Grandma’s Dressing Recipe
This Old Fashioned Dressing recipe has been a family tradition for generations. Grandma’s old fashioned turkey dressing (or stuffing, depending on where you’re from) is a Thanksgiving staple.
We love the simplicity of this recipe, and it’s known for its firm yet moist texture and rich, savory flavor in every bite.
An Easy Old Fashioned Dressing Recipe
This is an easy recipe with a few simple tips that help it turn out right every time you make it. What makes Grandma’s dressing stand out is one extra step! She always ran the celery and onion through a food processor so their flavor blends evenly into every bite instead of showing up in big chunks.
Our family’s Thanksgiving meal wouldn’t be complete without turkey, Crockpot Mashed Potatoes, Candied Sweet Potato Casserole, Applesauce Jello, and Scalloped Corn Casserole.
Why This Thanksgiving Recipe Works
- Our old fashioned turkey dressing recipe uses just 7 simple ingredients, most of which are already in the pantry.
- Blending the celery and onion creates a smooth, even flavor throughout.
- Mixing plain dried bread with herb seasoned stuffing does most of the seasoning for you – a modern update to Grandma’s original.
- The eggs bind everything together, so it slices and serves neatly.
- Ingredients can be prepared ahead to free up time on Thanksgiving Day.
A Recipe From Our Family Farm
My late grandma was a really good cook, probably because she had so much practice feeding groups of workers on our family’s farm. In the summer, when it was time to bale hay and straw, they would round up as many able high school boys as they could find, and part of the reward for hard work was a great homemade meal like No Peek Chicken with Wild Rice. Those meals were often topped off with a Marshmallow Salad recipe, Cherry Coke Jello or 7 Up Salad.
This dressing recipe was one of her specialties, so it’s guaranteed to be great!
Here’s the recipe in my mom’s handwriting. Over the years, Mom updated it to use half dried bread cubes and half herb seasoned stuffing, so the sage and poultry seasoning on the card are no longer needed unless you use all plain bread. My mom still makes this dressing every year, and I’m glad to carry on the tradition.
My grandma used broth straight from her roasting Thanksgiving turkey, but store bought chicken broth works just as well.
Ingredients Needed
- Bread cubes – Day old bread, cut small, 3/4″ or smaller and dried overnight. 4 to 6 slices makes about 4 cups, depending on thickness.
- Herb seasoned stuffing – I prefer Pepperidge Farm Herb Seasoned Stuffing. Its small pieces make a smoother finished dish and are already seasoned with herbs.
- Turkey or chicken broth – My grandma used broth straight from her roasting Thanksgiving turkey, but store-bought chicken broth works just as well.
- Celery and onion – Finely chopped in a food processor.
- Eggs – They add richness and help hold the dressing together.
- Butter – Melted, for flavor and moisture.
Cut The Bread Cubes Small
Cut the bread into cubes that are 3/4″ or smaller, preferably 1/2″. Leave them on a baking sheet overnight to dry. You can loosely cover them with a dish towel, but don’t use plastic wrap, or they won’t dry out.
Smaller cubes soak up the broth mixture and blend together, which gives a more level top that bakes evenly. Larger cubes keep their shape and leave an uneven top, and their tips can burn before the center is done. If your cubes are too big, trim them with kitchen shears any time before baking.
Finely Chop The Celery And Onion
A mini food processor is the best way to finely chop the celery and onion. Pulse until they’re very fine, almost minced. This spreads their flavor into a mild undertone instead of random crunchy bites. If your family prefers small diced pieces, that works too.
Mix And Pour Into The Pan
Stir all of the ingredients together in a large mixing bowl, then pour into a lightly greased 9×13″ baking dish.
If the mixture doesn’t blend together well, add 1/4 to 1/2 cup more broth and let the cubes soak for 15 minutes. Stir again before spreading in the pan.
Bake Until Lightly Browned
Bake uncovered at 350°F for about 35 minutes, until the edges are lightly browned and the center is starting to set. Remove from the oven and cover with foil to keep it warm. The dressing will keep cooking and the center will firm up a little more.
Recipe Tips and Tricks
- Cutting the bread into smaller cubes lets more flavor blend into every bite.
- If you’ll bake the dressing well ahead of the meal and hold it covered in foil, add about 1/2 cup extra broth so it doesn’t dry out.
- This recipe makes a fairly thin layer in the pan. Don’t double it in the same pan, because the center may not finish baking. Use two pans instead.
What’s the difference between dressing and stuffing?
Stuffing is traditionally cooked inside the turkey, while dressing is baked in a separate pan. Many families use the names interchangeably depending on where they’re from.
Can I make this in a slow cooker?
Readers have told us it works well in a crock pot, which saves oven space on Thanksgiving. For a slow cooker version, try our Crock Pot Chicken and Dressing.
More Thanksgiving Recipes
- Sweet Potato Soufflé
- Corn Casserole for a Crowd
- Pumpkin Cool Whip Dessert
- Honey Bun Sweet Potato Cake
Old Fashioned Dressing Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 cups day old bread cubed
- 4 cups herb seasoned cubed stuffing
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1 cup celery
- 1/2 cup onion
- 2 cups turkey broth or chicken broth
Instructions
- Cut 4 cups of bread into 3/4" or smaller cubes and leave out, uncovered overnight to dry out.
- Preheat oven to 350℉ and lightly coat a 9 x 13" pan with non-stick cooking spray.
- Add 1 cup celery and 1/2 cup onion to the food processor and make smooth.
- Mix all ingredients, 4 cups day old bread, 4 cups herb seasoned cubed stuffing, 2 eggs, 1/2 cup butter, celery, onion and 2 cups turkey broth together.
- Bake uncovered in preheated oven for 35 minutes until just brown around the edges and slightly firm in the center. Serve warm!
Video
Notes
- If using all plain bread cubes add 1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning and 1/2 teaspoon sage to the dressing.
- Cutting the bread into smaller cubes will allow more flavors to blend in every bite
- My grandma used broth straight from her roasting Thanksgiving turkey, but store-bought chicken broth works just as well.
Did you make this recipe?
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Rate This Recipe Pin This RecipeRecipe originally shared on November 18, 2017 with pictures and notes updated on October 23, 2026.
My mom’s was very much like this but she added one raw egg. She always said, “One egg is dressing and two is cement!”
My mom would add 2 eggs because she said it holds it together like her meatloaf she always added 2 eggs.
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Confused..seeing your mom’s written recipe, reminds me of my mom’s recipe but when you show the ingredients in your version you leave out the sage, poultry seasoning, eggs, so I’m confused. Is it possible to see your grandmothers recipe?
Great question! My mom said that they updated the recipe to include half dried bread and half seasoned bread cubes. When using the seasoned bread cubes we omitted the sage and poultry seasoning. If you wanted to make your own dried bread cubes just add in those seasonings :).
This is my grandma’s recipe also, except she cooked the onions and celery ahead of time. No one liked sage, so she always omitted it. I make this every Thanksgiving! Thanks for sharing.
You say put celery and onion in food processor until smooth. Okay so it’s supposed to be creamy (?) and not cut into slices for stuffing???? that’s strange to me .
Using the blender is the secret to our family’s dressing, but there are many ways to make it. If you like slices you can definitely use slices. Hope you enjoy 🙂 .
Instead of eggs, my family uses mashed potatoes! Always use sage too.
WOW!!! I was browsing through Pinterest and saw your Mom’s recipe page. I still have the same Write your Own Cookbook! I used to live in Iowa and got it 35-40 years ago. It’s full and ragged but chock full of great recipes for like this yummy dressing! My Mom is gone now but I’m lucky enough to have a bunch of her favorite recipes! Thanks for the blast from the past!
Hi! Have you ever tried this in a slow cooker? I ask, for the sake of saving oven real estate, lol! Happy Thanksgiving!
Hey There! Great question ~ I have not made this recipe in the crock pot, but please let me know how it turns out if that’s what you do. Thanks!
It was a great hit with my friends and family. I added a half a cup of grated carrot to give it some color. It is definitely going to be at our Thanksgiving table every year
I have made this in a crockpot and its delicious.
Sounds a lot like my mother in law’s dressing. No poultry seasoning however. She used a lot more sage. Did not bake but fried it into cakes. The best!! Loved waking up to the smell of them frying.
I have searched for years for my grandmother’s dressing recipe and this is it. Thank you Jennifer for sharing. It means so much to me. My grandmother always made the best dressing. She made it with all the ingredients listed and stirred it with love.