Apple Stuffing with celery, onions, and herbs is always a big hit at our Thanksgiving dinner table. This is a classic stuffing recipe filled with apple chunks to add a little crunch and juiciness to the savory, buttery, toasted bread mixture tossed in celery, onions, thyme, rosemary, and sage.
It’s traditional stuffing with a slight twist, with incredible flavors and textures. If you’ve been looking for the perfect Thanksgiving stuffing with apples, this is the only homemade stuffing recipe you’ll ever need!
Preparing your Thanksgiving feast? Working on your menu for the holiday season? We got you covered! Check out Herb Butter Turkey Breast, Homemade Cranberry Sauce, Gravy From Scratch, Mascarpone Mashed Potatoes, Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecans, Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Sweet Potatoes, and Pumpkin Pie to round up your menu!
Stuffing with apples celery onions
This apple stuffing is made in a casserole dish, but you can also stuff it inside your roasted turkey as well.
Golden brown and crunchy on top, soft on the insides, our apple stuffing (sometimes called dressing in certain parts of the country) is a cozy mix of toasted bread, sautéed onions and celery, and fresh rosemary and sage.
If you’ve ever made homemade croutons, the bread toasting step will feel very familiar!
It is buttery, flavorful, and heavenly.
In addition to all that, what makes apple stuffing unique and delicious is the bites of juicy apples that deliver a hint of sweetness.
Why you’ll love this apple stuffing:
- Classic stuffing with a slight twist: The apples enhance the lovely stuffing without overpowering it or taking over the classic dish.
- Good quality ingredients: I recommend fresh herbs, real butter, and dry bread for the best tasting apple stuffing.
- Minimal work for maximum taste: This apple stuffing recipe is for those who want shortcuts without sacrificing taste. I promise the end result tastes SO good, while making your Thanksgiving prep a lot easier!
- Versatile: Want to make this your own? Check out the variations and substitutions below for easy ingredient swaps and ways to tweak it!
I’ll be honest, I was not a fan of stuffing for the longest time. I didn’t realize that making homemade stuffing from scratch makes SUCH a big difference. Now, I have to get my stuffing fix every holiday season!
Kitchen tools
To make this apple celery herb stuffing, you will need:
- Large skillet – non stick or stainless steel works just fine
- 9 “x 13” baking dish – all the toasted bread will have a hard time fitting into baking dish smaller than this.
Ingredients For Apple Stuffing
Here are the ingredients you will need:
- Bread cubes: Lots and lots of it! The drier the bread the better, because it will absorb the liquid and seasoning better. In fact, I would buy bread a week or so before Thanksgiving and let it dry in the fridge. You can use any type of bread – French bread, whole wheat, sourdough, regular white bread, or even a mixture. Got stale bread lying around? Use it! It’s actually better to use stale bread than fresh.
- Apples: I like to use a sweet apple such as Honeycrisp, since I find sour green apples aren’t as tasty here. That said, tart apples still work if you like a tangier stuffing (more on that in the FAQs below). Cut them into small cubes so they cook easily.
- Salted butter: Use real butter and avoid substituting with margarine for the best taste. Butter will help crisp up the bread on top while giving your apple stuffing amazing flavor.
- Onions: White, sweet, or yellow onion. Chop into small pieces.
- Celery: Also chop into small pieces.
- Garlic: Use fresh garlic and mince into small pieces. Do not substitute with garlic powder – the taste just isn’t the same.
- Fresh herbs: Thyme, rosemary, and sage. You can use dried herbs, but the stuffing won’t taste as rich. I highly recommend using fresh if you can.
- Chicken broth: Use good quality broth for the best taste. Free range organic or bone broth usually tastes richer. Low sodium or vegetable broth works as well.
- Salt: Not just for saltiness, it brings out all the other flavors in the dish.
- Parsley: As garnish.
- Cooking oil spray: For greasing the dish so the edges don’t stick.
How to make Apple Stuffing
Step 1: Toast bread in oven
The first thing to do when making apple onion celery stuffing is to toast the bread cubes in the oven.
Even if you are using old/stale bread, I would still toast it but for a shorter time.
To toast bread cubes in the oven, lay them out without overlapping on a large baking sheet. You may need two pans to comfortably fit all your bread.
Toast bread cubes in the preheated oven at 300℉ for 8-12 minutes. If bread cubes are already pretty dry, you may need less than 8 minutes.
When they are done, remove from oven. Bread cubes should be slightly golden brown on top and crunchy. Let bread cool completely.
You can toast and dry out bread cubes ahead of time and store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a few days.
Step 2: Sauté apples, onions, celery, and herbs
Next step in making apple stuffing: sauté the apples, onions, celery, and herbs in butter. Lots of butter…
It’s Thanksgiving, and we are bringing on the butter… Butter brings the most amazing richness to this apple stuffing and also helps toast the bread slightly.
Step 3: Toss and season bread cubes
Toss the toasted bread cubes in the apple and herb butter mixture to give it all that buttery goodness.
At this point, your kitchen should smell pretty amazing. The fresh herbs will have released their glorious aroma into the butter and made your home smell like Thanksgiving.
Once bread cubes are tossed, drizzle some chicken stock all over the bread cubes and toss once more.
We are adding a little bit of moisture to the bread so that our apple stuffing is not completely dry.
Step 4: Bake!
Grease a 9″ x 13″ rectangular baking dish and spread your apple stuffing mixture evenly in the dish.
Bake apple stuffing at 350℉ for 30-40 minutes, or until the top is golden brown. How long you bake it will also depend on how dry or wet you like your stuffing.
When it is done, I typically like to sprinkle some chopped fresh parsley on top as garnish.
There you have it, ladies and gentlemen! Apple Stuffing with Onions, Celery, and Herbs.
I love the buttery golden brown toasted bread that is crunchy on the edges and soft on the insides, infused with so much gorgeous flavor from the aromatics.
And of course, those chunks of juicy apples dispersed throughout to give it a little bit of juiciness and sweetness.
I wasn’t the biggest stuffing fan until I tried making stuffing from scratch. The store-bought stuffing mix just doesn’t compare.
Trust me, my friends. This apple stuffing is going to be your new favorite stuffing! ❤️
Variations and Substitutions
Variations And Substitutions
What I love about this apple stuffing is how versatile it is. It’s a classic, straightforward stuffing, but that doesn’t mean you can’t jazz it up and make it unique!
Here are some delicious ingredients to add to switch it up:
- Crumbled sausage: Pan sear it separately and toss it with the bread cubes after they’ve been tossed in the buttery veggie mixture.
- Herbs: Feel free to swap in others, such as oregano or parsley (inside the stuffing, not just as garnish). Or drop one of the ones I suggested. I love complex flavor, so my preference is to use all three, but you can just use two or even one.
- Dried fruit: Raisins, dried cranberries, or apricots would be really yummy here.
- Nuts: If you like to add some crunch to your stuffing, try adding some walnuts, pecans, or almonds.
- Pears: Swap half of the fruit for firm pears like Bosc or Anjou for a softer, more mellow sweetness.
Make Ahead and Reheating Instructions
I make my apple stuffing ahead of time all the time for Thanksgiving.
Make ahead: Simply store stuffing covered in the refrigerator for up to 6 days.
Freezing: Cooked or uncooked stuffing can also be stored in the freezer for up to 2 months. Make sure to seal it with aluminum foil and plastic wrap so it is airtight. Move it to the refrigerator 24 hours ahead for a complete defrost before reheating or baking.
Reheating: Bake at 325℉ for 30 minutes. Cover at the 15-minute mark if the top is browning more than you’d like.
Tips and Tricks
- Use day-old bread: Dry and stale bread is best for Thanksgiving stuffing – it will absorb the stock better and hold up well.
- Let the bread cool completely: Warm bread straight off the pan can steam and turn soggy once the butter mixture and stock go in.
- Cut everything to a similar size: Dicing the veggies and fruit into small, even pieces helps everything cook in the same quick sauté.
- Peeling is optional: Leaving the skins on saves you a step, helps the fruit hold its shape, and adds pretty pops of color.
- Add the stock gradually: Drizzle it in a little at a time and toss between additions, so every cube soaks some up and you don’t end up with soggy spots.
- Adjust for taste: Feel free to adjust the seasoning to suit your taste. Some people like a more herb-heavy stuffing while others might want it more buttery. There’s no right or wrong.
- Moisture control: If you think the stuffing is too dry before baking, add a bit more stock. If it seems too wet, add more bread cubes.
- Crispy top: If you like a crispy top on your stuffing, bake it uncovered for a longer time. If you prefer a softer stuffing, cover with aluminum foil.
- Use a Dutch oven: If you have a Dutch oven, you can sauté and toss the ingredients right in there, and pop the whole thing in the oven without having to transfer to another casserole dish.
- Plan around the turkey: Bake the stuffing while the turkey rests, or make it ahead and simply reheat – one less thing to juggle on the big day!
Frequently Asked Questions
Follow the recipe exactly, but use only 1 cup of chicken stock instead of 1 1/2 cup. The toasted bread needs less moisture if it is inside the turkey. However, if you like a really wet stuffing, go ahead and leave it at 1 1/2 cups of chicken stock.
Try using plant-based butter or olive oil. You may have to experiment for exact quantity needed. Consider adding extra herbs and/or salt for flavor because butter brings a lot of flavor.
Absolutely! Leftover cooked bacon or browned sausage meat makes a great stuffing ingredient.
If you like your stuffing dryer, bake for longer in the oven (closer to the 40-minute mark, or even more).
If you like your stuffing wetter, bake for a shorter time (closer to the 30-minute mark, or less) and/or add another 1/2 cup of chicken broth to the stuffing mixture before baking.
Yes! This is a great way to simplify the process and make it more hands-off. It also makes for easier cleanup!
Prepare ingredients as in recipe but stop before putting them in the casserole dish. Instead, grease slow cooker, then add the stuffing mixture into it and cook on low for 4-6 hours or on high for 2 hours. If you want the tops to be crispy, bring slow cooker pot into the oven and bake for a few minutes at 400℉ or until the top and sides feel crispy.
Absolutely! See reheating instructions above or in the recipe card. See the make ahead and reheating instructions above or in the recipe card.
It depends on how sweet you like your stuffing! For a sweeter stuffing, go with Honeycrisp, Fuji, Gala, or Pink Lady. If you prefer a little tang, tart or sweet-tart apples like Granny Smith or Braeburn work well.
For a unique flavor, try a mixture of sweet and tart apples – you get a little of both in every bite. Whatever you choose, pick a firm, crunchy apple so the pieces hold their shape. Softer varieties like McIntosh tend to turn mushy.
Absolutely! This stuffing is written for salted butter, so if you use unsalted butter instead, season the veggie mixture a little more generously and give it a taste before tossing it with the bread.
You can, but I prefer cubing my own bread – the end result just tastes fresher and better! If you do use a seasoned mix, skip the toasting step and go easy on the added seasoning, since the mix is already seasoned.
ENJOYED THIS RECIPE? Tell us what you think by leaving a rating and review below! 🤍
More Thanksgiving/Holiday Side Dishes
Here are some of my other favorite sides for the holidays:
- Garlic Mashed Potatoes
- Creamy Mashed Potatoes
- Cheesy Mashed Potatoes
- Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes
- Honey Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Bacon
- Honey Balsamic Brussels Sprouts
- Broccoli au Gratin
- Broccoli Kale Apple and Cranberry Slaw
- Honey Butter Rolls
- Homemade Cranberry Sauce
- Cranberry Relish
- Fried Apples (Caramelized Apples)
Apple Stuffing with Celery, Onions and Herbs
Ingredients
- 16 cups dry bread cubed
- 6 tbsp salted butter
- 2 cups white onions diced
- 2 cups celery diced
- 3-4 cloves garlic minced
- 2 cups apples diced
- 1-2 twig fresh thyme chopped
- 1-2 twig fresh sage chopped
- 1-2 twig fresh rosemary chopped
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
- 1 tbsp fresh parsley chopped
- cooking oil spray
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 300°F.
- Cube bread into small 1-inch cubes. Spread them out on one or two baking sheet without overlapping. Baked in the oven for 8-12 minutes. The drier the bread, the less amount of bake time needed.
- Remove bread from oven. Set aside and let it cool.
- Pre-heat oven to 350°F
- Bring a large skillet to medium high heat, melt butter. Add onions, celery, garlic, chopped thyme, sage and rosemary. Saute for 1-2 minutes, or until onions are soft. Add salt, then stir to combine. Add apples and saute for another 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat.
- In a large bowl, toss bread cubes evenly in apple, onion, celery and herb butter mixture. Drizzle chicken broth all over bread and toss evenly to combine.
- Grease a 9"x13" baking dish. Spread bread cubes out on the baking dish.
- Bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes. For a drier stuffing, bake closer to the 40-minute mark.
- Remove from oven. Garnish with parsley. Serve and enjoy!
I love the addition of apples in this stuffing recipe — absolutely delicious!
Thanks so much! It gives it a subtle hint of sweetness and I just love it!
Made this stuffing early for a Friendsgiving meal and it was fantastic! The apples give the best little burst of sweetness!
That’s great! So glad to hear!
if you are making it ahead do you also cook it and then reheat.
Yes! You can definitely do that!
Is the bread regular white bread you dry out and cube? Or what exactly do you use? Can you use Pepperidge Farm dry stuffing mix? Thanks!
Yes I use regular white bread or any type of bread (French bread, sourdough etc). I prefer to use bread versus a dry stuffing mix – the end product just taste fresher and better! Please let me know how it turns out for you! 🙂