Orange Cranberry Pecan Dressing

This Orange Cranberry Pecan Dressing is loaded with rich, savoury flavour.

I used this Orange Cranberry Pecan loaf as the base for this dressing. If you don't want to make the loaf then you could use that special bread that comes out a holiday time with the thyme seasoning. Or any rustic dense bread would work too. It just may be less rich.

The loaf makes about 8 cups of ½" cubes. I only used half of it in this recipe. As written the dressing will nicely stuff 4 Cornish Hen or a large roasting chicken. I used this Cornish Hen with Orange Apricot Glaze recipe and the two together are divine

So you may want to double it if you are thinking of your holiday turkey!

Orange Cranberry Pecan Dressing

All the traditional holiday flavours come together in this simple dressing.

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Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 20 minutes mins

Cook Time: 45 minutes mins

Total Time: 1 hour hr 5 minutes mins

Servings: 5 cups

Ingredients

• 4 cups Orange Cranberry Pecan Loaf in ½" cubes (Can substitute other dense, rustic bread- See Note 1)
• 1 small yellow onion diced finely
• ½ cup celery diced finely
• 2 Tbsps butter melted
• 1 Tbsp fresh thyme or ½ tablespoon dried
• ¼ cup orange juice
• ½ cup dried cranberries
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon pepper

Instructions

• Mix all ingredients together. Stir to slightly moisten. Set aside until ready to stuff your poultry. Alternatively spray a casserole with cooking spray and fill it if you plan to roast the dressing in the oven on the side.
• Bake at 350° 35-40 minutes. Cover for moist dressing or uncovered for crunchy topped dressing. See Note 2 below regarding increasing the liquid.
• When roasting stuffing in a bird dressing should reach 165° internal temperature.

Notes

Note 1:  If using a different bread for the dressing add ½ cup pecan pieces roughly chopped to the stuffing mixture.

Note 2:  This dressing is designed to be stuffed in the cavity of a bird as it roasts.  If you want to make it outside the bird you will need to increase the liquid until it is noticeably moist. You can use more orange juice or add chicken broth. Heat thoroughly, covered at 350 degrees until warm through about 35-40 minutes.