes and place on a baking sheet in the oven for 10 minutes to dry out a bit.

  • While the bread is in the oven, fry the bacon in a large skillet over medium heat.

  • When bacon is beginning to crisp around the edges, add the onion and celery and continue cooking until bacon is cooked and vegetables have softened.

  • Place the bread cubes in a large bowl and increase the oven to 350 degrees.

  • Pour the bacon and vegetables over the bread – do not drain the grease.

  • Add the cream of chicken soup, chicken broth, and remaining ingredients to the bowl.

  • Stir well to combine. Add additional chicken broth if needed to reach the level of moistness you prefer in stuffing.

  • Spread stuffing into a buttered 2-3 quart baking dish and top with foil.

  • Bake for 30 minutes, and then remove the foil and continue baking for 30 more minutes.

Tips & Notes:

We don’t like our stuffing to be overly wet, so we usually stick to around 3/4-1 cup of chicken broth. Add more if you like an extra moist stuffing.

You may swap the cream of chicken for cream of mushroom soup, if preferred.

Nutrition Information:

Calories: 306kcal (15%)| Carbohydrates: 39g (13%)| Protein: 11g (22%)| Fat: 12g (18%)| Saturated Fat: 4g (25%)| Cholesterol: 17mg (6%)| Sodium: 1069mg (46%)| Potassium: 237mg (7%)| Fiber: 2g (8%)| Sugar: 4g (4%)| Vitamin A: 282IU (6%)| Vitamin C: 6mg (7%)| Calcium: 49mg (5%)| Iron: 3mg (17%)

Author: Karly Campbell

Course:Side Dish

Cuisine:American

Keyword:easy side dish recipes, easy Thanksgiving recipes, holiday recipes

Did You Make This?Tag Us On Instagram

This post was originally published in November 2014. It was updated with a new (improved!) recipe and photos in November 2020. Original photo below.

Classic Stuffing Recipe with Baon (10)
Classic Stuffing Recipe with Baon (2024)

FAQs

What does adding egg to stuffing do? ›

Eggs: Two lightly beaten eggs help hold the dressing together and add moisture.

In what did recipes did people originally use stuffing? ›

The earliest documentary evidence is the Roman cookbook, Apicius De Re Coquinaria, which contains recipes for stuffed chicken, dormouse, hare, and pig. Most of the stuffings described consist of vegetables, herbs and spices, nuts, and spelt (a cereal), and frequently contain chopped liver, brains, and other organ meat.

Is it okay to make stuffing a day ahead of time? ›

The short answer to whether you can making stuffing ahead of time is yes.

Is white or brown bread better for stuffing? ›

You can use any kind; store-bought white bread works well and would probably be my #1 suggestion for stuffing. You could also try using cut up dinner rolls, sourdough bread (actually this would be my personal first pick), challah, or anything else you want to experiment with.

What is traditional stuffing made of? ›

Classic stuffing made with bread cubes, seasonings, and held together with chicken stock and eggs. A holiday staple!

What can you use as a binder instead of eggs in stuffing? ›

16 egg substitutes
  1. Mashed banana. Mashed banana can act as a binding agent when baking or making pancake batter. ...
  2. Applesauce. Applesauce can also act as a binding agent. ...
  3. Fruit puree. Fruit puree will help bind a recipe in a similar way to applesauce. ...
  4. Avocado. ...
  5. Gelatin. ...
  6. Xanthan gum. ...
  7. Vegetable oil and baking powder. ...
  8. Margarine.
Mar 30, 2021

What is turkey stuffing made of? ›

Stuffing most often uses dried bread, herbs, and vegetables that are reconstituted with liquid, stuffed into the turkey cavity, and baked until it is firm and finished cooking. In addition, stuffing can also be cooked separately in a casserole dish in the oven, which would then be considered dressing.

What is Christmas stuffing made of? ›

Easy stuffing

Starting with dried sourdough bread, celery, onion, parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme, chicken broth and eggs. A whole stick of butter goes in the pan adding onions, herbs and garlic (sausage is optional). Eggs combine everything together before going in the oven on a baking dish.

Why is it called dressing in the south? ›

But for the Thanksgiving side dish in the South, the term dressing was adopted in place of stuffing, which was viewed as a crude term, during the Victorian era. Although dressing and stuffing are interchangeable terms, the signature ingredient of this Thanksgiving side dish in the South is cornbread.

Can you use week old bread for stuffing? ›

In fact, using stale bread and fresh bread will both leave you with equal amounts of mush. The longstanding tip to use old, stale bread for the perfect stuffing is actually a myth. Letting bread go stale doesn't actually dry it out. After sitting out on your counter, bread goes through the process of retrogradation.

Why can't you refrigerate uncooked stuffing? ›

USDA recommends that you never refrigerate uncooked stuffing. Why? Remember, stuffing can harbor bacteria, and though bacteria grow slower in the refrigerator they can cause problems because stuffing is a good medium for bacteria growth, therefore a higher risk food in terms of cooking safely.

Why does stuffing go bad so fast? ›

If turkey, stuffing, or gravy is left out at room temperature (40 to 140°F) for over 2 hours it may no longer be safe to eat. Bacteria prospers at this temperature, increasing the risk of foodborne illness. When stored properly in a refrigerator, turkey leftovers generally stay good for 3 to 4 days.

What makes stuffing unhealthy? ›

Stuffing is not strictly a healthy food, because it is typically high in calories, fat, sodium, and refined carbohydrates. 1 But that doesn't mean you can't enjoy it, All foods can fit into a healthy diet in moderation.

Is stuffing better with or without eggs? ›

It's a matter of preference, but adding a beaten egg to your stuffing mixture acts as a binder and keeps the bread moist.

Does bread have to be toasted for stuffing? ›

Follow this tip: Stale, dried-out bread makes the best stuffing. Either dry out your bread starting a few days before you plan to make the stuffing by letting it sit out or, if you don't have the extra time, cut the bread into cubes, and then toast over a low heat in the oven until dry.

Why use an egg as a thickener? ›

Creamy desserts such as crème brûlée also benefit from eggs' ability to emulsify and produce smooth, satiny, hom*ogeneous mixtures. Their ability to hold up to four times their weight in moisture makes eggs a good thickener for sauces, custards and curds. The proteins in eggs coagulate or set at different temperatures.

How do you keep stuffing moist when cooking? ›

Typically, baking the stuffing inside the bird helps keep the mixture moist. “I prefer stuffing (in the bird) to dressing (outside of the bird) because all those delicious drippings that come off the turkey gets absorbed right into the stuffing,” Bamford says.

Why do people add eggs to everything? ›

Not only do eggs add an element of creamy indulgence, there's even some science behind their joy. “Eggs are a perfect emulsifier and binder so work really well to make many dishes cohesive,” she continues.

References

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