The Best Stuffing Recipe Ever
This really is The Best Stuffing Recipe Ever. It's full of sweet cranberries and apricots, crunchy walnuts, mushrooms, onion, and celery. The veggies keep this stuffing perfectly moist without ever becoming soggy. It's our family's go-to Christmas and Thanksgiving stuffing recipe!

This is the Thanksgiving stuffing recipe we have been making for years. I know that claiming that it is the best stuffing recipe ever is quite a gigantic claim, but it's 100% true. Seriously, it's the best.
When I first shared this recipe with you back in 2012, it was my handsome man who made it for me. Since then, it's become our go-to stuffing recipe. I have a feeling that once you try it, you'll make it for all your turkey dinners.
Why this is the best stuffing recipe:
- The bread is always perfectly moist. It's never dry. It's never soggy. All this perfectness is thanks to our friend, mushrooms. They release their moisture as the stuffing cooks which means that you don't need to pour tons of stock over the stuffing risking making it soggy.
- Apricots and cranberries. They take first place in the reasons I love this stuffing recipe list. They add just the right bit of sweetness and go so well with a big turkey dinner.
- Walnuts! And pine nuts! They soften when cooked and give a great bite to the stuffing.
- It's so ridiculously easy to make. Toss everything together in your biggest bowl then pack it into your casserole dish.
- It's totally make-ahead-able. I know that oven space is at a premium at holiday feasts so the less time something has to spend in the oven, the better. This stuffing can be partially pre-cooked then finished with the bird comes out of the oven. #win

See that bowl filled to the brim with all the ingredients for this bread stuffing? Please don't copy that picture. Be smart and choose a MUCH larger bowl.
You'll want room to mix everything together without spilling half the ingredients. Trust me on this one!
In many ways, this is very similar to an old fashioned bread stuffing recipe. There are lots of onions and celery, poultry seasoning and pepper. And (obviously) bread. Kind of hard to make bread stuffing without that one important ingredient!

What takes this from traditional to the best stuffing recipe are the nuts and fruit. Two simple additions that rock the stuffing.
Once you try them in this stuffing recipe you'll seriously wonder how you ever ate stuffing any other way.
If you're making stuffing to go with your Christmas dinner this year, I beg you to make this one. It really is the best stuffing recipe ever.
Also, does anyone not make stuffing to go with their Christmas or Thanksgiving turkey? That thought has me a little worried.

Favorite Thanksgiving Side Dish Recipes:
- Ginger Orange Cranberry Sauce
- Maple Bourbon Glazed Carrots with Pistachios
- Whole Roasted Brussels with Garlic and Lemon
- Late Autumn Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad
- Mini Hasselback Potatoes with Roasted Garlic
- Maple Bourbon Sweet Potato Ribbon Casserole

The Best Stuffing Recipe Ever
If you love this recipe as much as we do, let us know with a 5-star rating!
Ingredients
- 4 cups white bread, cut into bite sized cubes (sub your favorite gluten-free bread, if needed)
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 stalks celery, roughly chopped
- 1 ½ cups mushrooms, sliced
- 1 cup dried apricots, roughly chopped
- ½ cup dried cranberries
- 1 cup walnut halves
- ½ cup pine nuts, or add more walnuts
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1-2 tablespoons poultry seasoning
Instructions
- To make the stuffing: Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and toss to combine. That's it, seriously!4 cups white bread, 1 onion, 2 stalks celery, 1 ½ cups mushrooms, 1 cup dried apricots, ½ cup dried cranberries, 1 cup walnut halves, ½ cup pine nuts, ¼ cup olive oil, 1-2 tablespoons poultry seasoning
- To cook the stuffing: 1. Either stuff the cavity of the turkey before you roast it in your oven. Remember that a stuffed turkey will take a little longer to cook.
- Or 2. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Place stuffing in a lightly greased ovenproof dish and cover it tightly with aluminum foil. Bake in the oven for about 40 minutes, or until the bread is soft and the veggies are cooked. It is good if the vegetables still have a little crunch.
Notes
To make bread crumbs:
- Lay bread cubes on 2 large baking sheets and set aside for 2 days. Gently toss after the first day to make sure they are drying evenly.
OR
- To speed up the drying process, put the bread cubes on baking sheets in your oven at the lowest temp. This will take about an hour. Watch them closely though, you don't want to make toast.
I just made this recipe and it turned out great. Ā We made a couple modifications since we have a nut allergy we used pumpkin and sunflower seeds. Ā The last modification was that, since I cooked it ahead, I added about a cup and a half of chicken broth to give it additional moisture. Ā
Great recipe. Ā Thank you!
Can you use this studding recipe in a turkey?
It’s great in turkey!
The flavor is good but I found it very dry. There is absolutely no liquid in this recipe at all except 1/4 cup of oil. The receipe says the veggies will keep it moist. They dont. With 4 cups of bread, its dry! I changed it up and mixed in 2 cups of chicken/turkey broth and 2 eggs, stirred it into the mixture then baked. It was much better and had crispy pieces and moist pieces.
Amazing recipe! Our family is hooked on it and requests it every thanksgiving now.
I tried this recipe and the taste was great, but I have to say even despite following to the letter it was super dry (baked in a covered dish). Definitely needs some stock or broth to moisten it up and help adhere better.
I’m sorry to hear that happened to you. You can always try adding some broth (as you suggested) if you’d like more moisture. š
I am literally prepping the stuffing right now, but did I read correctly? You just combine all the ingredients together and stuff it in the turkey? You don’t need to pre-cook the celery, onions and mushrooms? I am beyond excited for this stuffing.
That’s right! It’s the easiest ever. The veggies cook with the turkey and the juices they release soften the stuffing. š
Can this be made with almonds instead of walnuts? Or omit the nuts altogether? I for one have a walnut allergy. Also, is this vegan? Not sure what is in the poultry seasoning.
Yes! The nuts can be either omitted or changed. This year we went with pecans. And poultry seasoning is simply a seasoning blend that is often used to season turkey – but it’s 100% vegan. Only some herbs!
Can the nuts be substituted out for allergies? Or use slivered almonds? Can this be cooked in a crock pot?
I’ve never tried it in a crockpot so I can’t say for sure. As far as the nuts go, they can definitely be substituted, or even omitted if needed. Slivered almonds are great in this recipe!
do you have to dry the bread first?
I find that stuffing is better with slightly dry bread. There are instructions in the notes about how to do this quickly!
We made this yesterday! It was delicious!! Thanks for posting!!
That makes me so happy to hear!!
Heading shows easily gluten free. I made a gluten free dressing last thanksgiving and it was lackluster. Switching out the regular bread for gluten free in this recipe, I wonder if anyone has ever tried it and how it turned out.
How do you make this gluten free?
Simply use your favorite gluten-free bread. š
I am in charge of stuffing every Thanksgiving. I just found you recipe. It looks amazing. My brother smokes the Turkey so no need to stuff. How many people will your recipe serve?
If you’re serving a big turkey dinner with all the sides, this recipe will easily feed 6-8 people. š
Hi, I was wondering what can I use instead of mushrooms?
What about diced apples? The mushrooms release a lot of moisture into the stuffing, which is why you don’t see any broth or other liquid in the ingredients list. If you choose to simply leave them out, I would add about 3/4 cup of broth. I hope you have a great Thanksgiving!
Thank you I will try the diced apples. Happy thanksgiving and thank you again the sharing your recipe ?
Am totally in agreement regarding stuffing… what is a roasted turkey without it!
It’s a must have! I’ll be making this recipe next week for Canadian Thanksgiving. Yum!
This looks amazing & I’d like to try out…but what exactly is in this item called poultry seasoning? Thanks for your help!
Poultry seasoning is a mix of different spices, usually sage, thyme, marjoram and rosemary. You can find it in the spice section of your grocery store.
Hope you love the stuffing as much as I do!
How many slices of bread would you say equals to 4 cups of cubed bread?
I can’t remember exactly how many I used but my guess would be between 6-8 slices, depending on how big your slices are. š
Thank ou for your quick response! Making this tomorrow for a christmas dinner!
I really want to try this recipe out on Thursday! Wondering though if this is just like a dry crouton kind of stuffing? There’s no liquid in it so wondered. Also, do you think it would become more of a traditional stuffing texture if I added mushroom broth to it?
Hopefully, I can hear back from you soon!! š
Hi Tammy,
No it is like a traditional type of stuffing. The mushrooms, onions and celery release a lot of liquid during cooking so you don’t need to add any extra.
I’ll admit I was pretty skeptical when my guy made this for me last year. I was convinced it would be really dry but it turned out wonderful. I’ve made it twice since and and it has been moist and perfect every time.
Hope you have a great Thanksgiving!
Kristen
Lots of great ingredients. We always have stuffing with our turkey. If we didn’t have stuffing I think everyone would be disappointed.
Wow, gorgeous stuffing!! I always have to have stuffing! It doesn’t usually get “stuffed” in the turkey though… so I guess you’d call it dressing in that case! š