No Thanksgiving or holiday feast is complete without a bowl of sausage stuffing! This savory, moist, and herb-seasoned side dish perfectly complements a roasted turkey and is begging for a generous pour of gravy. Though my family loves the classic variety, they always go wild when I serve this riff and pack the stuffing with sausage.
Thanks to well-seasoned Italian sausage, this dish is hearty, rich, and flavorful. Eggs add a custard-like consistency, and chicken broth keeps the stuffing moist and adds deeper flavor. Serve the sausage-packed stuffing for holiday meals, Sunday dinners, or to satisfy a comfort food craving. To save on holiday meal prep stress, make it up to two days in advance! For more delicious Thanksgiving side dish recipes, check out my mashed potatoes, classic stuffing, and candied yams.
Ingredients
Italian Sausage — you can use sweet or spicy Italian sausage too heartiness and savory flavor to this easy sausage stuffing recipe. Ground pork, turkey, or chicken sausage all work well.
Use bulk raw sausage, and remove the casings if you can only find links.
Bread — choose your favorite variety of bread, such as a boule or sandwich loaf. You can use homemade if desired, but store-bought is a more convenient way to make a great stuffing. This recipe is a great way to use up older or stale bread, so don’t worry about the loaf being perfectly fresh.
Butter — unsalted butter is used to sautee the vegetables and adds a rich and indulgent flavor. You can substitute with salted butter if needed, though you may want to reduce the amount of salt by a pinch. Or replace it with olive oil.
Fresh Herbs — lots of chopped fresh sage, rosemary, and flat-leaf parsley are essential to the classic stuffing flavor. As a bonus, they offer a pretty pop of green and make an excellent garnish.
Chicken Broth — this hydrates the bread cubes and helps to season the dish, accentuating its savory flavors. Homemade or store-bought chicken broth are great picks; if needed, you can substitute chicken stock or warm water mixed chicken bouillon.
Eggs — fresh eggs bind the ingredients together and add a custardy, bread pudding-like texture.
Choosing The Best Bread
The best bread for this recipe is the variety you like the best! Nearly any kind of bread works; it doesn’t have to be nice or expensive. I often use white sandwich bread or sourdough bread, but you can use any mix of Italian bread, whole wheat sandwich bread, or French bread for this recipe. If desired, you can remove the crust before cubing it, but I like the added texture.
The Importance Of Drying Out The Bread Cubes
Dry bread cubes soak up the seasoned liquid better, so the stuffing bakes up soft and moist. It may seem counterintuitive, but if you start with moist, fresh bread, the bread isn’t able to soak up the liquid fully, and the stuffing will end up less flavorful and runny or chewy.
Though some recipes call for stale bread, drying bread in the oven is a great method for using a fresher loaf. Since different types of bread can vary in moisture content, this method also produces more consistent results. Keep an eye on the bread while toasting, removing it once it is dried out but not too golden brown. The bread cubes should just be dry rather than toasted.
How To Make Sausage Stuffing
1. Preheat the oven to 300°F. Spread the bread cubes in a single layer on two large sheet trays or rimmed baking sheets. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, stirring once halfway through and rotating the trays in the oven until the cubes are dried out. Let the bread cool slightly for about 10 minutes, then place it in a large bowl. Increase the oven temperature to 375°F. Grease a 9×13-inch baking dish or 3½-quart casserole dish with butter.
2. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes until the vegetables are tender. Add this mixture to the bowl with the bread.
3. Add the sausage to the skillet and cook it over medium-high heat for 5 to 6 minutes or until browned. Add the cooked sausage and drippings to the bowl with the bread and vegetable mixture.
4. Add the parsley, sage, rosemary, salt, and pepper to the bowl. Using a wooden spoon or silicone spatula, gently fold the ingredients together until well combined.
5. In a large liquid measuring cup, whisk to combine the chicken broth and the eggs. Slowly pour the broth mixture over the stuffing. Gently stir the mixture together until the bread is moistened evenly.
6. Spoon the stuffing into the prepared dish. Bake until it is hot in the center and golden brown on top, 25 to 30 minutes.
How To Serve
For a complete holiday meal, serve this side dish with roast turkey, green bean casserole, mashed sweet potatoes, and cranberry sauce. I love pouring homemade gravy over each serving of stuffing!
How To Store And Reheat Leftovers
Cool the stuffing to room temperature before transferring it to an airtight container and refrigerating it for up to 5 days. Reheat leftovers in a 350°F oven covered with aluminum foil for 8-12 minutes or until heated through.
Pro Tips For Making This Recipe
- Slowly stir in the broth mixture. Evenly distribute the broth and egg mixture throughout the bread by slowly drizzling it over the bread and sausage mixture as you mix. Stirring slowly allows time for the bread to soak up the liquid evenly.
- Gently mix. You don’t want to break up the bread too much as you stir, so mix gently.
- Add additional broth as needed. Depending on the bread’s dryness and density, you may need to add one extra cup of broth to hydrate it. The stuffing mixture should appear wet and slightly soggy. If your mixture feels dry, add more broth.
- Seasoning variations: Stir in 2 teaspoons of chopped fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon of dried thyme for an extra herbal flavor. For a fruity finish, fold in 1 chopped apple or pear or ⅓ cup of chopped dried cranberries. To add some heat, use spicy Italian sausage and stir in up to 1 teaspoon of red pepper chili flakes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, other varieties of sausage are great in this recipe. If desired, swap in breakfast sausage (sage or maple flavored) or chicken apple sausage. I recommend ground sausage, but if you have smoked sausage, you can use it with delicious results; slice or chop it into bite-size pieces before browning.
I do not recommend stuffing a turkey with this recipe. The stuffing must heat throughout and reach 165°F to be safe to eat. This typically takes much longer than it does for the turkey meat to reach the same temperature, and you risk drying out your turkey. The best way to ensure delicious results for both the side dish and turkey is to cook them separately.
You can make it up to 2 days ahead of time. Cover it tightly with plastic wrap or aluminum foil and refrigerate until ready to bake. Let it rest at room temperature for 30 minutes to 1 hour before baking, and add 10-15 minutes of baking time if needed to heat the dish through the center.
If you’ve tried this Sausage recipe, then don’t forget to rate it and let me know how you got on in the comments below. I love hearing from you!
Sausage Stuffing Recipe
Equipment
- Large sheet tray or rimmed baking sheet
- Large skillet
- 3½-quart casserole dish or 9×13-inch baking dish
- Large mixing bowl
Ingredients
- 12 cups (1-inch) bread cubes from 1 pound (450g) bread
- ½ cup unsalted butter (113g)
- 2 cups diced yellow onion (251g)
- 2 cups diced celery (250g)
- 4 garlic cloves minced, or 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1 pound spicy or sweet Italian sausage casings removed (450g)
- ¼ cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 2 cups chicken broth (480mL)
- 2 large eggs
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300°F.
- On two large sheet trays or rimmed baking sheets, spread the bread cubes in a single layer. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, stirring once halfway through and rotating the trays in the oven until the cubes are dried out. Let the bread cool slightly, about 10 minutes, then place it in a large bowl.
- Increase the oven temperature to 375°F. Grease a 9×13-inch baking dish or 3½-quart casserole dish with butter.
- In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes, until the vegetables are tender. Add this mixture to the bowl with the bread.
- Add the sausage to the skillet and cook it over medium-high heat for 5 to 6 minutes or until browned. Add the sausage and any drippings to the bowl with the bread and vegetable mixture.
- Add the parsley, sage, rosemary, salt, and pepper to the bowl. Gently fold the ingredients together until well combined.
- In a large liquid measuring cup, whisk to combine the chicken broth and the eggs.
- Slowly pour the broth mixture all over the stuffing while stirring everything together, to moisten the bread evenly. (Mix gently so that the bread pieces stay in cubes.)
- Spoon the stuffing into the prepared dish. Bake until it is hot in the center and golden brown on top, 25 to 30 minutes.
Notes
- Slowly stir in the broth mixture. Evenly distribute the broth and egg mixture throughout the bread by slowly drizzling it over the bread and sausage mixture as you mix. Stirring slowly allows time for the bread to soak up the liquid evenly.
- Gently mix. You don’t want to break up the bread too much as you stir, so mix gently.
- Add additional broth as needed. Depending on the bread’s dryness and density, you may need to add one extra cup of broth to hydrate it. The stuffing mixture should appear wet and slightly soggy. If your mixture feels dry, add more broth.
- Seasoning variations: Stir in 2 teaspoons of chopped fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon of dried thyme for an extra herbal flavor. For a fruity finish, fold in 1 chopped apple or pear or ⅓ cup of chopped dried cranberries. To add some heat, use spicy Italian sausage and stir in up to 1 teaspoon of red pepper chili flakes.
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