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Upgrade this year’s holiday stuffing with my Herby Mushroom Croissant Stuffing. Buttery croissants, cozy herbs, caramelized wild mushroom, kale, and Gruyère cheese take classic stuffing from bland and boring to flavorful and completely delicious. Even stuffing haters love this casserole. It’s just as good as a holiday side dish as it is a meal. Prep this stuffing in advance and then bake up just before you’re ready for dinner for super easy holiday entertaining.
Stuffing has never been a highly cherished Thanksgiving side dish for my family. I know that sounds crazy, since stuffing is one of the most classic Thanksgiving sides there is. But for whatever reason my family has just never been all that into it. In the last few years however, I’ve had to cook Thanksgiving for a lot of non family members. And because I love to please all, I knew that my Thanksgiving menu needed to include a good stuffing.
I’ve tried more classic recipes, but never found anything I absolutely loved.
Until this year. When I had the idea to swap out dry bread for buttery croissants, my views on stuffing changed immediately. Stuffing can be good, delicious actually. You just need to make it with croissants. Oh, and cheese…
Of course.
When I was thinking up this year’s Thanksgiving menu, and brainstorming stuffing concepts, I had just made a recipe that used croissants as the base. I had a ton of day old croissants left over, so I decided to do a quick stuffing test run with the ingredients I had on hand.
Pretty much immediately, I knew the recipe was going to be good. I mean? Croissant stuffing? With wild mushrooms and kale and Gruyère cheese?
It’s basically a meal on its own, and it’s all things delicious.
Like most stuffing recipes, you want to be using dry bread.
The key here is to toast your croissants up in the oven to dry them out a bit before adding any broth to them. This helps them hold up while baking, and gives them a nice crispness.
While that’s happening, caramelize the mushrooms with butter, fresh sage, thyme, and a good amount of kale. I love using a good mix of vegetables in my stuffing to give it color, flavor, and texture. The warming sage and thyme pair perfectly with the earthy mushrooms and kale. It’s one of my favorite fall combos and perfect for a Thanksgiving meal.
Once your croissants are toasted, toss them with the mushroom mixture, add cheese, and then bake.
Nothing too fancy, but the use of croissants is such an upgrade from the classic stuffing. And I have to say, everyone loved this dish. I ended up serving the leftovers to my family and they ate it multiple nights in a row. The verdict was two thumbs up all around, and everyone agreed that the croissants are a game changer.
Already excited to serve this pretty stuffing on Thanksgiving next week for the family we have coming into town.
Also, I’m not a stuff the stuffing inside the turkey kind of person. I much prefer to bake my stuffing separately.
One of the most delicious details of this recipe are the crisp, cheesy croissants on the top layer. They’re mouth-watering and so good, and my favorite part of the dish. For that reason, I’m not advocating placing this stuffing inside your bird.
Got it? OK. Cool.
Enjoy, enjoy!
PS. If you’re looking for a little different stuffing option, check out this oldie but goodie…Buffalo Cheddar Beer Bread Stuffing.
If you make this stuffing be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to also tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Herby Mushroom Croissant Stuffing
Servings: 8
Calories Per Serving: 1050 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 12 cups roughly torn, day old croissants (about 12-16 croissants)
- 2 tablespoons salted butter, thinly sliced
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 3 celery stalks, chopped
- 3-4 cups mixed mushrooms, torn if large
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt and black pepper
- 8 tablespoons (1 stick) salted butter, at room temperature
- 2 cloves garlic, minced or grated
- 2 cups roughly torn Tuscan kale
- 2 tablespoons fresh chopped sage
- 1 tablespoon fresh chopped thyme
- 2-3 cups low sodium chicken, turkey, or veggie broth
- 3 eggs, beaten
- 1 cup shredded Gruyere cheese
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9x13 inch casserole dish.2. Arrange the torn croissants in the baking dish and lay 2 tablespoons of thinly sliced butter over the croissants. Transfer to the oven and bake 5-8 minutes, until the croissants are lightly toasted.3. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil In a large skillet over medium heat. When the oil shimmers, add the onions and cook until fragrant, about 3-5 minutes. Add the celery and mushroom, and season with salt and pepper. Cook undisturbed for 5 minutes or until golden, stir and continue cooking until the mushrooms have caramelized, 3-5 minutes. Add the butter, garlic, kale, sage, and thyme. Cook, stirring occasionally until the kale has wilted down, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.4. In a very large mixing bowl, whisk together 2 cups broth and the eggs. Add the toasted croissants and the mushroom/kale mixture + all the butter left in the skillet, gently toss to combine. If the mix seems dry, add additional broth, 1/4 cup at a time until all the bread is moist. Pour the mixture into the casserole dish. Top evenly with cheese. 5. Cover the dish with foil and bake for 35 minutes. Remove the foil and check for dryness, if needed drizzle over extra broth, 1/4 cup at a time, to keep things moist, then continue baking for another 10-15 minutes or until the stuffing is golden on top. Serve warm.
Notes
To Make a Few Hours Ahead: This can be made assembled a few hours ahead of time and kept in the fridge. Allow the stuffing to come to room temperature before baking.
To Make a Few Days Ahead: complete the recipe through step 3. Toss the mushrooms, kale and croissants together. Store in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 3 days. When ready to assemble, remove from the fridge. And continue on with step 4, tossing the croissants + mushrooms with the egg mix, then assemble in baking dish. This can be done up to 4 hours ahead of time. Bake as directed.
Made this recipe for thanksgiving and it was such a hit! Added it to the recipe box as we will definitely be making it again
Hey Marissa,
Amazing!! So glad to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks for making it:) xT
I’m not a fan of stuffing but decided to give this recipe a try and IT IS my favorite stuffing! Made it last night for the first time for thanksgiving and I will be making it again 100%.
It will be my go to stuffing from now on. My guests loved it as well and could not believe it was made with croissants 🥐 ☺️
Hi Paulina,
Thanks for making this recipe and your comment, so glad it was enjoyed! I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving! xx
Absolutely superb. Followed the recipe very closely, except added a little more garlic and gruyere. Thanks for sharing!
Fresh out of the oven it was one of the best stuffings I’ve ever eaten. Re-heated the next day…well guess you shouldn’t make more than you can finish in one meal. The flavor was still excellent, but the texture was really soggy.
FYI- my bakery makes really large croissants, 8-9 are plenty if they’re super big.
Hi Joan,
Thanks for making this recipe and your comment, so glad it was enjoyed! I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving! xx
This was delicious! The croissants produce a rich and flavorful dish! I used 8 croissants and skipped the butter browning step because the ones I bought were brown to begin with. I tore the croissants in much smaller pieces and the result was perfect. I also added extra kale. Will make it again for sure!
Hey Susan,
Thanks for making this recipe and your comment, so glad it was enjoyed! I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving! xx
This recipe was wonderful. I have several stuffing recipes I love and this one tops them all. Thank you Teighan for always knocking it out of the park!!
Hey Erin,
Thanks for making this recipe and your comment, so glad it was enjoyed! I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving! xx
My family has lost their minds over this dish! It has become a holiday staple and gets devoured in minutes. This dish is the main reason one person is flying to Michigan from Colorado for Thanksgiving dinner!!! Its also apparently fool-proof if you follow the recipe exactly. I hate mushrooms so don’t taste it as I cook and it still gets rave reviews about seasoning and amount of herbs.
LOL wow!! Love to hear this, Andrea:) Thanks for making this recipe each year and sharing with your family! xT
Hi, I definitely want to make this croissant stuffing for Thanksgiving. Sounds delish! But my some of my family doesn’t like mushrooms. Any suggestions of other vegetables I could substitute for the mushrooms? They are a tough thing to substitute. Thank you!
Hi Cathy,
You could use celery or carrots in place of the mushrooms. I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xT
Is it possible to make this with chunks of sourdough bread instead? I can’t find croissants that don’t have iffy ingredients in them and I’m trying to keep from having to make my own.
Thanks!
Hey Elizabeth,
Of course, sourdough would also work well in this recipe! Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT