When a young boy at the supermarket check-out asked me why I was buying stuffing mix “…because it’s sooo easy to make your own” I knew I had to get my act together – and make my own!
He was right of course, it is easy to make – and much tastier than the kind that comes in a cardboard box.
And what would Christmas dinner be without Cranberry Sauce – and don’t forget about Christmas Pudding.
I prefer to cook stuffing in a baking dish and serve alongside the turkey, but traditionally it’s stuffed into the turkey cavity.
My turkey stuffing recipe will fill the cavity of a small turkey (or large chicken). If your turkey is medium sized, double the recipe. If your turkey is a whopper, triple it!
You can always put any left-over stuffing into an oven-proof dish and serve on the side as extra.
Here goes:
Turkey Stuffing Recipe – Ingredients
- 5-6 bread crusts (or bread slices)
- Half an onion, roughly chopped
- Half stick of celery, roughly chopped
- 3 or 4 tablespoons oil (I use olive oil)
- Another half an onion, finely sliced and diced
- Another half stick of celery, finely sliced and diced
- Quarter teaspoon ground sage
- Half cup (4 fl oz / 125 ml) chicken or turkey stock (or use water and a chicken stock cube)
Turkey Stuffing Recipe – Method
- Put the bread crusts, half chopped onion and half stick of chopped celery into a food processor and whizz until crumbly
- Heat the oil in a fry pan and add the extra half onion and half celery stick – fry for a minute of two
- Add the sage and stir for another minute
- Add the bread mix and stir for another minute
- Add the stock and stir to combine – the bread will quickly absorb the liquid
- You’re almost done – either fill the bird cavity, or put the stuffing into an oven proof dish that has a lid (my preferred option)
- Your stuffed turkey is now ready to cook
- If you go for the oven proof dish option, it will need about 30 minutes in the oven – take the lid off in the last 10 minutes of cooking so the stuffing goes nice and crispy on top
Variations and Handy Hints
- If you read my recipes regularly, you’ll know I hardly ever use salt. You have my blessing to add salt to this recipe – if you really must!
- If you’re using a chicken stock cube, remember they are usually quite salty anyway
- If you’re not keen on celery, just leave it out
- Adding a couple of slices of chopped crispy bacon is a tasty option
- Adding fresh or dried cranberries would also be a yummy addition – perfect for Christmas!
- If you don’t like chunky bits in the stuffing, just put all the onion and celery in the whizzer
- When the bread mix absorbs the liquid it should hold together quite well – a bit like burger mix
- If it runs off the spoon, it’s too wet – add more bread crumbs
- If it easily falls apart and is still crumbly, it’s too dry – add more liquid
- You can experiment with different herbs and spices
- Sage on it’s own is nice – but you can try adding a quarter teaspoon of dried oregano or thyme
- Parsley and thyme go well together too
- By all means use fresh herbs if you have them
Give my turkey stuffing recipe a try this Christmas – and proudly walk past the cardboard box varieties next time you’re in the supermarket.
Thank you supermarket check-out boy, for enlightening me a few years ago 🙂
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Jan Littlehales
You might also enjoy:
Comprehensive guide to Turkey stuffing in good time for Christmas. Many people have no stuffing in turkey or chicken simply as they have never been shown.
Hi John,
You’re right – and some people do what I did for years – stuffing out of a cardboard box! 🙂
Hi Jan,
The family Christmas dinner is one of my favourite meals of the entire year. Nothing tastes as good as a home cooked feast. 🙂
Thanks for a new stuffing recipe to try out. I was just wondering if it would be okay to add cranberries to this recipe?
Hi Jazz,
Great idea – cranberries would be a great addition. I’ll include that in my post as a variation, if you don’t mind 🙂
I’m with you, nothing tastes as good as a home cooked Christmas dinner – I can hardly wait!
Hi Jan,
Awesome! I love cranberries so it will be great to have them in the stuffing. That way it will tie in nicely with my cranberry sauce on the side. 🙂
We usually make our own stuffing because our boys cant have packet food – what a great stuffing recipe! Will be trying this one for our xmas dinner!
Cheers
Lisa
Hope you enjoy it Lisa.
…and Jazz’s suggestion of adding cranberries is a great idea – fresh or dried would work.
Hi Jan,
You sure do have alot of recipes. Similar to the others this one looks tasty as well. Would love to give it a go one day. Thank you for sharing this.
Kind regards,
Wilson
Thanks Wilson,
Next time you’re having roast turkey or chicken, give it a go. It’s very easy and adds a little extra 🙂