Traeger Thanksgiving Dressing is an easy and delicious way to make a classic holiday dressing. You know that oven space is precious on the holiday, even if you are rocking a double oven. Save some space and fire up your pellet grill and make a pan of everyone's favorite Thanksgiving side dish.

Homemade Thanksgiving Dressing Recipe

Dressing is arguably one of the best parts about Thanksgiving dinner, and I am SERIOUS about Thanksgiving dinner. I want it from the giant bags at the grocery store, heavy on the poulty seasoning, lots of butter and onions and celery, and served with a steaming portion of turkey gravy.

I could eat it as a meal, and the day after Thanksgiving, sometimes I do.

The only “problem”, if there is one, is that if you go the dressing route and don't stuff your bird, it takes up precious oven space.

Oven space that is at a HUGE premium on one of the biggest baking days of the year.

Enter the pellet grill.

I love pellet grills at all times of the year, but maybe not more than when I am in desperate need of an extra oven and suddenly realize that I have several of them.

We have a Traeger and a Camp Chef, and both basically act as giant outdoor convection ovens when they are running at higher temperatures, and if you cover the dish you are making you won't even smell any smoke.

For this Thanksgiving dressing recipe, I DID want a touch of smoke so I uncovered the pan at the end, which also served to crisp up that top layer and turn this from a ‘soggy bread' dish, as the haters like to say, into a perfect bready casserole.

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Recipe Shopping List

Wondering if you have to hit the store? Here's the list of items you'll need to make this recipe. For specific amounts, please refer to the printable recipe card at the bottom of the post.

Salted Butter
Onion
Celery
Crouton Dressing Mix (I used Franz brand)
Chicken Broth
Seasoning Packet from dressing mix (or see notes for substitution if your mix doesn't have a packet)

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How To Make This Recipe

This is just the overview so you can see what you're actually getting into here. When you are cooking, you'll want to use the full recipe at the bottom of the page.

Sauté – Saute the vegetables in melted butter until they are tender.
Simmer – Add the chicken broth and seasoning packet to the pan and bring to a simmer.
Combine – Add the stuffing mix to a large mixing bowl. Pour the hot broth mixture on top. Gently stir to moisten all of the bread.
Cook – Tightly cover the pan with foil and place into a 350°F pre-heated grill or oven. Bake for 40 minutes, remove the foil, and bake for another 10 minutes.
Enjoy – Serve hot with your favorite Thanksgiving fixings.

Try our Spatchcock Turkey Recipe!

FAQ

What is traditional Thanksgiving stuffing made of?

Thanksgiving dressing is a traditional bread-based dish that features bread, aromatics like onions and celery, butter, herbs, and broth.

All of this is mixed together along with enough broth to moisten the bread, and then it is baked like a kind of bread casserole.

If you were born before 1985 you probably put it inside of your turkey and hope for the best. If not, you probably only make this separately in the oven.

Can you make Thanksgiving dressing ahead of time?

You can definitely make this Thanksgiving dressing the day before Thanksgiving, but what I'd recommend instead is just prepping everything in advance, but waiting until the day of to combine it and do the final bake.

Most of what takes time for dressing is the chopping and sauteeing of the vegetables, so if you do that part the day before and store those in the fridge overnight, when the big day comes all you'll need to do is microwave the butter/onion/celery mix with your broth until it is nice and hot and then mix it in with the dried bread cubes.

What's the difference between stuffing and dressing?

The main difference between dressing and stuffing is that stuffing is…stuffed. Into the bird. Hence, the name.

A lot of people don't stuff their birds anymore because it can lead to having a dried-out turkey because you have to cook the bird long enough for the stuffing to reach at least 165°, and that often happens long after the meat does.

If you are like me and REALLY just like the taste of Thanksgiving stuffing but don't want to play food poisoning Russian Roulette.

Do you put eggs in dressing?

Some people do, but I do not. I don't think it is necessary or that it adds any real benefit to the end result, so I usually skip it.

If you do choose to use egg as a binder, make sure you take the temp of your final product so that you are getting it to at least 160° which is the temp that it is considered safe.

You'll also want to make sure you do NOT mix the stuffing together before you cook it if raw egg with be in the mix.

Can you refrigerate dressing before you cook it?

My recipe that is without raw egg can easily be refrigerated prior to cooking, but I don't advise it.

If you need to save some time and prep something in advance, just chop the veggies and saute them beforehand, and don't mix everything together until right before you'll be baking it.

Should dressing be covered when you cook it?

Yes! I didn't want much of a wood-fired flavor in this dressing, and I also wanted to retain a lot of the moisture during the cook so that every nook and cranny got some of that awesome broth and seasoning.

Cover tightly with foil for the first 3/4 of the cook time, and remove the foil during the last 10-15 minutes.

Our Traeger Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes are perfect with this!

Variations & Substitutions

Dressing is a super flexible dish, and there's a number of things you can add into the mix if you should so desire. Here are just a few of the possibilities.

Wild rice
Mushrooms
Giblets
Caramelized Onions
Dried cranberries
Apples
Sausage
Chorizo

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

Thanksgiving Dinner Recipes

Check out my whole Thanksgiving Dinner Meal Plan, and below are links to the best of the best.

And make this Homemade Turkey Noodle Soup with your leftover turkey!

Yield: 8 servings

Traeger Thanksgiving Dressing

Traditional Thanksgiving dressing gets the Traeger treatment! Save some oven space and use your pellet grill to cook Thanksgiving's best side dish.

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour

Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes

Ingredients

1/2 cup salted butter
1 medium onion, diced
4 stalks celery, washed and chopped
13-ounce bag dried crouton dressing mix (I used Franz brand)
2 1/2 cups chicken broth
seasoning packet from dressing mix (or see notes for substitution if your mix doesn't have a packet)

Instructions

Place the butter, celery, and onion into a large saute pan over medium heat. Cook the vegetables until they are tender, about 10-15 minutes.
Add in the seasoning packet and chicken broth, and let the mixture come up to a simmer.
Mix together the butter/broth mixture with the croutons, and place into a grill-safe container that's been lightly sprayed with cooking spray.
Cover with tin foil tightly and place into a pre-heated 350° grill.
Cook for 35-40 minutes, rotating the position 1/2 way through the cook, and then remove the foil and cook for an additional 10-15 minutes.
Remove and serve hot with all of the favorite Thanksgiving fixings.

Notes

Dressing Seasoning Mix Substitution

1 teaspoon ground sage 2 teaspoons ground poultry seasoning

Traeger Thanksgiving Dressing