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Bacon Stuffing is the perfect side dish that will quickly become a Thanksgiving tradition! The secret is frying the bacon first so you can cook the veggies in the bacon grease.
Table of Contents
- Bacon Stuffing
- What kind of bread is best for stuffing?
- Ingredients in this Bacon Stuffing Recipe
- Ingredient Additions and Substitutions
- Recipe Tip – Cook Bacon Ahead
- Frequently Asked Questions About Thanksgiving Stuffing with Bacon
- More Thanksgiving Recipes
- How to Make Bacon Stuffing
- Thanksgiving Stuffing with Bacon Recipe
Bacon Stuffing
Forget about the stuff you buy in the box, this should be a new holiday tradition. I have used sausage in dressings and stuffings before, but this is the first time I’ve tried bacon. It took me about 30 minutes to prep, and then it went right in the oven. It made the whole house smell incredible. If you like to stuff your Thanksgiving turkey with stuffing, this is the perfect stuffing to use! The bacon will add so much flavor to your turkey!
A big thanks to Katelyn Walker, Emily’s sister-in-law, for this homemade stuffing recipe. It is a family recipe handed down to her from her Grandma Jolly.
What kind of bread is best for stuffing?
You can use pre-made bread cubes, but fresh french bread just tastes so good, and you can get it really cheap at the grocery store. It only took me a few minutes to cube it myself. What makes this recipe so flavorful is sautéing the celery and onions in the leftover bacon grease, so make sure you don’t throw it away. If you are crunched for time on Thanksgiving Day, you can make this the night before. Cover the cooled dressing with plastic wrap and put it in the fridge. You can also store the leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge.
Ingredients in this Bacon Stuffing Recipe
- Loaf of French bread
- Bacon
- Celery Stalks – chopped
- Onion – chopped
- Sage
- Salt and pepper
- Chicken Broth (or Chicken Stock or low-sodium Chicken Broth)
Ingredient Additions and Substitutions
- Parsley
- Rosemary
- Fresh Thyme
- Poultry Seasoning
Recipe Tip – Cook Bacon Ahead
A little bacon tip is to make the bacon ahead of time and freeze it until ready to add to the stuffing, but make sure to save some bacon grease for sautéing the vegetables. You can fry the bacon in a large skillet or bake it in the oven. Spread a sheet of tin foil over a cookie sheet and add the slices of bacon. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. Let the bacon cool, and place it in a resealable freezer bag.
Frequently Asked Questions About Thanksgiving Stuffing with Bacon
Yes! It gives the stuffing so much flavor! You have to put this Bacon Stuffing on your Thanksgiving menu this year. It is unbelievably good!
Traditional or original stuffing is made of bread or bread cubes, celery, onion, butter, and fresh herbs like rosemary and thyme.
Stuffing is a mixture that serves as the perfect base for getting a little innovative in the kitchen and adjusting to your liking. In our recipe, we use bacon and bacon drippings. Some people may go a different route, dicing granny smith apples and putting them in the stuffing, or adding garlic cloves. Stuffing is basic yet versatile, get creative!
Read More: 25+ Thanksgiving Side Dishes to Complement Your Turkey
More Thanksgiving Recipes
What’s Thanksgiving without the stuffing? And what goes better with stuffing than cranberry sauce? Check out some of our favorite stuffing and cranberry sauce recipes below.
If you are serving anyone with a gluten allergy for Thanksgiving dinner, we also have a Gluten-Free Stuffing recipe that is delicious. Be sure to see more of our favorite Thanksgiving Recipes, including appetizers, salads, more side dishes, and, of course, turkey, and gravy.
How to Make Bacon Stuffing
Thanksgiving Stuffing with Bacon
Equipment
- Skillet
- Casserole dish
Ingredients
- 1 loaf french bread
- 1 pound bacon
- 2 cups chopped celery
- 1 onion chopped
- 1 teaspoon sage
- salt and pepper
- 2 cups chicken broth
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350℉. Cut the french bread into 1-inch cubes and put in a large bowl.
- Cut the bacon into small pieces and cook in a skillet. Drain the bacon, but DO NOT throw away the grease. Add the bacon to the bread pieces.
- Sauté the celery and onions in the leftover bacon grease. Drain excess grease.
- Mix the celery and onions into the bacon and bread.
- Add sage, salt and pepper.
- Add 1-2 cups of chicken broth, depending on how moist you like the stuffing. Stir until well combined.
- Pour into a greased 9×13 dish and bake covered for 30 minutes.
- Uncover and bake for another 20 minutes.
This is absolutely delicious, even people who don’t normally care for stuffing love it. I find that sometimes at the end I have to add more liquid but am so grateful for this recipe, I’ve been looking for years for this. Thanks so much,
This was absolutely delicious! My new favourite stuffing recipe as of now. My hubby was blown away by it too!
Love the simplicity and that it’s still yummy good
Thank you, Cindy! I’m so glad you like the recipe. Happy Thanksgiving!
Though i haven’t made it yet (have to buy ingredients) i want to make it for my husband because this dish is a bit different from the regular stuffing we occasionally have during Thanksgiving and it’s almost that time. And for some sweet/sour dish i will also make some of the cranberry/raspberry/orange, etc. i saw. Yum yum!
Once everything is combined, can it be cooked in a crock pot? And if so, for how long and on what temperature? Thank you
We haven’t tried it in a crock pot, so I am not sure if it will work!
Our family has done our Thanksgiving stuffing for 4 generations with bacon. We also add black olives to it. I have used toasted white and wheat bread as well as seasoned bread crumbs. Cornbread is another option, but I prefer the bread. It is always a hit.
Always on the lookout for new stuffing recipes and this one is superb! Thanks so much.
Everything is better with bacon. I never thought to add it to stuffing, what what a great idea.
Why have I never thought of this before?! Bacon in stuffing is brilliant
Bacon is seriously the best thing ever and I love the sound of this bacon stuffing with a little sage! The ingredients all seem really simple which is great!! I can’t wait to try your recipe! Thanks
This was so good and so easy to make. I’ll be making it again for Thanksgiving this year.
Ladies, you have outdone yourselves! This looks delicious!
Bacon in stuffing? Yes please! This looks so delicious and flavorful. Can’t wait for Thanksgiving now.
Whoa. I have never thought of a bacon stuffing until this recipe. This is gonna be a Thanksgiving hit!
You had me at bacon! So many great flavors – can’t wait to make it again!
I need to make this the night before. Do I complete the full cooking before cooling and refrigerating or do I complete prep up to #8 (blend ingredients), refrigerate and cook the next day? Thank you for your time.
I would combine everything except the chicken broth and refrigerate it overnight. Add the chicken broth right before you put it in the oven the next day. Hope this helps!
Thank you!
This is my first time hosting Thanksgiving and I’m excited to try this recipe! I have one question that may be a little silly: do you put the stuffing already made inside the turkey when cooking the turkey? If so, do you cook the bacon completely or do you cook it half way and let it cook completely on e inside the turkey?
In my experience you want to prepare the stuffing completely before putting it inside the turkey. Since it will be covered by the turkey the bacon shouldn’t burn or anything, so cook it all the way before.
Can you use seasoned dried bread cubes? Would I add more broth?
I haven’t used dried bread cubes with this recipe before, so I am not sure. Sorry!
How many does this serve?
It serves about 6-8 as a side dish.
We could eat this year round. It goes perfect with any meat.
Bacon Stuffing? And Maple Bacon Monkey Bread? I’m In!
Yum – thank you.