40 Best Thanksgiving Stuffing Recipes

You say stuffing, I say dressing, let's call the whole thing delicious! Whether you use bread, rice or cornbread, add sausage, apples or nuts, you'll find a stuffing recipe here that satisfies everyone around the table.

Everyone’s Thanksgiving plates look different. Some have mac and cheese, others green beans. With endless options of festive casseroles, desserts and sides to decorate your tables, it’s rare to find two homes that are perfectly in sync. But there are a couple of constants that bind us during the holiday season.

Stuffing and a big turkey are at almost every Thanksgiving table. They complement each other so well it’s hard to have one without the other. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t many ways to make your stuffing special. There are fruits in some, meat in others, and don’t even get us started on the types of bread you can use. But no matter how you make your stuffing, it’s just that; a binding agent not just for your meal, but the hearts gathered around the table.

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Stuffing from the Slow Cooker

If you’re hosting a big Thanksgiving dinner this year, add this simple slow-cooked stuffing to your menu to ease entertaining. It cooks in just three hours and stays moist. Best of all, it doesn’t use precious oven space.
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Badger State Stuffing

The contrasting sweet, savory and slightly tart flavors in this Thanksgiving classic are what make it so special. Bacon, fruit and sauerkraut give the stuffing a strong and memorable taste.
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Sausage Bread Dressing

This Italian sausage stuffing has some hidden sweetness. With apples and pecans, this must-have dish tastes just like fall.
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Pecan-Cornbread Dressing

Using cornbread stuffing mix cuts down on the time it takes to prep this smoky stuffing. Bacon and pecans give it a savory and sweet mix that’ll perfectly complement your other Thanksgiving dishes.
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Savory Zucchini Bread Pudding

This stuffing hits all the best flavor notes; savory, sweet and cheesy. Canned pumpkin and cinnamon work to make an aromatic and colorful dish.
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Hearty Rice Dressing

The creamy beef and pork dish packs just the right amount of heat. With 50 servings, you’re going to want to invite everyone you know to dinner. Or cut the recipe in half!
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Oyster Stuffing

Beef and pork stuffings are tried and true, but if you’re looking to switch things up a bit this year, this is the recipe for you. Oyster lovers can leave them whole instead of chopping them up.
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Smoked Sausage & Potato Dressing

This dish has all the makings of smoky stuffing but with potatoes as the base instead of bread. If you have leftovers, top some with an over-easy egg for breakfast.
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Slow Cooker Bacon-Mushroom Dressing

This stuffing cooks in the slow cooker while the turkey’s in the oven. It uses two types of prepackaged mix: cornbread and seasoned cubes.
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Cheesy Bacon Ranch Potato Stuffing

No gravy is required for this creamy mashed potato stuffing. This dressing is the combination of the two best Thanksgiving side dishes with some great add-ons like bacon and mushrooms.
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Traditional Holiday Stuffing

You can’t beat the classics. Sausage and sage add a gourmet taste to this classic stuffing.
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Special Herb Dressing

This satisfying dressing has all the great tastes people crave. With meat, fresh herbs, earthy mushrooms, crunchy apples and a burst of tart cranberries, this large-serve stuffing is great for a potluck.
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Moist Poultry Dressing

Mushrooms and onions complement the big herb flavor in this stuffing. The slow cooker lends a hand to how it stays so moist.
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Cranberry Pecan Stuffing

Cranberries and pork really make this stuffing something special. The pecans add just the right amount of sweetness and crunch.
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Wild Rice Stuffing

Use up your giblets in this buttery rice stuffing. It soaks up all the best flavors of your turkey and only bakes for 30 minutes.
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Slow Cooker Mushroom Stuffing

Put your slow cooker to work! This herby mushroom stuffing is vegetarian for any guests that require it.
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Southern Cornbread Dressing

This southern dressing has hard boiled eggs and turkey giblets woven into it for a nice blended taste. It turns out moist, hearty and ready for more turkey.
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“Everything” Stuffing

This stuffing really does have it all. From the earthiness of the mushrooms to the sweetness of the apples, you get every flavor profile without overshadowing any of them.
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Grandma’s Cornbread Dressing

This creamy chicken-flavored dressing is pillow-soft. You can chop up your Thanksgiving meat of choice into the dish.
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Amber’s Sourdough Stuffing

Sourdough is a nice change of pace from your usual prepackaged stuffing mixes. The natural tang blends nicely with the mushrooms and celery. This stuffing is great for a small night in, or you can double it for a larger crowd.
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Rice Dressing

This mushroom and chicken flavored rice dressing is a nice change of pace from traditional bread stuffings. It stays moist and can soak up lots of flavor.
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Cranberry Cornmeal Dressing

This sweet and tart dressing is perfect when paired with poultry or even pork. The dried cranberries really complement the dish’s turkey sausage.
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Sausage and Cornbread Dressing

A little steak sauce goes a long way in this dressing. Cornbread and cubed bread add a savory burst of flavor.
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Raisin-Studded Apple Stuffing

Raisins and tart apples adorn this satisfying sausage stuffing. With the soft bread and crisp apples, you’ll forget about the other side dishes entirely.
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Apple-Cranberry Stuffing

Fruit and wild rice make this sweet and tart dressing just a bit earthy. You can use any type of apple, but Granny Smith yields great results.
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Grandma’s Poultry Dressing

This poultry dressing requires simple ingredients that you probably already have on hand. Relying on the pork sausage flavor, this hearty stuffing goes great with any turkey.
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Cornbread Dressing with Oysters

This hard-boiled egg and oyster dressing is not short on flavor. It cooks separately from the turkey, since cooking stuffing inside the turkey can be dangerous.
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Cornbread Stuffing

If you’re from the South, you might get the appeal of a hard-boiled egg stuffing. While other dressings have sausage, and even oysters, this one has chicken for a nice classic taste.
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Fruit & Nut Andouille Stuffing

This six-ingredient stuffing utilizes seasoned cubes. With mixed fruit and pork sausage, everything’s thrown together really easily for a big flavor payout.
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Bacon & Sausage Stuffing

With bacon and sausage, this smoky stuffing doesn’t lose any moisture. The bacon even adds a nice coloring to the dish.
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Dried Cherry & Sausage Dressing

Apples and dried cherries add a sweet-tart flavor to this Italian-seasoned stuffing. The texture of the cherries are similar to raisins, but they have a richer flavor.
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Slow-Cooker Dressing

This very simple dressing is made with ingredients you probably already have on hand. Use unseasoned cubes so you can season them to your liking. Once it’s in the slow cooker, you’re free to turn your attention to the other sides.
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Herbed Apple-Cranberry Bread Dressing

Apples give a nice crunch to this stuffing while applesauce and orange juice pack on the sweetness. This breadcrumb dressing is soft and takes in a lot of flavor.
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Savory Sausage Stuffing

Pork sausage can be a game changer to your usual stuffing recipe. This simple dressing uses two types of bread and dried cranberries for extra tartness.
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Skillet Sausage Stuffing

There’s nothing easier than a skillet stuffing. The savory dish comes together in under a half hour which gives you more time to focus on your day. To make this sausage stuffing, you dress up a package of stuffing mix with pork sausage, mushrooms, celery and onion.
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Sweet Potato Stuffing

Sweet potatoes find their way to most Thanksgiving tables. This slow cooker dressing breathes new life into the starch. It’s versatile and able to withstand adding your family’s favorite ingredients to the mix.
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Sausage-Herb Dressing

Have you ever heard of coffee in a stuffing? This slow cooker dressing has a deep and herby flavor that you won’t be able to get enough of.
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Make-Ahead Cornbread Dressing

This dressing has a few surprising elements, the most notable being spaghetti squash. Spaghetti squash is great for a dressing because like rice, it takes to flavor really well. So with the added sausage, walnuts and cheese you end up with a delightfully rich and textured dish.
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Mushroom Stuffing

A hearty cornbread mix combines with mushrooms and bacon for a spectacular result. This dressing is creamy and soft.
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Apple & Apricot Stuffing

This fruit and veggie stuffing is both sweet and tart. The apricots give it a nice orange coloring that will brighten your Thanksgiving table.

Alyssa Asaro
Alyssa has been with Taste of Home for just over a year, but has been in food and lifestyle publishing since 2018. As an associate editor, she writes and edits recipe collections and runs several newsletters, including Top 10, Slow Cooker & Casseroles, Quick Dinners and Balanced Plate. When she's not planning her next trip overseas, you can find Alyssa trying out new Chicago restaurants or watching a movie.