10 Leftover Stuffing Recipes You Have to Try! - Shelf Cooking (2025)

FAQs

In what did recipes did people originally use stuffing? ›

The earliest documentary evidence is the Roman cookbook, Apicius De Re Coquinaria, which contains recipes for stuffed chicken, dormouse, hare, and pig. Most of the stuffings described consist of vegetables, herbs and spices, nuts, and spelt (a cereal), and frequently contain chopped liver, brains, and other organ meat.

As long as your leftovers have been frozen at 0 degrees F, you can store them indefinitely. But they'll taste best used within two to three months. Pack side dishes like stuffing and mashed potatoes into airtight freezer containers or plastic freezer bags.

Do not refrigerate uncooked stuffing. If stuffing is prepared ahead of time, it must be either frozen or cooked immediately. To use cooked stuffing later, cool in shallow containers and refrigerate it within 2 hours. Use it within 3 to 4 days.

USDA recommends that you never refrigerate uncooked stuffing. Why? Remember, stuffing can harbor bacteria, and though bacteria grow slower in the refrigerator they can cause problems because stuffing is a good medium for bacteria growth, therefore a higher risk food in terms of cooking safely.

Jane Stern: You can divide the U.S. in half by stuffing versus dressing. In the South, it's called dressing. In the Northeast, it's called stuffing.

There are many different types of stuffing and thousands of different stuffing recipes, with the most popular being pork, sage and onion - which is made with sausagemeat. Chestnut stuffing (made with chopped chestnuts and herbs and spices) is also very popular, as is apple stuffing, and even oyster stuffing.

The days after Thanksgiving usually provide leftover gold, especially in the form of cold stuffing that you can simply stick a fork in and enjoy or pile into a Thanksgiving sandwich.

Heat the oven to 350°F and transfer the stuffing to an oven-safe dish (or, you can keep it in the dish that it was originally cooked in). If it seems dry, you'll want to add a splash of broth. Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes, then remove foil and bake again until crisp, 15–20 minutes.

If you want to prepare your stuffing in advance of Thanksgiving, freezing it uncooked will ensure it stays nice and moist. Simply follow the steps of your stuffing recipe, but before baking it, wrap the baking dish in plastic wrap first, then aluminum foil to make it air tight.

Stuffing/dressing: If stored properly in the fridge, stuffing or dressing is good to eat up to three to four days after you cooked it. But it'll last about a month in the freezer.

Can you eat stuffing without cooking it? ›

Is premixed stuffing purchased from the store safe to eat? If the premixed stuffing is uncooked, it is not safe and consumers should not buy the stuffing. If the premixed stuffing is cooked and refrigerated, the stuffing would be safe to buy. At home, reheat it to 165 °F before serving.

The simplest way to tell if your stuffing has gone bad is to sniff it and see if the appearance looks off. “You will know if your stuffing has gone bad if it has a bad odor or there is visible mold growing on it,” Dankosky advises. “It may also taste unpleasant, have a slimy film, or mushy appearance.

You need a thermometer. Since you've used the term “stuffing,” we'll assume you're talking about the bread casserole baked inside of a turkey at Thanksgiving in the United States. Since it's cooked inside the turkey, you know that it's done when the internal temperature of the stuffing is 165° F.

Absolutely. Most Thanksgiving stuffing recipes can be made at least partially in advance since: A) They're easily assembled a day or two ahead of Thanksgiving Day; and B) They're often baked using a two-step process (once covered with foil to cook through, then uncovered to achieve a crispy top).

Can you prepare stuffing ahead of time and reheat? YES! This stuffing is baked to golden perfection the day before the big meal. You store it in the fridge overnight and then simply warm it in the oven before dinner.

The stuffing that most of us associate with Thanksgiving, with sage and onions and celery, comes from New England, where Thanksgiving was celebrated long before it became a national holiday, and where those flavors were in season in November.

Although experts are not clear on when or where stuffing was first made, the first recorded history of the dish comes from Apicius de re Coquinaria, a Roman collection of popular recipes from the first century AD.

In the South, cornbread stuffing became a staple, while in the Northeast, oyster stuffing gained popularity. Families passed down their cherished stuffing recipes through generations, and the tradition became deeply ingrained in the fabric of Thanksgiving celebrations across the nation.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — If Stove Top stuffing makes an appearance at your Thanksgiving dinner, you can thank a Purdue University alumna. The late Ruth Siems, a 1953 home economics graduate, is credited with the invention of Stove Top stuffing.