I'm attributing these stuffing muffins totally to an "OMG, I am such an idiot" moment I had yesterday. You know, the ones where you literally smack yourself in the forehead and say out loud, "How did I manage to screw that up?!?"
I had scheduled an appearance on Good Day Columbus several weeks ago, but apparently I failed to pencil it in on my calendar. I've been operating under the assumption that I was booked for next Wednesday, so when I got the email yesterday at 5:34pm saying that I needed to arrive at 7:45am for an 8:15am appearance - with a Thanksgiving dinner dish in hand - well, I was in full-blown panic mode.
Luckily, after a quick pantry check, I realized I had all of the ingredients to make a traditional stuffing if I substituted chicken stock for my usual more labor-intensive homemade turkey stock.
But somehow stuffing just seemed kind of blah... How could I jazz it up a bit?
That's when I hit on the idea of these adorable little stuffing muffins, or "stuffins" as Andy Dominianni, FOX 28 news anchor, dubbed them! Not only do these little preportioned stuffins taste delicious, but you can easily customize them with different ingredients for picky eaters - and what little one wouldn't rather eat a stuffin than a blob of regular stuffing?
Printable Recipe ↓
Homemade Stuffing Muffins (AKA Stuffins)
Ingredients
- 2 (20-ounce) loaves hearty white sandwich bread - toasted and chopped into ¾-inch cubes
- 12 tablespoons unsalted butter - divided
- 5 celery stalks - trimmed and chopped fine
- 3 medium yellow onions - chopped fine
- 4 cups boiling water
- ½ cup milk
- 3 tablespoons Better Than Bouillon chicken base
- 3 large eggs - lightly beaten
- 3 tablespoons dried parsley flakes
- 4 teaspoons poultry seasoning
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¾ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to middle and lower-middle positions; heat oven to 400 degrees.
- Melt 8 tablespoons of the butter (1 stick) in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add the celery and onion and sauté until softened, 6 to 8 minutes. Stir in the parsley flakes, poultry seasoning, pepper, and salt, and cook for 30 seconds more until fragrant.
- Transfer the vegetable mixture to a large mixing bowl. Add the toasted bread cubes to the bowl and toss to combine.
- Whisk the milk, water, and chicken base together in a large glass measuring cup. Pour the liquid mixture over the bread and veggie mixture and use a rubber spatula to fold everything together until evenly combined. Allow the mixture to sit for about 10 minutes, and then fold the mixture together again to ensure the liquid is fully absorbed.
- Spray two 12-cup muffin pans with non-stick spray. Divide the stuffing mixture evenly among 18 muffins cups. Gently press on the tops to fill the cups and pile more on top to form a loose dome shape.
- Melt the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter in the microwave, and brush it over the tops of the stuffing muffins.
- Bake at 400 degrees until the tops of the muffins and browned and crispy, about 35 minutes. Rotate the muffin tins midway through baking.
- Cool the stuffing muffins in the muffin tins on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Then transfer the muffins to a wire rack and allow them to rest for another 10 minutes before serving.
Dana says
Can these be made a head of time and then warmed up?
Tara Kuczykowski says
Hi Dana! Yes, you can absolutely make these ahead of time. I would just recommend covering them with some aluminum foil when reheating them so that they don't dry out.
Robyn says
Do you have to toast the bread? My regular recipe does not call for toasted bread cubes? Thanks/
Tara @ Unsophisticook says
I do recommend toasting the bread, Robyn. It keeps them from getting too soggy. Or you can just spread the bread slices out to dry overnight, turning them once.
Donna says
I'm so glad somebody asked that question, I made these last year and I JUST COULDNT get those things too cook! It was in the oven for hours! And still yuck inside! Thanks for the solution! Happy Thanksgiving
Tara says
Oh, I always toast my bread for stuffing! I'm going to add "toasted" to the ingredients list just to make it clear, since it seems to come up often. Happy Thanksgiving, Donna!
Jayne says
I absolutely love this idea! I have included your recipe in my Thanksgiving recipe round up and cant wait to make my own stuffins!
StuffinNewbie says
I have never made stuffing but these seem really easy and much more attractive than the usual blob look. :-) I plan to try an experiment and use a huge bag of croutons (thanks Sam's Club) that would take us 2 life times to finish. Thanks for the recipe and wish me luck!
1bigbadmama says
I love the recipe I am post bariatric & mini muffins size is perfect for me& my 5 yrs would lov'm too ofcourse teenage would eat loads of them ; )
betty says
I voted for you and you are at #1 now!
carol triano says
This recipe looks yummy. I am going to make these over the weekend. I am always looking for good stuffing recipes and this looks like a winner!!!!
Sherry Johnson says
Finally a stuffin my family likes. I vote "yes"!
Lauralee Hensley says
Yum, from someone who loves stuffing.
Emily says
These look SO AWESOME!
Cherie says
Hi — I made these for thanksgiving and they came out great. I'm a vegetarian so I used Imagine No Chicken broth. To make up for the lost fat, I used extra butter in my vegetable saute. The meat-eaters and non-meat eaters were all happy.
Renee Bedford says
These look & sound delish! Cant wait till the next family dinner to try them!!!
Diana says
Loved the recipe. Will try it for sure
sara says
tara,
made these for my first big thanksgiving dinner, and they were a hit! thank you!
easy internet business says
My wife just finished making these and they are awesome! Crunchy on the outside and moist on the inside, just like I like it.
Sarah says
I am hosing my first Thanksgiving dinner this year and have been stumped to find something to mix it up a bit! (throw off my parents & in-laws) When I saw this on GooD Day I knew this was exactly what I wanted to try! Thanks!!
-Sarah
Kathy says
Is the loaf size 16 oz., 20 oz., 22 oz.?
Tara says
Hi Kathy — are you referring to when I make a normal large batch? I don't actually use a loaf pan. I typically use disposable foil pans that I pick up in bulk at Sam's Club. They're great for cutting down on dishes for large meals.
Stacy says
I think Kathy's question is referring to the size loaf of bread that you used. They can vary.
Tara says
Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh... now I feel like an idiot, LOL! It was a 20-oz. loaf of wheat bread.
Roz says
Is there a typo in the baking time? After one hour, they would be hockey pucks! Rachael Ray has a similar recipe for stuffing in muffin cups; her bake time is 15-20 minutes and they are pretty dense, as well.
Tara says
No, not a typo — but really it comes down to your personal preferences on stuffing. My family prefers a denser stuffing with kind of a crispy top layer because we pour gravy over it. If you prefer a stuffing that's more moist, then I'd definitely recommend a shorter cooking timeframe or, as I mentioned in the post, covering it with foil for most of the cooking time.
Amy says
I am totally going to try this next week instead of regular stuffing!! I'll use the recipe I usually use and just put them into muffin pans. Awesome idea!!
Tara says
Just make sure you cut back the cooking time because it will cook more quickly in these small portions. I normally bake my stuffing in a large foil pan for about two hours at 350 degrees, so I halved it.
petite hermine says
These look amazing. I can't wait to try them out!
laura says
I am totally going to have to make these next week!! thank you!!