Favorite Stuffing Recipe Ideas

By The editors of MidwestLiving.com
Updated October 22, 2020
Credit: Adam Albright

Make your best stuffing or dressing ever with our recipes that use favorite ingredients, such as sausage, cranberries, nuts, corn bread and fresh herbs.

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Common Cornbread Dressing

Credit: Adam Albright
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Gerard Klass's dressing, made with his jalapeno-flecked Cornbread, is flavored with fresh sage, rosemary and thyme. This chef and co-owner of Soul Bowl in Minneapolis says he's still chasing his mom's holiday dressing. But by our measure, he's there.

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Wild Rice Stuffing with Squash and Mushrooms

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This hearty, colorful side dish will be just as happy alongside pork chops or chicken as it is on your holiday table with turkey.

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No-Bake Harvest Stuffing

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We added walnuts, cranberries and seedy bread to classic sage-and-onion turkey dressing-and we did it in a slow cooker. The lidded appliance keeps the stuffing perfectly moist and, of course, frees up the oven for another pie.

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Calico Corn Bread Dressing

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Homey corn bread meets woodsy sage, thyme and shitake mushrooms. Carrots and apricots add color and sweetness.

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Cranberry-Apple Corn Bread Stuffing

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We mixed corn bread with bread cubes as the base for a dressing studded with apples and dried cranberries. If you make your own corn bread, bake it the day before you make the stuffing; allowing it to dry just a little improves the texture of the stuffing.

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Pappa’s Pear Stuffing

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You can serve this hearty, fruit-studded dressing with roasted or grilled pork, poultry or ham. The recipe comes from the historical Story Inn in Nashville, Indiana.

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Lemon-Nut Rice Stuffing

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Mix crumbled bacon, nuts and fresh veggies with long grain rice for this stuffing, which can be chilled up to 24 hours before baking.

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Mix and Match Bread Dressing

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Whether you're looking to tweak your favorite dressing or create a new tradition, this method meets the challenge. Start with the basic recipe, then try one of the blends shown at left or craft a custom dressing.

Top right: Whole wheat bread anchors a mix of sweet potatoes, celery, almonds, apricots and sage.

Left: Wild rice stands in for bread in this dressing studded with button mushrooms, celery, bacon, pecans, golden raisins and thyme.

Bottom right: Sourdough bread cubes blend with cooked bulk Italian sausage, celery, dried cranberries, pine nuts and rosemary.

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Sausage Stuffing

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Combine sausage, chopped vegetables, toasted pecans, and a mix of cubed white bread and crumbled corn bread in this traditional stuffing recipe. To save time, substitute 3 cups corn bread stuffing mix (one 8-ounce package) for the crumbled corn bread.

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Apricot and Pecan Stuffing

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Bake this fruit and nut stuffing in a casserole dish or use it to stuff a turkey. This sweet dressing goes well with pork, too.

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Italian-Style Bread Stuffing

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Olives, Italian seasoning, Italian bread, and thinly sliced Genoa salami, prosciutto, or cooked ham put the Italian in this stuffing's name.

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Parmesan Cheese and Italian Sausage Stuffing

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This stuffing highlights the flavors of shredded Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, Italian sausage and dried currants, all mixed with seasonings, chopped vegetables and bite-size pieces of ciabatta bread.

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Pear-Pecan Stuffing

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Pears, toasted pecans and nutmeg create a festive twist on old-fashioned stuffing.

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Sweet Potato and Corn Bread Stuffing

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Use leftover corn bread or bake a package of corn bread mix for this stuffing. Sweet potatoes add moisture and color.

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By The editors of MidwestLiving.com