Boxed stuffing mix can be incredibly fast and easy to make for the holidays or for a weeknight side dish, and it can be quite tasty, too.
However, if you are tired of the taste of traditional boxed stuffing mix and would like to take things up a notch, it’s easy to do so.
These are a few tasty add-ins that can help you dress up your favourite brand of boxed stuffing mix.
1. Broth
One of the easiest and most effective ways of adding flavour to boxed stuffing mix is to use chicken, turkey, or beef broth instead of some or all of the water.
You can use your own homemade stock for the best flavour, but even the kind from a can or box will work just fine.
If you decide to go the second route, however, you may want to look for a low-sodium option to ensure that your stuffing does not turn out too salty.
2. Pan Drippings
Another great way to add some flavour to your boxed stuffing mix — while also helping make it go more cohesively with your main dish — it to spoon some of the pan drippings from the meat that you are cooking into the stuffing while preparing it.
Since drippings can be a bit fatty, however, you may want to slightly reduce the amount of butter that you add to your stuffing when following the directions.
3. Bread Cubes
Just because you don’t want to start from scratch does not mean that your stuffing can’t be dressed up with bread cubes of your choice.
You can use just about any kind of bread that you want, including sandwich bread, French bread, biscuits and more.
For a Southern twist, you can even add cornbread cubes into the mixture.
Just make sure that your bread cubes are nice and dry before adding them; leaving them out, uncovered, for a day or two can help them become dried out, or you can toast them in your toaster oven or oven.
4. Vegetables
You can amp up the flavour of your boxed stuffing mix — and add a little bit of extra nutritional value at the same time — by adding diced vegetables into the mix.
Diced onion, celery, and carrot are all good options, but you can get creative with your favourite veggies if you want to add your own twist.
Since your veggies might not be done in the length of time that it makes to prepare boxed stuffing mix, you may want to sauté them in a little bit of butter or oil before adding them to your stuffing.
5. Meat
Who says that you can’t add a little bit of meat to your side dishes?
Adding meat to your stuffing totally takes it up a notch, and if you add enough of it, you can even turn your stuffing into a main dish instead of a side.
Browned Italian or breakfast sausage makes a wonderful addition to just about any type of stuffing.
If you will be serving it alongside turkey or chicken, dicing or shredding up a little bit of cooked poultry and adding it in is a good option, too.
Boxed stuffing mix is great when prepared according to the package directions, but there are plenty of ways that you can dress it up, too.
These are just five potential add-ins that can help you create a whole new dish out of boxed stuffing mix.
Try one, several, or all of them for a delicious take on a classic, easy weeknight side dish.
