Do You Make Stuffing or Dressing?

November 6, 2008

Many people believe that the difference between stuffing and dressing is how you cook it. If you cook it inside the turkey it's called stuffing; if you cook it outside it's known as dressing. However, it may be a regional thing: apparently in the South it's always called dressing. I've always referred to it as stuffing whether it's cooked inside or outside the bird. What do you make? Do you cook it inside or outside?

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55 Comments

LoveSarah 4 years 25 weeks

We always call it stuffing. :)

LoveSarah 4 years 25 weeks

We always call it stuffing. :)

wtf kas 4 years 27 weeks

my family makes both, also oyster stuffing. but i prefer the stove-top stuff, for some reason :)

jennjennnbubba 4 years 27 weeks

either way it is cooked - in GA we call it DRESSING and its so yummy I cannot wait til Thanksgiving Day!

danielle854 4 years 28 weeks

Mom makes dressing. Personally can't stand the taste or smell of it.

kia 4 years 28 weeks

Generally I do a bit of both. I don't want to alienate any vegetarians that show up by presenting food that was cooked in a bird.

DeviousMuse 4 years 28 weeks

I've always learned that stuffing and dressing are two different things, no matter if they were cooked inside or outside the bird.My mom and I make stuffing - lots of chunks of different textures (bread, sausage, apples, chestnuts, etc.) and cook half in the bird and half out of it.My (Southern) grandmother makes dressing - cornbread-based, usually a smoother, more uniform texture that is creamier and less "dry" than stuffing (though our stuffing isn't actually dry).

DeviousMuse 4 years 28 weeks

I've always learned that stuffing and dressing are two different things, no matter if they were cooked inside or outside the bird. My mom and I make stuffing - lots of chunks of different textures (bread, sausage, apples, chestnuts, etc.) and cook half in the bird and half out of it. My (Southern) grandmother makes dressing - cornbread-based, usually a smoother, more uniform texture that is creamier and less "dry" than stuffing (though our stuffing isn't actually dry).

suziryder 4 years 28 weeks

I'd call it stuffing even if it weren't cooked in the bird, but my parents always stuff the bird with stuffing and bake the excess stuffing in a separate dish. So you can see how that would get confusing if they had different names but were in fact the same thing. :)

verily 4 years 28 weeks

Always make it outside the bird and we make cornbread dressing in particular.

tigr3bianca 4 years 28 weeks

My family actually uses both words stuffing and dressing interchangably. I guess its because we always make it inside and outside.

julieulie 4 years 28 weeks

We always call it stuffing, and we always cook it outside the turkey. Always.

corcar86 4 years 28 weeks

inside or out we always call it stuffing (and cook it outside) in our house and it is always my favorite!!!

sugar_me_sweet 4 years 28 weeks

I live in a box. I only heard of stuffing. Now I know that it can be called dressing too.

kristints 4 years 28 weeks

Well, we don't eat meat, so, we don't cook it inside of anything, but we've always called it stuffing.

iamangiepooh 4 years 28 weeks

We cook it on the outside, but we call it stuffing. I chose 'dressing' on the poll though because you said it's cooked on the outside. I didn't know what dressing was until my ex-boyfriend's grandmother cooked dressing for us earlier this year.

Soniabonya 4 years 28 weeks

I've never heard of the inside/outside rule. Lived in CA my whole life and I've always heard and called it stuffing no matter where it was cooked. We usually stuff both end of the turkey until ridiculously full and plop the leftover stuffing in a dish to be baked right along side it :) yum

ilanac13 4 years 28 weeks

i call it stuffing, but i also cook it outside the turkey because i'm a vegetarian and i'm not a fan of eating anything that's been associated with the turkey

Liss 4 years 28 weeks

I cook it outside and call it stuffing

Liss 4 years 28 weeks

I cook it outside and call it stuffing

kh61582 4 years 28 weeks

I live in North Carolina and it's always been called dressing in my family, however, it's always been cooked outside the turkey so perhaps we're just following a rule;) Cooking the dressing is always my mothers thing so I should ask her.

heineken67 4 years 28 weeks

We make both, since hungry boys like to eat lots of it.

lovelipgloss 4 years 28 weeks

How about both? My dad always stuffs the bird with a traditional recipe, then he makes a separate batch in a casserole dish with oysters. There is usually joking around every year about someone getting their dressing/stuffing mixed up because no one else eats the kind with oysters.