Now that natural-food companies like Whole Foods and Canterbury Organics are in on the packaged-food and semi-homemade trend, there is a broad enough range of mixes on the market to have a taste test alongside the traditional Stove Top and Pepperidge Farm brands?Five of us at Serious Eats tried 10 packaged stuffing mixes, all made according to package instructions, with unsalted butter and tap water. All were priced between $2.49 and $4.99. Below are the results, along with some suggestions on jazzing up your store-bought stuffing.
The Contestants
- Arnold Premuim Cornbread Stuffing
- Arnold Premium Seasoned Stuffing
- Canterbury Organics Rosemary Sage Cornbread Dressing
- Canterbury Organics Rosemary Sage Dressing
- Whole Foods 365 Organic Traditional Stuffing Mix With Chicken Flavor
- Whole Foods 365 Organic Traditional Stuffing Mix With Cranberries and Chicken Flavor
- Pepperidge Farm Herb Seasoned Whole Wheat and White Stuffing Mix
- Pepperidge Farm One Step Stuffing Mix
- Stove Top Cornbread Stuffing Mix
- Stove Top Turkey Stuffing Mix
The Criteria
1. Herbal balance (enough, but not too much of the flavors of sage, onion, rosemary, etc.)
2. Moisture (soft, but not gummy)
3. Discernible bread texture (actual pieces of bread rather than "baby food")
The Conclusions
The responses were consistent across the panel. Both of the Arnold mixes were bland and slightly gloppy. The lifestyle-targeted Canterbury Organics had great bread presence but a Melba toast taste. Pepperidge Farm was middle of the road.
The winners? Whole Foods' house brand, 365 Organic, in both chicken-flavored and chicken-flavored with cranberries, and Stove Top turkey-flavored.
When tasting blind we all agreed that Stove Top turkey had the best flavor, with the 365 Organic entries as close seconds. Considering that the 365 mixes don't contain MSG or corn syrup, they were the overall favorite once we had background information.
Pimp My Stuffing Mix
If you are going to make stuffing and use any of the suggestions below as add-ins, you may want to go that extra step and make your own seasoned bread base. But if you want to keep it is simple as possible, consider picking up a box of Stove Top or bag of 365 Organic and adding some of these elements.
All store-bought mixes benefit from the addition of sautéed celery and onion, and the use of broth in place of water.
Other add-ins can be added according to taste, but a good rule of thumb is that about a cup of each add-in is sufficient to enhance but not overwhelm a pound of stuffing mix, up to two add-ins per pound (in addition to celery and onions) . Cut add-ins into small pieces so you get some in each bite.
And if you have a great add-in suggestion you don't see below, let us know!
- Leeks and carrots
- Pears and walnuts
- Dried cherries and almonds
- Blanched broccoli rabe and toasted pine nuts
- Blanched escarole and golden raisins
- Crisp bacon and figs
- Sautéed chicken livers and dried currants
- Sweet Italian sausage and pecans
- Kielbasa and (very well-drained) sauerkraut
- Chorizo and roasted red pepper
- Apples and smoked eel (available frozen at many Asian grocery stores)
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