Last year while I was agonizing over what to make for Thanksgiving, and before Bon Appetit became the problematic mess it is today, I was watching the Making Perfect Thanksgiving series on their You Tube Channel. Chris and Rick were tasked with making the perfect stuffing, and what they came up with looked great, but during the video they mentioned a recipe that had been featured in the magazine in years past called “simple is best stuffing”. I immediately googled it, and found basically the stuffing recipe of my dreams. It’s a bit of time to make, but the steps are easy, and the end result is a showstopper of fresh herbs, custardy bread, and the feeling of going home to Grandma’s for the holidays. The ingredient list is short, so it’s important to use good quality. This isn’t a dish where you want to sub dried herbs for fresh.

My family is full of traditionalists, so we went with my mother in law’s stuffing for Thanksgiving, but I made this once for my husband and myself and then again for Christmas dinner. I’ll make twice again this year, at least.

Honestly, this is an amazing recipe, and everyone should try it at least once.

Bon Appetit’s Simple Is Best Stuffing

• ¾ cup (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing the baking dish

• 1 pound of good quality day old white bread, torn into 1 inch pieces. I like the craggy homestyle feel of tearing the bread, but you could cut it if that’s your jam.

• 2 ½ cups of chopped yellow onion

• 1 ½ cups of ¼ inch sliced celery

• ½ cup chopped parsley (flat leaf if you can find it - I usually can’t)

• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage

• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary

• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme

• 2 teaspoons kosher salt

• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

• 2 ½ cups low sodium chicken broth, divided

• 2 large eggs

To Make

1. Preheat oven to 250. Butter a 13x9 baking dish and set aside. Scatter bread in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet and bake for 1 hour, or until dried out. Let the bread cool, and transfer to a very large bowl (pro tip - always use a bigger bowl than you think you’ll need)

2. While bread is drying out, melt 3-5 of a cup of butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and celery. Cook, stirring often until just beginning to brown, about 10 minutes. Add to the bowl with the dried bread, stir in the herbs, salt and pepper. Drizze 1 ¼ cups of broth over the bread mixture and toss gently. Let that cool down considerably before heading to the next step.

3. Heat oven to 350. In a medium bowl, mix together the remaining broth and eggs, and add that to the bread mixture. Fold gently until fully combined. Transfer stuffing to the prepared baking dish, cover with foil, and bake for 40 minutes.

4. Uncover the stuffing, and bake another 35-40 minutes, until top is browned and crisp.

If you’re making this for actual thanksgiving, you can partially make it the day before - take this recipe through step 3, and then put it in the fridge covered. When you’re ready to finish baking it, remove the foil, and bake for 50-60 minutes.