True confessions: I’ve never cooked a Thanksgiving dinner.
I know, spoiled much!?!
I’ve always gone to my mom’s or my mother-in-law’s, and in recent years we’ve been going to my sister-in-law’s house for Thanksgiving dinner, but this year I’m going to be cooking! Of course I had to call my mom and ask her for all the family recipes so I can make it taste like home.
My favorite part of her Thanksgiving meal is her herbed bread stuffing, so when Keller’s Creamery reached out and asked me to cook one of my traditional family Thanksgiving recipes, I immediately knew which recipe I would share.
Keller’s Creamery butter has been a Philadelphia family tradition since 1906. You can’t go into any grocery store around here without seeing Keller’s prominently displayed, and this time of year they bring out their beloved turkey butter sculptures — the perfect accompaniment to any Thanksgiving tablescape!
Fun fact: last Thanksgiving, Philadelphians bought more than 10 million sticks of butter.** That’s 514 times the amount of yards rushed by the Philadelphia Eagles in 2016 (1,813 yards) and enough sticks of butter to run the length of the Benjamin Franklin Bridge 292 times!
For those who are local, I found my butter sculpture and a large selection of the different Keller’s Creamery butter varieties at my local Acme, but it’s also available at other major regional grocers. (CLICK HERE to save $1 on any two packages of Keller’s Butter!)
This bread stuffing recipe is really easy to make, but it packs a punch when it comes to flavor. I used gluten-free bread, but regular works too. Also, I prefer a dry stuffing so I put it in a casserole dish, but you can certainly use it to stuff your turkey if you wish. My mom always makes a huge batch and uses half in the turkey and puts the other half in a casserole dish.
This dish wouldn’t be the same without real butter, so it’s fitting that you start this recipe by melting 1/3 cup butter in a large sauté pan.
While that’s going, you can chop your onions.
When the butter is nice and happy, you add the onions and cook until they’re soft.
Chop your bread into small cubes until they equal about 4 cups.
Then add half the bread cubes to the onion/butter mixture and stir lightly to combine.
After that, all you have to do is dump that over into a mixing bowl and add the remaining bread cubes along with chopped celery, sage, thyme, and salt & pepper. I like the crunch of the raw celery in the dish, but if you prefer, you can cook it along with the onions in the butter for a more subtle flavor and a softer stuffing.
Turn it all over into a small casserole dish and bake for 20 minutes, or until it’s brown on top, and serve!
Traditional Bread Stuffing Recipe
Ingredients:
1/3 cup Keller’s Creamery butter
1/4 cup minced onion
4 cups bread cubes (I used gluten-free, but either works.)
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 tsp dried sage
1 tsp chopped fresh thyme
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
Instructions:
Heat oven to 375º F.
Melt butter in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook till soft and just starting to brown.
Add half the bread crumbs and gently stir until warm and soft.
Remove from the heat and pour bread/onion mixture into a medium-sized mixing bowl.
Add the remaining ingredients, and toss to combine.
Pour the stuffing mixture into an un-greased 2 quart casserole dish and cook for 20 minutes or until lightly browned on top.
Serve warm alongside a roast turkey, and top with turkey gravy if desired.
Serves 4-6.
This recipe serves 4-6, so it’s perfect for our family of 5, but if you’re serving a crowd, you will want to double or triple it. If you make a larger portion, you’ll want to cook it longer too. Just make sure to cook it till it’s lightly browned on top. Serve warm alongside your Thanksgiving turkey, or you can always make it to go along with a roasted chicken — no need to wait for Thanksgiving to enjoy this dish! I like mine best with gravy drizzled on top.
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*According to an October 2017 Survata survey of 717 Philadelphian adults.
**According to November 2016 industry data.
