19 Turkey Stuffing Recipes for Thanksgiving—or Any Time of Year

There’s so much to love about the holiday season—especially when it comes to the delicious dishes on the table. You and your loved ones might even pull out recipes that you don’t make during any other time of year—which usually means that they’re worth the wait. Turkey and stuffing are among the favorite dishes during the weeks surrounding Thanksgiving and Christmas. For many people, nothing says “holiday season” quite like a table set with a perfectly roasted bird and some sort of stuffing, either in or out of the turkey. There are many ways to approach stuffing recipes, and many families have their go-to recipes for classic stuffing, sausage stuffing, bread stuffing, sausage stuffing, oyster stuffing… the list goes on. 

But if you’re new to making the dish, or if you’re simply in the market for a new recipe for stuffing to mix things up, you’ve come to the right place. Read on for a roundup of mouth-watering recipes for all kinds of stuffing to serve on a holiday. Or any day!

Bread Stuffing Recipes

Also known as bread filling or bread dressing, bread stuffing is perhaps the most popular type of stuffing. Here are a few recipes and recipe variations to consider when you’re planning your next festive meal. 

1. Buttery Herb Stuffing

This recipe from How Sweet Eats makes a pretty classic stuffing. All you need to prepare it is bread, onion, celery, eggs, vegetable stock, butter, and some seasonal aromatics. Bake it in a casserole dish or stuff it in your turkey. Either way, its simplicity will take you right back to your most memorable meals. 

2. Stuffing With Homemade Broth

Many stuffing recipes call for broth, and buying vegetable, turkey, or chicken broth from the store can certainly help you make a delicious finished product. But if you want to take your bread stuffing to the next level, take a page out of The Kitchn’s book and make a batch of homemade broth. 

To do so, boil a cooked turkey carcass with the meat removed, two large onions, four stalks of celery, four large carrots, one teaspoon of whole black peppercorns, and a few sprigs of parsley or thyme in a large stock pot for about three hours. What you’re left with after you’ve strained the contents of the pot is delicious homemade turkey broth that will elevate your simple bread stuffing.

3. French Bread Stuffing

According to Averie Cooks, the key to the perfect classic bread stuffing is using French bread. This recipe calls for you to cut one pound of day-old white French bread into ½-inch cubes. You can even cut the bread into cubes and let those cubes sit overnight. When the bread is just a touch on the stale side, it will better absorb the flavors of the other ingredients without getting mushy. 

4. Two-Bread Stuffing

Corn bread stuffing is a category all its own (more on that below!), but in the meantime, consider this idea from Food & Wine: a recipe that incorporates both corn bread and day-old white sandwich bread loaves. This stuffing represents the blending of multiple traditions and flavor palettes, and it’s bound to be a hit at any table. 

Corn Bread Stuffing Recipes

Are you looking for a recipe that puts a little spin on simple bread stuffing? Corn bread stuffing might be your new best friend. If you love the texture of a classic bread stuffing but want a twist on those classic flavors, give one of these recipes a go. 

5. Southern Corn Bread Stuffing 

Corn bread stuffing is known as a very Southern dish, so if you want the authentic experience, it’s best to go with a recipe from the experts. This one from Dinner at the Zoo incorporates  honey corn bread and stale white bread and is recommended to be eaten with creamed corn and brussels sprouts. It’s a taste of the South that you can enjoy no matter where you live. 

6. Corn Bread Stuffing With Sausage and Apples 

There’s a lot more sausage stuffing coming your way, but in the meantime, this recipe from Well Plated by Erin combines two beloved stuffing ingredients: corn bread and sausage. The marriage of the two offers a perfect crumbly texture and a flavor that walks the line between sweet and savory. Granny Smith apples help brighten this dish up even further. 

7. Corn Bread and Salami Dressing

This recipe from Bon Appétit mixes two unexpected items: corn bread and salami! In this case, the sum really is greater than its parts because the blending of these flavors is unlike anything you’ve ever sampled before. Unlike many other dressing recipes, this one is eggless, which will also give you a unique texture. 

8. Corn Bread Stuffing With Bacon and Greens 

While we’re mixing corn bread with other savory bites to make dressing, you might want to give this take on corn bread dressing from Food & Wine a go. This recipe calls for kale and lean, thick-cut bacon and will appeal to veggie lovers, meat lovers, and everyone in between. 

9. Corn Bread Stuffing With Apples and Pecans 

Families who love their stuffing on the sweeter side will flip for this recipe from Mom 4 Real. Apples and pecans add the perfect extra something to an already delicious autumn dish. 

Meat Stuffing Recipes

Meat eaters, fear not! There are plenty of meat stuffing recipes out there that will satisfy your savory cravings on Thanksgiving and beyond. 

10. Beef Stuffing With Apples and Cranberries 

Cranberries are one of the best flavors of the holiday season. If you haven’t tried them in your stuffing yet, you should probably add this recipe to your “to make” list… especially because it’s also made with ground beef. Aromatics, leeks, beef broth, and Granny Smith apples round out the (incredible) ingredient list. 

11. Three Meat Stuffing 

Beef and pork and Italian sausage… oh my! This meat stuffing from Cooking Channel will be a major crowd pleaser if there are a lot of carnivores among your loved ones. Other unique ingredients include steak sauce, raisins, apple cider vinegar, and pimento-stuffed olives. There’s a flavor for everyone in this stuffing. 

12. Mexican Turkey Stuffing

Mexican Food Journal offers up a meaty recipe featuring ground beef, ground pork, bacon, and hot dogs, as well as pecans, almonds, raisins, and pitted prunes. Rather than baking it in a casserole dish or inside your turkey, you’ll make this dressing on the stovetop, which can help free up valuable oven space on a busy day in the kitchen. 

Master the Full Holiday Meal

Full American Holiday (Thanksgiving) Feast 

Take the Class

Sausage Stuffing Recipes 

Sausage has already popped up in a few of the stuffing recipes listed above, but it’s really the star of the show in these dishes.

13. Classic Sage and Sausage Stuffing

There’s nothing like a classic, and if you prefer to keep things pretty basic with your recipes, this sage and sausage stuffing from Serious Eats will be right at home on your table. This recipe calls for high-quality sandwich bread or soft Italian or French bread, sage sausage removed from its casing, and a handful of other basic stuffing ingredients. 

14. Skillet Sausage Stuffing 

Keep things simple this season by mixing pork sausage with store-bought stuffing mix. There’s no shame in that game! This recipe from Taste of Home tells you everything you need to know about how to give basic stuffing mix a meaty pick-me-up. 

15. Apple Sausage Stuffing 

Gala, honeycrisp, or pink lady apples serve as a delicious flavor counterpoint to pork sausage in this recipe from The Kitchn. Aromatics and dry white wine further develop the dish’s deliciousness. And while you can technically use any bread you’d like, the recipe suggests sourdough, which is a good twist on many classic recipes, too. 

16. Sausage Pear Stuffing 

You’ve seen a lot of apples in this list so far, but other fruits have a place in stuffing as well. Firm pears like Bosc or Anjou add that extra dimension to Martha Stewart’s sausage stuffing. Pears will hold up well in the baking process and pair nicely with day-old rustic bread. Bake in a casserole dish or stuffed inside your turkey!

Oyster Stuffing Recipes

As you can probably gather, the key ingredient in oyster stuffing is oysters! If you’ve never tasted oyster stuffing, the most important thing to know is that, surprisingly, it doesn’t taste fishy. Oysters simply lend a subtle seafood flavor to your stuffing or dressing. If that sounds appealing, any of these recipes will fit the bill. 

17. Traditional New England Oyster Stuffing 

Oyster stuffing has deep roots all over the East coast, but it’s historically been especially popular in New England. This recipe from Wide Open Eats will help you prepare oyster dressing in a very classic way. You’ll mix white bread with bacon, one cup of shucked oysters, and various vegetables and herbs. Be warned, though: You might just be hooked on oyster stuffing forever! 

18. Oyster Stuffing With Bacon and Herbs

Sliced bacon and thyme, sage, and parsley complement 18 shucked oysters in this take on oyster dressing from Epicurious. You can prepare most of this recipe two days ahead of time, as long as you add in the oysters just before baking. 

19. New Orleans Oyster Dressing 

Emeril Lagasse is famous for all things Louisiana, and his oyster dressing recipe is no exception. It incorporates Creole seasoning and hot pepper sauce with other typical elements of an oyster stuffing. Bam! 

Choose Your Own Stuffing Adventure! 

As you can see, there are so many ways to enjoy stuffing this holiday season—or any other season. Whether you call it “stuffing” or “dressing” and whether you prefer to make it on the stovetop, in the oven, or in the turkey itself, you’re about to have your fall comfort food cravings satisfied. Enjoy! 

Make Your Own Stuffing Recipe

Kitchen Confidence: Practical Tips for Cooking With Intuition

Take the Class