Indulge in the irresistible flavors of the holidays with this delectable Cranberry Pecan Stuffing. Featuring a comforting blend of whole wheat and country-style croutons, this stuffing is elevated by the sweet-tart burst of cranberries, the satisfying crunch of toasted pecans, and a medley of aromatic herbs. For a truly inclusive Thanksgiving spread, simply opt for vegetable stock to create a vegetarian side dish that everyone will adore.
For many, the Thanksgiving meal is incomplete without a generous serving of homemade stuffing. It’s more than just a side dish; it’s a culinary cornerstone of the holiday, evoking warmth, comfort, and cherished memories around the table. The magic lies in its perfect symphony of textures and flavors: the irresistibly crispy, buttery edges giving way to fluffy, broth-soaked interiors, all infused with the fragrant essence of fresh herbs. This Cranberry Pecan Stuffing encapsulates everything we love about holiday comfort food, making it a standout addition to your festive feast.
Over the years, our family has rotated through various beloved stuffing (or “dressing”) recipes, each bringing its unique charm to our Thanksgiving celebration. While our Sausage and Chestnut Stuffing has long been a cherished favorite, this Cranberry Pecan Stuffing has quickly earned its place as a quintessential holiday classic. It’s a recipe that perfectly balances tradition with a vibrant twist, offering a delightful contrast of sweet and savory notes that keeps everyone coming back for more.
At the heart of this extraordinary stuffing are hearty farmhouse white and whole wheat croutons, which provide a robust foundation. These bread cubes are lovingly tossed with a flavorful blend of butter-sautéed vegetables, rich chicken or vegetable stock, and an abundance of fragrant fresh herbs. Dried cranberries introduce a bright, sweet-tart counterpoint to the savory elements, while perfectly toasted pecans contribute a delightful crunch and nutty depth. The result is a stuffing that is complex, comforting, and utterly irresistible.
While this Cranberry Pecan Stuffing is absolutely divine drizzled with rich turkey gravy, it truly shines even when enjoyed on its own. Its multifaceted flavors and textures ensure that every spoonful is a journey of culinary delight, making it a memorable dish for any holiday gathering.
Choosing the Best Bread for Your Cranberry Stuffing
The foundation of any great stuffing lies in its bread. When I first embarked on developing this Cranberry Pecan Stuffing recipe, I was convinced that using my favorite artisanal whole wheat and white loaves from a local bakery would be the secret to perfection. Logic suggested that if these breads were delicious with butter, they would make an ideal stuffing base, right? As it turns out, the reality was a bit more nuanced.
I quickly learned that some breads, while heavenly for eating, don’t necessarily lend themselves to the kind of fluffy, robust stuffing I envisioned. Even after thoroughly drying and crisping the bread cubes in the oven, their initial texture struggled to withstand the amount of liquid required for a truly flavorful and moist stuffing, resulting in a somewhat soggy outcome rather than the desired light yet substantial consistency.
My second attempt, using denser bakery loaves, yielded delicious results. However, I realized that specifying a particular type of artisanal bread, which might not be universally available, could be a hurdle for many home cooks. To ensure this recipe was accessible to everyone, I turned my attention to the commercial bread aisle, and the outcomes were nothing short of fantastic.
For this Cranberry Pecan Stuffing, the key is to select sturdy loaves that can absorb moisture without becoming mushy. Look for white sandwich breads labeled “Hearty,” “Country-Style,” or “Farmhouse.” These varieties are richer and possess a denser crumb, making them perfectly suited to stand up to the stock and eggs in the recipe, creating that ideal stuffing texture. Brands like Arnold or Pepperidge Farm often offer excellent options in this category.
When it comes to whole wheat breads, most commercial brands are inherently denser, making nearly any option suitable. The crucial factor, regardless of your chosen bread, is the drying process. Avoid any bread with an overly light or airy texture for this recipe, as it won’t hold its shape as well. The goal is to thoroughly dry out the bread cubes in your oven until they are crisp, firm, and lightly toasted. This crucial step prevents the stuffing from becoming overly dense or pasty, ensuring each bite offers that delightful combination of tender interior and slightly crisp exterior. Proper drying is the secret to a stuffing that truly shines.
Mastering Make-Ahead: Preparing Your Stuffing in Advance
One of the most effective strategies for a stress-free holiday dinner is to prepare as many components as possible in advance. This Cranberry Pecan Stuffing is wonderfully conducive to make-ahead planning, allowing you to streamline your cooking process and enjoy the festivities without last-minute scrambling. Here’s a detailed approach to prepping this savory side dish a few days before your main event.
Two Days Before: The Crouton and Pecan Foundation
Begin by cubing your bread and toasting it to perfection. This is a critical step that ensures your stuffing has the right texture and prevents it from becoming soggy. After the bread cubes are lightly toasted and completely dry, allow them to cool fully to room temperature. Simultaneously, toast your pecans until fragrant, then let them cool as well. Once both are cooled, store them separately in large zip-top bags or airtight containers at room temperature. This keeps them fresh and ready, saving you valuable time on the busiest cooking day.
The Day Before: Aromatic Prep
The day before serving, tackle your vegetable prep. Finely dice your onions and celery, which form the aromatic backbone of this stuffing. Once chopped, store them in separate airtight containers in the refrigerator. This simple step eliminates chopping time on the actual holiday, allowing you to quickly move to the sautéing stage.
On the Day of Serving: Assembly and Baking
While some might consider fully assembling or even baking stuffing in advance and reheating, I find that the texture is never quite the same. For the freshest and most delicious results, I highly recommend assembling and baking the stuffing on the day you plan to serve it. With your bread, pecans, and vegetables prepped, the actual assembly is remarkably quick and easy. Simply sauté your diced onions and celery in butter until softened and translucent (this typically takes only 8-10 minutes), then combine them with the dried bread cubes, toasted pecans, cranberries, and herbs. Moisten the mixture with stock and eggs, transfer it to your prepared baking dish, and bake until golden and bubbly. This approach guarantees that crispy exterior and moist interior that makes homemade stuffing so irresistible.
Stuffing or Dressing? The Great Thanksgiving Debate
The question of whether to bake your holiday “stuffing” inside the turkey’s cavity or in a separate baking pan (thus technically becoming “dressing”) is a topic that often sparks lively debate at Thanksgiving gatherings. Both methods have passionate advocates, and each offers distinct advantages. For a deeper dive into this culinary conundrum, you might enjoy reading “To Stuff or Not to Stuff” from Lauren Salkeld at Epicurious.
Personally, I’ve embraced both approaches over the years. There’s an undeniable allure to stuffing baked inside the turkey; it absorbs the rich, savory juices of the roasting bird, resulting in an exceptionally flavorful and moist creation. However, this method comes with a crucial food safety consideration: bacteria. It is paramount that the stuffing inside the turkey reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees F in its very center before the turkey is removed from the oven. Using a reliable meat thermometer is essential to ensure food safety when stuffing your bird.
For those who choose to stuff the turkey, a few best practices will ensure both safety and deliciousness. Always stuff the turkey immediately before roasting, never in advance. Additionally, avoid packing the stuffing too tightly into the cavity. A loosely stuffed bird allows for better heat circulation, ensuring the stuffing cooks thoroughly and evenly. Any stuffing that doesn’t fit comfortably into the turkey should be baked in a separate pan. This provides the added bonus of extra crispy edges, which are often a coveted part of any stuffing!
Want to read more about cooking stuffing in the bird? Consult the USDA guidelines on Turkey Basics with Stuffing.
Stuffing baked entirely in its own pan—what is technically called “dressing”—is equally delicious and offers its own set of benefits. This is the method I’ve utilized for the photos accompanying this recipe. While pan-baked dressing doesn’t benefit from the direct infusion of turkey juices, it allows for greater control over moisture and texture, often resulting in more uniformly crispy edges. To compensate for the lack of turkey juices, I typically add a bit more stock to the dressing mixture, ensuring it remains wonderfully moist and flavorful. Both methods produce a magnificent holiday side, so choose the one that best suits your preferences and holiday cooking style.
More Thanksgiving Side Dishes to Complete Your Feast:
- Cream Cheese Mashed Potatoes
- Buttermilk Sweet Potato Casserole
- Brandied Cherry Cranberry Sauce
- Cornbread, Sausage, and Chestnut Stuffing
- Brown Butter Whipped Sweet Potatoes
- Haricots Verts with Lemon-Herb Brown Butter Sauce
Cranberry Pecan Stuffing
Amanda Biddle
This Cranberry Pecan Stuffing blends whole wheat and country croutons with sweet-tart cranberries, toasted pecans, and herbs. Use vegetable stock for a vegetarian Thanksgiving side dish.
1 hour 30 minutes
1 hour
15 minutes
2 hours 45 minutes
12 servings
Ingredients
- ¾ pound firm country white or “farmhouse” sandwich bread (I use Arnold or Pepperidge Farm)
- ¾ pound firm whole wheat sandwich bread
- 1 cup small diced celery (about 1/4-inch dice)
- 2 cups small diced yellow onion (about 1/4-inch dice)
- 10 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided, plus additional for buttering the pan
- 2 tablespoons fresh sage leaves, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, chopped
- ½ teaspoon poultry seasoning (I use Bell’s)
- 1-1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus additional to taste
- 1 teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper, plus additional to taste
- 1 cup dried sweetened cranberries
- 1 cup toasted, coarsely chopped pecans
- ¼ cup fresh Italian parsley leaves, chopped
- 2-1/2 to 3 cups low sodium turkey, chicken, or vegetable stock, plus additional, as needed
- 2 large eggs
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.
- Cut breads into 1/2- to 3/4-inch cubes, leaving crusts on. Spread into an even layer on two baking sheets.
- Bake 50-60 minutes, until bread is lightly-toasted and dry throughout. Rotate pans halfway through baking time. Let croutons cool completely at room temperature.
- Raise oven temperature to 375 degrees F. Butter a 3-quart gratin or shallow baking dish.
- Melt 8 tablespoons butter in a skillet over medium-high heat until foaming subsides. Add celery and onion and cook, stirring frequently, until onions are softened and translucent, about 8-10 minutes. Stir in 1-1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, 1 teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper, sage, thyme, and poultry seasoning. Cook for an additional 1-2 minutes, until herbs are fragrant.
- In a large bowl, mix together croutons, onion and celery mixture, dried cranberries, pecans, and parsley. Moisten with 1-3/4 cups broth or stock and let stand for a few minutes for the bread to soak up the liquid. Season to taste with additional salt and pepper.
- In the liquid measuring cup, beat together 1/2 cup broth/stock and the eggs. Fold mixture into the stuffing mixture to combine. If the stuffing seems dry, add some of the additional liquid a little bit at a time. The broth should permeate the croutons, but the mixture should not be “mushy”.**
- Transfer stuffing mixture to the prepared baking dish. Cut the remaining butter into small cubes and scatter over the top of the stuffing. Cover the pan with a piece of foil. Bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and continue baking for 15-20 minutes, until edges are crispy and center reads 165 degrees F.
- Let stuffing rest for 15 minutes before serving.
Notes
*Be sure you’re using “low sodium” and not “reduced sodium” broth or stock when adding the quantity of kosher salt listed in the recipe. The brand I use when using store-bought (Pacific Foods Organic Low Sodium Chicken Stock) has 40 mg of sodium per cup. Homemade stock, such as my Turkey Stock, will typically not contain salt. If using a saltier broth or stock, adjust the added salt accordingly.
**I usually need 3 cups total of liquid in the recipe. Adjust the quantity as needed for the brands of bread you’re using and your family’s preferences for how soft/moist you like your stuffing to be.
To Stuff a Turkey:
Loosely fill the turkey cavity with freshly-prepared stuffing (do not pack). Be sure the center of the stuffing reaches 165 degrees F before removing it from the bird. Bake any stuffing that won’t fit in the turkey in a buttered baking dish, as directed above.
Baking Stuffing in a Pan:
Since pan-cooked stuffing doesn’t get the benefit of the turkey juices during baking, I sometimes drizzle a little extra broth over the stuffing in the pan before baking. (About 1/4 cup.) It depends on how moist my croutons have gotten during assembly. Judge it by eye.
To Toast Pecans:
Spread pecans in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees F for 5-8 minutes, until fragrant.
Nutrition Estimate
Calories: 357kcal | Carbohydrates: 39g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 19g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 57mg | Sodium: 400mg | Potassium: 252mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 12g | Vitamin A: 532IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 138mg | Iron: 3mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Please note that our recipes have been developed using the US Customary measurement system and have not been tested for high altitude/elevation cooking and baking.
This post was originally published on Striped Spatula on November 17, 2017. We updated it in 2020 with new photos and copy to answer reader questions, enhancing it to bring you the most comprehensive and delightful stuffing experience.