Stuffing on Thanksgiving. There are a lot of big choices to make. The varieties of stuffing to prepare are seemingly endless. But the first, most important choice to make is whether you will make it from scratch or from a pre-packaged mix. This was the most difficult choice to make for this series, but I decided on a pre-packaged mix. Here's why: I wanted this first Thanksgiving Series to focus on being budget-friendly and beginner-friendly. This effortless Pepperidge Farm stuffing is a breeze to make. Plus, there are a lot of add-ons to choose from to elevate a packaged mix. I'll get to that in a moment.

Thanksgiving: the one time a year you cook a turkey!

Welcome to my Thanksgiving Series! This is a feast I made for about $95 and it serves 8-10 people. You’ll probably still have some leftovers too! I bought a whopping 19 ½ pound turkey and economized as much as I could to keep this under $100. I know staying on a budget is important. This is my first Thanksgiving as a food blogger and I hope to add new Turkey Day recipes each year. The dinner here is a budget-friendly, beginner-friendly option.

All the Thanksgiving Series Essentials:

How to elevate pre-packaged stuffing

Most pre-package brands will instruct you to add the celery and onions to the mix. Don't skip this since it's essential to enhance the flavor of the mix. I added apples to my recipe. On Thanksgiving Day, I took some of the juices from the turkey pan and transferred to a squeeze bottle. I squeezed the juices on top of my stuffing and then topped with thin pats of butter before baking in the oven. That's one way to go.

*Effortless Pepperidge Farm stuffing right out of the oven - the smell will drive you crazy!*

You could add cranberries to the stuffing. It's very popular to add Italian sausage to the stuffing as well. I love that flavor and ground sausage is usually very affordable. Toasted nuts are great too - you could use pecans or walnuts. If you wanted to add a bit of corn bread into the stuffing that will work too but you may need a little more chicken broth!

Now go forth and cook with pre-packaged stuffing! It IS really delicious and don't let anyone tell you different!

Need some appetizer ideas? No problem!

These are tried and true recipes that I highly recommend. I'm making the shrimp & gorgonzola dip with crostini which is my all-time favorite appetizer! All these options can be made a day or two ahead. Simply reheat the shrimp dip in the microwave and toast the crostini in your toaster oven. The Thai pork toast can be made ahead (I often have some in the freezer!) and reheated in the toaster oven as well. Serve with sriracha sauce on the side. Excellent finger food and a crowd pleaser.

Easy Pepperidge Farm Stuffing with Apples and Celery

Author: Stacey
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Yield: 8-10 portions 1x

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Description

Don’t boo-hoo a pre-packaged stuffing on Thanksgiving. You can easily elevate this mix to make it your own. Plus, it’s a real time-saver and incredibly tasty!

Ingredients

Units Scale

2 12-ounce packages Pepperidge Farm Herb Seasoned Classic Stuffing
2 cups diced onion, divided
2 cups diced celery, divided
4 cups chicken broth, divided in half
2 cups diced apple, divided
4 tablespoons butter, divided
4 additional tablespoons of butter for topping, divided (optional)
1 cup of turkey juices for topping, divided (optional)

NOTE: This recipe is for TWO batches of stuffing to feed 8-10 people. I cooked them separately so divided all my ingredients into two piles while prepping.

Instructions

Be sure to watch the video for all the step-by-step instructions.
Dice the celery by cutting the celery stalks into thin strips and dicing into small pieces. I found that 10 total stalks were needed. Five for each cup.
Dice your onion into small pieces like the celery. I had one giant onion and got 2 cups out of it.
Peel the apples then cut apples into small cubes. I started by cutting four large chunks to get the apple from the core. Then slice the chunks into thicker strips and cut into cubes from there. My video show this well.
You’ll need two pans for this – one for each batch. Put butter in both pans and set heat to low-to-medium. When the butter melts add the celery to both pans. Cook for a couple of minutes.
Add the diced onion and apple to both pans and stir to combine. Cook for a couple of minutes while stirring.
Add chicken broth to both pans and bring to a boil.
Add one bag of Pepperidge Farm Herb Seasoned Classic Stuffing to each pan and mix until well combined. All the stuffing mix should be drenched in the broth.
Transfer to 2 baking dishes. Remove 1 cup of the juices from your turkey pan and pour ½ cup on top of the stuffing in each baking dish.
If you are using the additional butter, slice it into thin pats of butter and distribute on top of the stuffing.
Bake in a pre-heated oven at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes. If you want to crisp the top a little you can put under broiler that last couple of minutes. Keep your eye on it so it doesn’t burn because that would totally suck.