Dressing is a classic staple of a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. It’s hearty, delicious, and surprisingly simple to make. But…did you know there is a difference between stuffing and dressing? Stuffing goes in the bird, dressing is served on the side in a casserole dish.

What’s the difference between Dressing and Stuffing?

Thanksgiving dressing is a mixture of dried cubed bread, savory herbs, and chopped vegetables tossed in a broth/egg/butter mixture. Often times it includes browned sausage but can include other sweet and savory options as well, including cranberries and apples.

Stuffing is quite literally, stuffed in a bird’s cavity. Dressing is served as a standalone dish, normally in a baking dish. We prefer dressing to stuffing. The most important part to making proper dressing is to make sure you leave your bread out long enough to really get dried out- this will help it soak up that delicious savory egg & chicken broth liquid.

Day Old Bread Makes for the Best Dressing

We used a loaf of French bread from our local grocery store and cubed it. You want stale bread for dressing. The staler the bread, the more flavor the bread absorbs!

To get your bread totally dry, leave it out for a day or two on a wire rack, which will allow air to circulate all the way through it. You want it to crunch like a dried up crouton. If you don’t have time to dry our your bread, place it on a sheet pan in a 200 degree oven until it is dried out. Check it often, though…You don’t want it to get too toasty.

Making Thanksgiving Dressing

This is a really simple dish to make. I love this version because it’s the same recipe my mom and grandma have used forever. It is what I think of when I think of Thanksgiving! It smells like home.

Once you got yourself a big ole crunchy pile of cubed bread, it’s time to brown the Italian sausage.
Then add in celery, onion, and butter along with the fresh herbs. The fresh herbs make all the difference with this recipe!
Once the onion is translucent, remove from heat.
Add the bread to a bowl, with the skillet of onion/celery/sausage/butter, and pour a mixture of eggs & chicken stock over it.
Give it a good toss, ensuring the bread really soaks up the liquid evenly throughout all pieces.

Baking the Dressing

Once fully mixed, pour it into a greased casserole dish and bake. I recommend a 9×13 that is at least 2.5 inches deep.

Make Ahead Dressing

You can actually assemble this a day ahead of time if you like. Just cover the casserole dish with plastic wrap in the refrigerator until you’re ready to bake it.

Baking, Serving, & Storing Dressing

Bake covered with foil for about 30 minutes. Then, remove the foil and bake again until golden brown and enjoy. I encourage taste testing to make sure the center is fully cooked.
I like to serve this right in the casserole dish, buffet style. You can transfer it to a slow cooker on warm if you want to wait to serve it as well.
If you have leftovers, simply store them in a lidded container for up to 4 days. Reheat in 30 second increments on medium heat in the microwave.

Variations of Dressing

You can customize dressing with a ton of different flavors.

- Add cubed apples; we like Granny Smith for their tartness with the bread.
- Add raisins (sounds weird, tastes great!).
- Butternut squash; even roast it with some cinnamon beforehand for a unique twist.
- Use cornbread instead of traditional French bread.
- Feeling fancy? Add carmelized onions and goat cheese for a gourmet spin.
- Saute mushrooms with garlic and 1 tbsp olive oil and add them to your mixture for a hearty flavor.
- Did you know oysters in dressing is a tradition for some?
  - Add 1 tablespoon Old Bay instead of sage; add 1/4 cup dry white wine and 1/2 cup oyster juice, use remaining chicken broth. Toss in 1 pound shucked oysters with the bread.
- Make it Italian! Use Foccacia bread, add sun-dried tomatoes, globs of mozzarella, and some pesto drizzled into your broth mixture.

More Traditional Thanksgiving Recipes:

Cheers to happy holidays!

Rachel