I love stuffing and my potato bread stuffing is one of the best I’ve ever had. It’s also one of the easiest side dishes you can make and will elevate a weeknight meal of roast chicken into a meal to remember!
Stuffing is the perfect side dish to compliment turkey or roast chicken. And I promise you’ll have lots of smiles around the dinner table when they see you’ve made stuffing for dinner!
As a kid I remember how much I looked forward to Thanksgiving, not only for the turkey but for the stuffing. It was one of the few times a year my father cooked, and the old man knew how to make stuffing! And in those wonderful days of yester-year, we cooked our stuffing inside the turkey and it was the best I’ve ever had.
But now we know why it was so good, it sucks a lot of the moisture (and flavor) out of the turkey. That’s why a stuffed turkey is often dry and overcooked. And the really bad news is, it puts us at risk for foodborne illness.
The longer it takes the turkey to reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees gives bacteria more time to multiply. And that means that uncle Sal (salmonella) might be paying you and your guests an unexpected holiday visit, which will definitely put a damper on the festivities.
Ingredients to make Potato Bread Stuffing
Let’s start by gathering the ingredients we need to make Potato Bread Stuffing. In Chef Speak this is called the Mise en Place which translates into Everything in its Place.
Not only does setting your ingredients up ahead of time speed the cooking process, but it also helps ensure you have everything you need to make the dish.
Do I have to use mushrooms in my stuffing?
No, you don’t. We love mushrooms and they blend really well in the stuffing mixture?
How to make Potato Bread Stuffing
It’s really pretty easy to make stuffing. With just a little prep and your homemade potato bread stuffing will be ready for the oven.
- The first step is slicing the mushrooms, then dicing the onions and celery.
- Melt the butter in a saucepan, then add the veggies.
- Cook the veggies for 3-4 minutes or until they are somewhat soft.
What else can I add to my stuffing?
These are some of the additions you can add to your stuffing.
- giblets
- sausage
- bacon
- fresh herbs
- raisins or craisins
- oysters
Cooking should be about what you enjoy eating and what your family enjoys. I won’t suggest experimenting at Thanksgiving, but trying different types of stuffing during the year will be a delicious way to try new flavors.
Do I have to use potato bread to make stuffing?
No, you don’t. You can use your favorite bread to make your stuffing. I do like using the bread cubes, it makes a more uniform stuffing and potato bread cubes are more like fresh bread. If you want a more rustic-looking stuffing use french bread or rolls and cut it up into irregularly shaped cubes.
**If you do use a stuffing like Pepperidge Farm, you may need more stock to reconstitute the dry cubes.
The next step in making our stuffing is to add the cooked celery, onions, mushrooms and all the liquid from the pan to the potato bread cubes. Next, mix the poultry seasoning into your stock and add the stock to the stuffing mixture, mix well.
**Don’t add all the stock, reserve half a cup, adding it only after checking the consistency of the stuffing. The stuffing mix should be wet, but not soggy!
Pour the stuffing into your baking pan. For this size recipe I used an 9 x 9 inch glass baking dish. Cover the pan with non-stick foil and bake at 350 degrees for 75-90 minutes. If you like a crispy top on your stuffing, remove the foil for the last 10 minutes of baking. I like my stuffing soft and moist so I don’t uncover my stuffing.
** Don’t use a baking pan that is too large. You don’t want a thin layer of stuffing, it should be 2+ inches deep.
I like my stuffing on the softer side, moist and flavorful. You should get a hint of butter and a light taste of poultry seasoning. The idea is to get all the ingredients working together, none overpowering the others.
My basic recipe is for a 10-12 pound turkey. For a 20-pound turkey, I make 3 times my basic recipe so I have plenty of leftovers!
More Recipes You’ll Love!
Potato Bread Stuffing
Ingredients
- 12 ounces potato bread cubes
- 4 ounces butter
- ½ medium onion diced
- 3 stalks celery diced
- 8 ounces mushrooms sliced (optional)
- 3 cups chicken stock more or less as needed
- 1½ teaspoons poultry seasoning more or less to your taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
- Dice celery and onion. Slice mushrooms.
- melt butter in a saucepan add prepared veggies into the pan and cook for 3-4 minutes or until the veggies are soft.
- Place the potato bread cubes (or bread of your choice) into a large mixing bowl. Add the cooked veggies, including all the liquid from the pan into the bowl with the bread cubes.Add the stock, reserving half a cup, and mix well. Your stuffing mix may need more or less stock, it should be wet but not soggy. Use more or less stock as needed. **You can use vegetable or turkey stock instead of chicken stock.
- Place the stuffing into your baking dish or casserole. Cover with non-stick foil and bake at 350 degrees for 75-90 minutes. If you want a crispy top, uncover the stuffing for the last 10 minutes of baking.I used a 9 x 9 inch baking pan. You don't want the stuffing to be too thin, it should be 2+ inches thick.
- Serve and enjoy!
Lynn says
We love this stuffing. The only thing that I change is the poultry seasoning. My husband is allergic to sage, so I substitute Savory, thyme and parsley and it works just fine. Its one of the few times or places that he can enjoy stuffing knowing that there isn’t any sage in it. Sometimes I add a little tarragon for fun. Thanks for your recipes, they are so good and even the fancy ones are easy with your instructions.
Chef Dennis Littley says
You’re very welcome Lynn! I’m happy to hear you tweaked the recipe to your tastes, thats what cooking is all about. Recipes are guidelines.
Jeanie Berlew says
Can’t wait to make this. I know my friends will love it. Your recipes are easy and fabulous.
Steve says
Do you dry out your potato bread cubes or use stale cubes or do you use them as is? I can’t wait to try the recipe but was afraid the bread might dissolve if fresh bread is used.
Chef Dennis Littley says
I don’t dry them out, I actually buy bags of potato bread cubes, which aren’t dry but have had time for the edges to slightly dry. You can also cut bread slices into cubes. Don’t try to cut to many slices at a time if you use bread as the pressure will smush them. And you don’t have to seriously dry them out but you can pop them in a 225 degree oven for 10 -15 minutes or let them sit out on a tray for 4-5 hours. They don’t have to be crisp like some stuffing mixes, just slightly dry.