Challah, Wild Mushroom & Herb Stuffing
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This stuffing crispy on top and loaded with an earthy, buttery mix of onions and vegetables.
There are as many versions of Thanksgiving stuffing as there are cooks who make it. The truth is, as long as you stick to the basic bread-to-liquid ratio, you can pretty much add any vegetables or seasonings that you like. This challah stuffing, modestly adapted from Mrs. Wheelbarrow on Food52, reminds me of the one my grandmother used to make. It’s golden and crispy on top and loaded with a flavorful and earthy mix of onions and wild mushrooms. A few tips: buy the “poultry blend” of fresh herbs if your supermarket carries it, as it contains all the herbs you’ll need, and buy your mushrooms pre-sliced to cut down on prep time.
What You’ll Need To Make Challah, Wild Mushroom & Herb Stuffing
Step-By-Step Instructions
Cut the challah into 1-inch cubes and spread onto a rimmed baking sheet.
Bake for about 25 minutes, or until dry and lightly toasted. Set aside.
Melt the butter in a large sauté pan. Cook the onions over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until soft and translucent.
Add the celery, herbs, mushrooms, salt and pepper.
Cook until celery is slightly softened, about 5 minutes more.
In a large bowl, combine bread cubes, onion/vegetable mixture, and chicken stock.
Toss well.
Transfer the stuffing to the prepared baking dish and cover with foil.
Bake for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and continue baking until golden, about 25 minutes more. Serve immediately.
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Challah, Wild Mushroom & Herb Stuffing
This stuffing crispy on top and loaded with an earthy, buttery mix of onions and vegetables.
Ingredients
- 1 large loaf challah (about 1 pound)
- 1 stick unsalted butter, plus more for buttering baking dishes
- 2 cups yellow onion, diced (from 2 medium onions)
- 2 cups celery, diced
- 2 cups wild mushrooms, diced
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh thyme (or 1 teaspoon dried)
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary (or ¼ teaspoon dried and crumbled)
- ½ teaspoon finely chopped fresh sage (or ¼ teaspoon dried)
- 1½ teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 3 cups chicken broth
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300°F and set an oven rack in the middle position. Butter a 9x13-inch baking dish.
- Cut the challah into 1-inch cubes and spread in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake for about 25 minutes, or until dry and lightly toasted. Set aside.
- Increase the oven temperature to 350°F.
- Melt the butter in a large sauté pan. Cook the onions over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until soft and translucent. Add the celery, mushrooms, herbs, salt, and pepper and cook until celery is slightly softened, about 5 minutes more.
- In a large bowl, combine the toasted bread cubes, onion/vegetable mixture, and chicken broth and toss well.
- Transfer the stuffing to the prepared baking dish. Cover the dish with buttered foil and refrigerate until ready to bake (up to overnight).
- Bake for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and continue baking until golden, about 25 minutes more. Serve immediately.
- Make-Ahead Instructions: This dish can be prepared (but not baked) up to 1 day ahead of time. Cover the dish with buttered foil and refrigerate. When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350°F. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and continue baking until golden, about 25 minutes more. Serve immediately.
- Freezer-Friendly Instructions: This dish can be frozen after baking, tightly covered, for up to 3 months. Defrost it in the refrigerator overnight then reheat it, covered with foil, in a 325°F oven until hot.
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (10 servings)
- Calories: 259
- Fat: 13 g
- Saturated fat: 7 g
- Carbohydrates: 29 g
- Sugar: 4 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 7 g
- Sodium: 448 mg
- Cholesterol: 50 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Question please… I love the idea of making a stuffing with challah but the group I’m serving includes a lot of people who do not like mushrooms. Any suggestions?
Thanks you.
You can just omit the mushrooms; the stuffing will still have plenty of flavor. Enjoy!
This is my fourth year of cooking Thanksgiving dinner, and each year, one more of your recipes has been added to our menu. In 2023, it was this challah, mushroom, and herb stuffing, so here I am in October 2024 wondering if I skip the first baking and just freeze the unbaked casserole to bake on Thanksgiving day, what the difference between that versus an additional baking before freezing would be? I put it together last night, so it’s currently refrigerated.
(Correction: Counting your caramelized spice nuts, that’s five recipes in four years. At this rate, we’re on our way to cooking an entire Once Upon a Chef Thanksgiving dinner from soup to nuts. 🙂
Hi Ellen, I’m so flattered that several of my recipes have made it onto your Thanksgiving table! While I’ve only frozen the stuffing after baking it, I think it would be fine to freeze it unbaked. Hope you enjoy!
Jenn, not a sage fan, will leave out
Can you suggest another herb
Hi Carol, you can just a bit more thyme or rosemary. Enjoy!
I don’t see the ingredients measurements just the ingredients. I searched the recipe…twice…and didn’t find them. Where would they be? I really really want to make this for Thanksgiving because it is very similar to my late Grandmother’s recipe and she’s not here to ask.
Hi Debra, It sounds like you are just looking at the portion of the page that has the pictures with some instructions above. If you scroll down a bit under the pictures, you’ll find the full recipe. Alternatively, at the very top of the page, to the right of the recipe name, you’ll see an orange/red button that says Jump to Recipe – if you click on that, it will take you directly to the recipe. Hope that clarifies!
Hi Jen
I’ve made your easy sausage stuffing and we loved it, but wanted to try doing a challah bread stuffing. Can I add sausage to this recipe or would it be better to just substitute challah bread on the other recipe? Thank you and hope you have a nice holiday
Hi Denise, I think sausage would be a nice addition here – refer back to the easy sausage stuffing for technique. Please LMK how it turns out if you try it!
Hi! This looks amazing! Since Thanksgiving is a heavy meal in itself, if I cut the butter in half should I add something else to compensate for the other half of butter left out? Any recommendations?
Thank you!
Hi Dana, I think the stuffing is definitely best as written, but if you cut the butter in half, I’d add some more broth for additional moisture. Hope you enjoy!
Hi Jen,
I love getting your recipes and I have your first book.
My mom is 91. For the first time in 37 years she can’t travel to us for Thanksgiving. We’re going to her, from MN to CA. I make my grandmother’s stuffing recipe every year. She’s given away the majority of her kitchen supplies. Can I make the stuffing at my house, bake it, freeze it, and take it on the airplane safely? My stuffing is made with Challah bread, sauteed onions and mushrooms in chicken far, chicken broth, eggs and seasonings. and garlic. Thanks!
Jodi, thanks for your nice words about the recipes and support of the cookbook! What you’d like to do with the stuffing wouldn’t be my first choice but as long as you keep it cold while traveling, I think it’s doable. I’m sure it will make your mom happy! 💜
Would it be better, and still safe, if I bake the stuffing the day before we leave, let it cool, and then refrigerate it until I bring it on the plane in the stay-cool bags? My son has taken it on the plane from MN to Portland, OR every Thanksgiving, for many many year years. Will it taste better that way?
Thanks,
Jodi
My gut is that it would be safer to freeze it before taking it on the plane.
There is a switch for Cup Measures or Metric, but it doesn’t change anything, only Cup Measures are shown.
Hi Anke, I just added them. 🙂
Thanks so much!
Hi Jenn,
I am looking forward to making this recipe for our thanksgiving dinner. Can I bake this in a le creuset dutch oven? I am taking this to a home that is 4 hours away and think it would stay warm if made in a dutch oven. Thanks!
Sure that will work. Enjoy!