Sausage Stuffing:
Traditional Thanksgiving stuffing is transformed into this delicious Sausage Stuffing full of pork sausage, onions, mushrooms and celery giving a spin on something great!
Serve this alongside the best ever turkey recipe, corn casserole, creamy mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, crescent rolls, and green bean casserole for the perfect Thanksgiving menu, and don’t forget to top it off with Classic Pumpkin Pie!
Sausage Stuffing
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Hey everyone it’s Alli from Tornadough Alli coming at you again! Thanksgiving is literally right around the corner? Who is excited? I know this gal is! I’m slightly obsessed with food…but obviously if I write a food blog you’d kind of come to that conclusion right? So it’s really no secret.
Ok maybe I’ll clarify myself, I’m slightly obsessed with lots of food all coming at me at once. And what better time to get in on that action then Thanksgiving?
Thanksgiving Side Dish
Thanksgiving side dishes are plentiful, and you have a lot of choices from roasted veggies and salads, to cranberry jello salad and more. But no Thanksgiving table is complete without the stuffing.
One of my all time favorite recipes has always been stuffing. I could live off of potatoes and stuffing and I’d be good for quite some time.
I like green beans and yams, and braised carrots, and usually eat a biscuit or two. But, I think I enjoy all the starchy food the most!
Bring me all the carbs and I will be happy!
Now you might be thinking a sausage stuffing is unnecessary at Thanksgiving when you have a protein already, your turkey. But trust me, the sausage gives this stuffing so much flavor. And is an essential element to the dish. It adds texture too.
Best Sausage for Sausage Stuffing
A good pork sausage is critical to this sausage stuffing turning out well.
Pork sausage often comes flavored with herbs, spices, and even sweetener. You want to pick one that does not have a lot of extra ingredients. For example, don’t go with a maple pork sausage. But if you can’t find it plain Jane, go with one that is flavored with herbs like and Italian Pork Sausage.
This will give you the best end results, and the most cohesive flavor.
Sausage Stuffing Ingredients
Because this year I took a little spin on the traditional stuffing and made this delicious Sausage Stuffing which is flavored wit herbs and spices, as well as sausage, I thought we better take a look at the major players in the recipe. We already talked about the sausage, but what else?
Bread:
You could use an already dried out bread for this stuffing, but trust me, making your own croutons for the stuffing is not difficult, and means you can pick the best flavored bread available to you
I found a nice herbed loaf, which added even more flavor to my dish. But if you can’t find an herbed French bread, a traditional French bread will do.
Herbed bread is diced and toasted and it is mixed with cooked sausage, mushrooms, onions and celery.
Vegetables:
For the sausage stuffing recipe I use mushrooms, onions, and celery. But you can leave the mushrooms out if you are not a fan. I personally think they add a nice mellow flavor.
The Rest:
Combine it with some more herbs, eggs and chicken broth and bake it until its nice and golden on top!
Can I Used Boxed Stuffing Mix?
Yes! You can. If I am in a really big hurry I will buy the boxed version and toss out the flavor packet and just use the toasted bread.
However, usually this is not necessary, this Sausage stuffing is one of the easiest recipes you’ll ever see. If you are a fan of bread pudding like me (you’ll need to check out my Gingerbread Bread Pudding with Vanilla Sauce) stuffing is pretty much just the savory version of that.
Beside making your own saves you the time of buying the boxed mix and trust me it will taste 10x better! Homemade stuffing is the way to go.
Sausage Stuffing Tips
- Sausage stuffing can be assembled up to 8 hours in advance. Simple assemble to the point of baking, but instead of baking it, cover it and put it in a refrigerator until ready to bake.
- Cover if needed. Sometimes ovens work differently than mine… surprise, surprise. So if you find the top off our stuffing is browning too quickly, cover it with foil until the sausage stuffing is cooked through. This will keep the top from burning.
- Customize the flavors to your preference. When I am not making this for my Thanksgiving menu, I will often add carrots, or other vegetables to the mix.
Sausage Stuffing Variations
While this recipe has been fully tested, and is amazing, it doesn’t mean you can’t play with the flavors and change things up a little. Here are a few ideas for ways to do this:
- Sausage Apple Stuffing: Add diced apples to the celery, mushrooms, and onions for a sweet addition.
- Sourdough Sausage Stuffing: Use cubed sourdough bread instead of herbed French bread. This will give you a thicker bread texture and a change in flavor.
- Sausage and Cranberry Stuffing: Add dried cranberries to the mixture before baking for a little tart, sweet, flare.
- Italian Sausage Stuffing: Add zucchini and extra Italian herbs for a fun twist.
Serving Suggestions
Serve this Sausage Stuffing with your turkey, potatoes, green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole and desserts! It makes a great side dish, it’s homemade and everyone will be coming back for more!
Our favorites:
- Mom’s Rolls
- Candied Yams
- Juicy Roast Turkey or Air Fryer Turkey Breast
- Scalloped Sweet Potatoes with Maple Butter
- Sauteed Mushrooms
Sausage Stuffing
Ingredients
- 1 1lb loaf of Herbed French Bread (or regular)
- 1 lb pork sausage
- 1 stick butter
- 5 stalks celery diced
- 1 cup white button mushrooms diced
- 1 medium onion diced
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 2 eggs
- 6 fresh sage leaves chopped
- 1 tsp fresh thyme chopped
- 1 tsp rosemary chopped
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 400.
- Slice your bread into 1" pieces and place on a cookie sheet and place in oven for about 10-15 minutes to dry out, stirring halfway through. Remove from oven and place in bowl when done.
- In large saute pan fry your sausage. Once browned, drain oil, and remove sausage and set aside.
- In the same pan melt your butter then add your celery, mushrooms and onions and heat on medium heat until they have softened.
- Add your sausage, veggies and herbs to your bread and stir to combine.
- In large bowl add your chicken broth and eggs and stir to combine.
- Pour over your bread mixture stirring to coat all pieces, let sit for about 5 minutes to soak up the liquid.
- Meanwhile spray a 2qt baking dish with non-stick cooking spray and pour your stuffing mixture into dish.
- Cover with tinfoil and bake for about 30 minutes, then remove foil and continue baking until top is golden and center is set, about 10 minutes.
Nutrition
Our recipe card software calculates these nutrition facts based on averages for the above ingredients, different brands, and quality of produce/meats may have different nutritional information, always calculate your own based on the specific products you use in order to achieve accurate macros for this recipe.
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heather says
What kind of sausage?
Rachael says
A pork sausage that is not linked or patties, but rather one you brown and crumble.
Connie says
Can this be made a couple of days before Thanksgiving?
Rachael says
Yes, it should be fine.
Whitney says
Looks delish. How many people will it serve? Thank you
Rachael says
serves 8, thanks
Jean Ann says
Great ‘casserole’ with leftover stuffing too! Good idea!
Rachael says
Thank you so much!
Yolanda says
I’m not fond of rosemary and my quest is allergic to it. Can it be omitted or substituted with something else?
Rachael says
Definitely. You could try another herb or aromatic, or eliminate it completely.