Stuffing made from whole wheat bread, fresh herbs and veggies are so much better than instant! Why get your stuffing out of a box or bag? This whole wheat herb stuffing is easy and goes with turkey or chicken. This stuffing is also lower in sodium so safe for anyone who follows a reduced-sodium diet!
I love stuffing. In college, I made Stove Top stuffing and just ate that for dinner. I know how terrible that is since I was a nutrition student, but I only did that once (I think).
For Thanksgiving, we always have homemade stuffing. My grandfather hosted Thanksgiving every year until he passed away in 1996. His stuffing was very simple: white bread diced and dried, celery, onion, marjoram, and parsley. I have his recipe and it's titled "Grandpa's Wet Filling"
One year my Dad made the stuffing and decided to put the parsley into a food processor instead of chopping it by hand. The parsley sort of multiplied. The stuffing had way too much parsley. It became infamously known as the parsley stuffing. Let me tell you it was pretty green!
I prefer less parsley and a few other herbs. I also prefer whole wheat bread over white. This stuffing is made with whole wheat sliced bread that I laid out on the kitchen counter to dry out. I have also used french bread too!
I have purchased the stuffing crumb packages before, but I prefer to make my own. The kids kept asking why I had bread sitting out. I think I explained what I was doing at least three times.
Celery and onions are the only veggies my grandpa would use in his stuffing recipe. I love to add carrots. I'm not sure that my hubby likes carrots in his stuffing, but I love the pop of color. The extra nutrients aren't bad either.
I have made a lot of different stuffing recipes, but I think this one is my favorite. This is a jazzed-up version of grandpa's stuffing. It is moist enough to not need to be cooked in the bird. I really don't like stuffing that is packed into the turkey. The risk of foodborne illness is just too great for this dietitian!!
How to make whole wheat herb stuffing:
- Leave your bread out overnight. You can use sliced sandwich bread or cut up a loaf of fresh whole wheat bread. French bread is a lower fat option.
- Cut the bread up before you dry it. You can do it either way, but the harder the bread the messier it will be when you try to cut the slices into small cubes.
- Keep an eye on the veggies. You want them to soften not brown.
- If you don't have fresh herbs or don't want to waste them you can use dried. For dried herbs use 2 teaspoons of parsley, 1 teaspoon of thyme, and 1 teaspoon of rosemary.
This post was originally posted in November of 2016. Last update November 24, 2019.
Recipe
Whole Wheat Herb Stuffing
Equipment
- Casserole dish
- Mixing bowl
Ingredients
- 16 slices of whole wheat bread cubed and dried
- 1 cup chopped onion
- 2 stalks of celery diced
- 1 carrot diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 6 Tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- 1 Tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
- 1 Tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
- ¼ teaspoon dried marjoram
- 2 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 1 egg
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a saucepan heat 3 tablespoons of unsalted butter over medium heat.
- Saute onion, celery, carrots, and garlic until softened (about 5 minutes).
- Add in parsley, rosemary, thyme, and marjoram, cooking for an additional 2 minutes.
- Place dried bread cubes into a large bowl.
- Pour vegetable mixture over bread and stir to coat.
- Place broth, egg, and pepper into bread mixture and stir to coat well.
- Place stuffing mixture into a buttered baking dish.
- Pour 3 tablespoons of melted unsalted butter evenly over stuffing.
- Bake for 30-45 minutes until top of stuffing is browned.
Dorothy at Shockingly Delicious says
I've never met a stuffing I didn't like! Yours looks fantastic!
Jennifer Lynn-Pullman says
Thank you!
Christina @ Christina's Cucina says
About the only meal my dining hall kitchen could get right was a traditional Thanksgiving dinner! They even made yummy stuffing (my favorite part about the entire meal)! Yours looks wonderful and I may try adding carrots too, just because it's one more veg, right?
Jennifer Lynn-Pullman says
Why not add more veggies! Thanks for your email as well Christina!
Amy Taylor says
How long does it usually take for your bread to dry out?
Jennifer Lynn-Pullman says
I left the bread out for about 6 hours. My grandfather would cut the bread up the night before and let it dry out over night.
Patty says
Your stuffing recipe caught my eye I think because of the carrots. I've made the same stuffing for over 30yrs & have orders from my family to never change it...lol. But I'm gonna give yours a try. I use a cup of butter, about the same amount of onions, celery with the 2 cups of broth. But I've got to have my giblets. I think with the extra butter since I'm just adding the carrots it will still taste great & not dry out, cooking it at my normal temp & time. What do you think?
Jennifer Lynn-Pullman says
Sounds good to me!
allie says
What a great stuffing Jennifer, I loved hearing about your family's traditions. Stuffing is my fave part of the Thanksgiving meal. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving.
Jennifer Lynn-Pullman says
Thank you Allie! Happy Thanksgiving to you as well.
Tara says
Tried this tonight it was sooooo good. I did add some bacon To mine. Used dried spelt bread as well rather than regular white bread. So good. I will def. make again and again. Thank you for the recipe
Jennifer Lynn-Pullman says
So glad you liked it!