This simple stuffing recipe is studded with dried cranberries and walnuts and scented with a mix of fresh herbs. It’s such an easy and comforting addition to your Thanksgiving table!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
“I made this for Thanksgiving dinner over at my sister’s. It was FABULOUS!!! I also added golden raisins. Everyone had seconds! I am making it again right now for “our’ turkey dinner and am looking forward to it!!” -Michelle, FoodieCrush reader
Dried Cranberries Add So Much Texture and Flavor to Traditional Stuffing
While the destination of where we gather changes from year to year, being with those we love is always the centerpiece of our holiday table. Family is that one essential ingredient that makes the holidays the special occasions that they are: familiar but in so many ways, brand new.
But sometimes, traditions are begging to be broken, and sometimes you just need to bust out of the same old and put a new spin on things.
This year I’m creating a bold and spicy twist on the traditional holiday table. I’ve added a little heat to the bird (plan on adding a few more napkins, too), a lot more flavor to the sides, and even boozed it up with a twist on the traditional pumpkin bread pudding.
Next up is my favorite part of the Thanksgiving table, the homemade stuffing. The play of savory and sweet is what makes this cranberry stuffing recipe extra special. Ground sage and thyme deliver the traditional herbed stuffing flavor that’s accented with bites of sweetened cranberries and the crunch of onions, celery, and earthy walnuts.
Bake this stuffing in its own pan for a perfectly crisped pairing for juicy turkey, or leave out the aromatics in the bird and stuff away.
Enjoy!
What’s in This Recipe?
The full recipe, with amounts, can be found in the recipe card below.
- Dry bread cubes — Skip the rock hard bread cubes in a bag and opt for a good quality white sandwich bread that’s been cut into chunks and then left out on a baking sheet overnight. Or, if you’re in a hurry, you could pop it into 250ºF oven for an hour or two.
- Chopped walnuts — Add lots of texture to what can sometimes be a moist and squishy side dish. Feel free to swap out the walnuts with pecans.
- Dried cranberries — I prefer unsweetened cranberries, but use your favorite.
- Butter — Makes the stuffing super rich and buttery. If you need to keep this vegan, swap in a quality vegan butter.
- Aromatics — Fresh celery, onion, and parsley add lots of flavor, while dried sage and thyme add depth.
- Broth — I almost always use my homemade chicken broth for maximum flavor, but vegetable broth may be used if you need to keep this side vegetarian.
How to Make Thanksgiving Stuffing with Cranberries
- Sauté the aromatics. Melt the butter and cook the chopped celery and onion just until lightly browned and soft. Then, add in the herbs to wake up their flavors.
- Toss with the bread cubes. Transfer the aromatics to a large bowl along with the dried bread cubes, walnuts, and cranberries. Toss well to coat the bread evenly in the butter mixture.
Heidi’s Tip: Taste the bread mixture and add more sage if desired. It’s the one flavor that I really think gives the stuffing my favorite flavoring.
- Drizzle with broth. Depending on the type of bread you used and how dry it is, you’ll need anywhere between 1.5 to 2 cups of broth. You want the stuffing mixture to be moist but not soggy.
- Bake. Turn the mixture into a buttered 9×13-inch baking dish and bake until the top is a lovely golden brown. I always bake my walnut and cranberry stuffing uncovered and never have issues, but if your bread is super dry or very hearty you might want to cover it with foil for the first 20ish minutes to trap the steam and soften the bread.
Make-Ahead Option
To save time on Turkey Day, I’ll often prep the stuffing the night before so all I have to do is whack it into the oven just before dinner.
To prep this stuffing ahead of time: mix all the ingredients together as instructed, then tightly cover the unbaked stuffing with aluminum foil and pop it into the fridge. When you’re ready to bake the stuffing, let it come to room temperature before sliding it into the oven.
If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating on this recipe below and leave a comment, take a photo and tag me on Instagram with #foodiecrusheats.
Cranberry Stuffing Recipe
Ingredients
- 10 cups unseasoned dry bread cubes
- 2 cups walnuts , chopped
- 1 cup dried cranberries
- 9 tablespoons butter , divided
- 3 celery stalks , chopped
- 2 large yellow onions , chopped
- ¼ cup Italian parsley , chopped
- 1 tablespoon ground sage
- 1 tablespoon ground thyme
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 ½ – 2 cups chicken broth
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat a 9×13-inch baking pan with 1 tablespoon butter and set aside.
- Prep the dry ingredients. Place bread cubes, walnuts and cranberries in large bowl and set aside.
- Sauté the aromatics. Melt remaining butter in skillet over medium-high heat and add celery and onions. Cook 4-5 minutes, or until softened and lightly browned, stirring frequently. Add parsley, ground sage, thyme, kosher salt and pepper and mix well.
- Combine and add broth. Add the veggie mixture to bread cube mixture and toss to combine. Drizzle 1 ½ cups of the chicken broth over mixture in bowl, and stir to combine. Add more chicken broth and salt and pepper as desired.
- Bake until golden. Place stuffing in prepared pan and bake, uncovered, until top is lightly browned, about 50-60 minutes.
Notes
Nutrition
More Thanksgiving Stuffing Recipes You’ll Love
More Easy Thanksgiving Sides to Make This Year
We send good emails. Subscribe to FoodieCrush and have each post plus exclusive content only for our subscribers delivered straight to your e-mail box.
Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest for more FoodieCrush inspiration.
As always, thank you for reading and supporting companies I partner with, which allows me to create more unique content and recipes for you. There are affiliate links in this post of which I receive a small commission. All opinions are always my own.
Debi Horne
I make this gluten-free with two kinds of gluten-free bread, one light one dark I added the cranberries, the walnuts, but I also added smoked sausage and that really took it up a notch. It was a huge hit last Thanksgiving and I’m getting ready to make it again.
Terrific to hear Debi! I’m so glad it worked gluten-free too.
Karina Casebolt
I am making my own dried cranberries from fresh. Do I dry the cranberries without sugar?
Does this recipe call for unsweetened dried cranberries?
Ashley @ Foodie Crush
You could use either. I do prefer the tangy flavor of unsweetened dried cranberries
Karina Casebolt
I will be drying my own (whole, currently frozen) cranberries. Do I need to add sugar to them, as is recommended in the dry cranberries recipe? Or do you recommended unsweetened cranberries for this stuffing recipe?
Karina, I used sweetened cranberries in mine. If you prefer the tart berries, go for it!
Clair
Great recipe. It was a huge hit with my dinner guests. I cut down the water and added an egg. Then I put it in a greased loaf tin to cook so it was more like a stuffing.
Delicious
sylvia :)
hi! how much bread do i exactly need for 10 cups? any recommendations for what kind? thanks :)
Joanne
Can this be made up the night before ready to be cooked the following day? Great recipe
Hi Joanne yes it absolutely can be made ahead and cooked the next day.
Dana Talkington
Loved it! I substituted dates and pecans for cranberries and walnuts…and used pumpernickel rye bread!
Philicia
Hello. I prepared this dish (cranberry walnut stuffing) yesterday 4 r early Thanksgiving feast and unfortunately no one cared 4 it. I’m not sure what I had done wrong but I followed the instructions completely outside from using Pepperidge Farms brand cubed bread as it contained both light and dark breads. Through out the cooking process it never got moist as I had 2 add additional liquid (chicken broth). The finished product was not moist and the bread stayed in its cube-like state, like it is in the bag. The flavor of this dish was good though. Ended up having 2 douse the stuffing with gravy in order 2 eat it. Can anyone give me an idea what I could have done differently? Probably should have added apples while I was at it. Thanks!
Corinne
I had the same issue with mine. I believe it has to do with baking uncovered for so long, that it never got moist. You’re right, the flavor is great. So, this year, I’m going to cover it before I put it in the oven and will only uncover for the last 10 minutes.
Ashley @ Foodie Crush
Thanks for the feedback. Let me know how it goes!
Ruth
Love your site and love the Cranberry Stuffing recipe. I may add a small bit of hot pepper to mix it up just a bit. Thank-you!
Michelle
I made this for Thanksgiving dinner over at my sister’s. It was FABULOUS!!! I also added golden raisins. Everyone had seconds! I am making it again right now for “our’ turkey dinner and am looking forward to it!! <3
I love the idea of golden raisins added to the stuffing. Thanks for letting me know!
Matt @ Plating Pixels
Sometimes it’s great to go with the classics. For me it wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without stuffing. I like the cranberry twist, I bet it adds a bit of sweet tang. Pinned and shared for later.
Lynn
How many cups of bread in the Cranberry Walnut stuffing (states 0)?