Move over, turkey. In my family, Thanksgiving is all about the stuffing. This is a bold statement, but this is probably the best recipe that I’ve ever shared on this blog.
This stuffing ball recipe originated with my Great Grandfather and has been passed down generation to generation in my family.
Every year, my Dad, Brother, and I keep tabs on how many stuffing balls each dinner guest is eating to make sure they don’t eat more than their share. (Joking. Kind of.)
Why balls, you ask? Why the heck not?!
The ball form allows each stuffing ball to get a little crispy on the outside while staying soft and moist on the inside. (I’m getting hungry just thinking about it.) Each ball is also the perfect serving size. Although, it’s almost impossible to eat just one.
Let’s be honest: These stuffing balls aren’t healthy in any way. They include white bread, bacon, and margarine. Because of that, they taste like pure bliss.
I’m a big fan of “all things in moderation,” so I’m OK with that.
This stuffing ball recipe is one that my friends ask me for year-after-year, so I’m excited to share it with you too.
Stuffing Ball Recipe
Yields: 48 balls (Two 9×13 casserole dishes) << Sounds like a lot, but these things are addicting!
Ingredients
- 2 jumbo loaves of white bread, cubed and dried (The bread takes about a week to dry, so plan ahead! Don’t tell my Mom or Grandma, but I’ve also had success subbing the dried bread cubes that you can find in the bakery section of the grocery store.)
- 1 lb. of bacon, frozen (Freezing it makes it easier to dice.)
- 1 stalk of celery, diced (A stalk is the whole bag, not only one long piece!)
- 3 medium-sized yellow onions, peeled and diced
- 1 cup of margarine or butter (Two sticks)
- 4 eggs, scrambled
- 1 cup of chicken broth
Directions
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
- Chop the bacon and add to a large sauté pan. Cook until almost done and then add the celery, onions, and margarine (or butter). Cook until soft.
- Mix bacon/celery/onion mixture with dried bread cubes. Add eggs and form into balls. (They will be slightly dry.) Arrange balls in two 9×13 casserole dishes and drizzle with chicken broth.
- Cover with foil, and bake for 40 minutes. (They are very easy to burn and dry out, so please be careful. My mom recommends placing a glass, oven-safe bowl of water in the oven while baking to help retain moisture.)
Taste test one to see how amazing they are. Then, share with family and friends!
Note: If you are bringing this dish to someone’s house for dinner, you can fully cook the stuffing balls ahead of time at home. Then, store them in gallon-sized plastic bags and simply re-heat in the microwave before serving. (You can also re-heat them in the oven, but be careful not to burn or dry them out.)
What’s your favorite Thanksgiving dish? Please share in a comment below!
These look amazing Kelly! How long do you reheat them in the microwave?
Good question. I haven’t made them since last Christmas. (We love them so much that we eat them for Thanksgiving and Christmas, too!) They don’t take very long, just long enough to get hot. Maybe 5 minutes? I’m sure it depends on the strength of your microwave.
Do you drain the bacon grease off of the bacon,celery, onion mixture?? Thanks!
No. That’s why they’re so good! 🙂
When you say scrambled eggs, you mean uncooked, correct? These look amazing. Also, have you ever tried it with whole wheat bread? I’m going to try it next week!
Yes, raw eggs! I’ve never tried whole wheat, but I think my cousin has subbed whole wheat with success. Let me know how they turn out if you try it!
Ok, I figured the bacon grease is partially why they’re so good! But I’m picturing myself making these and having these cubes of bread that don’t really want to roll into balls…do you just kind of crush them? Also, when you say “Jumbo” loaves, are you talking big loaves of bread or big slices like Texas Toast? One more: What’s your method for drying the bread? THANKS!!
Yes, form the balls with your hands. By “jumbo” loaves of bread, I mean the big loaves of bread (with a greater number of slices, not Texas Toast). I cube and dry the bread on cookie sheets and casserole dishes. It takes at least a few days to dry out, and I continue to mix it up. Let me know if you have other questions!
Could I just buy a bag of the dried stuffing mix instead of drying my own bread?
If you do, I recommend buying something without any added seasonings. (And you’ll probably need more than one bag.) I’ve used the dried, cubed bread that they sell in many grocery stores’ bakery sections this time of year, and it works great because they’ve simply cut and dried the bread for you . 🙂
Can these be frozen? when is the best time to freeze, before you bake them or after? I also added fresh sage to mine. Also, I bought day old french bread, cubed it then baked in a 200 degree oven for 15 minutes. It came out like croutons. Hope this works. I ready to bake or freeze.