How Ina Garten Turns Bagged Stuffing Into The Most Cravable Side Dish

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On April 14, Food Network star and bestselling author Ina Garten appeared on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" to promote her new cookbook, "Simply Ina." Colbert riffed off Garten's "store-bought is fine" catchphrase to quiz her on the store-bought items she keeps in her kitchen. While some of her answers were predictable ("fresh lime juice only"), a few of her store-bought favorites came as a surprise. In the interview, Garten gushed about bagged stuffing and revealed that it stars in one of the recipes in her new book: bread pudding.

In addition to stuffing and lime juice, Colbert asked about marinara sauce ("just fine, as long as it's a good marinara sauce"), sourdough bread ("always good"), and birthday cake ("I wouldn't get one at the 7-Eleven, but you can go to a really good bakery"). Garten reaffirmed her well-documented distaste for store-bought chicken stock, but conceded it was okay if you have to. When he mentioned store-bought stuffing, she lit up. "You know what I use stuffing for?" she asked. "I don't use stuffing for stuffing, but what I do is make bread pudding out of it."

If you're slightly appalled, you're not alone. I immediately imagined a sweet, raisin-studded bread pudding made with garlicky, oniony stuffing. I shouldn't have doubted Garten. She later explained she was talking about savory bread puddings. "You put in mushrooms and gruyere, put it in the oven, nobody even knows there's a bag of stuffing in there," she said.

Aside from mushrooms and gruyere, Garten adds an egg custard to her casserole — but that's about it. The beauty of using bagged stuffing, she explained, is that the difficult work is already done. "It's already seasoned, it's already cubed, it's toasted, all that's done," she said.

While Garten didn't name a preferred stuffing brand, Kinder's was The Takeout's top choice for grocery store stuffing. Still, Garten's philosophy is all about using what you have. A tasty mix of cheese and vegetables can hide stuffing sins.

The full recipe isn't available yet, as "Simply Ina" doesn't come out until October 20, 2026. However, Garten does have a savory bread pudding recipe available on her site. The recipe uses "bread cubes from a rustic country loaf" instead of store-bought stuffing, but the gruyere, mushrooms, and eggy base are the same. Garten also includes pancetta, leeks, heavy cream, and chicken stock (preferably homemade, of course) along with spices and seasonings. You could easily substitute the bread cubes for store-bought stuffing, though you might want to cut down on the seasonings if you do. After all, as Garten notes, the bagged version comes pre-seasoned.

Don't worry about sticking too closely to Garten's recipe, though. It's a versatile dish. If you have a smoker, use it to bake your bread pudding for added flavor. Feel free to switch up the ingredients, too. I'm an avowed mushroom hater, but cheesy bread pudding made with celery or green beans? Sign me up.