Baked Apple Cranberry Stuffing with Fresh Herbs

This Baked Apple Cranberry Stuffing recipe is a savory vegetarian side dish for your holiday table. Packed with tart apples, cranberries, and herbs for maximum flavor, the entire family is sure to go seeking seconds. It’s still the best stuffing recipe I’ve tested so far!

Disclosure: This post was originally sponsored by Arctic® Apples when it was first published in November 2018. I was compensated for my time and as always, all opinions were my own. In the time since, the information has been updated to improve the overall quality. Thanks for continuing to support the brands who support Street Smart Nutrition!

‘Tis the season for complete chaos in the kitchen! I don’t know of many other times of the year when the kitchen seems to be in such high demand. Perhaps for special occasions or family events, but the holidays are consistently the time that it seems to be the most crowded, the most hectic, and the most stressful place to be. From fighting the clock to time everything perfectly to trying to please lots of preferences, it’s a tough task for anyone who agrees to host a large holiday meal.

That’s why I teamed up with the past sponsor of this post, Arctic® Apples, to share some of my best kitchen tips for helping your prep this vegetarian stuffing recipe ahead of time. Baked Apple Cranberry Stuffing with Herbs is savory, aromatic, and oh-so-satisfying. It’s the perfect addition to your Thanksgiving menu or winter potluck table. 

Let’s get started!

Apple Cranberry Stuffing Ingredients

I’ll never claim this to be the most gourmet, extravagant, or fancy stuffing recipe. But I think these simple ingredients are full of flavor and should look beautiful when served next to your sweet potatoes, green beans, or other favorite side dishes!

• Sourdough bread, cut into rough cubes OR a pre-sliced stuffing cubes. I think the sourdough gives it a nice flavor, but you can use another type of crusty bread if you want to.
• Butter. ‘Tis the season for lots of butter and I’m a big fan! 
• Celery
• Yellow onion
• Arctic® Granny or Arctic® Golden apple. Check online to see where to purchase, or try my affiliate link with Instacart for a grocery delivery that’s even more convenient. If not available where you shop, use Granny Smith or Golden Delicious varieties for best results. 
• Cranberries. I personally love how juicy fresh cranberries are, but you can also swap for dried cranberries. See the recipe card for notes on adjusting the quantity.
• Low-sodium vegetable stock or vegetable broth. The two are more or less interchangeable, and you can use store-bought or homemade. If you’re OK with a non-vegetarian stuffing recipe, you can also use chicken broth or chicken stock. 
• All-Purpose MSG Seasoning or salt and black pepper to taste
• Fresh rosemary, sage, thyme, and parsley, or other medley of fresh herbs

Find a large skillet as well as a large baking dish for the stuffing mixture to bake in. You’ll also need a sharpened knife a cutting board, measuring cups and spoons, a large bowl, and serving spoons. 

What’s special about these apples?

Arctic® apples are unique in the fruit world because they are the world’s first (and currently, only) non-browning apples. Through innovations in biotechnology and plant breeding, the enzyme that leads to browning when the apple is bitten, cut, or bruised has been silenced. This means that kitchen prep with Arctic® apples is less likely to lead to discolored dishes and food waste. 

The quality, taste, and texture of these apples lasts throughout the prep process so you have one less thing to worry about for your holiday dishes. And that’s exactly why they are such great options if you plan to prep this Apple Cranberry Stuffing in advance. 

How to Make Apple Cranberry Stuffing

Follow this step-by-step guide to make this crowd pleaser of a stuffing recipe:

1. If using a fresh bread, cube or tear into small pieces the evening before. Arrange on a baking sheet and allow to stale overnight. If not, skip straight to Step 2.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and prepare a large casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray or oil. 
3. In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Prepare the veggies by slicing down the middle of the celery ribs, then chop into a small dice. Dice the onion, then add both to the skillet with one tablespoon of butter. Season and allow to cook until translucent and fragrant, about 5 to 6 minutes, then melt the rest of the butter. 
4. Meanwhile, chop the fresh herbs and add to a large mixing bowl with the stale bread. Dice the apple (peeling is optional), then add to the mixing bowl along with the cranberries. Pour half of the vegetable stock over the mixture and fold together to combine.
5. Whisk the eggs into the remaining vegetable stock. When the onion-celery mixture is ready, add to the mixing bowl. Fold to combine, then pour the remaining liquid over the top. Transfer to the prepared casserole dish and spread the bread mixture in an even layer. Cover with aluminum foil and bake 30 minutes.
6. After 30 minutes, remove the foil and return to the oven to bake 10 to 15 minutes more, or until the top begins to brown. Allow to cool slightly before serving, and garnish with additional herbs if desired. Serve immediately, or hold warm until ready to serve. 

Tips for Timing This Baked Stuffing Recipe

There’s nothing worse, in my opinion, than attempting to make a recipe and realizing that the time is completely off. I always recommend reading through recipes from start to finish before ever getting started so you can account for all the things that might add precious minutes to the cooking process. For someone like me who’s comfortable with a sharp knife, chopping is a relatively quick task, but if you know this part takes longer, be sure to factor that in.

Another commonly overlooked step that adds time is the pre-heating of the oven. This is always the first thing I do to ensure that it’s fully heated and ready to go by the time I am. Recipes are often written with the idea that the dish is going into a fully heated oven, so this can actually help improve the final dish and make cooking times more accurate.

Finally, don’t forget to account for cleaning up! As hard as I try to clean as I go, it never seems to work out quite how I envision it. If you can do a little along the way, there’s less mess when you’re finished, but this still adds to the total amount of time needed for any given recipe. So just make sure you include that before you have to rush off to the next thing.

Or just do what I do and “outsource” that to a family member who’s lurking around the kitchen hoping for a taste of something before the meal!

Prep and Storage Tips

And as I said earlier, you can prepare this Apple Cranberry Stuffing recipe in advance and bake or reheat when you’re ready for it.

• To Prep Ahead: Combine the bread cubes, apples, cranberries, and herbs. Cook the onions and celery as instructed, then store separately in an airtight container. However, do not add the vegetable stock, melted butter, or egg mixture until ready to bake, otherwise your stuffing will become very soggy. Keep baking time and temperature the same.
• To Bake Ahead: Complete the recipe as instructed. Allow the casserole dish to cool 30 to 60 minutes, then seal, cover, and refrigerate up to three days. If freezing, place on a flat, level area of your freezer with as much air removed as possible. To thaw, transfer to the refrigerator overnight and reheat at 350 degrees for about 30-40 minutes (uncovered) or until the top is browned. If needed, ladle additional vegetable broth over the thawed stuffing to keep it moist. You can also use the broiler for 3-5 minutes to help brown the top.

Food Safety Reminders 

Being a dietitian, I simply can’t “unknow” what I know about food safety in the kitchen. It was pounded into my brain years ago and dang it if it didn’t work. I may not always remember the exact temperatures for cooking each and every little thing, but I know my way around a kitchen well enough to know where the risk for food-borne illness is higher. So it’s definitely worth mentioning anytime we talk about prepping recipes and cooking for a crowd.

Around the holidays, leftovers finally have their chance to shine. And as a general rule, most foods are fine to eat for up to three to four days. That is, if they last that long! After that, the risk for food-borne illnesses (AKA food poisoning) goes up and nothing will ruin a holiday quite like a bout of awful GI misbehavior. My rule of thumb is to freeze anything that I don’t think will get eaten or used within four days.

And when it doubt, throw it out. Food waste sucks, no doubt, so use these tips to avoid it as much as possible:

• Be mindful of the “Danger Zone” which is the temperature range of 40 degrees to 140 degrees F. 
• Once cooked, hold hot foods hot (about 140 degrees F) for up to two hours, but then transfer them to the fridge. Same with cold foods; keep them below 40 degrees and return to the refrigerator as soon as possible. Bacteria thrives at room temperature, so don’t let anything sit too long that shouldn’t be left out.
• If storing leftovers, cool them quickly to avoid long periods of time in the Danger Zone. You can take large dishes and divide them into smaller, shallower containers or cut them into smaller pieces to help speed up the cooling process.
• Keep food safety in mind when reheating leftovers, too! No matter how you’re heating them, check to make sure the temperature reaches at least 165 degrees F and stir or rotate your dish to make sure it heats more evenly.

Now you should feel like a kitchen pro! Are you ready to tackle this Apple Cranberry Stuffing recipe? Don’t worry, it’s going to be a breeze to make!

So there you have it! And we made it to the end of the post without stirring up the stuffing vs. dressing debate…but I can’t resist…what do you prefer to call it?

This Apple Cranberry Stuffing recipe has come out perfect every time I’ve made it (knock on wood…I hope this doesn’t end my streak). But it’s never been dry thanks to the sweet apples. And it has a great ratio of soft, chewy stuffing underneath and a crispy, crunchy layer on top. That’s part of why my family loves it. There never has to be a fight over who gets the “best” part!

Of course, which part is actually the “best” is up for debate. But everyone can at least agree that the buttery, herb-infused flavor and just the right amount of sweetness from the fresh apples is the perfect touch.

As always, thanks for stopping by the Street Smart Nutrition blog. Cheers to more fearlessly nourishing meals!