Stuff This! Top 10 Most Creative Stuffing Recipes

As you may have gathered by now, we’re not exactly Thanksgiving traditionalists here at Endless Simmer. But stuffing is one thing we simply will not go without. (You gotta have something to soak up all those pumpkin martinis, right?) Of course, we’re not talkin’ bout plain old sausage-spiked bread stuffing. These 10 creative recipes get crazy with the size, shape and flavor of Thanksgiving stuffing.

10. Stuffing Muffins

We’ve seen this one quite a bit lately and think it is just cute as all hell. Bake your stuffing in a muffin tin and then serve it in place of rolls. Genius.
Recipe: Cooking on the Side

9. Mofongo Stuffing

It doesn’t get much tastier than mofongo — a Puerto Rican specialty of fried green plantains mashed up with bacon, sofrito and olive oil. Oh wait, it does get better. You can stuff that baby in a turkey. Yum.
Recipe: Always Order Dessert

8. “Meatloaf” Stuffing

Cranberry sauce isn’t the only thing that’s allowed to bring a weird pre-packaged shape to the T-day table. Bake your stuffing in a loaf pan and serve everyone a hearty slice of meatloaf stuffing.
Recipe: Bread et Butter

7. Fried Stuffing Croquettes

This one’s intended for leftover stuffing, but if you’re ambitious you can make it the day of. Rolled-up balls of stuffing are coated in panko (love that bread-on-bread action), then deep-fried. For a special surprise, toss your other leftovers (turkey, gravy) in the center so they ooze out when you take a bite.
Recipe: Menu in Progress

6. Chinese Stuffing

Many Chinese-American families have taken this traditional sticky rice recipe and adapted it for inside the bird. Too crazy for pilgrim day? We say no way.
Recipe: The Asian Grandmother’s Cookbook

5. Steak Stuffing

Empire Steak House in NYC serves Thanksgiving dinner, but they don’t cede any ground to the bird. Yes, they take that turkey and stick some red meat right up in it. The restaurant is kind enough to let us publish the full recipe:

· 6 thick slices of Empire’s famous Canadian bacon (chopped)

· 1 cup chopped onions

· 1/2 cup celery

· 3 ¼ cups water

· 6 cups seasoned stuffing crumbs

· 1 teaspoon salt

· 2 lbs of Empire’s tender steak

Preparation

· Slightly cook the steak, and chop into pieces.

· Cook the thick Canadian bacon and chop into pieces.

· Sauté onions until slightly brown.

· In a bowl mix in the seasoned stuffing crumbs, water, salt and sautéed onions.

· Once ingredients are mixed, the steak and bacon should also be combined in the bowl.

· When the turkey is ¾ cooked, stuff your Thanksgiving turkey.

4. Pear, Toasted Walnut and Blue Cheese Stuffing

Just because stuffing is mostly bread and butter doesn’t mean it can’t have some funky flavors, too. Enter blue cheese. Amen.
Recipe: Fake Food Free

3. Stuffing Pizza

When we put out the call on twitter for crazy stuffing recipes, Jessica Thinkies replied, “how about a pizza that uses stuffing ingredients? J/K :)” Clearly, we did not take that as a joke.
Recipe: Savory Reviews

2. Tortilla Chip Stuffing

A no-bread dish invented for the gluten-free set, tortilla chip stuffing sounds pretty enticing to all.
Recipe: Gluten Free Easily

1. White Castle Stuffing

If you see someone pulling into the White Castle drive-in this Thanksgiving, don’t assume they’re a lazybones giving up on cooking at home — because they may be tearing those sliders up and stuffing them in the bird. Hells yes.
Photo: Dinnercraft
Recipe: White Castle

What did we miss? Have an inventive spin on stuffing? Feed us back in the comments.

More Thanksgiving on ES:
A Meat Lover’s Thanksgiving
Butternut Cranberry Spring Rolls
Five Ways to Drink Your Thanksgiving Dinner
All Thanksgiving Posts