This was my mom’s go-to-recipe for every turkey she ever made. As kids, we gobbled up the stuffing so quickly, there were never any leftovers the next day. Leftover turkey, mashed potatoes, and cranberry sauce were all okay, but it just wasn’t the same without the stuffing!

As years went on, my sister and I got wiser. We figured out we could double the stuffing, and bake it in a separate dish right next to the turkey.

Sautée of the onion & celery.

I finally found the original recipe in my mom’s old cookbook Chatelaine’s Adventures in Cooking, Maclean-Hunter, Ltd., 1968, p. 95.

Yes, there’s bread!

Basic Bread Stuffing Recipe

Perfect for Thanksgiving, Christmas, & all celebrations:
Ingredients:
  • 8 cups cubed bread
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1 cup chopped onion
  • 1 cup diced celery with leaves
  • 2 tbs chopped parsley
  • 1 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp Tabasco sauce
  • 1/2 tsp poultry seasoning
  • 1/4 cup chicken bouillon
Instructions:
  1. Cube the bread, chop the onion and celery.
  2. Melt the butter in a large pot.
  3. Add onion, celery, Tabasco, poultry seasoning, and salt to the melted butter.
  4. Sauté until onion is tender but not brown.
  5. Combine with bread cubes and chopped parsley.
  6. Add chicken stock, and toss lightly with fork until well mixed.

Yields enough stuffing for a 12 pound turkey.

Spices are added just before the bread cubes.