Sourdough stuffing is a classic recipe and a side dish you'll want to include on your holiday table. The best part is you can use your very own homemade sourdough bread!

This traditional sourdough stuffing recipe can sit proudly beside your sweet potato casserole, baked Turkey and cranberry sauce and will be the perfect addition to your Thanksgiving table. It's the real deal!

The top layer of this sourdough bread stuffing is golden brown and buttery, while the underneath has a softer, chewy texture loaded with holiday flavors. There's just so much flavor here, true story!

Share the sourdough love at this year's Thanksgiving dinner and make this holiday stuffing recipe to share with family and friends.

One of the best things about this sourdough stuffing recipe is that you can make lots of substitutions to use the ingredients you have on hand. For example, you can use the herbs you have in the garden, or swap the fresh herbs for dried if that makes life easier. I've included all of the ingredient substitutions further down the post. I've used onions and celery, but you can swap for leeks, carrots or whatever you prefer.

If you are preparing a thanksgiving meal this year, you may also want to to try these other sourdough recipes - simple sourdough pie crust, sourdough pumpkin bread, sourdough bread pudding, sourdough bechemel sauce or these sourdough cornbread muffins. I've also put together a post featuring some popular sourdough Thanksgiving foods here.

Sourdough Stuffing or Sourdough Dressing?

Traditionally, stuffing referred to the bread and spices used to cook inside the cavity of a bird, like chicken or Turkey. In modern times, it's not recommended to cook the stuffing inside the Turkey, but rather prepare it in a baking dish and cook it outside the bird. You can read more about the USDA recommendations here.

But this change in preparation advice brings up a debate as to whether stuffing should really be called "dressing". Stuffing refers to the bread and spice mixture cooked inside the bird. Dressing is the correct name if it is cooked separately outside the bird. You can read more about these definitions here.

So for all intents and purposes, while we are calling this dish sourdough stuffing, it's really sourdough Turkey dressing! Whatever it's called, it's delicious!

Sourdough stuffing baked in a white oven dish. Sitting on a wooden board with some herbs and an apple.

Best Bread For Sourdough Stuffing?

The best bread for making sourdough stuffing is a plain loaf of sourdough bread (this easy sourdough discard loaf is great too!).

It's best if it's not super fresh as it will be easier to cut into cubes. Day-old, dry bread is best. No matter what type of sourdough bread you use, you will need to dry it out in the oven and on the counter. In fact, this sourdough stuffing is a great way to use up leftover sourdough bread.

For something a little different, you could also make this easy sourdough stuffing with sourdough pumpkin bread, sourdough brioche loaf or even this honey oat sourdough bread.

Laying the cubed sourdough bread out on baking sheets is an easy way to achieve the dry bread texture you need.

How To Make Sourdough Stuffing [step-by-step instructions]

The process of making sourdough stuffing is very simple, but you need to start preparations the night before to ensure the bread is dry enough. If it's not, it will turn to mush very quickly.

The Night Before

The night before you are going to make the stuffing, chop your sourdough bread into chunks (around 1-inch cubes are perfect) and arrange them on a large baking tray lined with parchment paper. Bake them in the oven at 200C (390F) for around 45 minutes to 1 hour or until the sourdough is toasted and dry.

Remove the bread from the oven and allow it to sit out overnight (pop a dish towel over it if you are worried about it sitting out).

To Make The Sourdough Stuffing

Preheat your oven to 180C (350F). Grab a heavy based, oven safe casserole dish.

Place the dried sourdough bread cubes into a large mixing bowl and set aside.

Add 150g of butter to a heavy based saucepan or large skillet (I use my Dutch Oven) on a medium heat and allow it to melt before adding the onions and garlic. Allow them to soften for a few minutes before you add the celery and then the apple.

You don't want these to brown, just soften in the butter, so you'll need to adjust the heat a little if it's starting to brown. Once they are soft, turn off the heat and allow them to sit for a few minutes while you move onto the next step.

Add the eggs to the liquid stock and whisk them together in a batter jug set aside.

To the large bowl with the sourdough bread, add the herbs and salt and pepper, as well as the softened vegetable mixture.

Pour three quarters of the liquid stock and egg mix over the top of the vegetable mixture and then mix everything through the sourdough bread cubes until they are all well coated.

Tip the sourdough stuffing mix into your prepared baking dish and spread it evenly in the dish. Pour over the remaining stock mixture.

Cut the remaining 75g of butter into small cubes and place evenly over the sourdough stuffing mixture.

Cover the dish with aluminum foil and place into a 180C (350F) oven for around 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, remove the foil and cook for a further 45 minutes to 1 hour or until the stuffing is golden and crunchy on top and the liquid is no longer bubbling underneath.

Allow the stuffing mix to cool slightly before serving.

Ingredient Substitutions

I love this recipe because it really is flexible and you can swap things around to use up what you have on hand in the pantry. Here are some of the ways you can change the ingredients to better suit you better:

Sourdough Bread - ideally the best stuffing is made using stale bread, but you can easily toast sourdough bread to dry it out (there are instructions for this in the recipe card).
Butter - I like to soften the vegetables in butter, but you can use some olive oil if you prefer or don't have enough butter on hand.
Chicken Broth or Chicken Stock - if you don't have chicken broth on hand, you can use vegetable broth or stock. If you don't have liquid stock, you can easily make some using stock cubes (follow the directions on the package).
Vegetable Mixture - I have used diced celery, onion and apple in this recipe. While I think that these add the best flavors possible, you can of course substitute them if you need to (although I think the onion mixture is non negotiable). Carrots and mushrooms work well too.
Sausage - if you like to make sourdough sausage stuffing you can brown sausage meat along with the onions and garlic and then add it to your bread cubes. You will need a larger dish if you add sausage to this recipe. Pork or turkey sausage works best, but you can also use mild Italian sausage for something al little different.
Herbs - I have used a selection of fresh and dried herbs. You really can change the herbs if you like to account for what you have on hand. I think that fresh sage is essential though for that traditional stuffing flavor. You can increase or decrease the herbs depending on your tastes. I've used dried parsley because I didn't have any fresh parsley on hand, but use whatever is easiest for you.
Salt and Pepper - When I make this recipe, I use ½ teaspoon of salt and a full teaspoon of pepper, plus I grind freshly cracked black pepper on top before baking. If you are using a stock that is quite salty, adjust the amount of salt you add to account for this.

Can You Eat Sourdough Stuffing if it's not Thanksgiving?

Yes you absolutely can! While this is a traditional thanksgiving stuffing recipe, there's no rules saying you can't eat this at other times too! It's also a lovely side dish for a Christmas holiday meal too.

Because this easy stuffing recipe is a great way to use up stale sourdough bread, it makes a great side dish at any time of year. I love serving it with pork or turkey sausages and mashed potatoes for a hearty winter dinner.

Can This Sourdough Stuffing Be Made In Advance?

Yes, you can make sourdough stuffing up to 2 days before you need it. Bake it as normal and then cover it with aluminium foil and store at the back of the refrigerator.

When you want to serve it, let it sit out of the fridge for around 10 minutes before placing into a moderate oven to warm through. I actually think it tastes better the next day, as all the flavors have had a chance to marinate and meld together.

Leftover stuffing can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days (from original baking time).