Sausage Stuffing – a delicious spin on your classic stuffing with sausage, cherries, walnuts and apples! Perfect for any Holiday or Thanksgiving dinner! This easy sausage stuffing recipe is guaranteed to become the new family favorite!
The BEST Sausage Stuffing Recipe
There is nothing we love more around here than a big holiday dinner and this ultimate Thanksgiving side dish is the perfect addition to any holiday meal! This spin on the classic stuffing includes apples, dried cherries, walnuts, and sausage – it is so good. The whole family is going to love this recipe and it is super easy to make!
Other Stuffing Recipe: try this Best Ever Sourdough Stuffing!
What You Will Need
- apple – we used honeycrisp but feel free to just grab your favorite apple.
- lemon juice – a little to help your apples from turning brown after being cut-up.
- ground seasoned pork sausage – feel free to grab your favorite kind of sausage or you can use ground pork and add the seasoning mixture noted in the recipe card.
- onion & celery – a classic combo in every stuffing recipe!
- olive oil – a little in the pot to help sauté the onion and celery.
- chicken stock – option to grab your favorite chicken broth from the local grocery stores or for even more flavor you can make a homemade version or substitute with turkey stock!
- orange juice – perfect for bringing a light, citrus flavor to the stuffing. You could also use apple juice.
- butter or ghee – either one will work!
- stale bread, cubed and dried – any kind of bread will work! We love french bread, sourdough bread, or just a plain white bread.
- chopped walnuts – perfect for a little added crunch!
- dried cherries – these are really great for adding a touch of sweetness.
- fresh sage – always needed for all of that classic thanksgiving flavor!
What’s The Best Way To Dry Out The Bread
All you have to do is grab your favorite fresh bread, cut it into 1-inch cubes, place the cubes on a baking sheet to dry out over night, and just leave them on the counter, uncovered. It is best if they can sit for about 24 hours. If you don’t have the time you can always buy them pre-dried and cubed at the store.
What Sausage Should I Use For Sausage Stuffing
Any sausage mixture will work with this recipe – just grab your favorite! If you don’t have a favorite or you can’t find one that sounds good you can aways make your own. Start with some plain ground pork and add the spices listed out in the notes section of the recipe card. Super quick and easy!
How Can I Make Sausage Stuffing Gluten-Free
This is really easy! All you have to do is grab gluten-free bread instead of regular bread (we love this one) and you are ready to go. You can cube it and let it sit out overnight before you make the dish so that it becomes dry and stale.
How To Make Sausage Stuffing
Use a sharp knife to cut up your apple and mix with lemon juice in a mixing bowl.
Mix your plain ground pork with spices in a large bowl. If you are using a seasoned regular Italian sausage you would skip this step.
Using a wooden spoon, sauté the onion and celery on medium heat. Then add the sweet Italian sausage and cook until brown.
Add the broth, orange juice, and butter to the cooked sausage. Then add the rest of your ingredients.
Mix to fully combine.
Place in a prepared casserole dish.
Can You Prepare Sausage Stuffing A Day Ahead Of Time
You can, but the bread will become increasingly more soggy the longer it sits before baking. If you prefer a more mushy stuffing, then this might work for you. We would recommend getting all the ingredients ready to go the night before baking to make the process quicker. You can cut-up the bread to sit out overnight, prep the sausage (if you need to), and measure out your other ingredients so that all you have to do is toss them in the pot.
Bake for about 35 minutes or until it has a nice, crispy top.
Enjoy!
How Long Can I Keep Leftover Stuffing
Any leftover stuffing can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days or you can freeze it in a freezer-safe container for about 1 month.
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Other Recipes You Might Like
Stuffed Onions + Sage and Gruyére
Gluten Free Thanksgiving Stuffing
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Juicy Roast Turkey Breast
Sausage Stuffing Recipe
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 16 servings 1x
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Stove Top + Oven
- Cuisine: American
Description
Sausage Stuffing – a delicious spin on your classic stuffing with sausage, cherries, walnuts and apples! Perfect for any Holiday dinner!
Ingredients
- 1 large apple, diced (I used honeycrisp)
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 lb ground seasoned pork sausage*
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 2 celery stalks, sliced
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 cups chicken broth
- ½ cup orange juice
- ¼ cup butter (or ghee)
- 14oz bread, cubed and dried (gluten-free works)
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
- ½ cup dried cherries
- ¼ cup fresh sage, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven temperature to 350 degrees F.
- Toss apples in lemon juice and set aside.
- Bring large Dutch Oven (big enough eventually fit all of the bread cubes) to medium-high heat. Add olive oil and swirl to coat the pan. Add onions and celery, saute for 2-3 minutes.
- Add sausage and move around the pan, allowing the sausage to cook.
- Add broth, orange juice and melted butter.
- Stir in bread cubes, walnuts, cherries, apples and sage.
- Transfer to greased 9×13 pan.
- Bake on middle rack for 25-35 minutes.
Notes
- Gluten-Free: feel free to use gluten-free bread.
- Dairy-Free: you can use plant-based butter instead of butter (you can also use ghee).
- Pork Sausage: you can also use plain ground pork and then add in the following seasonings: 1 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper, 1 teaspoon fennel seeds, 1-2 teaspoon dried sage, 1 teaspoon onion powder and 1 teaspoon garlic powder.
- Dried Bread Cubes: you can buy these pre-made OR you can cut up your bread into cubes the night before making and set out on cookie sheets, uncovered on the counter. Let sit 24 hours or so and they will be good to go!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/2 cup
- Calories: 216
- Sugar: 5.4 g
- Sodium: 250.1 mg
- Fat: 7.5 g
- Carbohydrates: 40.7 g
- Protein: 4.5 g
- Cholesterol: 8.2 mg
Melissa says
Can you make this ahead of time like the day before of earlier in the day and the bake later?
Erin says
I am sure you could – just reheat covered in foil at about 350 for 30-40 minutes or until it is heated through again.