Look no further friends, I have THE BEST sourdough stuffing recipe for you. Filled with fresh herbs, wild mushrooms, and fennel. Delicious, easy, vegetarian, and can be made in advance.
There are two necessary dishes at Thanksgiving: stuffing and mashed potatoes. The way things are shaping up this year, we may just be having a very tiny Thanksgiving with only the essentials.
Roll with the punches, that's the theme of 2020 for me. So a mashed potato and stuffing Thanksgiving it is!
I will never be able to take over stuffing duty from my mother, and her recipe for sausage sage stuffing is not shareable (read: my mother refuses to give me any of her recipes… RUDE!) 😉 So I created my own stuffing recipe that naturally contains more veggies, is loaded with fresh herbs, and starts with sourdough bread.
Did you know that sourdough bread is easier to digest than whole wheat or white bread due to the fermentable sourdough starter? So cool, right? I also think sourdough bread is the most delicious bread.
Start with really good bread, add in all of your delicious seasonal veggies and herbs, and let's get cooking!
INGREDIENTS NEEDED TO MAKE THIS RECIPE:
Detailed measurements and ingredients can be found within the recipe card at the end of this post.
- Sourdough Bread – Ideally the bread should be day old, see below for instructions if you have fresh bread. Being bread is the main ingredient in stuffing it is absolutely worth it to buy excellent bread. I used a sourdough boule from my local bakery.
- Mushrooms – I used cremini mushrooms, any wild mushrooms will work
- Onion, Fennel, Celery – My favorite savory trifecta of veggies
- Fresh Herbs – Thyme, Rosemary, Sage
- Vegetable Stock – or bone broth for a non-vegetarian version
- Eggs – Eggs and stock soak into the bread and veggies for an almost custard, bread pudding like texture.
TOOLS YOU WILL USE:
- Large saute pan
- Cutting board
- Knife
- Baking dish
TIPS FOR MAKING GREAT STUFFING!
- Day-old stale bread is ideal – stuffing is a “dehydrate and then rehydrate” type of situation. To avoid a mushy stuffing (no one wants that!) Use stale, day-old bread. Tear the bread into large chunks and leave it out on a large baking sheet overnight.
- OH NO! I don't have day-old bread – Don't fear, you can still make the stuffing! Tear the bread into pieces, spread on a baking sheet, and dry in a low temp oven (see full instructions below).
- Fresh herbs! I use all the herbs in this stuffing recipe, the more the merrier.
- Top with flaky sea salt – Finish the stuffing with a sprinkle of flaky sea salt for the perfect balance of salty and herby.
HOW TO MAKE STUFFING AHEAD OF TIME:
- You can make this stuffing 48-72 hours in advance. Cook it all the way through and store it properly.
HOW TO STORE STUFFING:
- Store stuffing in the casserole dish you baked it in, simply cover it tightly (I am obsessed with these beeswax wraps rather than using plastic wrap or aluminum foil)
- Make sure the stuffing is cooled down 100% prior to placing it in the refrigerator
HOW TO REHEAT STUFFING:
- Reheat in a 350° oven for 20 minutes or warmed through.
IDEAS FOR LEFTOVER STUFFING:
There are so many things you can do with leftover stuffing, in fact, it's my absolute favorite part of Thanksgiving!
- Add it to sandwiches – yes bread on bread is a great idea! Turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce OMG can the day after Thanksgiving be tomorrow?
- Leftover nachos -I saw this in a magazine years ago and thought… um… this is kind of brilliant. Top tortilla chips with stuffing, shredded turkey, shredded cheese, and spicy salsa.
- Stuffing baked eggs – when in doubt, put an egg on it! Always a good idea! Here is a great recipe for stuffing baked eggs.
- Turkey and stuffing dumpling soup – Turn your stuffing into dumplings, LOVE this idea!
DIETARY MODIFICATIONS FOR THIS RECIPE:
- Gluten-Free – Use gluten-free bread
- Vegan – I haven't tried this recipe without eggs, but I imagine if you use more vegetable stock it would work.
MORE THANKSGIVING RECIPES YOU WILL LOVE:
Pumpkin Parmesan Chicken with Mushrooms
Acorn Squash Salad with Pomegranate
Pumpkin Pie in a Jar
Mulled Cranberry Salad
I can’t wait for you to try this Sourdough Stuffing Recipe! When you make it, snap a photo and tag me on Instagram @abrapappa or use the hashtag #abraskitchen so I can feature your photo!
If you’ve tried this recipe, don’t forget to rate and leave a comment below. I love to hear from people who’ve made my recipes!
Herb Sourdough Stuffing with Wild Mushrooms
Ingredients
- 1 lb. sourdough bread apx: a 1 lb. loaf
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 8 ounces wild mushrooms, sliced
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 3 stalks celery, finely chopped
- 1 medium fennel bulb, finely chopped
- 10 fresh sage leaves, finely chopped
- 10 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves stripped from the stem
- 3 fresh rosemary sprigs, finely chopped
- 3 cups vegetable broth or bone broth
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°. Grease a 2-quart baking dish and set aside.
- Cut or tear bread into 1-inch cubes and spread out evenly on a large baking sheet, or 2 baking sheets. Toast the bread in the oven until completely dry about 20 minutes, transfer to a large mixing bowl.
- In a large skillet over medium heat, add olive oil and mushrooms. Saute, stirring occasionally, until golden brown (about 5-7 minutes). Add onion, celery, and fennel to the pan, saute for 2-3 minutes. Add 3/4 of the fresh herb mixture; thyme, sage, and rosemary, (reserving about 1 tsp for the top of the stuffing) continue to stir adding salt and pepper. Add 1/4 cup vegetable stock to the pan and continue to stir and cook until vegetables have softened, about 5 more minutes.
- In a medium bowl whisk 2 eggs until well scrambled, add remaining vegetable broth.
- Combine vegetable mixture with toasted bread cubes and pour the vegetable broth and egg mixture over the bread and toss to combine until the bread cubes absorb the liquid. Pour the mixture into the greased baking dish, sprinkle the top with reserved fresh herbs. Bake in the center of the oven until the top is golden brown, about 40 minutes. Remove the stuffing from the oven and allow to cool for at least 15 minutes before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
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This is by far the best stuffing I have ever made! I made it as a test run over the weekend — but did not use day-old bread as Abra suggested. It was still delicious but just a drop mushier than I’d like. I am using day-old bread for Thanksgiving this Thursday and I’m sure it will be perfect!