How to Make Bread Cubes for Stuffing (2024)

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Preparing bread cubes for stuffing is a super simple, important step and ensures perfectly moist, never-soggy stuffing. Savvy cooks cut the bread up into bite-sized pieces and let it dry out in advance, or you can dry it in the oven at the last minute.

Throughout culinary history, stuffing has been one of the best ways to use up leftover, day-old bread. Combined with eggs or milk, savory herbs, and a little bit of this and that from the kitchen and baked. Few things are more delicious.

Today, not every household has lots of stale bread sitting around, and classic stuffing is usually saved for the holidays when big groups gather. That means you have to buy a loaf or two of freshly baked bread and let it dry out. Why? Dry bread has more power to soak up all the broth and flavor as it bakes.

This technique is the best way to cube and dry out bread, and it couldn’t be easier.

Ingredient notes

• Bread: You can use almost any type of high-quality bread: unsliced French or Italian bread, sturdy sandwich loaf, brioche, challah, or even cornbread. Avoid overly-soft or fluffy white sandwich loaves.

Step-by-step instructions

1. Two to three days before you plan on assembling the stuffing, take a serrated knife and slice the loaf into rough 1/2-inchcubes, crust and all. You can also tear the loaf into pieces by hand for a more rustic look.
2. Spread the bread chunks out on a baking sheet and drape with a clean kitchen towel. Let them dry out at room temperature over the next couple days.
3. If you don’t have the time, you can speed up the drying-out process by using the oven. Spread the bread out on a baking sheet and bake in a low oven set at 225 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes until dry.

Recipe tips and variations

• Yield:A 1-pound bread loaf usually makes 10 cups of bread cubes, enough for a 9-inch by 13-inch baking dish of stuffing, or 10 to 12 servings (assume 1 cup of stuffing per person).
• Make ahead: The dried cubes can stay at room temperature up to 4 days in advance. Keep them in a dry, cool place. After you’ve assembled the stuffing, refrigerate it up to 1 day in advance. See my fullMake-Ahead Thanksgiving menufor more ways to cook in advance including aMake Ahead Roasted Turkey,Make Ahead Mashed Potatoes(that won’t get watery in the freezer), andMake Ahead Pumpkin Pie.
• Bread pudding: Savory or sweet bread puddings also start with dried bread.
• Classic oven-baked stuffing: To make my homemade Bread Stuffing recipe, preheat the oven to 400 degrees and rub a 9×13-inch baking dish with butter. Add stuffing to the baking dish, cover tightly with foil, and bake until mostly heated through, about 25 minutes. Remove foil and bake until crispy edges form, about 10 to 20 minutes longer.
• Crockpot stuffing: Save your oven space and make bread stuffing in your slow cooker. You’ll still have soft, chewy bread cubes with plenty of crispy edges without using your oven.
• Small batch stuffing:MyBread Stuffing for Twois the same delicious, buttery stuffing with all your favorite flavors, but scaled down to a smaller quantity for small gatherings. See my fullThanksgiving for Two Menuwhich includes a pair of roastedCornish Hens with Stuffingand twoMini Pumpkin Piesfor dessert.
• Sausage stuffing: My homemade Cornbread Dressing is made with plenty of sausage for a spicy kick.
• Vegan stuffing: Filled with wild mushrooms, leeks, fresh kale, and all the classic Thanksgiving herbs you love, this Vegan Stuffing recipe has bread cubes that are soft and chewy on the inside with browned, crispy edges outside. The entire recipe is 100% vegan and delicious.