How to Make Nina’s Famous Italian Stuffing

This recipe is from my mother in law and it’s is what turned the tides on my opinion of stuffing in general.  I never thought of stuffing as an Italian recipe, and you know something maybe it’s not technically Italian, but it is awesome.

Having never liked stuffing, when I was presented with it at Thanksgiving at my in-laws for the first time, I politely took a small amount.

Needless to say, it was the best stuffing I’ve ever had. And soon I had seconds, and thirds and to this day if I’m not there for Thanksgiving, they save some for me!

The recipe although is simple – in that it isn’t difficult, it takes a few hours to make.

My husband helps me with it and every time we’re like, “this takes so long”, but then we are in love with the dish and he’s asking me to make more!

So it’s not a quick recipe unfortunately.  However, with some minor edits, you can easily cut down the time by using pre-made chicken broth instead of creating your own.

Also, this recipe is for about 15 people making it great for a holiday dinner. I don’t have a smaller version. I tend to make the whole batch and freeze most of it for later.

Stuffing Recipe

A family favorite, it's a great stuffing recipe.

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Course: Side Dish

Servings: 15 people

Ingredients

• 3 chicken breasts boiled and shredded
• 6-8 stalks of celery diced
• 3-4 onions diced
• 5 TBLE butter
• 3 TBLE olive oil
• 4 1/2 loaves of white bread toasted
• 3 tsp poultry seasoning more as needed for flavor

Instructions

• In a large pot, lightly boil 3 chicken breasts for about 3 hours (adding more water as needed)
• Toast the slices of bread in an oven at 390 degrees F. turning over after a few minutes. Place them on cookie sheets. This is what takes the most time.
• Saute the celery and onion in 3 Tablespoons of butter and 2 Tablespoons olive oil until tender.
• When chicken is done boiling, shred and set aside in a bowl (keep water for broth).
• Add the celery and onion to the chicken water along with 3-4 teaspoons of poultry seasoning (This is to taste too)
• Take the bread and dip in the broth and tear into bite size pieces. Put in a very large pan or bowl to mix later.
• Add the chicken and mix all together.
• Butter your baking pans and bake at 350 degrees F. for 45min. to an hour uncovered. Turn if needed.

Notes

I have lots of tips here, so please read them all. They will help.

TIP #1: Cut your time drastically by using store bought chicken broth. You will want about a gallon of broth, so add in water, such as the water that is used to boil the chicken.

TIP #2: Technically, you don't have to use shredded chicken or chicken at all. But it does help.

TIP #3: To keep your hand from burning, let the broth cool before dipping the bread. You can mix it with tongs or use hands to tear the pieces.

TIP #4: Taste Test! Because this is a family recipe, measurements are approximate. Make sure to taste test the broth, especially with the poultry seasoning. For the video version I used 2 Tablespoons of poultry seasoning. It was probably a little too much for me, but my husband liked it. Even my mother in law sometimes adds in bullion if it needs more flavor. So experiment.

TIP #5: For a smaller quantity cut the loaves down to 1 1/2 loaves of bread. For the remaining ingredients, cut down by 1/3 I would say. The most important thing is to make sure you have enough broth.

TIP #6: Only use white bread. Whole wheat bread will not taste the same. I've tried a variety of types and white is the best option.  Gluten free will fall apart.

TIP #7: If you don't like your stuffing too moist, mix it up half way through baking.

TIP #8: To save additional time, try toasting the bread the night before. This will help too!