This Sausage Stuffing Recipe is a family-favorite! With ground Italian sausage, crisp Granny Smith apples, sweetened dried cranberries, and a hint of sage–this stuffing packs a serious flavor punch.
Or give our original Thanksgiving Dressing or Cornbread Dressing a try! You can’t go wrong with any of these recipes during the holidays!
Sausage Stuffing Recipe
While a flavorful, moist slice of turkey drizzled in gravy is certainly an exciting part of Thanksgiving, it’s all about the sides for me.
My favorite sides include Mashed Potatoes, some kind of retro fluff salad (like this Orange Fluff Salad), Baked Sweet Potatoes, a big Thanksgiving Salad, and most definitely some kind of stuffing/dressing.
We always rotate between my simple dressing recipe or cornbread dressing, but this year I thought I’d change things up a bit and add some sausage, cranberries, sage, and apples to my favorite stuffing.
The result? A deeply savory dressing with pops of sweetness, plenty of texture, just the right amount of softness, and ultimately a dish worthy of taking at least 1/3 of my Thanksgiving plate. I’m happy to report, I’ve made this several times–in the name of testing, of course!–and I could eat just this for meals at a time. Seriously, this is the best sausage stuffing recipe ever!
A few ingredients worth diving into:
Sausage Stuffing Ingredients
- Sausage. Depending on personal preference, use mild or spicy sausage. For more heat (and flavor), use spicy sausage, and if you prefer less spice, use a mild or sweet sausage instead. If some of your guests want more spice and others don’t, use mild sausage and serve red pepper flakes on the side! Don’t forget to remove sausage casings before browning.
- Flat-leaf Italian parsley (as opposed to curly parsley). Flat-leaf parsley has a more robust flavor and curly parsley is used more commonly as a garnish or decoration for food. We want the intense flavor of parsley in this stuffing with sausage recipe.
- Bread. The better the bread, the better the flavor of this sausage stuffing recipe! We love a good artisan sourdough loaf best.
- Sage. We love fresh sage best in this recipe. You can typically find it in the produce section among other fresh herbs. If you’d like to use dried, the typical conversion is ½ teaspoon dried to 1 tablespoon fresh. That said, add slowly and to taste–some dried sage is more (or less) potent than others.
Quick Tip
Have leftover sausage from making this Italian Sausage Stuffing Recipe? Use leftovers in these Italian Hoagies!
Here are our top tips for making this old-fashioned Sausage Stuffing:
How To Make Sausage Stuffing Recipe
- Cut the bread into equal-sized pieces and dry it out. The secret to avoiding soggy dressing is to use completely dry bread. We ensure the bread is completely dried out by baking it for 45 minutes. Make sure to cut all the sourdough bread into equal-sized pieces so they can dry out and bake evenly.
- Take your time sautéing the onion, celery, and apple. We want these three ingredients to be very tender before tossing with the pieces of bread since they don’t soften up too much more in the oven.
- Use unsalted butter. We prefer unsalted so you can perfectly control the seasoning in this recipe and avoid ending up with an overly salted stuffing.
- Finely dice the herbs. While it takes more time, it is important the herbs are very finely diced. This helps them disperse more evenly so you don’t get an overpowering bite of one specific herb in the dressing.
While I wouldn’t say this is a quick recipe per-se, each step is simple and easily executed. While it does take some time to put together, a lot of it can be done ahead of time and assembled right before baking.
Prepare Sausage Stuffing Ahead Of Time
Here’s how to prep in advance:
- Dry the bread cubes and store them on a sheet pan (uncovered) for up to a day in advance. We want them completely dried out before using them in this recipe, so there’s no need to cover them.
- Prepare sausage, plus veggie and herb mixture. Store airtight in the fridge.
- When ready to enjoy, put everything together. Combine the egg and chicken broth mixture with the sausage and veggie mixture. Toss in the bread cubes gently, transfer to a baking dish, and then bake. Bake time will likely be a little longer since we’re working with cold ingredients.
Sausage Stuffing Recipe FAQs
Yes, I add two eggs to this stuffing recipe. I add eggs to help hold all the dressing ingredients together and to add moisture.
1. Salt and pepper. Don’t underestimate the impact of salt and pepper in a simple dish; a little goes a long way! The amount you need will vary depending on the saltiness of the sausage, sourdough bread, and broth you use.
2. Adding sweetness. Dried cranberries and apples add a nice sweetness that balances the savory flavors.
3. Fresh herbs. Fresh herbs are key—they bring the stuffing to life
No! You want this particular stuffing recipe uncovered so crispy edges and sides can form.
Storage
Sausage Stuffing is one of those recipes that is best hot out of the oven; it’s not a great candidate for freezing or storing past a couple of days. You can reheat leftovers in the oven but with a loss of texture. The bread does become mushy after the initial serving of this recipe.
More Holiday Favorite Sides:
- Creamed Potatoes with paprika
- Roasted Brussels Sprouts with a crisp panko-Parmesan topping
- Raspberry Jello Dessert with a graham cracker crust
- Sweet Potato Risotto made in the pressure cooker
- Funeral Potatoes with a potato chip topping
Sausage Stuffing Recipe
Ingredients
- 10 cups day-old white bread Use good-quality bread cut into 1-inch wide by ½-inch thick cubes (we love sourdough best).
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ¾ pound (12 oz.) Italian sausage (Note 1)
- 10 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1¾ cups yellow onions, finely diced (~2 medium)
- 1 cup celery, finely diced (~3-4 stalks)
- 2 Granny Smith apples, diced
- 1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley, finely diced (Note 2)
- 2 tablespoons fresh sage, finely diced (or 1 tsp. dried rubbed sage)
- Fine sea salt and pepper
- 2½ cups chicken broth
- 2 large eggs
- ¾ cup dried sweetened cranberries
Instructions
- PREP: Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F. Generously grease a rimmed 9×13-inch pan with nonstick spray and set aside.
- DRY OUT BREAD: Add cut bread cubes in one layer to the baking sheet. Place in the preheated oven and bake for 45 minutes, stirring the bread cubes every 15 minutes, or until completely dried out. Set aside to let the bread cool. Now increase the oven temperature to 350 degrees F.
- SAUSAGE: In a very large cast iron pot, add 1 tbsp oil and heat to high. Once hot, add sausage in a single layer and let sear about 1 minute per side before crumbling and breaking up with a wooden spoon. Season to taste (I add ½ tsp each salt and pepper) and cook until fully browned through. Use a slotted spoon to remove to a paper-towel-lined bowl and set aside for now. Leave grease in the pot, but if there is more than 1 tbsp grease left behind, drain off excess.
- BUTTER AND VEGGIES: Reduce heat to medium -igh and add butter to the same pot the sausage was cooked in. Once melted, add the diced onions, celery, and apples. Season to taste (I add ½ tsp salt and pepper). Stir often until just beginning to lightly brown and the ingredients have become tender– about 10 minutes (reduce heat if needed). Once tender, remove from heat and stir in the parsley and sage. Allow pot to cool. Mix in cranberries. Return sausage to the pot.
- EGGS AND BROTH: In a separate bowl, add the eggs and whisk with a fork. Stir in the chicken broth, whisking until combined with eggs. Pour this mixture into the pot with the veggies and sausage. Make sure the pot is room temperature–not hot–or it will scramble the egg mixture. Stir everything to combine. Add the toasted bread cubes into the pot and very gently mix until bread is coated and ingredients are evenly dispersed. Taste if additional seasoning is needed (See Note 3).
- BAKE: Gently transfer this mixture to the prepared 9×13-inch baking dish and press into one even layer. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until browned and crisp on top and sides. Remove and serve immediately.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
