Earthy flavors combine with slightly sweet brioche bread cubes to create this beautiful brioche and wild mushroom stuffing. One could certainly experiment with other breads—raisin or nut varieties could work well. Homemade challah would also be an excellent choice.–Karen Mordechai
Contents
Why Our Testers Loved This
Our testers are describing this stuffing as “savory and decadent” and “a nice change from traditional flavored stuffing.” They loved that even after baking, the stuffing stayed moist and tender.
What You’ll Need to Make This
- Wild mushrooms–Use fresh mushrooms, not dried. You can substitute any of your favorite wild mushrooms here, such as shiitake, oyster, or chanterelle. Alternatively, regular white button mushrooms will also work.
- White wine–Stay away from sweet wine as the bread already lends the stuffing a slightly sweet flavor. Choose a dry variety, such as sauvignon blanc or pinot grigio. If you need to avoid using alcohol, use additional chicken stock.
- Eggs–These act as a binder and give the stuffing a custardy texture.
- Brioche or challah bread–Using brioche or challah is going to give your stuffing a soft, custardy texture with a slightly sweet flavor. If you prefer a more traditional stuffing texture, use a sturdier artisan-style bread.
How to Make This Recipe
- Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat.
- Add the shallots, leeks, mushrooms, and garlic to the pot.
- Sauté the vegetables until tender.
- Add the wine and thyme to the pot and cook until the wine almost evaporates. Scoop the vegetable mixture into a bowl.
- Season the eggs with salt and pepper and beat until smooth.
- Combine the eggs, cheese, brioche, vegetables, and parsley with some chicken stock in a large bowl.
- Mix until everything is thoroughly moistened.
- Scoop the stuffing into a baking dish, cover, and cook at 350°F until heated through. Remove the foil and continue to cook until golden and crispy on top.
Variations
- Use your favorite mix of herbs. At different times, I’ve used rosemary, thyme, parsley, marjoram, and the star of Thanksgiving herbs, sage.
- You can bulk up the stuffing by adding sausage–either pork or turkey. While I like Italian sausage, I prefer breakfast sausage in this. The blend of herbs and spices plays nicely with the other ingredients. Just make sure it’s not a sweetened sausage.
- Nuts (pecans, walnuts, and pistachios) or dried fruit, such as raisins, currants, or cranberries would work here.
- I find people love the crunchy top bits of this. So consider mounding the stuffing into muffin tins. That way, everyone gets lots of crispy bits and the wonderful custardy bottom.
Storing and Freezing Wild Mushroom Stuffing
Leftover stuffing can be stored in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days or frozen for up to 1 month. Make sure that your stuffing is completely cooled before freezing it.
Common Questions
You can. Prepare the stuffing through step 3, up to 72 hours in advance. Transfer it to a buttered baking dish, cover it with buttered foil, and stash it in the fridge until you’re ready to bake. If baking directly from the fridge, you may need to add a few extra minutes to the cooking time.
Stuffing is generally cooked inside a turkey, while dressing is baked separately in a baking dish. So, yes, this wild mushroom stuffing recipe is technically a dressing. (So sue me!)
You can, although my recommendation would be to cook it separately. Cooking it in a baking dish gives you a crisp, golden crust, and avoids the potential for overcooking your turkey while waiting for the internal temperature of your stuffing to reach 165°F. If you do cook it inside your turkey, don’t add any extra stock as the turkey will add extra liquid as it cooks.
Although our testers found this paired nicely with any roasted meat, it’s lovely for Thanksgiving dinner. We recommend serving it alongside roasted and braised turkey, basic pan gravy, make-ahead mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, and spicy roasted Brussels sprouts.
Helpful Tips
- To cut down on dishes, sauté your vegetables in a Dutch oven or cast-iron skillet. Mix up the stuffing and place it back into the Dutch oven or skillet and bake.
- To reheat the stuffing, place it in a baking dish, cover it with foil, and warm it in a 300°F oven until heated through. Frozen stuffing doesn’t need to be thawed before reheating.
More Great Stuffing Recipes
Write a Review
If you make this recipe, or any dish on LC, consider leaving a review, a star rating, and your best photo in the comments below. I love hearing from you.–David
Wild Mushroom Stuffing
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for the baking dish
- 2 shallots, minced
- 4 cups sliced leeks, (white and light green parts only, 1/2-inch-thick [12-mm] slices)
- 1 pound king trumpet or cremini mushrooms, chopped or sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- Sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 4 sprigs thyme
- 3 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 cup Comté or Gruyère cheese, shredded
- 6 cups cubed brioche or substitute challah, (or, for a less squishy and less sweet stuffing, substitute a hearty artisan loaf of white or walnut bread)
- 1/3 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped
- 1 cup homemade chicken stock or canned chicken broth, plus more if needed
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the shallots, leeks, mushrooms, and garlic and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables have softened, 5 to 10 minutes.
- Add the wine and thyme sprigs to the pan and cook until the wine has almost evaporated, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove and discard the thyme sprigs and scrape the vegetables and any liquid into a bowl.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, a generous pinch of salt and pepper, and the cheese. Add the cooked vegetables, brioche, and parsley, and toss to combine. Mix in 1/2 cup stock. Continue to add as much of the remaining 1/2 cup stock, a couple tablespoons at a time, as needed until the stuffing is moist but not wet (there should not be any liquid in the bottom of the bowl). Transfer the stuffing to a buttered 9-by-13-inch baking dish and cover with buttered aluminum foil.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C) or, if you've been roasting a turkey, when you remove the turkey from the oven and set it aside to rest, adjust the oven temperature to 350°F (177°C).
- Place the covered baking dish in the oven and bake until the stuffing is warmed through, 25 to 30 minutes. Then uncover the stuffing and bake until golden, about 15 minutes. Serve immediately.
Notes
- Make in advance–Prepare the stuffing through step 3, then cover and stash in your fridge for up to 3 days before baking. If cooking directly from the fridge, you may need to add a few extra minutes to your baking time.
- Use other mushrooms–Swap in your favorite wild mushrooms.
- Cut down on dishes–Use a Dutch oven or cast-iron skillet to sauté your vegetables, then bake the stuffing in the same cooking vessel.
- Storage–Leftovers will keep in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 4 days or in the freezer for 1 month.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe Testers’ Reviews
This Thanksgiving mushroom stuffing(really a dressing) could be served with turkey, chicken, or even beef. It’s also an excellent accompaniment to roasted pork loin, which is how I decided to serve it.
Be sure to season the vegetable mixture well, taste it after it cooks for a while, and adjust the seasoning to your taste. I used challah instead of brioche, which worked well. I added the full cup of stock to the mixture before I baked it. The dressing was perfectly moist, even after baking.
This wild mushroom stuffing is phenomenal, and I’m so pleased with the final result. The stuffing is savory and decadent and has all the flavors I love—and it’s a nice change from traditional-flavored stuffing.
I had fun with this recipe and deviated a little from the cooking instructions with fantastic results. I used challah bread, 2 medium leeks, and 2 shallots and got all of that wonderful oniony flavor. I used a large 12-inch cast iron skillet to sauté my veggies and after I was done mixing all the ingredients in a large bowl I plopped the stuffing back into the cast iron skillet, covered it with foil, and in the oven it went.
I will be making this again as my family gave this a 10.
This wild mushroom dressing was a hit. We liked the flavor, and we enjoyed the way it looked. It made the house smell great.
I’d add more cheese simply because we like cheese. I’d use a minimal amount of stock if I were putting this wild mushroom dressing into the bird and go for a smaller cut of mushroom.
Just wow! I think it’s gonna taste really good..Thanks for sharing…
You’re welcome, Seema! If you make it please let us know how it turns out.
I’d like to leave out the eggs. Should I add more broth?
Lina, the eggs give structure to the stuffing and bind it. More broth would just make it mushy and unappetizing.
Would it be absolutely awful if I use Pepperidge Farms cubed stuffing for this recipe? I worry that fresh bread might make it soggy. I like my stuffing just moist- not too dry, not too wet. Please don’t be offended. I’m just a little worried about trying something new and end up having it not turn out well for my guests.
Marissa, not at all. The only thing is we haven’t tested it that way, so we don’t know if your version would call for more liquid. (My guess is it would.) You’ll just have to experiment while cooking.
I plan to probably use as much liquid as instructed on the bag maybe a dash more, and add all the yummy extras (leeks, mushrooms, thyme, shallots, etc.) Thanks so much! I will let you know how it turns out! : )
Do, Marissa. And Happy Thanksgiving!
David, I’m happy to announce that I have made this recipe for Thanksgiving for the last two years, and it turned out delicious each time!! Unfortunately, we recently learned that my youngest son is allergic to eggs. I know it is what holds the stuffing together, so I’m wondering if you can think of anything at all that might be a suitable substitute? I know that some people use flax meal mixed with water as an egg substitute. Do you think that might work well for this recipe?
Marissa, you can use flax and water as a substitute. Some people also use instant potato flakes. Bob’s Red Mill is the one I’d recommend, as it’s non-GMO.