Old Fashioned Bread, Celery And Sage Turkey Stuffing (Or Dressing) (2024)

This old fashioned turkey stuffing made with celery, sage and bread is a traditional turkey dressing recipe that tastes just like Grandma used to make.

There is nothing like a fabulous roasted turkey with this traditional turkey stuffing and some roasting pan gravy to make your Thanksgiving dinner a big hit.

I have to admit…a lot of my friends think I’m crazy. But I actually love hosting Thanksgiving dinner.

Since I grew up in Canada but now live in the States, I get to celebrate it twice! Once in October for Canadian Thanksgiving and once in November for American Thanksgiving.

Even if I don’t get to go to Canada for the first one, I still make a Thanksgiving turkey dinner with all of the trimmings for whatever friends want to come over.

Traditional Turkey Stuffing (Or Dressing)

One of the recipes that is always a big hit is this old fashioned bread stuffing.

In Canada, we always cook stuffing in the turkey cavity.

But for my American friends from the south, it’s cooked in a baking dish outside of the turkey. And called dressing instead of stuffing.

Luckily, this recipe works well either way you want to cook it.

The other benefit of this recipe?

It makes enough to stuff an 18 pound turkey.

So unless you are having an army for dinner you will probably have some leftovers. And it tastes great on hot turkey sandwiches the next day.

Ingredients

Here’s the shopping list for this old fashioned celery and sage turkey dressing recipe:

• Bread – about 2 loaves of bread (depending on the size of the loaf). I like to use whole wheat bread for this, but white bread or any other type of bread will work. Stale bread works just as well as fresh, so if you happen to have any old loaves hanging around, this is a great way to use them up.
• Dairy – 1½ sticks (or ¾ cup) of butter
• Vegetables – 4 celery stalks (enough for 2 cups chopped), 4 medium-sized cooking onions (enough for 2½ cups chopped)
• Spices– (all dried) 2 Tablespoons parsley, 4 teaspoons sage, 1¼ teaspoons savory, 1 teaspoon marjoram, ½ teaspoon thyme
• Seasoning – 2 teaspoons salt, 1 teaspoon pepper
• (Optional) Chicken stock– you’ll need about ½ cup of this if making dressing in a dish outside the turkey.

Substitutions

• To make the recipe gluten free, substitute gluten-free bread for the regular bread. If you’re baking it, you may need to add a little extra chicken broth since the gluten-free bread tends to be drier.

Equipment

• bread knife
• Large bowl – big enough to hold 14 cups of bread with enough room to stir
• chopping knife or food processor
• Saute pan or large skillet
• (Optional) Baking dish – only required if you are cooking the stuffing outside the turkey

How To Make Turkey Stuffing

Prep Work

The first step to making this traditional turkey stuffing recipe is to chop the bread.

You’ll need about 14 cups of bread that has been chopped into 1/2″ cubes. It takes about 2 loaves of bread to make this many cubes (although that does depend on the size of the loaf). This is a great way to use up any old bread you have hanging around, since stale bread works just as well as fresh.

I like to stack 4 or 5 slices of bread on top of each other and cut through them all at once with a bread knife. It makes the chopping go a lot faster.

Put the bread in a large bowl and set aside.

Chop the onions. I like to use a food processor for this. It makes the chopping go faster and if you have a slicing attachment, it’ll do the celery, too.

Chop the celery into slices that are about 1/8″ thick.

Cook the vegetables

Melt the butter in the saute pan over low heat.

Add 2 cups chopped onions, 2½ cups chopped celery, and all of the spices and seasonings (parsley, sage, savory, marjoram, thyme, salt and pepper) to the butter and stir.

Cook until the onions and celery are soft, stirring occasionally, 10 to 15 minutes.

If you’re in a hurry, you can increase the temperature to medium heat and cook for 5 to 7 minutes. Just make sure to stir frequently to ensure the butter doesn’t burn.

Mix the stuffing

Add the cooked onion mixture into the cubed bread in the large bowl.

Stir until the bread is coated with butter and spices.

And that’s it. You’re ready to stuff your turkey!

How to stuff a turkey

Fill the cavity at the back of the turkey.

I find it easiest to turn the turkey upside down to do this.

Then fold the extra flap of skin down to cover the stuffing. You can stake it closed if you want to make sure it stays closed.

Then turn the turkey over and fill the main cavity with the stuffing.

To prevent the stuffing from getting too dried out, cover it with an extra piece of bread while cooking.

How to cook turkey dressing

If you are making turkey dressing in a baking dish, add about 1/2 cup of chicken broth to moisten the mixture a bit more.

Then put it in a casserole dish and bake in the oven for 30 to 45 minutes at 325℉.

Other Holiday Recipes You Might Like

• How To Roast A Turkey
• Decadent Southern Slow Cooker Sweet Potato Casserole {Gluten-Free}
• Apple Cheese Skillet Cornbread
• Pumpkin Spice Cake (From Scratch) With Ginger Cream Cheese Icing

Have comments or questions about our old fashioned celery and sage turkey stuffing recipe? Tell us in the section below.