New England Sage Bread Stuffing
Dried French bread cubes tossed with onion and celery cooked in butter, sage, thyme, marjoram and parsley, chicken broth and eggs, baked covered until fragrant and then uncovered until a golden crust forms.
The first cookbook by an American author, Amelia Simmons's "American Cookery", printed in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1796, stuffs a turkey with grated wheat bread, butter, chopped salt pork, two eggs, sweet marjoram, summer savory, parsley and sage, pepper and salt; a second version uses a pound of soft bread, beef suet, eggs, thyme, marjoram and "a gill of wine", and is served with "cramberry-sauce" (Project Gutenberg:). That is the same herb-and-bread idea New England still uses. In Boston, Bell's Seasoning, a salt-free blend of herbs for poultry, has been sold since 1867 by the company's own account; its packaging credits a Boston inventor named William G. Bell (search results quoting the box and a Patch article; not independently confirmed). New Englanders call the dish stuffing whether or not it goes in the bird: a 2015 survey for Butterball reportedly found that 100 percent of New Englanders said "stuffing" (secondhand reports only).
🇺🇸 This one is American
Dried French bread cubes tossed with onion and celery cooked in butter, sage, thyme, marjoram and parsley, chicken broth and eggs, baked covered until fragrant and then uncovered until a golden crust forms.
🇬🇧 The original
The English original is sage and onion bound with breadcrumbs and butter, cooked inside the bird or in a dish beside it. See the Sage and Onion Stuffing (Mrs Beeton, 1861) recipe.
🗳️ Bread stuffing or cornbread dressing? Vote: Bread stuffing vs Cornbread dressing →
📖 Myth check: Is It Safe to Cook Stuffing Inside the Turkey? → 📖 : Stuffing vs Dressing: What's the Difference? →
Why it works the kitchen science
French bread
ATK tested eight breads and chose French bread because it soaks up liquid while keeping some structure and chew.
Plain broth
ATK tried stock with wine, port, brandy and cream and went back to plain chicken stock for a clean taste that does not compete with the herbs.
Step by step
- Step 1
Dry the bread: lay the slices on baking sheets overnight, cube them and dry another night. Or bake the slices at 225°F for 30 to 40 minutes, until brittle but not browned, then cut into 1/2-inch cubes.
- Step 2
Heat the oven to 400°F with a rack in the middle and butter a 13 by 9-inch baking dish.
- Step 3
Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Pour off 2 tbsp and set it aside. Add the onion and celery and cook about 8 minutes, until translucent. Add the sage, thyme, marjoram, parsley and pepper and cook 1 minute.
- Step 4
Scrape the vegetables into a large bowl. Add the bread, broth, eggs and salt and toss gently until evenly moistened.
- Step 5
Spread in the dish, drizzle with the reserved 2 tbsp butter and cover tightly with foil.
- Step 6
Bake covered about 25 minutes, until fragrant. Uncover and bake 15 to 20 minutes more, until a golden-brown crust forms and the center reads 165°F.
- Step 7
Serve warm.
New England Sage Bread Stuffing
Serves 12 · one 13 by 9-inch dish · 1 hr 15 min total
Bread
- 1 lb loaf French bread, cut into 1/2-inch slices (makes about 12 cups cubes)
Vegetables and herbs
- 8 tbsp (1 stick) unsalted butter, plus more for the dish
- 1 large onion, chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)
- 4 celery ribs, diced (about 1 1/2 cups)
- 1/2 tsp dried sage
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 1/2 tsp dried marjoram
- 1/2 cup minced fresh parsley
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
To bind
- 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 3 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 tsp salt
Method
- Dry the bread: lay the slices on baking sheets overnight, cube them and dry another night. Or bake the slices at 225°F for 30 to 40 minutes, until brittle but not browned, then cut into 1/2-inch cubes.
- Heat the oven to 400°F with a rack in the middle and butter a 13 by 9-inch baking dish.
- Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Pour off 2 tbsp and set it aside. Add the onion and celery and cook about 8 minutes, until translucent. Add the sage, thyme, marjoram, parsley and pepper and cook 1 minute.
- Scrape the vegetables into a large bowl. Add the bread, broth, eggs and salt and toss gently until evenly moistened.
- Spread in the dish, drizzle with the reserved 2 tbsp butter and cover tightly with foil.
- Bake covered about 25 minutes, until fragrant. Uncover and bake 15 to 20 minutes more, until a golden-brown crust forms and the center reads 165°F.
- Serve warm.
Adapted from America's Test Kitchen, "Oven-Baked Bread Stuffing with Sage and Thyme" (August 21, 2007), as written (ATK says 10 to 12; we call it 12). ATK's make-ahead note allows cooking the onion mixture up to 2 days ahead and says to assemble just before baking, which matches FSIS. The 165°F check is ours (USDA FSIS). America's Test Kitchen. Ingredient list follows the source; the method is in our own words.
All sources (3)
Tips
- For fresh herbs, use 1 1/2 tsp each of minced fresh sage, thyme and marjoram in place of the dried.
- ATK's stuffed-turkey variation uses 1 cup broth for 6 cups of stuffing in a 12 to 15 lb bird, with 1/2 cup more broth for the rest baked in an 8-inch pan; follow every FSIS rule in the Food safety baseline if you do.
- Challah or potato bread also work; bake at 350°F and add 5 minutes covered (ATK).
The rules people argue about
What the sources agree on, what they don't, and what is just a good story.
- It is called stuffing even when baked in a pan. Documented as New England usage in Butterball's 2015 survey (secondhand) and in Wikipedia, which says a separately cooked stuffing may be called either stuffing or dressing.
- Sage is the New England herb. Folklore as a rule: Simmons's 1796 recipes use sage, marjoram, savory, parsley and thyme together.
- Bell's Seasoning dates to 1867. Folklore: the date and the inventor come from the company's packaging and one news article.
- Stuffing should be dry and crumbly. Folklore: FSIS says stuffing should be moist, not dry, because heat kills bacteria faster in a moist environment.
Every other stuffing
Sage and Onion Stuffing (Mrs Beeton, 1861)
The Victorian English stuffing for goose, duck and pork: onions simmered until mild, chopped fine with fresh sage, worked together with bread crumbs, butter and an egg yolk, and baked in its own dish until crisp on top.
Chestnut and Pork Stuffing (Farce aux Marrons)
Whole chestnuts simmered in broth until just tender, folded into seasoned ground pork with shallots, thyme and a splash of Cognac, and baked in its own dish: the classic French stuffing for a Christmas turkey.
Artusi's Roast Chicken with Sausage and Chestnut Stuffing (1891)
Pellegrino Artusi's family stuffing of Italian sausage, chicken liver, roasted chestnuts, dried mushrooms and nutmeg, bound with egg and a little bread soaked in broth, packed into a whole chicken and roasted until the stuffing itself reads 165°F.
Lebanese Hashweh (Spiced Rice and Beef Stuffing)
Ground beef and onion browned in olive oil, seasoned with Lebanese seven-spice, cooked with basmati rice in chicken broth and finished with toasted pine nuts and parsley: served on its own or as a stuffing for turkey.
Italian-American Sausage and Fennel Stuffing
Oven-dried white bread cubes tossed with browned sweet Italian sausage, onion and fennel cooked in butter, fresh thyme, marjoram and sage, chicken broth and eggs, baked covered and then uncovered until golden.
Chinese-American Sticky Rice Stuffing
Soaked and steamed glutinous rice tossed with lap cheong (sweet Chinese sausage), onion and caramelized shiitake, seasoned with light and dark soy sauce and chicken stock, then roasted in a cast-iron skillet until the top and bottom turn crisp.
Southern Cornbread Dressing
A pan of cornbread baked, crumbled while hot and mixed with sausage, onion, bell pepper and celery, poultry seasoning, broth, milk and eggs, then baked in ridges with butter brushed on top until crisp outside and almost creamy inside.
New Orleans Oyster Dressing (Leah Chase)
Leah Chase's holiday dressing: day-old bread soaked in oyster liquor, browned ground beef and the Creole trinity cooked in butter, chopped Gulf oysters, thyme and cayenne, bound with egg and baked under seasoned bread crumbs.
Wild Rice Dressing (Minnesota)
Nutty wild rice cooked in broth, mixed with toasted bread crumbs, onion, celery, garlic, sage and thyme and a light custard of cream, eggs and the rice's own cooking liquid, baked covered until set.
Pennsylvania Dutch Potato Filling
Half mashed potatoes, half stuffing: boiled potatoes beaten with milk, eggs and parsley, mixed with onion and celery cooked in butter and buttery toasted bread cubes, and baked until crusty on top.
Weeknight Crispy Skillet Stuffing
A half-size, one-skillet stuffing for any night: baguette cubes toasted in a hot oven, soaked in broth and egg with browned onion, celery, sage and thyme, crisped on the stove and finished in the oven with a golden crust on top and bottom.
Stovetop-Style Stuffing, Inspired by Stove Top
The boxed classic made from scratch: white and whole wheat bread cut into eraser-size crumbs and dried in the oven, then stirred into a simmering pot of broth, butter, dried onion, celery and poultry seasoning, covered and left to stand 5 minutes. Inspired by, not official.
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