Round out your holiday table with this sourdough bacon & pecan stuffing as the perfect accompaniment to a showstopping turkey! Tangy sourdough bread gets a makeover with tender aromatic vegetables, smokey bacon, and the crunch of buttery, earthy pecans. Ditch the boxed stuffing, and up your side dish game with this perfect skillet stuffing - you'll be surprised just how easy it is!
Serve this skillet bacon stuffing alongside your favorite turkey, or spatchcock chicken for a twist! This stuffing will go perfectly with other delicious holiday sides, including roasted garlic mashed potatoes, cheesy jalapeno corn, and Calabrian chilli-glazed brussels sprouts!
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👩🏽🍳Why This Recipe Works
A twist on familiar flavors: This stuffing is packed with the warm and familiar flavors of sage and savory chicken broth that you know and love, but with a twist! This stuffing (or dressing if that's how you call it) is sure to please traditionalists and adventurous eaters alike.
Easy to prepare: You might opt for boxed stuffing because of how easy it is to prepare, but this homemade version is just as simple! 90% of the recipe comes together in one skillet, with the exception of drying and toasting the bread. No complicated methods, here!
Packed with texture: Traditional stuffing can be uniform in texture, and in general quite mushy. This homemade version has texture from the larger chunks of bread, as well as from the toasted pecans and crisp bacon. Every bite is exciting!
🥘Ingredients
- Sourdough bread: Sourdough bread is a great bread to use for stuffing, as it has a dense texture that absorbs liquid well. Sourdough also has an inherent tang to it, which is a flavor boost to standard white bread. You can use pre-sliced or an uncut loaf, if you prefer.
- Thick-cut bacon: I recommend using a thick-cut bacon, as you want to be able to see and taste the bacon in the midst of the bread and vegetables. Thicker cut bacon adds nice chunks of smokiness and meatiness to the stuffing that may get lost if you use thinner bacon slices.
- Chopped pecans: Pecans have a balance of a nutty and buttery flavor that adds an extra depth of richness and flavor to the stuffing. The bitterness from the pecans balances well with the smokiness of the bacon and sweetness of the celery and onion, and add a pop of texture to classic stuffing.
- Fresh sage: Sage is a classic flavor profile that is used in most stuffing recipes, with a distinct earthiness. If you like stuffing, you more than likely like the flavor of sage already!
A full list of ingredients with measurements is located on the recipe card, below.
📖Substitutions
- Sourdough bread: You can use any sturdy bread that you have on hand or can find in the grocery store, including french or italian bread. You can also use Texas toast that is cubed up, or use pre-dried stuffing cubes from the bakery section of the store.
- Thick-cut bacon: You can use any kind of bacon you have on hand, including regular slices. I do not recommend substituting with back bacon or turkey bacon, as the flavor and texture is not quite the same as pork side bacon.
- Fresh sage: You can use ground sage in place of fresh.
- Chicken broth: Substitute with vegetable broth if you prefer.
🔪Variations
- Sausage: For an extra meaty twist, add crumbled country or Italian sausage to the stuffing mixture.
- Cornbread: Instead of sourdough, opt for homemade cornbread or store-bought, too, for a sweeter twist to the base of the stuffing.
- Vegetarian: Omit the bacon, and add in some additional vegetables such as bell peppers and carrots!
⏲️ Step-by-Step Instructions
Prep Work Before Cooking
Collecting all your ingredients - This will make cooking so much easier. Gather all the spices you will need, and keep them nearby.
Preheat the oven - Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Cube the bread - Cut the sourdough bread into bite-sized cubes.
Prep the vegetables and bacon - Cut the bacon into lardons (strips), and finely dice the onion, celery and jalapeno.
Scatter the cubed sourdough bread onto a sheet tray, and bake for 20 minutes until the bread is dried out. [photos 1&5]
While the bread is in the oven, heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sliced bacon to the skillet, and let the fat render out until the bacon is crisp. Remove the bacon from the skillet and drain on a paper towel lined plate. Drain most of the bacon fat from the skillet, leaving approximately 2 tablespoons in the skillet. [photo 2]
Add the chopped celery, onion, garlic and jalapeno to the skillet. Let the vegetables sweat until they are tender and translucent. Add the half of the pecans and half of the crisped bacon to the skillet, and season with salt, pepper, and sage. [photos 3&4]
Transfer the dried bread to the skillet, and coat in the vegetables and bacon fat. Top with chicken broth, and mix well so all of the bread is moistened by the broth. [photo 6]
Top the stuffing with the remaining crisped bacon and pecans. Transfer the stuffing to the oven, and bake for 25 minutes. [photo 7]
💭 Expert Tip
Be sure to let the bread dry out: Drying the bread out ensures that you get the right balance of softness and texture in your stuffing. If you do not dry out the bread, you will end up with an extra soft, mushy texture which is not ideal.
Give your vegetables time to sweat: Giving your vegetables time to cook down will ensure that they are not overwhelmingly crunchy or overpowering in the stuffing mixture. You will get all the aromatic flavor, without unpleasant bites!
Adjust your salt as needed: Salt content in chicken broth varies by brand - I recommend giving yours a taste to decide if you need more or less salt in your stuffing.
Adjust your spice level: Remove the ribs and seeds from the jalapeno for a milder heat level, and keep them in for a little bit more spice.
🍽 Make Ahead & Storage
- To make the stuffing in advance, prepare the stuffing by adding the chicken broth to the bread mixture covering with tin foil. Refrigerate, and bake when you are ready to serve.
- The stuffing can be prepped 1-2 days in advance.
- Store leftover stuffing in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
- Reheat any leftovers in covered with foil in the oven, and add additional broth to moisten if needed.
⭐ Recipe FAQs
Stuffing can end up dry if you do not use enough liquid in the cooking process. It may look like you are adding excess liquid to the skillet, but the bread will quickly absorb it, resulting in a moist and soft stuffing!
Technically, any bread will work for stuffing as long as you dry it out properly. For the best results, however, I would steer away from standard sliced white bread, and multigrain/whole wheat bread.
Eggs can help bind your stuffing together, but this recipe does not require them. Using enough liquid and baking everything together keeps everything together, without the need of added eggs.
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Sourdough Bacon & Pecan Stuffing
Ingredients
- 1 loaf Sourdough bread cubed
- 8 slices Thick-cut bacon cut into strips
- 4 stalks Celery finely diced
- 1 Onion finely diced
- 1 Jalapeno pepper finely minced
- 4 cloves Garlic minced
- 1 cup Pecans chopped, divided in half
- 6 leaves Fresh sage
- 4-6 cups Chicken broth
- 2 teaspoon Sea salt
- 2 teaspoon Black pepper
Equipment
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Scatter the cubed sourdough bread onto a sheet tray, and bake for 20 minutes until the bread is dried out.1 loaf Sourdough bread
- While the bread is in the oven, heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sliced bacon to the skillet, and let the fat render out until the bacon is crisp. Remove the bacon from the skillet and drain on a paper towel lined plate. Drain most of the bacon fat from the skillet, leaving approximately 2 tablespoons in the skillet.8 slices Thick-cut bacon
- Add the chopped celery, onion, garlic and jalapeno to the skillet. Let the vegetables sweat until they are tender and translucent. Add the half of the pecans and half of the crisped bacon to the skillet, and season with salt, pepper, and sage.4 stalks Celery, 1 Onion, 1 Jalapeno pepper, 4 cloves Garlic, 1 cup Pecans, 6 leaves Fresh sage, 2 teaspoon Sea salt, 2 teaspoon Black pepper
- Transfer the dried bread to the skillet, and coat in the vegetables and bacon fat. Top with 4 cups of chicken broth, and mix well so all of the bread is moistened by the broth. If you find that the pan is on the drier side, add some additional broth.4-6 cups Chicken broth
- Top the stuffing with the remaining crisped bacon and pecans. Transfer the stuffing to the oven, and bake for 25 minutes.
Notes
- Be sure to let the bread dry out: Drying the bread out ensures that you get the right balance of softness and texture in your stuffing. If you do not dry out the bread, you will end up with an extra soft, mushy texture which is not ideal.
- Give your vegetables time to sweat: Giving your vegetables time to cook down will ensure that they are not overwhelmingly crunchy or overpowering in the stuffing mixture. You will get all the aromatic flavor, without unpleasant bites!
- Adjust your salt as needed: Salt content in chicken broth varies by brand - I recommend giving yours a taste to decide if you need more or less salt in your stuffing.
- Adjust your spice level: Remove the ribs and seeds from the jalapeno for a milder heat level, and keep them in for a little bit more spice.
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