French Canadian Meat Dressing Recipe

Name: French Canadian Meat Dressing Recipe
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 60 min
Ingredients: 2 tbsp olive oil ((reserve 1 tablespoon for drizzling on top before baking)); 1 onion (chopped); 3 stalks celery (chopped); 4 cloves garlic (peeled and minced); 1.5 pounds ground beef (we like to use 90 - 92% lean and 8-10% fat); 3 tsp pepper; 2 cups chicken broth (gluten free); 10 slices bread (gluten free (or regular bread if no gluten allergies)); salt (to taste); parsley (to garnish (optional)); carrot julienned slices (to garnish (optional))

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French Canadian Meat Dressing Recipe is Grandpa’s SECRET Thanksgiving turkey stuffing made with ground beef, gluten-free bread, aromatics, lots of fresh ground pepper.

Little individual dressing servings on a wooden platter.

Can You Guess What the SECRET Dressing Ingredient Is?

We bet if you look in your spice cabinet right now, you have it. This special ingredient makes regular Thanksgiving dressing go from ho hum boring to Oh my goodness, please give me seconds or maybe thirds. Are you ready?

Drum roll please…

Fresh Ground Black Pepper and LOTS of it!

When I say a lot of freshly ground pepper, I mean a really BIG punch! This old fashion meat stuffing (dressing) has 3 full teaspoons of pepper in it. You heard me right “3 teaspoons of black pepper”.

Of course, you don’t have to put the full 3 teaspoons of pepper in it if you don’t want to. However, then is would not be Grandpa’s Secret Stuffing, it would be just plain old boring run of the mill ground beef dressing. What sets this stuffing apart from many others is that it comes with a big pack of flavor from the aromatics and a big punch from the freshly ground pepper.

6 individual dressings made in a muffin tin on a wooden serving platter.

10 Reasons to Love Our French Canadian Meat Dressing Recipe

This meat stuffing gets a little crispy on the outside and is tender and delicious on the inside, especially when prepared in muffin tins. (AKA MEAT MUFFINS – Perfect individual servings for any holiday dinner gathering)
Recipe can be prepared in advance of guest’s arrival or even baked in advance and then reheated. It keeps it’s texture and flavor.
Can be served as stuffing inside a turkey or outside as a side of dressing.
Dressing can be baked in a single baking dish for easy transport or in muffin tins to allow for more crispy bits on the ends. The little browned crispy bits are our favorite part of this simple oven baked dressing.
The BEST darn dressing ever! Tried and true family recipe that has been passed on from generation to generation.
Hearty enough to be served as a main dish with a side salad and vegetable.
Gluten free, dairy free and egg free. However, you can use plain regular bread if no issues with gluten.
Easy on the wallet (budget friendly) with just a handful of easy to find ingredients.
Super flavorful with a big punch of freshly ground pepper to warm you up.
Perfect side dish along with our Spicy Rosemary Butternut Squash, Balsamic Roasted Fennel and Carrots and our Autumn Kale Salad for Thanksgiving dinner or any autumn meal.

The bite shot showing a super crispy edge to the meaty French Canadian dressing on a fork.

Why Do We Call This Grandpa’s Secret Stuffing?

We call it “Grandpa’s” stuffing as all the grandkids, just love this recipe – and grandpa was the only one who made this each holiday. My father (a descendant of immigrants from Quebec) had never shared this recipe and it had never been written down until 2011 [when we first posted this recipe]. However, over a cup of coffee and some persuasion he started to share his secret stuffing recipe with me. This French-Canadian meat dressing recipe was passed on to him by watching his mother and grandmother in the kitchen. If you love traditional French-Canadian recipes, be sure to try Grandma’s Chicken and Sliders.

We are certain grandpa (dad) is smiling down at us from heaven. He would be proud to share a little of his French-Canadian family tradition on to the world. His rich family history and stories will always be dear to our hearts.

Grandpa’s stuffing has been a celebrated family tradition in our family for many years. Thanksgiving would simply not be Thanksgiving, unless there was Grandpa’s ground beef Thanksgiving stuffing was on the dinner table.

Close up showing the crispy edges of an individual Thanksgiving French Canadian Meat Dressing Recipe
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What’s the Difference Between Turkey Dressing and Stuffing?

According to Food and Wine, the main difference is in the method that they are cooked.

Stuffing is usually made with bread and assortment of ingredients and aromatics that is actually stuffed into the cavity of the turkey and then baked inside the turkey.

Dressing is a side dish. It is also made with bread and other ingredients that is baked in a separate dish outside the turkey or other poultry cavity.

The best part of this French-Canadian meat dressing recipe is that it can be made as a traditional old fashion meat stuffing for inside the bird or as a side dish as a dressing. This dressing is also fantastic as a side dish for our Savory Herb Roasted Whole Chicken or stuffed inside a duck or pheasant.

Romantic dinner setting with candle light and cocktails and a platter of French Canadian meat dressing.

Don’t Forget the Giblets!

Where are all of our French-Canadian friends? You already know that this ground beef Thanksgiving dressing or stuffing usually is made with the chopped up fried turkey giblets along with the ground beef. Turkey giblets are those parts is parts bag that is usually found inside the cavity of the bird when you get it from the store. The giblet package usually has the heart, liver, gizzard and neck of the bird. Waste not want not is the motto of our ancestors.

Will you be making this dressing recipe for children? If so, hold the giblets. As the years went by and more and more grandchildren filled grandpa’s home, he left out these little ingredients to make the kids happy.

Recipe Exchanges and Substitutions

We like to use lean beef with 90% to 92% lean beef and 8% to 10% fat as we do not like all that extra fat. In addition, if it is lean, you can save a step of draining the beef after it is cooked. A little fat left in is a good thing as it makes it moist and gives it the crispy edges that everyone craves.
Feel free to use regular bread instead of gluten-free, if no gluten intolerances. It’s a great way to use up that day-old bread.

Meat Stuffing Ingredients

Ground beef (90-92%. Lean and 8-10% fat). You may also choose to cook up the turkey giblets. They are quite good. However, if you have small children, you may want to skip the giblets.
Aromatics – celery, onion and garlic. Well, of course garlic!!!
Freshly ground black pepper and lots of it! If you are making this for small children, you may want to scale back a little on the black pepper, so it is not too spicy for them. Season along the way. Be sure to check out our video below and watch us season throughout the cooking process.
Olive oil
Chicken broth
Bread- gluten free or regular. We used white but use whatever you have on hand.

How to make homemade French Canadian Meat dressing recipe

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How to Make Homemade Turkey Dressing?

Here is an overview:

(See recipe card below for full instructions)

Sauté the aromatics until translucent and then add the ground beef and cook until brown. Season with salt and ground pepper. Lots of pepper!

Soak bread in chicken broth and then squeeze out excess and break into pieces. Mix the cooked meat mixture and bread mixture and place in a greased casserole pan or muffin tins. We love using the muffin tins as it gives you more crispy edges to our French Canadian Meat Dressing Recipe.

Drizzle with a little olive oil to help with the browning and bake between 40 – 50 minutes depending on the mode of cooking process.

If you want to make stuffing do all the steps above, except instead of placing the stuffing in a separate dish to bake, place in the cavity of the turkey or bird of choice and bake. The baking time for a stuffed bird, will depend on weight of the turkey.

Frequent Asked Questions (FAQ’s)

Do you put eggs in dressing?

You do not need to put eggs in your dressing or stuffing. The extra moisture from the chicken broth is all that is needed to bind the Thanksgiving turkey dressing.

Should I cover the dressing while baking?

Do not cover the dressing while it is baking, or it will prevent the dressing from getting the little crispy browned edges that we all love.

Do you have to cook the stuffing before putting into the turkey?

The ground beef, giblets, vegetables and aromatics should all be fully cooked before stuffing the cavity of the turkey or other poultry. This is to prevent any illness. A stuffed turkey takes longer to cook than an unstuffed turkey. A stuffed turkey takes too much time to cook the internal stuffing to the temperature required for safe consumption. If you baked your turkey long enough to cook the stuffing to the proper safe temperature if would be dry. No one likes dry turkey.