Apple-Cranberry Herbed Stuffing (Dressing)
Fresh, savoury herbs and sweet, crisp apples will make this buttery stuffing the hit of the holiday table. This apple-cranberry herbed stuffing is perfect on it’s own or stuffed into a roasted turkey.
Gone are the days when I use to stock up on multiple boxes of Kraft’s Stove-Top Stuffing mix (because one box was never enough) and use this to stuff turkey for Thanksgiving dinner. As tasty as that easy-to-prepare stuffing was, I knew I wanted to try making some from scratch. Years ago I did, and I’ve been doing it ever since. A few changes to the recipe here and there, and you can definitely customize this the way you’d like.
Ingredients
Bread
Bread makes up a large chunk of this stuffing. The key to this recipe is ensuring that you use bread that’s stale (day-old) or dried out (e.g. in the oven at a low temperature). If you use fresh bread, your stuffing/dressing will be soggy. White sandwich bread is the best type of bread to use. But any type with a tight or dense crumb will suffice (try to stay away from a bread with large holes in it, such as sourdough). You want the bread to absorb more moisture and flavour from the mixture, so that’s why you need one with a tighter crumb.
Apples
The best apples to use for this stuffing recipe will be one with a sweet and crisp texture. Honeycrisp is a good choice, but Golden Delicious and even Royal Gala will work well too. They’ll hold their shape and not get too mushy when baked in the oven with the stuffing.
Cranberries
This may not be on everyone’s list of favourites (especially the the rap that the canned cranberry sauce variety gets at the family dinner table). But dried cranberries and an additional hint of sweetness and another dimension of tart to this dish. They also pair well with the apples.
Herbs
A mixture of parsley, rosemary, sage, and thyme work well here to add a lot of flavour to your stuffing. I used fresh herbs (which came in a combo “poultry seasoning” pack in the produce section of my local grocery store). If you can’t find fresh herbs just substitute each tablespoon in the recipe with one teaspoon of dried (1 tablespoon fresh herbs = 1 teaspoon dried herbs.)
Eggs
I added eggs to this recipe because they act as a binder to help holds everything in place.
Method
Technically this recipe is a “dressing” as I prepared it in a separate casserole dish and didn’t use it to stuff poultry. If you would like to use it as a “stuffing” feel free to add it to your bird after everything is mixed.
Apple-Cranberry Herbed Stuffing (Dressing)
Ingredients
- 1 loaf white sandwich bread cut into cubes
- 6 tbsp unsalted butter (about 100g)
- 1 medium onion diced
- 3 ribs celery thinly sliced
- 2 apples cored and chopped
- 1 tbsp minced, fresh rosemary
- 1 tbsp minced, fresh thyme
- 1 tbsp minced, fresh sage
- 2 large eggs beaten
- 2 cups low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth (about 500mL)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300°F and evenly lay out the bread cubes on a large baking sheet.
- Toast the bread for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and raise heat to 350°F to prepare for the stuffing.
- In a large pot, melt the butter over medium-high heat.
- Cook the onions and celery for 3-4 minutes until softened slightly.
- Add in the chopped apples and continue to cook for an additional 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Mix in the minced rosemary, thyme and sage. Remove pot from heat.
- Add in the dried bread cubes, cranberries, and chopped parsley, coating to make sure everything is well combined.
- In a separate bowl, whisk in the beaten eggs with the broth.
- Gradually pour in the broth mixture into the rest of the stuffing, stirring to combine.
- Spread evenly on a greased 9×11-inch casserole dish. Cover loosely with foil and bake for 30 minutes.
- Remove foil and bake for an additional 15-20 minutes. Let sit for about 15 minutes before serving.
Notes
- This recipe is a “dressing”, but if you’d like to use it as a stuffing, feel free to place the mixture into the cavity of the turkey before roasting.
- If you’re having trouble finding fresh herbs, you can use dried.
- Stuffing can be warmed up prior to serving if you’re making it the day before. Just fully cook it first and reheat at about 300°F for 20 minutes.