Ina Garten Doesn’t Serve Stuffing at Thanksgiving—Here’s What She Makes Instead

If we asked most people to describe their traditional Thanksgiving meal, they’d likely list out turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, pumpkin pie, and maybe a few special familial recipes. Ok, maybe your family has ham instead of turkey, or you prefer apple pie to pumpkin, but typically, everyone can agree on one thing: carbs are a must.

So, when I learned that Ina Garten doesn’t actually serve stuffing at her Thanksgiving meal, I was utterly surprised. And, I know what you’re thinking: no, it’s not because she serves dressing, either. 

In a recent Thanksgiving “This or That” with “New York Times Cooking,” Garten was asked if it’s called “stuffing” or “dressing.” To which she responded, “I don’t do either.” 

For the record, “stuffing” is usually defined as the bready dish that’s cooked inside the bird, while “dressing” is the bready dish that’s made in a skillet or casserole dish outside the bird. However, most people use the words interchangeably—and most of the time, it depends on where you grew up and your dialect.

But, back to the matter at hand—Ina Garten doesn’t make stuffing for Thanksgiving, so what does she make?

Ina Garten Makes Bread Pudding for Thanksgiving

“I actually make a bread pudding,” she said.

Again, you might be thinking, “Bread pudding? Isn’t that a dessert?” And the answer is yes and no. 

The most traditional bread puddings are desserts made with raisins, nuts, and warm baking spices. However, the only thing that actually denotes a bread pudding is the custard made from eggs and some kind of milk or cream. Meaning savory bread puddings are a thing—and they’re pretty darn close to stuffing.

Garten doesn’t say what kind of bread pudding she makes instead of stuffing on Thanksgiving—and she has two savory bread pudding recipes on her site that could be the go-to. I’d assume she either uses this Mushroom & Leek Bread Pudding recipe or this Herb & Apple Bread Pudding recipe on Turkey Day—especially because they’re both tagged “Thanksgiving” on her site.

Both recipes call for crusty country bread, heavy cream, eggs, chicken stock, sherry, pancetta, and Gruyère cheese. The Mushroom & Leek option has a more Thanksgiving-esque vibe with tarragon, while the Apple & Herb is a bit more stuffing-like with onions and celery.

No matter which one Garten uses, they both sound delicious. Plus, the beauty of bread pudding is that you can make it ahead of time—and you actually want to, to allow the bread to soak up the custard mixture and stay moist when you bake it.

So, maybe Garten is on to a really good Thanksgiving secret after all.