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Herb Bread Stuffing with Mushrooms and Celery

Herb Bread Stuffing with Mushrooms and Celery

This is a classic baked bread stuffing with a crisp golden top and a soft, savory middle, built on toasted bread cubes, buttery onions and celery, browned mushrooms and plenty of fresh sage, thyme and parsley. It is baked in its own dish rather than inside a bird, which makes it easier to time and safe to serve to vegetarians when you use vegetable broth.
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Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 25 minutes
Servings: 8 servings
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 1 lb sturdy bread country loaf, sourdough or whole wheat, cut into 3/4-inch cubes (about 12 cups)
  • 6 tbsp unsalted butter divided
  • 8 oz cremini mushrooms sliced
  • 1 large onion diced
  • 3 stalks celery diced
  • 3 cloves garlic minced
  • 2 tbsp fresh sage chopped
  • 1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
  • 1/3 cup fresh parsley chopped
  • 2 1/2 cups vegetable or chicken broth warm
  • 2 large eggs beaten
  • 1 tsp salt reduce if your broth is salted
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper

Method
 

  1. Heat the oven to 300°F (150°C). Spread the bread cubes on two baking sheets and bake 25–30 minutes, stirring once, until dry and lightly crisp but not browned. Let cool. (You can do this a day ahead.)
  2. Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms in an even layer and cook without stirring for 3 minutes, then stir and cook until browned and their liquid has evaporated, about 5 minutes more. Transfer to a large bowl.
  3. Reduce the heat to medium and add the remaining butter to the skillet. Cook the onion and celery with a pinch of salt until soft and translucent, 8–10 minutes. Stir in the garlic, sage and thyme for 1 minute.
  4. Raise the oven to 375°F (190°C) and butter a 9x13-inch baking dish.
  5. Add the dried bread, onion mixture and parsley to the bowl with the mushrooms. Whisk the broth, eggs, salt and pepper together and pour over, folding gently until the bread has absorbed the liquid evenly.
  6. Spread in the baking dish. Cover with foil and bake 25 minutes, then uncover and bake 20–30 minutes more until the top is golden and crisp and the center reaches 165°F (74°C).

Notes

  • If the mixture seems dry after folding, add broth a few tablespoons at a time; the bread should be moist but not soggy.
  • Day-old bread dries faster in the oven than fresh bread.