How to Make Boxed Stuffing that Tastes Like Homemade
Free up your stove top and make your boxed stuffing mix in the Instant Pot. We’ve included a basic method AND four hacks to upgrade your stuffing so it tastes like homemade!
Why you’ll love this recipe: Store-bought stuffing mix can be a real time-saver during the busy holiday season. Here’s how to make it taste homemade.
Stuffing is a must-have for Thanksgiving, and it can also be a great side dish any time of the year. We love the convenience of boxed stuffing mixes, as do many of our readers.
For this post, we wanted to show you how to make it in your Instant Pot. We also have four upgrades you can make to your boxed stuffing to really amp up the flavor and make it taste homemade.
No matter how you choose to make your boxed stuffing, the Instant Pot is a great way to save precious stove top and oven space this Thanksgiving!
Why You Should Make Stuffing in the Instant Pot
When you use your Instant Pot to make stuffing, it’s easier to cook, make-ahead friendly, and frees up oven/stove space for other classic Thanksgiving dishes.
We also love using a bundt pan to cook the stuffing. It fits perfectly in the pressure cooker and looks lovely on your table.
Method 1: Basic Stove Top Stuffing in an Instant Pot
First, you can use your pressure cooker’s sauté feature to make your stovetop stuffing.
This method is the quickest way to get tasty stuffing on your table:
- Select Saute (adjusted to high) and add 4 tablespoons butter to the pressure cooking pot. As the butter melts, use a spoon to spread the butter across the bottom of the pot to help ensure the stuffing doesn’t stick.
- Add 1 1/2 cups of water and bring the mixture to a full boil. Hit Cancel to turn off the pressure cooker.
- Add one 6-ounce package of Stove Top, and stir until evenly mixed and the liquids are mostly absorbed. Lock the lid in place, but slide the valve to the open position to ensure no pressure builds.
- Let the stuffing rest in the pot for 5 minutes. Remove the lid and fluff with a fork immediately, then again before serving. (This step is important to prevent the stuffing from sticking to the pot.)
Recipe Notes
We tested this recipe with Stove Top’s Turkey flavor, then photographed it with Stove Top’s Chicken flavor. It works with all Stove Top Stuffing mixes, just make sure to use the ingredients listed on the box.
Method 2: Upgraded Boxed Stuffing in an Instant Pot
We were honestly shocked at how much better our stuffing tasted after we made a few simple changes.
Upgrade 1: Swap the water for broth
Around Thanksgiving, our stores stock turkey stock. If you’re making this stuffing to go with a turkey, I highly recommend using turkey stock—it makes the stuffing taste even better.
If you’re using the chicken flavor, chicken broth is a great swap. If you’re using the Stove Top Savory Herbs blend, I like vegetable broth. (But any broth or stock will work.)
Upgrade 2: Saute veggies in butter before adding the broth
For me, this upgrade made the biggest difference in how the boxed stuffing tasted. We used finely diced celery and onions and unsalted butter.
Let the veggies cook in the butter for 3 to 5 minutes, until the onions soften and start to turn translucent and the celery starts to turn a brighter green. (Your whole house will smell lovely at this point.)
Once the veggies are ready, add the broth and turn off the heat. Stir in the boxed stuffing mix.
At this point, you can put the lid on and let the stuffing sit for 5 minutes with the lid vented. Or, you take your stuffing to the next level with the next upgrade.
Upgrade 3: Pressure cook your stuffing
Pressure cooking the stuffing allows the flavors to meld even more. I like to use a bundt pan for this because the shape of the pan allows it to cook more evenly.
One 6-ounce box of stuffing fits perfectly in a cute little 3-quart bundt pan. Two boxes fits just right in a 6-quart bundt pan, which is the largest size that will fit in a 6-quart pressure cooker.
[Note for November 2025: These have been popular this year and have been going in and out of stock online. You can also buy a set that has a 12-cup, 6-cup, and 3-cup pan.]
But if you don’t have a little bundt pan, a 7×3-inch cake pan or oven-safe dish will work.
Brush the pan with melted butter and use a paper towel to make sure the butter gets into all the little nooks and crannies. Then press the stuffing into the pan.
Cover the pan with aluminum foil and poke a little hole to match the middle of the bundt pan.
Wipe out the pressure cooking pot, add 1 ½ cups water, and a trivet on the bottom. Center the pan on a sling and lower into the cooking pot.
Lock the lid in place and set the cook time for 15 minutes. Finish with a quick pressure release.
You can serve it just like this, or you can move on to the final upgrade.
Upgrade 4: Finish your stuffing in the oven
Finishing the stuffing in the oven gives it lovely crispy edges with a tender, moist center. This is my very favorite way to eat stuffing.
(At my house, when we used to bake stuffing in the oven, we’d all fight over the corner pieces. Making it in a bundt pan ensures that everyone gets a tasty corner piece.)
When you’re ready to finish the stuffing, preheat the oven to 350°F. Unmold the bundt pans on a sheet of non-stick aluminum foil, then pop them in the oven until it begins to brown. (Watch it like a hawk because once it starts, it goes quick.)
A note on boxed stuffing brands
There are SO many different brands of stuffing out there, it would be impossible for us to test them all. Ultimately, we decided to test two of the most widely-available brands: Stove Top Stuffing and Mrs. Cubbinson’s Stuffing.
This hack worked wonders on both brands! However, 12 ounces of Stove Top Stuffing needed 2 cups of liquid for best results. One 12-ounce box of Mrs. Cubbinson’s only needed 1 ¾ cups of liquid for the right ratio.
In our testing, Stove Top didn’t need any additional seasoning. However, we liked Mrs. Cobbinson’s better after we added seasonings. (This applied to both the green and red boxes of Mrs. Cubbinson’s.)
In our testing, we were happy with an additional 1 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning. However, if you have specific spices or fresh herbs you like in your stuffing (thyme, rosemary, sage, etc.), make sure to use those!
Looking for Homemade Stuffing?
Looking for a from-scratch stuffing recipe? We absolutely love our Homemade Stuffing recipe. We started with the recipe that Barbara has served for Thanksgiving for 40 years and adapted it for the pressure cooker.
We also have a great homemade Cornbread Dressing recipe as well.
Whether you use boxed or homemade, the best stuffing recipe is the one that you actually make!
Do you LOVE this recipe?
Leave us a review below to tell us why!
Upgraded Boxed Stuffing
Ingredients
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter plus more for preparing the pan
- 1 cup chopped celery
- 1 cup finely chopped onion
- 2 cups reduced-sodium turkey or chicken broth *
- 2 packages Stove Top boxed bread stuffing 6 ounces, each
Instructions
Prepare the Pan
- Melt a little butter (I used about half a tablespoon) in a small jar. Pour melted butter into a 6-cup bundt pan and use a paper towel to wipe all the little nooks until the pan is evenly coated. Set aside.
Make the Bread Mixture
- Select Saute and adjust the heat to medium-low. Melt ½ cup butter in the cooking pot. Add the celery and onion and cook until tender, about 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Add the broth to the cooking pot, then stir in the stuffing mix and gently stir until the bread is evenly coated.
- Press the bread in an even layer into the prepared bundt pan. Cover with foil and poke a hole in the middle of the foil.
Pressure Cook the Stuffing
- Prepare a foil sling for lifting the pan out of the pressure cooker. Wipe out the bottom of the pressure cooking pot.
- Pour 1 1/2 cups of water into the cooking pot and place a trivet in the bottom. Center the bundt pan on the sling and lower it into the pressure cooker. (Be sure the sling doesn’t interfere with closing the lid.)
- Lock the lid in place. Select High Pressure and set the cook time for 15 minutes. When the cook time ends, use a quick pressure release. When the valve drops, carefully remove the lid. Use the sling to carefully remove the bundt pan and set aside.
Finish in the Oven
- While the stuffing pressure cooks, preheat your oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with nonstick aluminum foil (or spray regular foil with nonstick cooking spray). On top of the foil, carefully unmold the stuffing from the bundt pan.
- Put the stuffing in the preheated oven for 3 to 5 minutes, until the stuffing has begun to brown and crisp. Remove from the oven and serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
Easier Thanksgiving Recipes
Make your Thanksgiving dinner prep quicker and easier by using some of our Instant Pot Thanksgiving Recipes. These recipes have the classic flavors of traditional Thanksgiving favorites, but you can have them on the table in much less time.
Here are some of our most popular Thanksgiving recipes:
- Turkey Breast and Gravy: This pressure cooker turkey breast is the remedy to dried-out oven-roasted white meat on your holiday table.
- Make-ahead Turkey Gravy: If you know you’re going to have a gravy-loving crowd, make it ahead of time so you don’t have to worry about running out!
- Mashed Potatoes: If you only make one dish in your pressure cooker, let it be this one!
- Homemade Green Bean Casserole: Impress your guests with this absolutely delicious casserole made from fresh French-style green beans and a homemade mushroom cream sauce.
- Sweet Potato Casserole: Buttery and creamy, this recipe features classic spices and a crunchy pecan topping.
- Jellied Cranberry Sauce: We love to make this instead of serving canned cranberries—homemade is SO much better tasting.
- Pumpkin Pie: Features the classic pumpkin pie filling in a crumbly Pecan Sandies cookie crust. Best of all, you can make it ahead of Thanksgiving day.
- Sweet Potato Pie: This simple pie has a rich, sweet filling with an easy no-bake crust. Best of all, you can make it ahead of Thanksgiving day. This is another great make-ahead recipe.
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