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This Sausage Stuffing Recipe is a family favorite recipe that we look forward to every Thanksgiving! A savory, comforting sausage and apple stuffing that’s sure to compliment your holiday main course. We think you’re going to find that you love this stuffing so much, you won’t want to wait until Thanksgiving to make it!
We make this stuffing to go along with a Simple Roast Turkeyor a brown sugar Glazed Baked Ham – or both! Just add another side dish or two and you’ll have your Thanksgiving dinner set to go!
Why You’ll Love This Sausage Stuffing Recipe
Not only are we excited to share our family favorite Sausage Stuffing Recipe with you, we have lots of helpful tips and details to make this recipe look and taste it’s best!
However, if you’re ready to dive right into making this savory stuffing, scroll down to the recipe card or click the “jump to recipe” button above the first photo.
- Make Ahead Side Dish: You can make this stuffing ahead of time and bake it when you’re ready. Make ahead recipes make holiday planning so much easier.
- Moist & Flavorful: Toasted bread cubes are tossed in a flavorful chicken broth mixture that’s simmered with fresh herbs, seasonings, onion and sausage.
- Customizable: Adapt the flavors in this recipe to your liking. Try different herbs or spicy sausage or switch up the bread to sourdough or honey wheat.
- Secret Ingredient: Our secret ingredient in this stuffing recipe is a diced green apple. Slightly tart but also sweet, it imparts a delicious flavor into this recipe.
What Kind Of Sausage Is Best To Use For Stuffing?
In the many years that we’ve been making this sausage stuffing, our go is Italian sausage – mild or spicy. You can also use a combination of both, but it’s the flavors and spices in Italian Sausage that really work best for this stuffing recipe.
Regular Pork sausage will also work, but the flavors and spices in Italian sausage really take this recipe to the next level of flavor. The notes of fennel, garlic and parsley in Italian sausage seem to go perfectly with this sausage stuffing with apples.
How To Make Sausage Stuffing
We’ll go over the basic steps here, but for a complete list of instructions scroll down to the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
- STEP 1 – Brown and crumble the sausage and drain most, but not all, of the drippings from the pan. Next add diced onions and diced green apples, cook until softened and then pour in chicken stock and bring to a simmer.
- STEP 2 – While the sausage and chicken broth is simmering, start toasting a whole loaf of bread. Tear or cut the bread into cubes and add them to a very large bowl. Pour the broth mixture from the skillet into the bowl along with beaten eggs and parsley. Toss gently to combine.
- STEP 3 –Pour the stuffing into a heavily buttered casserole dish, top with cubes of butter and bake for 30 minutes covered with aluminum foil. Remove the foil and bake for another 15-20 minutes uncovered to finish the stuffing.
Can You Make Stuffing Ahead Of Time?
Definitely. Make this stuffing a day or two ahead of time ahead of time and keep it in your fridge until you’re ready to cook it.
We’ve been making this stuffing for years, and I’ve actually have found that it tastes better if you make it the day before. The flavors will have time to blend together in the refrigerator and the flavor after baking it is unbelievable.
Any leftover stuffing (if there is any) usually becomes a main course for me. Pour on a quick brown gravy or homemade turkey gravy if you have it. Add a slice or two of leftover turkey and you’ve got dinner.
Can You Freeze Stuffing Before Baking?
Yes! This is my favorite make ahead tip, especially if you’re making this recipe for a holiday like Thanksgiving when you have tons of meal prep going on. Make this sausage stuffing and let it cool, then wrap it, freeze it and pull it out a day before you need it and let it defrost in the fridge. See the recipe card below for instructions on cooking time and temperature.
How To Store and Reheat Sausage Stuffing
Let the leftover stuffing cool completely. Wrap the dish with aluminum foil, or transfer leftover stuffing to a covered container. Leftover stuffing will keep in the refrigerator for up to four days.
Reheat the stuffing in the microwave or in the oven. Place in an oven proof dish, covered with foil at 350 degrees. The stuffing is ready when it’s warmed though, the time for reheating will depend on how much stuffing you’re heating up and what type of dish that you’re using.
Tips For Making The BEST Sausage Stuffing
- Make sure to take the time to properly brown the sausage in the beginning. Browning the sausage adds tons of flavor to the overall stuffing.
- Use a good quality chicken stock or broth. Many canned or boxed brands are very watery, meaning not a lot of flavor. Find the best quality stock that you can or make your own!
- Taste the stuffing for seasonings before adding the eggs. A cube of bread soaked in the broth will give you an idea of how the end product is going to taste.
- Let the stuffing crisp up on top before taking it out of the oven. This way you’ll have soft bread cubes on the inside and slightly toasted cubes on top!
Looking For More Stuffing Recipes?
- Hot Dog Bun Stuffing
- Waldorf Chicken Sausage Stuffing
- Upside Down Pineapple Stuffing
- Italian Stuffing Muffins
Best Sausage Stuffing Recipe
- Author: Dan
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
Print Recipe
Our favorite Sausage Stuffing Recipe for Thanksgiving and everyday meals! We love this flavorful stuffing recipe so much, we don’t just save it for the holidays. It’s a delicious, make ahead side dish that we crave all year long.
Scale
Ingredients
- 1 pound Italian sausage, sweet or spicy, casings removed
- 6 tablespoons butter
- 1 cup diced onion
- 1 large green apple, peeled and chopped (about 1 cup)
- 2 teaspoons poultry seasoning
- 1 tablespoon fresh chopped thyme
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 cup chopped parsley
- 3 – 3 1/2 cups chicken stock
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 20 slices white bread, toasted (*see note)
- Extra butter for buttering the dish and for the top of the stuffing
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Melt the butter in a large, deep skillet, then add the sausage, breaking up with a spoon or spatula until browned. NOTE: you’ll need at least a 13″ deep skillet to hold the sausage and broth mixture.
- When the sausage is almost all browned, add the diced apple, onion, poultry seasoning and thyme and cook for another 5 minutes. Stir in 3 cups of chicken broth, salt and pepper and let simmer for 15 minutes.
- Add the toasted bread cubes to a large bowl. After the chicken broth has cooled slightly, pour it over the bread and toss gently until all the cubes are moistened. If the bread seems on the dry side, you can add the additional 1/2 cup of chicken broth.
- Beat the eggs together with the parsley and add to the bowl. Toss gently to combine.
- Pour the stuffing into a buttered, 9″ x 13″ baking dish and then top the stuffing with small pieces of butter all around, 2-3 tablespoons.
- Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.
- Take the foil off and bake another 15 minutes until the stuffing is crispy and brown on top.
Recipe Notes
If you prefer to not have a crispy stuffing then leave the foil on for the entire cooking time. You can make this stuffing recipe ahead of time, cover and keep in the refrigerator until ready to bake. Bring the dish out about 30 minutes before cooking to let it come to room temperature first.
To Make Ahead and Freeze: Make the stuffing, let it cool and then wrap it and freeze it until you’re ready to bake! Put the frozen stuffing, covered with foil, into a 400 degree oven for 40 minutes and then uncover for 15. Perfect, make ahead stuffing!
You’ll need to buy 2 regular loaves of white bread (you’ll use about 1 1/2 loaves) or you can buy and extra large 24 ounce loaf. Toast the bread and then cut or tear into cubes.
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Stove Top / Oven
- Cuisine: American
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