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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.
Hi!! Thank you for this delicious recipe. What other breads would you recommend to substitute for croissants? Specifically a bread not made with eggs? Thank you!
Hey Riti,
Brioche would work well here! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Can I cut this in half? If so any adjustments needed
Hey Stephanie,
Totally fine to cut in half, maybe reduce the baking time slightly:) I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Hi! Any substitute for croissants? What other bread types would go well? Thank you!!
Hey there,
Brioche would be great! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Hello,
I was planning on making this for Thanksgiving, however I only have one oven. Do you think it would work to make this recipe in dutch oven on the stovetop? Any tips?
Thank you!!
Bridget
Hey Bridget,
I have not tried this on the stove top. This recipe is pretty forgiving, so I would just add it to your oven:) I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
If you’re adding sausage, should you brown it before adding it? Can’t wait to try this!
Hey Bri,
Yes, you will want to brown the sausage first. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
It’s not STUFFING. I hate stuffing. If it’s prepared separate from the turkey, it’s called dressing
Fair enough! Thanks Claudia xTieghan
Hi Tieghan! Planning to make this for Thanksgiving next week – do you think granny smith apples could be a possible substitution for celery? I don’t care for celery in stuffing, but think the apples could add a little acid and that crunch! What do you think?
Hey Angela,
I think that would work well! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
For your sausage version, do you substitute the sausage for the mushrooms or do you just add sausage? Thank you!!
Hey Korinne,
You can really do either, if you enjoy mushrooms and want to keep them just add the sausage too:) I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
IF (and that’s a big if) I wanted to scale back on the richness, do you think brioche could work as a sub for the croissant? Would you recommend the same amount?
Hey Allison,
Yes that should work! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
I can’t wait to try this! I was thinking of adding chopped apple to add a little sweetness with the gruyere and mushroom, possibly? Do you think that would be too much with a dish like this?
Hey Kate,
You could definitely do that! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
do you have a substitute suggestion for the kale?
Hey Jamie,
You could omit the kale or use spinach. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
I will try this recipe, but will cut it in half more than likely but it doesn’t sound to me like anything I would ever use for Thanksgiving or Christmas but for something else entirely. I make very very tasty stuffing with Italian sausage, it is not doll and it is not boring and people love it, even people who don’t like stuffing love it. This is not stuffing to me, but looks like a very nice dish I’m not quite sure what to call it at this point, but after I make it perhaps I will have a name for it.
Thank you Connie! Your stuffing sounds great! This is one version of many stuffings you can make and I hope you love it! xTieghan
We made this for thanksgiving and it was the favorite dish at the table! I think you could probably cut the extra butter in half, but you do you. Yum!!
Haha I am so glad you loved this April! Thank you so much! xTieghan
I made this for Thanksgiving. It was the perfect addition. And SO easy to make! This will definitely become a staple Thanksgiving Recipe in our home.
That is so great! Thank you Nora! xTieghan
Amazing!! I used dehydrated gourmet mushroom blend. I let them simmer for an hour to rehydrate. Then followed all of the instructions you gave. The great thing is the process leaves me with a fabulous mushroom broth so that’s what I used. The flavor!!!
I am so glad this turned out so well for you Laura! Thank you so much! xTieghan