This recipe for Air Fryer Stuffing with Mushrooms is the perfect side dish for Thanksgiving when you want a classic bread stuffing but need to free up oven space! It's loaded with mushrooms, onions, celery, garlic and dried herbs with a crispy top and soft center. This recipe is small-batch, serving 6 people, and you can have it on the table in just 45 minutes, including prep time and cooking time. Make ahead options are also included!
This stuffing goes perfectly with my air fryer turkey breast, roasted Brussels sprouts and healthy cranberry sauce!
Quick Look: Air Fryer Stuffing
- ⏱ Prep time: 20 minutes
- 👩🏻🍳 Air frying time: 25 minutes
- ⏳ Total time: 45 minutes
- 🍽 Servings: 6
- ⚡ Calories: 221 per serving
- 🌱 Diet: vegetarian
- 🔥 Flavor/texture: classic herb flavor; golden and crispy on top and moist in the center.
- 👌 Difficulty: easy to assemble and air fry; make ahead options included.
- ❤️ Why you'll love: faster cooking time in the air fryer compared to the oven; frees up valuable oven space; air fryer creates an extra crispy top layer without drying out the stuffing; small-batch recipe.
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Why make stuffing in the air fryer
- Faster cooking time: The air fryer cooks this stuffing in just 25 minutes, compared to 45 minutes in a traditional oven.
- Frees up valuable oven space: Moving your stuffing to the air fryer leaves plenty of room in your oven to roast your turkey and bake other side dishes like my mashed acorn squash.
- Great way to dry out your bread: If you didn't buy bread in advance or don't have time to let it dry out at room temperature, the air fryer can dry out the bread cubes in less than 5 minutes.
- Extra crispy top layer: The air fryer concentrates heat directly over the stuffing, giving the top layer of bread cubes the perfect golden crunch. At the same time, the quick cooking time ensures the inside stays soft and moist without drying out.
- All the classic holiday flavor: This is the same comforting, herby cubed stuffing you would bake in the oven, it's just a smaller batch, made faster in the air fryer.
If you're looking for more small-batch air fryer Thanksgiving recipes, you'll love my air fryer ham, air fryer mashed potatoes and air fryer herb and garlic carrots!
Ingredient notes
- French bread - You'll need half a loaf of French bread, or about 7 cups cubed. I like the texture of French bread in stuffing, but sourdough is another great option (they're both sturdy breads).
- Mushrooms - Half a pound of cremini mushrooms adds a subtle earthy flavor to this stuffing. Cremini are my go-to for most recipes, but white mushrooms or button mushrooms work too.
- Celery, onion, garlic, dried herbs - These are the aromatics that add flavor. For the herbs, I like to use dried sage, rosemary and thyme but you can change it up with some oregano, Italian seasoning or poultry seasoning.
- Broth - To keep this stuffing vegetarian, the recipe calls for veggie broth. Feel free to use chicken broth if you don't need a vegetarian stuffing. I prefer to use no salt added broth. If you use low sodium or regular, I recommend reducing the amount of salt you add to the stuffing.
- Butter - The aromatics are cooked in unsalted butter. If you use salted butter, I would omit the added salt in the recipe.
- Egg - One egg helps bind the stuffing ingredients and adds a puffy, custardy texture when cooked.
How to make air fryer stuffing
Step 1: Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add the mushrooms, celery, onion, garlic and herbs. Cook until softened, about 3-5 minutes.
Step 2: In a large measuring cup, whisk together the broth, egg, salt and pepper.
Step 3: In a large bowl, add your dried bread cubes and mushroom mixture. Toss to combine.
Step 4: Slowly pour the egg mixture over the bread mixture, making sure everything is well coated.
Step 5: The bread cubes will absorb most of the liquid and be quite moist but shouldn't be soggy.
Step 6: Transfer the stuffing mixture to a greased 7-inch round baking pan (or a pan that will fit your air fryer).
Step 7: Cover with foil and place in the air fryer basket. Air fry at 360F for 15 minutes.
Step 8: Carefully remove the foil and air fry for another 8-10 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and crispy.
Make ahead instructions
Prep the components in advance: This is my preferred way of making stuffing ahead of time. You can dry out the bread cubes 1-2 days in advance and store them in an airtight container at room temperature. You can also cook the veggie mixture a day in advance and store it in the fridge. When I do this, I usually reheat it before adding it to the cubed bread as the butter in the veggies solidifies in the fridge. (I just reheat it for a minute or so in the microwave).
Assemble the day before: You can fully assemble the stuffing up to 24 hours in advance, cover and store (uncooked) in the fridge. When ready to cook, follow the recipe but air fry covered with foil for an extra 5-8 minutes to account for the stuffing starting from cold. Just note that the bread cubes will absorb more liquid as it sits in the fridge so you may need to add a splash of broth to the stuffing before you air fry it.
Air fry ahead and reheat: You can air fry the stuffing a day or two in advance. Store covered in the fridge, and then the day of, cover with foil and air fry at 360F for 10-15 minutes, or until fully heated through. Covering with foil is necessary to prevent the stuffing from drying out.
Recipe variations
This is a pretty standard vegetarian stuffing, with the addition of mushrooms. If you'd like to change it up, here are a few options:
- Replace the mushrooms with cranberries and chopped apples, like I do with my cranberry apple stuffing.
- Add fully cooked crumbled sausage, or kielbasa sausage, similar to my whole wheat stuffing with sausage.
- Change up the aromatics with leeks, shallots, fennel or diced carrot.
Expert tips
- Make sure your bread cubes are dried out. In my experience, day old bread isn't stale enough. I use bread that's a few days old before cutting into cubes and drying it out (at room temperature, in the oven or in the air fryer).
- Cook veggies first. I know this is an air fryer recipe, and it would be great to avoid the stove, but the aromatics really need to be cooked first before adding them to the stuffing.
- Add more broth. There should be plenty of the egg/broth mixture to coat the bread cubes. But, if they still seem dry, you can just add a bit more broth.
- Cover with foil. This is necessary to prevent the stuffing from drying out in the air fryer and the top from browning too much.
- Size of pan. I have a 5.8 quart basket-style air fryer and a 7-inch round pan fit perfectly in my air fryer. You'll need to use a pan that fits best in your specific air fryer. If your pan is smaller, your stuffing will be thicker, so it may need a few extra minutes of air frying time.
Air fryer stuffing FAQs
I prefer a sturdy bread like French bread or sourdough. They hold up well to the heat of the air fryer and don't make the stuffing soggy in the middle.
If you don't have time to let your bread get stale or dry out at room temperature, you can dry out the bread cubes in the air fryer. Just place them in the air fryer basket and air fry at 300F for 3-4 minutes, tossing them around once to ensure even drying. Make sure to stop the air fryer before the bread cubes toast and brown. You just want them dried out.
Place the stuffing in a pan that fits your air fryer, cover with foil and air fry at 360F for 8-10 minutes (the exact time depends on how much stuffing you're reheating).
More air fryer holiday side dishes
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📖 Recipe
Air Fryer Stuffing with Mushrooms
Ingredients
- ½ loaf stale French bread, about 7 cups cubed
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
- ½ pound (227 g) cremini mushrooms, chopped
- 2 celery sticks, chopped
- ½ medium yellow onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ teaspoon dried rosemary
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon dried sage
- 1 ¼ cups (300 ml) vegetable broth, no salt added
- 1 large egg
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- Dry out the cubed bread by spreading it out on a large sheet pan at room temperature for 6-8 hours (flipping them over at the halfway point). Or, air fry them at 300F for 3-4 minutes, tossing them around once to ensure even drying.
- Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add the mushrooms, celery, onion, garlic and herbs. Cook until everything is softened, about 3-5 minutes.
- In a large measuring cup, whisk together the broth, egg, salt and pepper.
- In a large bowl, add the dried bread cubes and mushroom mixture. Toss to combine.
- Gradually pour the egg mixture over the bread mixture, tossing until everything is well coated. The bread cubes should absorb most of the liquid but shouldn't be soggy.
- Transfer the stuffing mixture to a greased 7-inch round baking pan (or a pan that will fit your air fryer).
- Cover with foil and place in the air fryer basket. Air fry at 360F for 15 minutes.
- Carefully remove the foil and air fry for another 8-10 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and crispy.
- Let cool for 5 minutes before serving. (I like to transfer the stuffing to a serving dish, but it's not absolutely necessary).
Notes
- Make sure your bread cubes are dried out. In my experience, day old bread isn't stale enough. I use bread that's a few days old before cutting into cubes and drying them out.
- Cook veggies first. I know this is an air fryer recipe, and it would be great to avoid the stove, but the aromatics really need to be cooked first before adding them to the stuffing.
- Add more broth. There should be plenty of the egg/broth mixture to coat the bread cubes. But, if they still seem dry, you can just add a bit more broth.
- Cover with foil. This is necessary to prevent the stuffing from drying out in the air fryer and the top from browning too much.
- Size of pan. I have a 5.8 quart basket-style air fryer and a 7-inch round pan fit best in my air fryer. You'll need to use a pan that fits your specific air fryer. If your pan is smaller, your stuffing will be thicker, so it may need a few extra minutes of air frying time.
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Nutrition Facts per Serving
Disclaimer
Nutrition information is an estimate only and will vary depending on the substitutions made and the brands used.
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