The Trick to a Terrific Turkey Day
The World’s Best Stuffing has the perfect texture and a delicious savory flavor profile. Make this recipe with breakfast sausage, onions, celery, and mushrooms.
You can omit the mushrooms if you choose.
You can make this recipe the day before and bake or re-heat it’s when ready to serve. I have even made it two days in advance!
Thanksgiving Is For Stuffing
In the real world it is really early to be thinking about Thanksgiving stuffing.
But in recipe blogger world, if I want Google to show this recipe when people search for Thanksgiving recipes come November, I have to post it now, so please bear with me.
I live in Chicago but just came home from a long stay at my Mom’s home in Michigan where it was in the low 40’s and high 30’s some nights. I was in a fall frame of mind when I was there so I made this stuffing.
If you have followed me for some time you may or may not know that I worked as a brand ambassador for a local Chicago company called Chateau Foods, I no longer work for them but this delicious recipe I created lives on.
What Are Chateau Bread Dumplings?
Czech bread dumplings are slices of bread that are thicker, more absorbent ,and slightly spongier than regular bread. They serve as a base for pork roasts, beef roasts, or stews. They absorb the meat juices and gravies for you to eat without getting soggy.
Steam them before serving and they are absolutely delicious. Chateau Foods makes these dumplings and sells them frozen.
You Can EASILY Make Your Own Bread Dumplings
If you cannot find Chateau Dumplings and you want still want make the recipe as described instead of using a bread alternative, you can make bread dumplings at home by using Rhodes Frozen White Bread Dough.
I will add a full, printable recipe card at the end of this post to show how easy it is to make your own bread dumplings.
Another Delicious Dumpling Recipe
You can see an example of a traditional recipe using these bread dumplings in my Pork Tenderloin with Mustard Cream Sauce post.
It was my job to think up new ways to use the dumplings and one day last year I was thinking about stuffing and I had a light bulb moment. What if I use the bread dumplings to make stuffing?
I already knew they make great French toast, so why not stuffing?
I went ahead and tried it with my traditional stuffing recipe, replacing the white bread with the bread dumplings and thus was the World’s Best Thanksgiving Stuffing was born!
The greatest thing about these bread dumplings is that you don’t have to dry them out before making the World’s Best Thanksgiving Stuffing. You simply thaw, cube them, and carry on with the rest of the recipe.
What Else Can I Use Bread Dumplings For?
These bread dumplings can be used to make any stuffing recipe. As a home cook, I know that stuffing is very personal to every family.
I had twelve of my recipe blogging friends try the bread dumplings in place of the bread or croutons in their own personal recipes and the overall consensus was that the dumplings were PERFECT for their recipes and better than the bread they normally use.
If you don’t yet have your own personal Thanksgiving stuffing recipe, I encourage you to try this recipe World’s Best Thanksgiving Stuffing recipe and it may just become your new holiday tradition.
I have been working on an EASY recipe to make bread dumplings at home that I will be posting soon.
Where To Find Bread Dumplings
In order to make this World’s Best Thanksgiving Stuffing you will need to get your hands on the bread dumplings. They are available all over Chicago in the frozen food section of most grocery stores.
You can also enter your zip code to see if they are available where you live.
Dumpling Substitutes
If you cannot find these bread dumplings at a store near you, you can substitute 6 to 8 cups of french bread cubes.
I find the Turano Bread French Rolls work for this recipe as well. You can click the link to see what those look like.
Any French rolls will also do. You need a chewy roll that doesn’t have a super dense crust on it. I also make a stuffing with the Turano rolls called Butter Stuffing which is delicious as well.
Tipsy Tip: I do not include measurements for the spices.
Everyone has different taste buds and therefore I do not like to give measurements. Personally I prefer a lot of black pepper in my stuffing while some may not like.
I encourage you to start with a couple teaspoons ofeach spice and adjust after tasting the stuffing. Original Tipsy (my Mom) likes to add celery seed or celery salt to her stuffing and that is also delicious. You can also add sage if you like. This is just how I personally make this stuffing but you should add what you like and the amount you like.
Yield: 12 to 15 servings as a side dish
World's Best Stuffing
One of the best stuffing recipes you will ever make. This recipe calls for crumbled breakfast sausage that adds a hint of sage, mushrooms, celery and onions. When you make this, your friends and family will be begging for the recipe.
Ingredients
- 1 16 ounce package of pork breakfast sausage
- 2 C of diced celery
- 2 C of diced onion
- 2 c of diced mushrooms
- 1 stick of butter
- 2 boxes of bread dumplings, thawed and cubed or 6 to 8 cups of french rolls cubed
- 1 32oz carton of chicken or turkey broth (See Tips Below Instructions)
- 1 C of milk (See Tips Below Instructions)
- 2 eggs
- poultry seasoning, garlic powder, salt and pepper
Instructions
****If you need a substitute for the bread dumplings see the sections above for substitutes. You will need to substitute 6 to 8 cups of small cubed bread
*****If you omit the mushrooms you will need to add more bread cubes and/or reduce the broth slightly as the mushrooms absorb the liquids.
- In a large skillet add the butter, celery, onions and mushroom and sauté until the veggies are soft and the liquid is cooked. This will take some time, do not skip this step, you want to be sure to cook out all of the liquid from the veggies. *these veggies have a high water content and you will need to cook this all out before adding the mixture to the dumplings. **I also do not recommend washing your mushrooms in water, ever, but especially for this recipe. The mushrooms absorb a lot of water when you submerge them. I have always wiped my mushrooms with a damp paper towel instead of rinsing them. Paying attention in this step will help your stuffing be the right consistency.
- When the veggies are soft and golden brown and the liquid has been cooked out, add your breakfast sausage. Cook until the sausage is cooked through and broken up into a fine crumble.
- Season the sausage and veggies with your salt, pepper, garlic powder and poultry seasoning. You should season this to your preference. We use about 2 T of poultry seasoning, 1 T of garlic powder and a couple of teaspoons of salt and pepper.
- Add your cubed bread dumplings or French rolls to a casserole dish, there is no need to dry out or toast the dumplings, they are perfect just thawed and cubed. I use a 9 x 13 casserole dish so that it has the right amount of surface area to bake this up. *You can also mix the whole recipe up in a bowl and add it to a casserole dish if this is easier for you to make sure the dumplings are mixed in well to absorb the liquid.
- Add the meat and veggie mixture to the cubed dumplings and toss to combine well.
- Whisk your eggs with the milk and add that to the mixture as well. This will all look very soggy, no cause for concern.
- Pour the chicken or turkey broth over the mixture, it will look quite soggy but the dumplings should be absorbing the liquid, not swimming in it. Stir to combine well. You may find this easier to do in a bowl*the dumplings are hand made, they are pretty consistently made but I would be sure to add the broth a little at a time so that your dumpling cubes are not swimming in the broth since the denseness of the bread can vary slightly. They should be absorbing the dumplings and they will look very wet but they should not be swimming in the broth.
- Bake in a 375 degree oven for about 45 minutes. You will know when it's done when the center is firm and the top is browned. If the top is getting too brown and the center isn’t set yet, you can loosely cover with foil.
- I also sometimes add melted butter to the top before baking to make it extra crispy.
**The stuffing should rest for about 10 to 15 minutes before serving.
Anytime Stuffing
This stuffing is perfect for the holidays, but it also makes a great Sunday dinner to accompany a roast chicken, pork roast, or any protein really. It can even be a complete meal because it has the veggies and sausage in the stuffing.
I have served this stuffing with some pan fried pork chops and even stuffed chicken breasts with it. You will see the stuffing is super moist, not soggy, and has a unique light and airy texture.
As I mentioned before, you can make this particular recipe if you choose, but you can also use your own recipe for stuffing and swap out your usual bread base for the dumplings.
Once you give the dumplings a try they are going to be your new holiday specialty ingredient just like how french fried onions and Campbell’s soup is to the green bean casserole and how the Jiffy Corn muffin mix is to the corn casserole.
I served this stuffing at a grocery store opening as a demo and many of the customers were asking if they could buy the stuffing already made.
It’s that good!
I hope you give this recipe a try and love it as much as we do. As always, thank you for reading and happy eating!
Yield: 12 dumpling slices
Easy Czech Inspired Bread Dumplings (Knedlicky)
Czech Bread Dumplings are a staple in the Czech Republic when serving roasted meats with lots of gravy and juices. They soak up all that deliciousness and make eating all that gravy more sophisticated than licking your plate. Typically making these bread dumplings is a long, arduous process, but this version using frozen bread dough, takes no time at all. These bread dumplings are also the base for one of my most popular recipes "The World's Best Stuffing".
Ingredients
- 1 package of Rhodes Thaw, Rise & Bake White Bread (found in the frozen food section, info linked in post above)
- large Deep Sided Skillet, or you can use a stock pot\
- 10 to 12 cups of water
- Salt
- Cooling rack that is used in baking
Instructions
- You can make as many loaves of bread as you prefer. Take out as many loaves as you wish to make. Spray a baking sheet with non stick spray and place your loaves on the pan. Let sit at room temp and rise. This time will vary for all depending on your climate. Leat the loaf thaw and rise until it is doubled in size.
- In a deep sided skillet or stock pot, add your water and salt and bring to a boil. You should have enough water to reach halfway up the loaf of bread.
- When the water is boiling, carefully add the loaf of thawed and risen bread dough.
- You may need to reduce the heat to make sure the water is not boiling over, but should be a steady boil.
- The bread will begin to increase in size, this is why you need a larger pot. Place the lid on the pot and let the loaf boil for about 10 to 12 minutes.
- At the 12 minute mark, carefully using two spoons or tongs, flip the loaf over. You want to make sure not to pierce the bread so that it continues to steam and rise inside. Boil the other side the same as the first side, lid on, gentle boil, approximately 12 minutes.
- You will know the bread dumplings are done when the center of the loaf is slightly firm.
- Carefully remove the loaf to a cooling rack, placed over a cookie sheet. Poke a couple of holes in the loaf to let the steam out. Repeat the cooking process if you are making more than one loaf. Let the loaf cool for about 20 minutes. Then slice and serve.
- You can also slice, and add the slices to a resealable bag and freeze. They can be thawed and steamed in the microwave or stove when ready to serve.
*pictures of this process in the post above as well as links to the recipes I use these bread dumplings for.,
