Sausage Stuffing Recipe
Our delicious homemade sausage stuffing recipe is an upgrade to the holiday side with the addition of savory sausage and fresh herbs. A flavorful, comforting side dish perfect for Thanksgiving or any holiday dinner!
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The sides are the star of any holiday table.
I, personally, am partial to mashed potatoes like these red skinned mashed potatoes, but I’ve never met a carb I don’t like.
And stuffing might be the carb-iest of all carbs.
Our sausage stuffing recipe adds a certain something to classic stuffing, namely sausage.
The added flavor of sausage kicks stuffing up a notch or too.
It is perfect for people who appreciate extra flavor from the sausage.
Ingredients
Here’s what you need to make our sausage stuffing recipe:
- Sausage – We use sage sausage, but you can use just about any variety you like. You may want to steer clear of spicy varieties, but even those could be good if you like a little heat.
- Fresh Bread – We use bakery bread. You can choose your favorite, but we tend to get either sourdough or bread with a thicker crust.
- Butter – We use unsalted butter for the sausage stuffing. You could also use olive oil.
- Veggies – We use diced onions, carrots, and celery.
- Herbs and Seasonings – We use parsley and sage to help lighten the flavor, and we also add some crushed garlic for added flavor.
- Broth – You can use either chicken or turkey broth for a chicken or turkey stuffing. If you want to serve this with a roast beef, then you probably want beef broth. And if you are serving this with turkey, you could use some of the pan drippings.
- Dried Seasonings – We add marjoram, poultry seasoning, salt, and pepper.
You don’t need any expensive equipment for sausage stuffing, but you should have the following ready:
How to Make Our Sausage Stuffing Recipe
1. Prepare the veggies.
If you are making the stuffing on its own, preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
If you plan to stuff the stuffing into a chicken breast, turkey, or other meat, then you can skip this.
Dice the carrots, celery, and onions into small pieces and crush or mince your garlic.
Add 2 tablespoons of butter and sage to a large skillet and heat over medium heat.
Add in the chopped veggies and cook for about 3 to 5 minutes or until they just start to soften.
2. Cook the sausage with the veggies.
Once the veggies start to soften, add in the sausage, breaking into smaller pieces.
If you use links, you will likely want to remove the skins and break them apart.
We typically use the sausage meat containers with no casings.
Cook until you have fully browned the sausage and then remove from heat.
Carefully pick out the sage leaves before moving on.
3. Prep the bread and bring it all together.
As the sausage cooks, you can cube your bread into roughly 1 inch cubes.
Add them to a large bowl and then carefully pour the sausage and veggie mixture on top.
Add in the parsley and broth and mix to combine.
You want the bread to be moist, not soaking wet and not dry.
If you need to, add a small amount of extra broth to the stuffing to moisten it.
Add only a tablespoon or two at a time until all your bread is moist but not soaked.
Spray your baking dish with non-stick spray and scoop your sausage stuffing into the dish.
Cut the remaining butter into small cubes and place the pieces on top of the stuffing.
Bake the stuffing for 20 minutes covered with aluminum foil.
After 20 minutes, carefully remove the foil and bake for another 10 minutes.
Serve fresh from the oven.
Serving
You can serve our sausage stuffing recipe with the ussual suspects, roasted turkey and chicken.
You can also serve it with roast beef or as a substitute in our stuffed chicken breasts.
It helps make a Thanksgiving pile of garlic mashed potatoes, turkey, and homemade gravy complete.
Storing
You can make the sausage stuffing a few days ahead of your big meal if you like.
To store, allow it to cool completely and then cover tightly with cling wrap, aluminum foil, or a lid.
You can store it in the fridge for about 3 to 5 days and reheat when you are ready to serve your Thanksgiving, holiday, or other big dinner.
You could freeze the stuffing too.
Follow the same instructions and keep frozen for up to 6 months.
To reheat, allow it to thaw and then heat in an oven set to 325 for about 20 minutes or until warmed through.
Tips and Tricks
- The sausage adds a lot of fat. You can drain some of the excess after frying the sausage or cut down on the butter used. If you are worried about moisture, use extra broth to compensate.
- If you use sausage stuffing to stuff a turkey or chicken, make sure the stuffing reaches an internal temperature of 165 for food safety.
- You could use a different bread if you prefer like sourdough. It would be a sausage version of this Sourdough Stuffing.
- For added crunch, you can add some croutons into the stuffing mix.
- The sausage you choose will slightly change the flavor. We tend to choose a sage variety for our sausage stuffing, but you could use Italian or any other flavor you like.
- To save some time, you could use premade mirepoix. We use 2 10 ounce containers from the produce department of our grocery store.
Other Holiday Recipes
Looking to host the holidays this year? I got you covered!
Check out these recipes for your holiday table:
- Homemade Gravy
- Garlic Butter Basted Turkey
- Best Ever Apple Cider Turkey Breast for the Holidays
- Brown Sugar Butternut Squash (with Cinnamon)
- Garlic Roasted Turkey Breast
- Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes
- Mascarpone Mashed Potatoes with Rosemary Butter
- Parmesan Garlic Twice Baked Potato Casserole
- Roasted Garlic Parmesan Brussel Sprouts
- Instant Pot Cranberry Sauce
- Garlic Herb Ciabatta Stuffing (Vegetarian Stuffing Recipe)
- Apple Sage Stuffing (Stuffing with Apples)
- The Best Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes
- The Best Easy Fried Apples
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Ingredients
- 8 tablespoons butter (divided 2 and 6)
- 2-3 fresh sage leaves
- 2 small yellow or white onions
- 2 stalks celery
- 2 carrots (peeled)
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning blend
- 1 teaspoon marjoram
- 1 pound sausage meat (can be a little more or less)
- 1/4-1/2 cup turkey broth (can use chicken or beef, depending on needs)
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley
- 20 ounce loaf of bread (Really any baguette or similarly sized bread will do.)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 unless you plan to stuff a chicken or turkey. In those cases, follow those recipes instructions for oven temperature.
- Prepare the veggies by washing the carrots and celery, peeling the carrots, and dicing the veggies into smaller pieces.
- In a large skillet, melt 2 tablespoons of butter over medium heat.
- Add in the sage leaves and minced garlic and saute for about a minute or until the leaves start to wilt and the garlic becomes fragrant.
- Add in the minced carrots, celery, and onions along with the dry seasonings.
- Saute for about 5 to 7 minutes or until veggies start to soften.
- Add in the sausage meat and break up with your spatula.
- Cook the sausage until it fully browns and then remove from heat.
- Carefully remove the sage from the veggies.
- As the sausage cooks, cube up the bread and add to a large bowl.
- Pour in the cooked sausage and veggies along with the broth and parsley.
- Mix thoroughly to combine.
- You want the bread to moist, not damp. If it is not moist, add in a small amount of broth and mix to combine. Continue adding small amounts of broth until the bread is moistened but not soaked.
- Spray a deep baking dish with non-stick spray and scoop the stuffing into it, spreading it out evenly.
- Slice the remaining 6 tablespoons of butter into about six squares and place them on top of the stuffing mixture.
- Place an aluminum foil sheet over the top and bake for 20 minutes.
- After 20 minutes, carefully remove the foil and continue to cook for another 10 minutes uncovered or until the top of the stuffing starts to turn golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and serve fresh with your favorite main dish and sides.
Nutrition
