Exploring Celebrity Chefs' Stuffing Recipes: A Surprising Winner

For Thanksgiving festivities, stuffing is an essential dish, yet the plethora of recipes can turn this holiday classic into a daunting task.

I put four celebrity chef stuffing recipes to the test: those of Ina Garten, Paula Deen, Ree Drummond, and Sunny Anderson. Here's how they fared.

Ina Garten's Fresh Herb and Apple Stuffing

Garten's approach requires only a single type of bread—baguettes—streamlining preparation significantly. The inclusion of fresh herbs was delightful, though I was skeptical about how apples and almonds would blend with savory elements like onions and celery. The recipe produces a substantial quantity, so I decided to halve it.

The preparation was straightforward. While the bread dried in the oven at 300°F for 10 minutes, I sautéed vegetables, apples, and herbs in butter. Once mixed, it was combined with vegetable stock and poured over the bread cubes.

Traditionally, this stuffing is cooked within a turkey for over two hours at 350°F, but I opted to bake it separately in a shallow dish for an hour. The end result was crispy on the outside, yet the middle appeared damp and not as tempting.

Next time, I would skip the slivered almonds, as their crunch and form disrupted the texture. However, the crusty, golden exterior and the subtle sweetness from the apples balanced the dish beautifully.

Paula Deen's Rich and Buttery Cornbread Stuffing

Deen's recipe is rich, utilizing a full stick of butter and a mix of carbs like saltine crackers, white bread, and homemade cornbread. Making the cornbread was quick, yielding a hearty, slightly dense dessert-like base. I added it to oven-dried white-bread slices and sautéed vegetables.

The recipe called for a staggering seven cups of broth, but I only used five, fearing it might become too wet. After draining some excess liquid, I mixed in five eggs and baked the concoction in a shallow dish for an hour.

Although it was slightly golden on top, the internal texture was overly moist with a mushy consistency from the crackers. The taste was very buttery, yet the texture was off-putting, suggesting less broth and swapping crackers for more bread might provide improvement.

Ree Drummond's Bread-Focused Stuffing with a Twist

Drummond's recipe demanded a trio of breads, including cornbread, which I opted to make from a previous recipe. This stuffing also requires a generous amount of parsley.

Though I missed drying the bread for a day or two, a quick stint in the oven at 300°F for 15 minutes worked wonders. I enjoyed the method involving adding broth incrementally to prevent sogginess, and we baked the mixture for 40 minutes, exceeding the suggested time for the right texture and golden top.

The stuffing was pleasant, not overly soggy, with a nice crispiness on the surface, though less celery in the mix could enhance its flavor balance.

Sunny Anderson's Simple and Flavorful Boxed Stuffing

Anderson's recipe cleverly uses boxed stuffing mix, offering ease without sacrificing homemade taste. I substituted turkey stock with vegetable broth and omitted thyme for personal preferences. Anderson presented four flavor-enhancing add-ons, and I chose to try the fennel bulb and apricot combination.

The prep involved chopping vegetables, then cooking them alongside herbs until soft. This mixture was folded into the boxed stuffing with vegetable broth and pressed into a dish for baking. After a covered stint at 350°F, it was finished uncovered at 400°F for a crispy finish.

Anderson's stuffing emerged with a delightful balance, a creamy center contrasted by a crispy exterior, sweetened by the apricots without overpowering the savory profile. It was a standout favorite for its intriguing but comforting flavors and simplicity.

Conclusion: A Surprising Favorite

While Anderson's stuffing topped my list, each recipe brought something to the table. Garten's was delightful but needed fewer almonds and broth. Deen's comforting buttery taste was overshadowed by its wet consistency. Drummond's creation had potential with less celery and broth.