This Italian Bread Stuffing recipe is about to become your new go-to for Thanksgiving. Whether you serve it on its own or use it as a stuffing for your turkey, this easy ciabatta stuffing adds a flavorful twist to a traditional holiday side dish!
Jump to:
- Why You'll Love This Italian Bread Stuffing
- Ingredient Information and Substitutions
- How to Make Ciabatta Stuffing
- Frequently asked questions
- Tips for making this Italian stuffing recipe
- What To Serve With Ciabatta Stuffing
- Other Thanksgiving Side Dishes To Try...
- Discover the secret to hosting Thanksgiving without all the stress!
- Ciabatta Italian Bread Stuffing
Why You'll Love This Italian Bread Stuffing
So, here's the thing. I'm not a huge fan of stuffing (or dressing, if you prefer). I think we're all a little weird about textures in our own ways — for me, that means I'm not into mushy textures. And in my experience, I've found most homemade stuffing recipes to be sort of mushy.
But this Italian stuffing for Thanksgiving is definitely one that I can get on board with! Yes, it's soft in the middle. But it gets a subtle golden brown crispiness on the top as it bakes, and the flavor is spot-on.
When I brought some of it to my daughter's daycare for the teachers to sample, they all immediately asked when it would be on the blog — it was a total hit! Trust me when I say, this Italian stuffing recipe will become a new holiday favorite like it has for my family!
- Easy prep
- Simple ingredients
- Crowd pleaser
- Sweet and savory
- Two cooking methods
Ingredient Information and Substitutions
- Ciabatta Bread - The delicious base for this Italian stuffing recipe! While there's nothing else quite like it, a crusty Italian loaf or French loaf are the closest substitutes. I toast them to add a bit more texture to this dish and keep them from getting soggy.
- Butter and olive oil - Use this combo to sauté your veggies.
- Onion and celery - A classic base of flavor that adds some texture as well.
- Garlic - Is it even Italian without this ingredient? Stick with fresh cloves for the best flavor if you can.
- Seasonings - A simple blend of Kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper, and Italian seasoning is all you need for this ciabatta stuffing recipe.
- Chicken Broth - Vegetable broth is a good substitute if you want to make this Italian bread stuffing vegetarian.
- White Wine - I think this adds a better flavor, but you could always substitute more broth.
- Raisins - I'm not normally a dried fruit fan in my cooking, but the raisins really help round out the flavor in this Italian stuffing. You can also substitute dried currants, cherries, or cranberries if you prefer.
How to Make Ciabatta Stuffing
Step 1: Sauté the veggies
Toast the bread for 10 minutes at 350 degrees in a single layer. While the bread toasts, melt butter and olive oil in a skillet on the stove. Add the onions and celery and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
Step 2: Season and deglaze with wine
Stir the garlic until fragrant, then season with salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning. Add the wine, reduce heat, and simmer for about 2 minutes.
Step 3: Combine everything together
Stir the bread, raisins, and broth into the pan until the bread has absorbed most of the liquid.
Step 4: Bake
Transfer the Italian stuffing mixture to a greased 9x13-inch pan and bake uncovered for 45 minutes.
It should be golden brown on top. If it starts to brown too quickly, cover the pan with foil, then remove it for the last few minutes of baking.
Frequently asked questions
It's all in the name. I tend to use the terms interchangeably, but technically stuffing is used to stuff a turkey (or chicken) while dressing is cooked separately. But you do you!
Yes! You can make everything up until the step where you place the dressing into the 9" x 13" and instead stuff it into the cavity.
Yes, just be sure to stuff the cavity just before placing the turkey into the oven — letting it sit in the turkey at room temp can introduce bacteria. Also, make sure that the internal temperature of both the turkey and the stuffing reaches 165 degrees to avoid food-borne illness. And make sure you don't over-stuff it!
Yes, you can assemble this up to a day in advance and store it in the refrigerator. Then, remove 30 minutes before cooking and bake as directed before serving.
Italian bread stuffing will keep for up to 4 days in the refrigerator well-covered or stored in an airtight container.
Tips for making this Italian stuffing recipe
- Make homemade bread cubes. I like to cut the ciabatta into 1-inch chunks and leave it out overnight so that it's a little bit stale. Then, while I'm making the rest of the dressing components on the stove, I toast it in the oven to crisp it up a bit more so that it absorbs the broth nicely.
- Use a mix of butter and olive oil. This combo prevents the butter from burning when you're sautéing the veggies.
- Achieve the perfect texture. Once I mix the bread into the stovetop mixture, I keep stirring and folding it in so that it starts to break down. I still like to keep some of the bread chunky and intact, but that's more a matter of personal preference. You can also let the bread break down more if you'd like.
- Season to taste. As with all my recipes, taste as you go and just before serving to ensure this Italian bread stuffing is to your liking.
- In the bird or on the side? Although I personally prefer my dressing outside of the bird, you can absolutely use it to stuff the bird. Be sure to stuff the cavity just before placing the turkey into the oven — letting it sit in the turkey at room temp can introduce bacteria. Also, make sure that the internal temperature of both the turkey and the stuffing reaches 165 degrees to avoid food-borne illness. And make sure you don't over-stuff it!
- Prep ahead- You can dice the onion and celery ahead and cut the bread into chunks. You can also assemble all the way up before baking and covered and refrigerate. Remove from the fridge 30 minutes before baking.
- Leftovers and storage- This will last up to 4 days covered in the refrigerator.
What To Serve With Ciabatta Stuffing
Round out your holiday meal with these recipes:
Other Thanksgiving Side Dishes To Try...
Discover the secret to hosting Thanksgiving without all the stress!
Prepsgiving is your FREE guide to making a delicious Thanksgiving feast the easy way.
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Ciabatta Italian Bread Stuffing
Ingredients
- 8 cups day-old ciabatta cut into 1 inch chunks (this was around 1 ½ loaves for me but it will depend on the size of your loaves)
- Cooking spray
- 2 Tablespoons butter
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1 ¼ cup diced onion
- 1 ¼ cup diced celery
- 3-4 large garlic cloves, minced
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ¾ cups white wine
- 3 cups chicken broth (or turkey broth)
- 1 ½ cups raisins
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a sheet pan with parchment.
- Spread bread chunks onto pan in a single layer (use multiple pans if you need to) and toast in oven for 10 minutes.
- While the bread toasts, melt butter and oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
- Add onions and celery and saute for around 4-5 minutes, stirring often to soften.
- Add garlic and saute a minute more until fragrant.
- Season with salt, pepper and Italian seasoning and deglaze the pan with wine.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer wine for 2 minutes.
- Add bread, raisin and broth to the pan and stir well to combine until the bread has absorbed most of the liquid.. As you stir, the bread break down, this is good. You can leave some chunky or stir until it's fully broken down, depending on your texture preference (I like to leave some chunks for a little texture).
- Pour the mixture into a greased 9" x 13" pan and spread into an even layer.
- Bake uncovered for 45 minutes or until the top is golden brown. Check it half way through and if it browns too quickly, cover it in foil until the last couple minutes.
- Serve immediately.
Video
Notes
- Make homemade bread cubes. I like to cut the ciabatta into 1-inch chunks and leave it out overnight so that it's a little bit stale. Then, while I'm making the rest of the dressing components on the stove, I toast it in the oven to crisp it up a bit more so that it absorbs the broth nicely.
- Use a mix of butter and olive oil. This combo prevents the butter from burning when you're sautéing the veggies.
- Achieve the perfect texture. Once I mix the bread into the stovetop mixture, I keep stirring and folding it in so that it starts to break down. I still like to keep some of the bread chunky and intact, but that's more a matter of personal preference. You can also let the bread break down more if you'd like.
- Season to taste. As with all my recipes, taste as you go and just before serving to ensure this Italian bread stuffing is to your liking.
- In the bird or on the side? Although I personally prefer my dressing outside of the bird, you can absolutely use it to stuff the bird. Be sure to stuff the cavity just before placing the turkey into the oven — letting it sit in the turkey at room temp can introduce bacteria. Also, make sure that the internal temperature of both the turkey and the stuffing reaches 165 degrees to avoid food-borne illness. And make sure you don't over-stuff it!
- Prep ahead- You can dice the onion and celery ahead and cut the bread into chunks. You can also assemble all the way up before baking and covered and refrigerate. Remove from the fridge 30 minutes before baking.
- Leftovers and storage- This will last up to 4 days covered in the refrigerator.
Nutrition
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