For the entirety of my life, we have served this chestnut stuffing for Thanksgiving; that’s a lot of stuffing! It genuinely is a family custom. You won’t find a better filling anywhere, I assure you. My Nana, who is the Midwest’s best cook, is well appreciated.
| Prep Time: | 15 mins |
| Cook Time: | 1 hr 10 mins |
| Total Time: | 1 hr 25 mins |
| Servings: | 16 |
Ingredients
- 2 cups chestnuts
- 1 ½ cups butter
- ½ cup chopped onion
- 2 teaspoons poultry seasoning
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 2 (1 pound) loaves day-old bread, cubed
- 3 large eggs
- ¼ cup milk
Instructions
- Cut slits in the surface of chestnuts with a sharp knife. Place chestnuts in a medium saucepan with enough water to cover and bring to a boil. Cook until tender, about 25 minutes. Drain, peel, and chop.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
- Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in chestnuts, onion, poultry seasoning, salt, and pepper, and cook until onions are tender, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a medium baking dish and mix with cubed bread.
- Beat together eggs and milk in a small bowl. Drizzle over cubed bread mixture.
- Bake in the preheated oven until the surface is crisp and lightly browned, 30 to 45 minutes.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 354 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 38 g |
| Cholesterol | 35 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 1 g |
| Protein | 6 g |
| Saturated Fat | 4 g |
| Sodium | 744 mg |
| Sugars | 5 g |
| Fat | 20 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
I’ve been making this recipe since I got married 16 years ago. My husband insists each year. It is delicious and always a hit with our guests. I always use butter and use 2 tsp of sage instead of poultry seasoning.
Very good recipe. Didn’t use margarine, used butter. Also used turkey broth to moisten. Very tasty recipe.
I never review things, I typically forget. But this was WORTH IT! My dad gave me chestnuts two days before Thanksgiving and he asked me to make stuffing. I’m from New Orleans and I’ve only ever made cornbread and sausage stuffing! So I found this recipe. I used 3/4 of a 1.4 pound loaf of bread instead of 2 loaves. It was perfect!!!!!! My dad loves it. He literally used his key to my house to steal the leftovers.
Delicious!
Awesome! I used half butter half oil, roasted chestnuts, and one loaf of unsalted tuscan-style bread. I was thinking “wow that’s a lot of oil” but worked out fine. Will make this again for sure.
I used half the amount of bread and everything else the same (per other reviewer suggestions) and it was perfect! I used half a loaf of dark swirl bread and baked a tube of buttermilk biscuits and crumbled those together. I will make this again for Thanksgiving!
This was fantastic! Probably the star of our Thanksgiving table. I did use a full 2 pounds of bread, but it wasn’t just plain old bread – it was an artisan country white. I cubed and dried the bread overnight. Also, i added a full cup of chicken stock because it really was dry, plus dashes of rosemary, thyme, sage, extra salt and pepper on top of the poultry seasoning. I sort of wondered if the eggs were really necessary at that point, they just sort of settled on the bottom and cooked. They didn’t distract, but i can’t say they added anything either. Probably next time i won’t use them since i added the stock. Still, even with all the changes, this is a wonderful recipe that will be making an appearance at our holiday table for many years to come! Thank you!
Sounds very similar to my nona’s recipe but I notice the directions say to cook it in its own pan and I wonder, has anyone cooked it in the bird?
I made this on Christmas; everyone loved it but myself, the one who made it, HATED it which is why I only give it 3 stars. Here’s some hints: use 1 1pound loaf of bread, any more and it will be way too dry. Grease the baking dish before putting in ingredients. Add more than just onions as it tends to be bland. Under cook your chestnuts, overcook them and they turn out mushy. Use 1/3 cup of milk, more than just 1/4 cup, otherwise it won’t be moist enough.
My first attempt at stuffing, and it was a awesome! After stuffing the turkey with it, I realized I’d forgotten the eggs and milk step. Had more stuffing that the 18lb turkey could take, so baked the remainder. Both came out delicious, with the stuffed being more moist and the baked more firm but not dry. One problem I did have was that many of the chestnuts were moldy and/or black, so actually ended up with less than the recipe called for. Next time, I’ll buy more nuts.
this was just wonderful, I had the family all over yesterday for Christmas, everyone commented on this wonderful stuffing, but I made slight changes, I added one loaf NOT 2, and added 4 eggs with 1/2 cup of milk. it was rich and elegant. Im turning 25 next month, and this was the first Christmas dinner I cook, im defiantly gona make this stuffing every Christmas, it made4 my evening last night, so thank you.
Only used 1 loaf of bread. Added 1 tsp. of each: marjoram, rosemary, thyme and sage.
Yummy! I added fresh sage and rosemary as well as celery and roasted my chestnuts on the fire, I also used butter instead of margerine. It was just perfect! I will make this every year! Mmm…
Tasted fine, I did use only one loaf of bread. It was DRY, even with some added turkey drippings. I would add a can broth to it next time.
I’m giving this 4 stars because I think the reason I didn’t care for it was my own fault. I used only 1 loaf and margarine instead of butter, and it was really greasy (definitely not dry!). The chestnuts were a pain in the butt but they were tasty, and I added golden raisins (I like a lot of “stuff” in my stuffing). I will definitely try again with real butter, and I may add more raisins or cranberries.
This was tasty, but I think there should be more chestnuts in it, I did take the other reviewers advice and half the amount of bread and I added half a small tin of water chestnuts that I had leftover but it still needed more. It’s a good starting point though. Thank you
Very good. I tried roasting the chestnuts instead of boiling, and some of them popped, making a big mess. It is a job to prepare them!
I used one loaf of bread, cut into small cubes, and half way through cooking added 1 1/2 cups of turkey brooth so it was more moist. The best stuffing we have ever had! Wow!!
The flavor of this dish was pretty good. You do have to be careful about how much bread you use if you want a moist stuffing. Mine was a little too dry I think. Allow for some time to peel and chop the chestnuts (it took me almost an hour). I have never used them before so there may be a trick to it. I don’t know. I do know I was hating them at the time.
Delicious. Like others I only used half the called-for bread, and even at that I added some broth at the last minute to make it moister, but the flavor was wonderful.
I was the original poster of this recipe and I love checking back in year after year to see more people have tried it! **Just a friendly reminder, the recipe calls for 2 loaves of bread but it seems to work much better with 1-1 1/2 loaves to avoid dryness. You could also add another egg if you prefer to use 2 loaves.** Thanks so much for enjoying my Nana’s recipe, this is a true tradition in my family and I’m thrilled to share it. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving 2007!