Traditional Classic Bread Stuffing Recipe (2024)

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.