stuffing for dinner or turkey day

"It's loose, laid-back and doing its own thing, California-style."

As someone whose family has never really celebrated Thanksgiving, I’ve never experienced the emotional pull that the menu’s soft, beige mélange has for so many people. Thanksgiving is food media’s Super Bowl, and yet I have mostly avoided writing about it because I just don’t have much to say… Except:

This stuffing. It’s unlike other stuffings, but not so re-engineered that it wouldn’t fit in at Thanksgiving. It’s also a one-skillet dish that hits most food groups, so it can be dinner unto itself any night of the year. It has more vegetables than bread, more croutons than mush, and more textures than all of Thanksgiving. 

This is probably because it was created by a California chef, Suzanne Goin, whose food is relaxed, colorful, confident, and produce-heavy. She’s my kind of Los Angeles celebrity. 

I’ve made some adjustments to her recipe in ingredients and process, but it remains sweet, savory, bitter, spicy, nutty, and rich in every bite. Goin calls for sourdough, but I really like it with a multigrain or seeded loaf to get crunch in there without adding nuts. I also added an egg to make it a little fluffy, because Goin’s version is more bread salad than bread pudding. 

It definitely shares DNA with another Golden State star, the bread salad Judy Rodgers made famous at San Francisco’s Zuni Café. In both recipes, bread goes through a process of crisping in oil (untraditional for stuffing), then soaking, then baking again for a range of crusty and pudgy. This intentional clash in texture and flavor is a Goin signature, achieved even in dishes with just three or five ingredients.

Yes, this stuffing also happens to break a lot of my personal recipe rules. Lots of ingredients—for people eager for the list of 40 ingredients, this recipe uses a third of the list. Lots of chopping, steps, and time (takes me an hour to get it into the oven). But what you get is so much, too.

To quote Bee Wilson’s latest book, The Secret of Cooking, “consider cooking not as a problem but as a remedy.” Every step of this recipe is a new chance to forget what’s whirling around you. Ripping kale leaves from their stems. Plucking herbs. Squidging dates. Sizzling sausage.

If this cheap therapy sounds dreadful and impossible to you, know that the recipe can be broken up: 

• Step 1: Make croutons up to 1 week ahead.

• Step 2: Chop veg up to 3 days ahead.

• Steps 3-4: Sauté everything up to 1 day before the first bake.

• Steps 5-6: Bake the stuffing at 375°F up to 1 day ahead. Right before serving, do the uncovered, 425°F bake until warmed through. 

And there are many ways to adjust the ingredients to what you have, like, or need, just as Goin’s done with her own recipe to create four totally different versions:

Goin told the New York Times “[this stuffing is] loose, laid-back and doing its own thing, California-style.” As we head into the most obligation-heavy time of the year, making some time to do your own thing is so, so hard. This stuffing can check a box on your Thanksgiving to-do list, but how it gets to the table can be all yours. 

Multigrain Stuffing with Sausage, Kale & Dates 

Adapted from Suzanne Goin

Serves 8 (or 4 twice)

• 1 pound crusty whole wheat or multigrain sourdough loaf

• 5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

• Salt and pepper

• 2 bunches scallions

• 1 pound lacinato kale (2 bunches)

• 1 large fennel bulb

• Handful of rosemary, sage, or thyme sprigs (or a mix)

• 8 Medjool dates 

• 1 pound hot or sweet Italian sausage

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter

• 1/2 teaspoon chile flakes

• 3 tablespoons Sherry vinegar, plus more as needed

• 2 cups salted chicken stock, plus more as needed 

• 3 large eggs

1. Heat the oven to 375°F. Rip 1 pound crusty whole wheat or multigrain sourdough loaf into 1 1/2 to 2-inch pieces.¹ Place on a baking sheet, toss with 3 tablespoons olive oil, season with S&P, and bake until golden brown and crisp but not rock-hard, 12 to 14 minutes. Let cool. 

2. While the bread is toasting, chop chop chop: 

• Thinly slice 2 bunches scallions. 

• De-stem 1 pound lacinato kale (2 bunches). Thinly slice the ribs and stems and rip the leaves into big pieces. 

• Thinly slice stalks from 1 large fennel bulb, then coarsely chop the bulb, including the core. (Save the fronds for a salad.) 

• Chop 2 tablespoons herb leaves from a handful of rosemary, sage, or thyme sprigs (or a mix). 

• Rip 8 Medjool dates in half and remove the pits if they’re still there, then thinly slice crosswise.

3. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large, oven-proof skillet over medium-high. Remove the casings from 1 pound hot or sweet Italian sausage. Add the meat to the skillet and cook, breaking pieces up with a spoon, until browned, 5 to 8 minutes. Reduce heat to medium, then use a slotted spoon to transfer the sausage to a big bowl, leaving the fat in the skillet. 

4. Add the fennel, scallions, kale stems and ribs, and herbs. Season with S&P and cook, scraping up any browned bits, until softened and golden, 4 to 6 minutes. Add 4 tablespoons unsalted butter and 1/2 teaspoon chile flakes and stir until melted, then add the kale leaves in handfuls and stir until wilted. Transfer this whole mess to the bowl of sausage, reserving the skillet for later. 

5. Stir 3 tablespoons Sherry vinegar into 2 cups salted chicken stock. To the bowl, add the bread, dates, and this stock mixture. Stir (easiest with hands) until the liquid is all absorbed by the bread. If the bread is dry, add more chicken stock. Taste a piece of bread; if it’s bland, add salt, pepper, and a drop of vinegar. This is your last chance to make sure your stuffing tastes delicious. Beat 3 large eggs, then pour over the bread mixture and stir gently until absorbed.

6. Dump the stuffing into the skillet you’ve been using (without cleaning it)—or a buttered 2 1/2- to 3-quart baking dish, like a 9x13-inch pan. Cover with foil and bake until a knife inserted into the center comes out hot, 30 to 35 minutes. Increase the heat to 425°F, remove the foil, and bake until the top is golden-crisp, 15 to 20 minutes.

Multigrain Stuffing With Sausage, Kale & Dates Ali Slagle's 40 Ingredients Forever

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SWAPS

• Bread: Use any kind of crusty loaf. If you use gluten-free bread, add the stock gradually and only add enough until the bread is moist, not falling apart. It would become a very different casserole and require some adjustments in quantities of the other ingredients, but you could use lentils, beans, pasta, rice, or a whole grain like wheat berries. 

• Scallions: Use onions, leeks, garlic, or a mix.

• Kale: Use another dark leafy green like Swiss chard or collard greens, or omit. Broccoli rabe or cabbage would also be good.

• Fennel: Use celery or a dash of fennel seeds. You could also leave it out; Goin’s original doesn’t have it.

• Rosemary, sage, or thyme sprigs: Use the dried version or Italian seasoning to taste, or omit.

• Dates: The chewiness here is so nice, but you could also use another dried fruit like cherries or apricots, or omit.

• Hot or sweet Italian sausage: Bacon or pancetta, another fresh sausage like Mexican chorizo or lamb merguez. For a vegetarian version, see below.

• Sherry vinegar: Use any other kind of vinegar to taste, or deglaze the skillet in Step 4 with 1/2 cup sherry or white wine (or cider?).

• Chicken stock: Use vegetable or mushroom stock.

• Eggs: Skip ‘em.

THINGS TO ADD

• Add almonds or hazelnuts with the stock.

• Add fresh parsley before serving—or Parmesan?

• You could slip in some sautéed bell peppers, but this stuffing already has so much in it, more might not be more?

OTHER NOTES

• Halve the recipe: Easily! Use 1 egg and bake in the skillet or an 8-inch dish.

• Leftovers: Will keep for up to 3 days. Reheat loosely covered in foil in a 350° oven for 20 minutes, until warm, or just microwave for 90 seconds.

• Vegetarian: Use chopped mushrooms instead of sausage; cooking, stirring every 3 or so minutes, until browned, then season with S&P. Add double the herbs and 2 tablespoons more butter in Step 4. Or make this recipe, which is quite similar. In either case, use vegetable or mushroom stock.

• Gluten-free: See bread swap above.

• Make ahead: Step 1: Make croutons up to 1 week ahead. Step 2: Chop veg up to 3 days ahead. Steps 3-4: Sauté everything up to 1 day before the first bake. Steps 5-6: Bake the stuffing at 375°F up to 1 day ahead. Right before serving, do the uncovered, 425°F bake until warmed through. 

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Editing and recipe testing: Caroline Lange

Brand design: Linda Huang

1. To easily tear crusty bread, slice about 1 1/2 inches thick, then into 1 1/2-inch logs, then rip from there.