Brioche Chestnut Stuffing
Updated June 6, 2024
- Total Time
- 1½ hours, plus drying
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 1(14- to 16-ounce) brioche loaf, torn into 1-inch pieces
- 8tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick), plus more for the pan
- 1large onion, diced
- 2large celery ribs, thinly sliced
- ½cup diced fennel (about ½ small fennel bulb)
- 1½teaspoons kosher salt, plus more as needed
- 1tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped
- 1tablespoon fresh sage, chopped
- 5ounces roasted, peeled chestnuts, roughly chopped
- ½teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2½cups turkey or chicken stock
- 2large eggs
- ¼cup chopped parsley
Nutritional analysis per serving (10 servings)
279 calories; 14 grams fat; 7 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 4 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 32 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 3 grams sugars; 8 grams protein; 395 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Arrange brioche pieces in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Let them dry out overnight, or place them in a 200-degree oven for an hour or two. (They’ll be ready when they feel stale to the touch but haven't taken on any color.)
- Step 2
Heat oven to 375 degrees, and butter a shallow, 2-quart casserole or gratin dish. On a pot on the stove or in the microwave, melt 4 tablespoons butter. Put bread in the prepared baking dish and toss with melted butter. Bake until golden and toasted, 8 to 10 minutes. Let cool, then transfer toast to a large bowl. (Don’t wash the baking dish; you’ll use it again for the stuffing.)
- Step 3
In a 12-inch skillet, melt remaining 4 tablespoons butter over medium heat. Stir in onion, celery, fennel and ½ teaspoon salt; cook until soft and just starting to brown, about 12 minutes. Stir in thyme and sage, and cook for 1 minute. Remove from heat and transfer to bowl with brioche. Gently fold in chestnuts and pepper and let cool.
- Step 4
In a medium bowl, whisk together 1½ cups stock, eggs, parsley and remaining 1 teaspoon salt. Fold gently into bread mixture, then scrape it all back into prepared baking dish. Drizzle on remaining 1 cup stock until the mixture is moist but not squishy; you may not need all the stock.
- Step 5
Cover dish with foil and bake until lightly springy, about 25 minutes. Remove foil and continue to bake until golden brown, another 20 to 30 minutes.
Private Notes
Comments
I am thinking make ahead and freezing to lighten the cooking load on the big day. Comments and/or suggestions?
Just a pet peeve. If it is not in the bird it is not stuffing, it is dressing. Maybe my black and southern roots make me sensitive to this but Melissa should know better.
We made this for our vegetarian thanksgiving and itworked perfectly! We replaced chicken broth with Serious Eats’ quick vegetable stock, and the dish still retained its depth of flavor. Be warned, though — you need roasted chestnuts for this recipe! If you can only find unroasted chestnuts at your local grocery store (like us), it’ll add ~45 minutes to your prep time.
Nice dish— though bake fully in morning and heat up later after turkey is out of oven
Excellent recipe. I always try to make these recipes AS WRITTEN the first time, and then if I like them enough consider tweaks. (I find the folks that completely transform the recipe and then post comments frustrating). So last year made this and loved it although I found it slightly dry. I love fruit in stuffing so the one tweak I made this year was adding a diced VERY TART apple. Also, I like my stuffing in small pieces, not large chunky pieces. So I tore the bread much smaller and diced the celery and onion and fennel very small. I also think this makes for a moister stuffing. Also, I made the entire dish the night before, egg and all, covered and refrigerated and then transported it and baked it on site the next day. That worked great for all the folks that want to make ahead. In fact, I think it was better, more time to absorb egg and stock. I probably used about 2 cups stock total and this year I used Kitchen Basics Turkey stock and I think that made a big difference in flavor over the chicken stock I used last year. I think I also used more celery onion and fennel than last year. I don’t like overly bready stuffing (dressing) so if you are the same amp up the other ingredients. I think I will use two apples next year. I also recommend the Trader Joe’s brioche loaf. Excellent base. I used pre roasted and peeled Chestnuts, Kedem brand in the kosher section in a bag. Time saver!
This is *the* stuffing recipe. I’ve made this every Thanksgiving for several years and it’s always a hit! Easy to make ahead, easy to double, and easy to make vegetarian by substituting vegetable broth for chicken stock (would recommend using slightly less volume of the broth). It’s a keeper!
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