What Is Stuffing? Sage and Onion for Roast Dinners
What is stuffing? Stuffing is a herby breadcrumb mix — usually sage, onion and breadcrumbs — used to fill roast poultry or baked as balls or a tray side. In the UK it is a Christmas and Sunday-roast staple; packet mixes such as Paxo are the supermarket shortcut.
At a glance
- UK classicsage, onion and breadcrumbs
- Paxodried mix from 1901 (Eccles)
- 29.4gcarbs per 100g homemade (CoFID)
- 19.3gcarbs per 100g made-up packet mix
On this page
It sits next to the turkey, the gravy boat and the pigs in blankets — but what is stuffing, exactly? This guide covers the UK sage and onion style, how stuffing differs from American "dressing", where packet mixes such as Paxo came from, and what CoFID says about the carbs. For the rest of the festive plate, see our keto Christmas dinner guide.
What is stuffing?
Stuffing is an edible mixture used to fill a cavity in another food, or cooked on its own as a side. Cambridge Dictionary defines the food sense as a mix such as bread, onions and herbs used to fill something that will be eaten — a chicken, for example — before cooking. Wikipedia uses the wider terms stuffing, filling or dressing for a herb-and-starch mix that helps keep roast meat moist while adding flavour of its own.
Breadcrumbs are the usual starch in British kitchens. Onion and sage are the classic aromatics. Butter or oil binds the crumbs; egg or sausagemeat can bind them further. The finished mix may be packed into a turkey, chicken or goose, shaped into balls, or pressed into a tray to bake beside the bird.
Wikipedia notes that vegetables (peppers, tomatoes, marrows), fish and cuts of meat with a pocket cut into them can all be stuffed. In everyday UK speech, though, "stuffing" almost always means the roast-dinner side.
Sage and onion: the British classic
Ask for stuffing with a British roast and most people picture sage and onion. Fresh or dried sage, softened onion and breadcrumbs form the base. BBC Good Food's stuffing collection leads with sausage, sage and onion, a vegetarian sage and onion traybake, apricot and hazelnut mixes, and chestnut or sausagemeat variations for Christmas.
Wikipedia adds that UK stuffings often include dried fruit and nuts — apricots, flaked almonds, cranberries — and that roast poultry may be stuffed with sweet chestnuts. Pork shoulder minced with sage, onion, bread and dried fruit is another English style. Celery appears more often in American recipes than in a basic British sage and onion bowl.
| Style | Typical extras |
|---|---|
| Sage & onion | Breadcrumbs, onion, sage, butter |
| Sausagemeat | Pork sausage, sage, onion, crumbs |
| Chestnut | Cooked chestnuts, herbs, crumbs |
| Apricot & nut | Dried apricots, hazelnuts or almonds |
| Packet mix | Dried crumbs and flavourings + water |
Based on Wikipedia's Stuffing entry and BBC Good Food's stuffing recipe collection. Checked 6 November 2026.
A short history of stuffing
Nobody can pin down the first stuffing, but the idea is ancient. Wikipedia points to the Roman cookbook Apicius (De Re Coquinaria), which includes stuffed chicken, dormouse, hare and pig, with fillings of vegetables, herbs, spices, nuts, spelt and often chopped liver or other offal.
The English words shifted over time. Wikipedia, citing the Oxford English Dictionary, records "farce" from about 1390, "stuffing" from 1538, "forcemeat" from 1688, and the American preference for "dressing" from about 1850. Multi-bird dishes such as turducken are modern showpieces of the same cavity-filling idea.
Paxo and packet stuffing
For many UK households, stuffing means a packet. Paxo — now owned by Premier Foods — was devised in 1901 by John Crampton, a butcher in Eccles near Manchester, who wanted something extra to sell with the Sunday roast. Wikipedia and the Paxo brand site both tell that origin story.
Sales were slow at first because stuffing went mainly with chicken, and poultry was still a luxury. Popularity rose in the 1950s and 1960s as chicken became cheaper. Grace's Guide notes that the earliest Paxo flavour was parsley, lemon and thyme; sage and onion came later and became the favourite. Production moved from Sharston in Manchester to Ashford in Kent in 2009.
CoFID lists dried stuffing mix at 67.2g carbohydrate per 100g as sold, and 19.3g per 100g once made up with water. Homemade sage and onion stuffing sits higher per 100g (29.4g carbs) because it keeps more bread and butter in the bowl.
Stuffing or dressing?
In the UK, stuffing is stuffing whether it cooks inside the bird or in a separate dish. In the United States the mix cooked separately as a side dish may be called stuffing or dressing, while "stuffing" can also mean the cavity fill. Wikipedia treats the edible mixture as the same family of dishes under all three names: stuffing, filling and dressing.
Food-safety guidance matters more than the label. Wikipedia summarises US Department of Agriculture advice that a stuffed bird can leave the centre of the filling cooler than the meat, so cooking the mix separately is often recommended. BBC Good Food's collection is full of stuffing balls and traybakes for that reason. Whatever method you use, serve stuffing only when it is piping hot all the way through.
Stuffing at Christmas and Sunday lunch
Stuffing is part of the British Christmas dinner and of year-round Sunday roasts. It shares the plate with roast potatoes, gravy, Yorkshire pudding and pigs in blankets. Packet brands lean hard into the festive season — Wikipedia notes Paxo's Christmas line, "Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without the Paxo."
Chestnut stuffing, apricot and sausagemeat mixes, and dual stuffings (one in the neck cavity, one as balls) are Christmas favourites in BBC Good Food's festive recipes. For other roast-dinner sides on a lower-carb plate, see our keto Yorkshire pudding, keto gravy and what suet is (suet goes into dumplings and some traditional stuffings). Last order date for Christmas delivery is 18 December 2026.
Carbs in stuffing
Most of the carbohydrate in stuffing comes from the breadcrumbs or dried mix. Onion adds a little; sage and butter add almost none by comparison. CoFID, the UK composition tables, lists three useful rows:
| Food (per 100g) | Carbs | Sugars | kcal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stuffing, sage & onion, homemade | 29.4g | 5.4g | 253 |
| Stuffing mix, dried, made up | 19.3g | 1.3g | 97 |
| Stuffing mix, dried (as sold) | 67.2g | 4.4g | 338 |
| White bread, sliced | 46.1g | 3.4g | 219 |
| Onions, raw | 8.0g | 6.2g | 35 |
| Sage, fresh | 15.6g | — | 119 |
CoFID 2021: Stuffing, sage and onion, homemade (11-1000); Stuffing mix, dried, assorted flavours, made up (17-372); Stuffing mix, dried (17-371); Bread, white, sliced (11-980); Onions, raw (13-499); Sage, fresh (13-853). UK carbohydrate figures do not include fibre. Sugars for sage are not listed (N). Checked 6 November 2026.
A homemade portion is denser in carbs per 100g than a made-up packet mix because it keeps more bread and fat. The dried powder looks carb-heavy until you add water and the weight rises.
If you're cutting carbs
Traditional stuffing leans on wheat breadcrumbs. If you still want a herby roast side rather than a packet of dried mix, the main lever is the bread you blitz into crumbs — onion, sage, butter and seasoning stay the same.
Our Low Carb Keto Bread is a sliced loaf at 2.3g carbs per slice on the pack. Toast a few slices, cool them and pulse into crumbs for sage and onion balls. Our keto bread recipe uses psyllium husk powder for structure if you prefer to bake a loaf first. Oat fibre is the baking fibre we use when a recipe needs bulk without wheat flour — useful if you are adapting a traybake style rather than crumbed bread.
None of these is a ready-made stuffing. They are ingredients for a homemade mix. Pair the side with our Christmas dinner swaps and gravy rather than expecting a packet clone.
Product details are as shown on each product page. Free delivery on orders over £30.
Traditional stuffing usually contains wheat (breadcrumbs) and may contain celery, sulphites (in some dried mixes), eggs or sausagemeat (celery and mustard in some sausages). Our Low Carb Keto Bread contains gluten (wheat). Psyllium husk powder and oat fibre are single-ingredient powders — always check the pack for full allergen information.
Key takeaways
- Stuffing is a herby breadcrumb filling or side. Cambridge and Wikipedia agree on bread, herbs and a roast-cavity or traybake role.
- Sage and onion is the UK default. Sausagemeat, chestnut and apricot-nut versions sit alongside it at Christmas.
- Paxo dates from 1901. John Crampton of Eccles; sage and onion became the favourite flavour.
- Carbs sit in the bread. CoFID: 29.4g per 100g homemade sage and onion; 19.3g per 100g made-up packet mix.
Frequently asked questions
What is stuffing in the UK?
In the UK, stuffing usually means a sage and onion breadcrumb mix, sometimes with sausagemeat, cooked inside a roast bird or baked as balls or a traybake. Cambridge Dictionary defines it as a mixture such as bread, onions and herbs used to fill poultry or vegetables before cooking. Packet brands such as Paxo are common shortcuts.
What is stuffing usually made of?
Most British stuffing starts with breadcrumbs, onion and sage, then butter or oil and seasoning. Wikipedia notes poultry stuffing often also uses celery, spices and giblets, and UK versions may add dried fruit, nuts or chestnuts. BBC Good Food collections include sausagemeat, apricot and hazelnut, and vegetarian traybake styles.
What is Paxo stuffing made of?
Paxo is a dried stuffing mix brand owned by Premier Foods. Wikipedia says it was devised in 1901 by butcher John Crampton in Eccles, near Manchester. Grace's Guide and the Paxo site note early parsley, lemon and thyme, with sage and onion later becoming the favourite. CoFID lists dried stuffing mix at 67.2g carbohydrate per 100g before you add water.
Is stuffing the same as dressing?
In British English the usual word is stuffing, whether the mix is cooked inside the bird or baked separately. In parts of the United States, dressing often means the same side cooked in a dish rather than in the cavity. Wikipedia records both names and notes that the mixture itself is the same idea.
Do you have to stuff the turkey?
No. Many BBC Good Food recipes bake stuffing as balls or a traybake beside the bird. Wikipedia cites US Department of Agriculture advice that cooking stuffing inside poultry can leave the centre cooler than the meat, so cooking the mix separately is a common safety preference. Either way, the stuffing should be piping hot before you serve it.
Sources
- Cambridge Dictionary. Stuffing (food definition: bread, onions and herbs used to fill poultry or vegetables). Checked 6 November 2026.
- Wikipedia. Stuffing (definition; Apicius; farce/stuffing/forcemeat/dressing dates; UK dried fruit and chestnut notes; USDA separate-cooking summary). Checked 6 November 2026.
- Wikipedia. Paxo (1901 John Crampton, Eccles; 1950s–60s growth; Sharston to Ashford 2009; Christmas slogan). Checked 6 November 2026.
- Paxo. Brand site (origin story matching Wikipedia). Checked 6 November 2026.
- Grace's Guide. Paxo (earliest parsley, lemon and thyme; sage and onion later favourite; Cerebos 1939). Checked 6 November 2026.
- BBC Good Food. Stuffing recipes (sage and onion, sausagemeat, apricot and hazelnut, traybake and balls). Checked 6 November 2026.
- Public Health England / Office for Health Improvement and Disparities. Composition of foods integrated dataset (CoFID) 2021 (codes 11-1000, 17-371, 17-372, 11-980, 13-499, 13-853). Checked 6 November 2026.
- Groovy Keto product and recipe pages: Low Carb Keto Bread, Psyllium Husk Powder, Oat Fibre and keto bread recipe. Checked 6 November 2026.
