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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.
Absolutely …delicious!
Hi Susan,
Wonderful!! I love to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks so much for making it! Have the best weekend:) xTieghan
So I saw this at Thanksgiving and wanted to try it, but knew my family would ask “where’s your stuffing you always make?”. So I waited until the right moment to make it and it finally came on New Year’s day. I usually make a big ole pot of greens for good luck, but thought why not switch things up a bit this year. So instead of the big ole pot of greens I made this stuffing and swapped out the chopped kale for chopped mixed greens, because we still need good luck in 2022. Pretty sure kale doesn’t bring good luck to anyone. It was so yummy! The only other change I made was I chopped the croissants into smaller pieces instead of the larger chunks. Ummm so heck yes I will totally be making this again, not sure if I will try it with kale ( shhh not a huge fane of kale, sorry) I will probably stick with the mixed greens or swap in spinach. Thanks for the delicious new spin on stuffing.
Hey Shannon,
Awesome!! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for making it. Have the best week! xTieghan
Oh my god. This was a real show stopper. I would probably eat this for breakfast, lunch, and dinner of I could! So delicious and so easy to make! Everyone loved it! I don’t even like mushrooms (or stuffing usually haha) but wanted to try this out and I am so glad I did. Definitely will make it again (and again, and again…).
Hi Allie,
I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for giving it a try! Happy Holidays! xT
I am not a stuffing person. It is my personal least liked dish on Thanksgiving. I was so excited when I found this recipe because it was different but would still give the stuffing lovers in my family the satisfaction of having stuffing for TG. I ended up making about 75% of HBH’s 2021 Thanksgiving Menu and this recipe got gasps and oohs and aahhs!! It was by far the fan favorite (even though everything was incredible)
You need to try this one.
Hi Tara,
Happy Friday! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks to much for giving it a try!! xTieghan
Wow. So fantastic! I consider myself a bit of a stuffing snob and think “traditional” stove stop stuffing is really a disservice to what stuffing can truly be. I typically make a wonderful sausage pear stuffing, and now I’m resolved to be the lady that brings two stuffings every year because this one really knocks it outta the park. I did more bite size croissant pieces, but goodness, the flavors in this are so wonderful and warming. This stuffing received many compliments at Thanksgiving this year!
Hi Emily,
Fantastic! I am so glad to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for giving it a try! Have the best week:) xTieghan
Holy cow! This was the surprise winner at my Thanksgiving yesterday. I mean, in hindsight, buttery croissants + garlic mushrooms + cheese, sounds like a no-brainer, but I didn’t expect it to standout the way it did. New family tradition!
Hey Pam,
Wonderful!! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for making it! Have a great weekend! xTieghan
Holy heart attack. This is good. Still had to make my moms traditional stuffing for nostalgia, but I guess you can’t go wrong with croissants and more butter and herbs.
Hi Brenda,
I am so glad that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a bunch for trying it out! Happy Thanksgiving! xTieghan
I can’t wait to try this for Thanksgiving! I’m not a huge mushroom fan, have you tried it with any other veggie?
Hi Kelly,
You could really use any veggies that you enjoy here! I hope you love the recipe. Happy Thanksgiving! xTieghan
I’m traveling on Thanksgiving day, any chance I could Cook this the night before, then reheat the next day before serving?
Hey Rachael,
I would make through step 4 and then bake once you are at your destination. I hope you love the recipe, pleas let me know how it turns out! xTieghan
Im going to rate this just on tasting steps 1-3 since I prepared it ahead to be continued on Thanksgiving. This recipe is going to be so good. Can’t wait for my family to try it on Thanksgiving ?
Hey Marie,
Awesome! It’s so great to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks for giving it a try! xTieghan
My oven is going to be full but this looks so good! Do you think it would work to make this in a slow cooker?
Hey Barb,
So sorry, I’ve never made this recipe in the slow cooker so I am unsure of the results. I would try doing your mashed potatoes in the slow cooker to free up some oven space. xTieghan
Barb…if you have an electric roaster I bet that could work!! You might just carefully finish it under broil in your oven right before serving to get it toasty on top. I think I might do that as well as I will be limited on oven space. I’m also prepping the day ahead so I will leave the toasted croissants out uncovered for the night. Just a thought.
My family doesn’t love cooked kale or spinach. Can you recommend a substitution?? Or should I just omit something green?
Hey Shelley,
Yes, I would just skip that. I hope you enjoy the recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan
This was the most popular dish at my Friendsgiving table without a doubt. So easy and delicious !
Hey Marissa,
I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for giving it a try! Have a great week! xTieghan
My husband and I hosted our first Friendsgiving and made this. SO GOOD!! A must have for the holidays. I just reheated some as my lunch, and still so tasty. And Tieghan is completely right, the stuffing haters even thought it was tasty!
Hey Erica,
I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for giving it a try! Have a great week! xTieghan
Can I make and cook the night before and heat up the next day ?? Going to make it for a work potluck and I likely won’t have time to bake it at work!
Thank you!
Hey McKenzie,
I would make the night before but wait to bake until the day of so it does not dry out. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan