Classic Herb Stuffing with Fennel

Classic Herb Stuffing with Fennel is easy to make without a lot of ingredients and adds a light anise flavor to one of Thanksgiving's popular side dishes. 

November is my favorite month. The leaves start to change and fall from the trees. I'm always hot, so the cooler temperatures make it more pleasant to be outside. And it's Thanksgiving, my favorite food holiday!

As I was looking through my folders to make a new side dish for the holiday to share with you, this Classic Herb Stuffing with Fennel caught my eye.

I've mentioned before that I have a bunch of old cookbooks that I tore recipes out of and they give me inspiration to use as a base recipe. Most of the time I completely change the recipe to create something completely new, but just seeing a word causes my creative juices to flow. 

The recipe I found was for fennel stuffing, but it had no breading in it at all. I thought it was odd and decided to make my own version of Classic Herb Stuffing with Fennel.

What is fennel?

Fennel is one of those flavors that people either love or hate because it tastes like licorice and anise. It's very firm and crunchy with a white bulb on the bottom and green fronds on top.

The bulb is what is used as the vegetable part and is great in salads like this Roasted Fennel and Heirloom Tomato Panzanella Salad and sides like this stuffing.

If you look at the picture, it's hard to tell what is the chopped fennel and what is the celery because it's similar in color and crunch. I LOVE it and after my husband ate this stuffing, he loves it as well! 

How do you make Herb Stuffing with Fennel?

For this recipe you'll need herb cubed stuffing, EVOO, onions, garlic, celery, rosemary, fennel and chicken broth. You can also use vegetable broth if you follow a vegetarian diet, it will taste the same. The broth just adds a little extra flavor to help moisten the breading. 

Place the cubed stuffing in a large bowl; then heat the broth in a small saucepan on top of the stove. 

Heat a little oil in a large skillet over medium heat on top of the stove. Add chopped onions, garlic, celery, rosemary and fennel. Cook 2-3 minutes until the fennel and onions start to soften. 

Next, add the vegetables to the bread cubes and pour in the heated broth; then season with salt and pepper. Mix well so that the stuffing is wet, but not dripping; then add to a 2 quart oven safe casserole dish.

Cover with foil or a lid; then heat in a preheated 350 degree F oven for 20 minutes. Remove the covering and heat for another 10 minutes until the stuffing is crispy on top. 

We do not stuff our turkey with our stuffing, but if you do, just add it inside of the cavity before roasting. You can also make this stuffing the day before, refrigerate; then bring to room temperature before heating. 

Even though I've been blogging for almost 9 years, my family still asks why I make certain things during the week; like this Classic Herb Stuffing with Fennel. It was enough to feed about 12-14 people and we're a family of 4 that doesn't eat a lot of carbs with our weeknight meals to begin with!

This stuffing was delicious, but we did have a lot left over. My husband loved it even better the third time when he had it reheated with a little brown gravy on top from when I made meatloaf the next day. ~Enjoy! 

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And if this is your first time making Thanksgiving, you won't want to miss my post on How to Roast a Thanksgiving Turkey!