Making this dressing recipe is a family tradition. Grandma’s dressing is a staple on our Thanksgiving table and has been for generations.
I like my dressing to be firm, but moist and have a nice flavor profile. This perfectly describes grandma’s dressing or stuffing recipe.
Grandma’s Farmhouse Dressing Recipe
This recipe stands out above other dressing recipes in flavor and consistency because of an extra step that my grandma added. A secret to the success in this recipe is putting the celery and onion in a food processor to ensure finely chopped ingredients.
A delicious dressing is a holiday tradition for many families. Our Thanksgiving meal wouldn’t be complete without turkey, Farmhouse Mashed Potatoes, Loaded Sweet Potato Casserole and Country Corn Casserole.
My husband’s family makes Crock Pot Chicken and Dressing, Sweet Potato Souffle, Garlic Mashed Red Potatoes and a Big Batch of Pumpkin Pies.
My late grandma was a really good cook, probably because she had so much practice making big meals for groups of workers on our family’s farm. In the summer when it was time to bale hay and straw I know they would round up as many able high school boys as they could find. Part of the reward for hard work was a great homemade meal.
I’ve heard many stories about the legendary food that she made. The meal was always topped off with a dessert-like Watergate Salad, Cherry Coke Jello Salad or 7 Up Salad.
This dressing recipe was one of her specialties, so it’s guaranteed to be great!
Here’s a pic of the recipe in my mom’s handwriting. I’ve added some details so that this recipe is easier to prepare. My mom continues to make this dressing recipe, so I decided to learn the tradition.
I understand that a lot of digital recipes are used now, but there’s just something special about a handwritten recipe. Might a nice cookbook like these make a good holiday gift this year?
I may not make big meals on a regular basis, but I certainly want to preserve the tried and true recipes that have been served around farmhouses in our family for generations. This is one of those excellent traditions that I’m glad to practice and record here in hopes that many others may enjoy it too!
How to Make Farmhouse Dressing
- Cut bread cubes equal to 4 cups and leave on a baking sheet overnight or all night to dry. Loosley cover with a dish towel if desired. Do NOT cover tightly with plastic wrap or cubes will not be allowed to dry.
- A secret to the success of this recipe is using a food processor to make sure the celery and onion are made very smooth.
- Then mix all ingredients together and bake in a 350°F oven for about 45 minutes. The dressing should be lightly brown around the edges and the center should be starting to firm up. Remove from oven and cover with foil to keep warm. Dish will continue to cook and the center should set up a bit more.
Tips for Making Dressing
- Put celery and onion in food processor to make a smoother, more consistent texture for the dressing – I have a mini Cuisinart that works great
- 4 to 6 slices of bread makes 4 cups of bread cubes depending on the thickness of each slice
- Cutting the bread into smaller cubes will allow more flavors to blend in every bite
- I prefer the Pepperidge Farm Herb Seasoned Stuffing to mix in with the dried bread. The pieces rather than cubes of stuffing make a smoother and more consistent finished dish. I also enjoy how the pieces are already seasoned with herbs.
- If the dressing is being baked well ahead of the meal and will need to hold covered in foil be sure to add a little extra chicken broth so that it doesn’t dry out
- This recipe creates a fairly thin layer of dressing in the pan. Doubling the recipe in the same pan is not recommended as it will greatly affecting baking time.
Ingredients Needed to Make Dressing
- Dried bread cubes or day old bread
- Herb seasoned stuffing
- Chicken broth
- Onion
- Celery
- Eggs
- Butter
How to Make Grandma’s Dressing Recipe
Use day old bread or fresh bread, cut up enough bread to make 4 cups of cubes.
Using a mini food processor blend celery and onion.
Measure out ingredients and pour into a mixing bowl. Stir well and pour into a lightly greased 9 x 13 inch baking pan.
Bake uncovered in a preheated 350°F oven for 45 minutes until edges are lightly browned and the center is beginning to set.
Here are a few other tried and true side dishes from our family Jiffy Corn Pudding, Crock Pot Loaded Cauliflower Casserole, and Farmhouse Loaded Potatoes. We hope you enjoy these recipes as much as we do!
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Printable Grandma’s Farmhouse Dressing Recipe
Farmhouse Dressing Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 cups day old bread cubed
- 4 cups herb seasoned cubed stuffing
- 2 eggs
- 1 stick butter
- 1 cup celery
- 1/2 cup onion
- 2 cups turkey broth
Instructions
- Cut 4 cups of bread into cubes and leave out, uncovered overnight to dry out.
- Add celery and onion to the food processor and make smooth.
- Mix all ingredients together and bake in a 350 degree F oven for 45 minutes until just brown around the edges and slightly firm in the center.
Video
Notes
- If using plain bread cubes add 1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning and 1/2 teaspoon sage to the dressing.
- Put celery and onion in food processor to make a smoother, more consistent texture for the dressing – I have a mini Cuisinart that works great
- Cutting the bread into smaller cubes will allow more flavors to blend in every bite
- I prefer the Pepperidge Farm Herb Seasoned Stuffing to mix in with the dried bread. The pieces rather than cubes of stuffing make a smoother and more consistent finished dish. I also enjoy how the pieces are already seasoned with herbs.
- If the dressing is being baked well ahead of the meal and will need to hold covered in foil be sure to add a little extra chicken broth so that it doesn’t dry out
- This recipe creates a fairly thin layer of dressing in the pan. Doubling the recipe in the same pan is not recommended as it will greatly affecting baking time and may make it difficult for the center to finish baking.
Equipment
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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.
I have no website
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.