How to Make Stuffing Tastier and Healthier

“Flavor matters, but texture is a big part of what stuffing is all about,” says Amy Keating, RD, a Consumer Reports nutritionist. “It should be uniformly moist and soft, not mushy or soggy, with pieces that hold their shape rather than break down into a pastelike consistency.”

Stuffing is essentially bread, salt, and butter, so it probably comes as no surprise that it isn’t the healthiest food served on Thanksgiving. But you can cut its sodium and saturated fat, and pump up its nutritional profile.

Most packaged stuffings contain a significant amount of sodium, so you don’t need to add more salt to the dish. “Use unsalted butter and a lower-sodium broth or stock to moisten the stuffing. It won’t affect the flavor, but it can put a real dent in the sodium content,” Keating says.

Stock tends to have less sodium than broth because it’s often used as a base in recipes that call for added seasoning, making it perfect for stuffing. For example, 1 cup of Swanson Chicken Stock has 510 mg of sodium compared with 860 mg per cup in Swanson Chicken Broth. To reduce sodium even further, you could use an unsalted version, especially if your stuffing contains a lot of herbs and spices.

To trim saturated fat, consider using less butter than the recipe calls for or switching to olive oil or a lower-fat, vegetable oil-based spread.

Adding plenty of chopped vegetables—onions, carrots, and celery—or even fruit like apples or pears will stretch the stuffing and lower the calorie, fat, and sodium content per serving.

And keep an eye on portions. When you’re spooning out stuffing at the dinner table, serve yourself a serving that’s about the size of an ice cream scoop; that should be about ½ cup. But if you really love stuffing and must have more, skip additional starchy sides, such as mashed potatoes and dinner rolls.

Remember, too, that a healthy stuffing is a safe stuffing. It’s best prepared outside the turkey (you can do it on the stove or in the oven). The juices from the turkey can be absorbed by the stuffing and could contain salmonella or other bacteria that can cause food poisoning.

To make sure the stuffing inside a bird is safe, you have to cook it until it reaches a temperature of 165° F. (Use an instant-read meat thermometer to check.) By the time it gets there, the turkey itself will probably be overcooked. If you want the flavor of the turkey in your stuffing, spoon some of the drippings from the roasting pan once the turkey is fully cooked and mix them into the stuffing before serving.

Stuffing takes well to all kinds of seasonings, so you can easily create different combinations. Start with a packaged stuffing as your base, follow the directions on the package, and then pick from the three options here.

Is your turkey done? Don’t rely on those pop-up thermometers or the “turkey leg test” (where you check to see how easily you can wiggle the drumstick). The best way to make sure the bird is cooked to a safe temperature of 165°F is to use a meat thermometer. These are some of the top-rated options from CR’s tests.