Stuffing and Dressing: What's the Difference?

Stuffing is cooked inside of a fowl. It's stuffed inside, hence the name "stuffing."

This is the more traditional way of cooking this type of side dish, but there are pros and cons to cooking it this way. On the one hand, the stuffing absorbs the turkey juices, giving it more flavor. On the other hand, it's touching raw turkey meat, so it's imperative that the bird is cooked at a minimum of 165 degrees F. to ensure both are safe to eat.

Dressing contains the exact same ingredients as stuffing, it's just cooked outside of the bird. Some people didn't care to cook the stuffing inside their turkey, so they began cooking them separately. This is how dressing came to be born.

The difference is as simple as that! Now you know.

Today, according to the National Turkey Federation, the terms stuffing and dressing are used interchangeably.

So, even if you don't stuff yours into the turkey, you can still call it stuffing. Everyone has their own versions.

Fun Fact: According to the Food Network, Southerners still favor dressing while Northerners tend to eat stuffing.

Your favorite stuffing recipe may have been passed down from your ancestors from the old country, or it might be one your Mom got from a family friend. Below are a few stuffing and dressing recipes. If you and your family are open to bringing new dishes to Thanskgiving, give these a try.