I’ve never made stuffing/dressing from scratch before but wanted to try it out this past Thanksgiving. I came across this “Simple is Best” recipe from epicurious.com and knew from the reviews it would be a hit. Based on some reader comments, I added sausage for extra flavor and mixed in some Ciabatta for texture. I was so happy to hear that family and friends really enjoyed it, even those that do not usually like stuffing/dressing. You must try this for your Christmas dinner this week! This tastes best when you pre-make it the day before so plan ahead!
-Melanie
Health tips: Cheat recipe
Ingredients (8-10 servings)
- 1 lb. (16 oz.) Jimmy Dean breakfast sausage package (regular or hot)
- 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, plus more for baking dish
- 1 lb. good-quality white, sourdough and/or Ciabatta bread, cut into 3/4-1″ pieces (about 5 cups)
- 2 1/2 cups chopped yellow onions
- 1 1/2 cups 1/4″ sliced celery
- 1/2 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth, divided
- 1 large egg
Steps
- Preheat oven to 250°F. Butter a 13x9x2″ baking dish and set aside. Scatter bread in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake, stirring occasionally, until dried out, about 1 hour. Remove from oven and let cool; transfer to a very large bowl. Raise oven temperature to 350°F.
- Meanwhile, cook sausage in a large skillet over medium heat until browned and cooked through. Break up into smaller pieces with a wooden spatula while cooking. Add to the bread bowl.
- Melt 3/4 cup butter in the same large skillet over medium heat; add onions and celery. Stir often until just beginning to brown, about 10 minutes. Add to the bowl with bread and sausage; stir in herbs, salt, and pepper. Drizzle in 1 1/4 cups broth and toss gently. Let cool.
- Whisk 1 1/4 cups broth and egg in a small bowl. Add to bread mixture; fold gently until thoroughly combined. Transfer to prepared dish, cover with foil, and bake until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of dressing registers 160°F, about 40 minutes.
- Uncover the dish and let cool. Once cooled, put in fridge overnight to let flavors combine.
- The next day, take dressing out of the fridge an hour or so prior to baking to get to room temperature.
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake dressing, uncovered, until set and top is browned and crisp, 40-45 minutes longer (if chilled, add 10-15 minutes). Enjoy!