January 7, 2019

Herbed Bread Dressing

Herbed Bread Dressing. Deliciously seasoned bread and vegetables baked to perfection! Ideal as a side dish any time of the year!

Side Dishes are Where it’s At

I like meat, but it’s not my favorite. I’m not a vegetarian, but I like to order vegetarian meals at restaurants because I think that most of the time, they have more flavor than the meat options. So, at Thanksgiving, I’m more of a sides and dessert girl.

Turkey Dressing

Growing up, there was always plenty of dressing at Thanksgiving. My mom would make a dressing that I would describe as a cross between a casserole and wet bread. We would cut it into squares and you could pick it up like a brownie if you wanted. It always enjoyed it, but had never experienced bread dressing.

After getting married, I of course began to have some Thanksgivings with my husband’s family. Isn’t it funny how you don’t realize what your traditions are until you see someone else’s traditions?! I didn’t realize other people had Thanksgiving without sweet potato casserole, that some people didn’t have 18 desserts for the day, and that some people had bread dressing.

Herbed Bread Dressing

The first time I had my mother-in-law’s herbed bread dressing, I wanted to eat ALL of it. It contained seasonings that I wasn’t accustomed to eating, and I couldn’t get enough of it.

This past Thanksgiving my husband, our kids and I all went to South Carolina to see my family for the holiday. I wanted my husband to have one of his traditions there (i.e. I wanted his mama’s dressing), so I attempted to make it.

I didn’t have my mother-in-law’s recipe for her herbed bread dressing with me on the trip, so I had to work with what I knew of it and spice it up as I saw fit. It turned out to be a win! It’s flavorful, soft, yet with a crunch, and all around delicious. It’s good enough be served as a side all year long.

Herbed Bread Dressing

Herbed Bread Dressing. Deliciously seasoned bread and vegetables baked to perfection! Ideal as a side dish any time of the year!

5 from 2 votes

Course: Side Dish

Prep Time: 15

Cook Time: 30

Servings: servings

Calories: 256

Ingredients

2 tbsp butter
4 stalks celery diced
2 cups diced onion
4 cloves garlic
3 loaves white bread
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon dried sage
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1//2 teaspoon marjoram
3 large eggs
1 cup chicken broth

Instructions

Remove crust from sides of bread. Discard ends. Rip bread into small chunks. Place in a large container and cover with a dish towel. Let sit out for 12 hours, or overnight.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Melt butter in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add celery and onion, saute until softened, about 6 minutes. Add garlic and saute for another minute.
In a large bowl, whisk the 3 eggs. Stir in chicken broth, salt, pepper, sage, thyme, marjoram, and cooked vegetable mixture. Add bread and stir until bread is well coated.
Transfer mixture to a 9×13 baking dish. Bake covered for 15 minutes, and uncovered for an additional 10-15 minutes, or until top starts to brown. Turn broiler to high and broil for 1-2 minutes to brown top of stuffing.