This sausage stuffing recipe is a savory blend of Italian sausage, bread, vegetables and herbs, all baked to golden brown perfection. The perfect hearty side dish for your holiday meal.
Stuffing is a must have on my holiday table, I typically make cornbread dressing, crock pot stuffing, classic turkey stuffing or this sausage stuffing which always gets rave reviews. You can even make this recipe in advance and then bake it when you’re ready to eat!
Roast turkey is great and all, but I really come to Thanksgiving for all of the fabulous side dish recipes as well as drinks like Thanksgiving punch. This sausage stuffing is one of my favorite Thanksgiving side dishes – I have to admit, I always go back for seconds!
Table of Contents
Sausage Stuffing Ingredients
To make this recipe, you will need sausage, butter, yellow onion, celery, garlic, bread cubes, chicken broth, eggs, sage, parsley, salt and black pepper.
How Do You Make Sausage Stuffing?
Preheat the oven and coat a baking dish with cooking spray. Brown the sausage in a large skillet with butter, breaking it up with a spatula into small pieces. Add more butter to the pan, along with onions and celery. Cook until the vegetables are soft. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Place the bread cubes in a very large bowl. Add the sausage and veggie mixture, chicken broth, eggs, sage parsley and salt and pepper to taste. Stir everything together, then pour it into the prepared pan. Bake until golden brown. Add some extra fresh parsley on top, then serve.
Tips For The Perfect Dish
- You can use pre-prepared unseasoned stuffing cubes, or make your own stuffing cubes by cutting your favorite variety of bread into pieces and leaving it out overnight to get stale.
- Sausage stuffing can be assembled up to 8 hours in advance, then covered and stored in the fridge until you’re ready to bake it.
- If the top of the stuffing starts to brown too quickly in the oven, you can cover the dish with foil until it is completely cooked through.
- Serve your stuffing alongside main course options such as Instant Pot turkey breast, rack of lamb, Easter ham, slow cooker turkey breast and Instant Pot ham.
Quick Tip
Leftovers will stay fresh in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. You can also freeze leftovers for 2 months.
Recipe FAQs
I like to use mild Italian sausage for this stuffing. You can use turkey or pork based sausage, I typically use turkey because it cooks up with less grease. If you like a little heat, feel free to use a spicy sausage. You can also use breakfast sausage if you prefer. Regardless of the type of sausage you use, you’ll want to remove it from the casings or buy bulk sausage.
Sausage stuffing is made with sausage, bread, vegetables, butter, eggs, herbs and broth. It can also contain other ingredients such as fruit or nuts.
Stuffing is best when eggs are included. The eggs help to bind the stuffing together, and they also add flavor and moisture to the dish.
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Flavor Variations
This recipe is delicious as written, but you can easily customize the ingredients to suit your tastes.
- Protein: Swap out the Italian sausage for bacon or smoked chicken apple sausage.
- Bread: Try using half cornbread, half white bread. You can also use a loaf of sourdough bread or an herb focaccia with good results.
- Fruit: Stir in some sauteed apples or pears, or add up to 1/4 cup of dried cranberries or apricots.
- Vegetables: Feel free to add more veggies to your stuffing. Some great choices include water chestnuts, mushrooms, kale or carrots.
- Flavorings: Try using different herbs such as thyme or rosemary. You can also stir in some chopped pecans.
Everyone always goes crazy for sausage stuffing, it’s one of the first dishes to disappear at Thanksgiving! That combination of crispy buttery bread, savory sausage and tender veggies just can’t be beat.
More Great Holiday Recipes
Herb Roasted Turkey
4 hrs 20 mins
Mashed Sweet Potatoes
1 hr 20 mins
Crock Pot Ham with Brown Sugar Glaze
3 hrs 5 mins
Butterflake Rolls
2 hrs 20 mins
Corn Pudding
50 mins
Love This Recipe?
Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 rating in the recipe card below & a review in the comments section further down the page.
Sausage Stuffing
Ingredients
- 1 pound mild Italian sausage casings removed
- 1/2 cup butter divided use
- 1 cup onion finely diced
- 1 cup celery sliced
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 8 cups stale bread cubes can use store bought unseasoned stuffing cubes, or bread you cut yourself
- 2 3/4 cups chicken broth
- 2 eggs
- 1 tablespoon fresh sage leaves minced
- 1/4 cup parsley leaves minced, plus more for garnish
- salt and pepper to taste
- cooking spray
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a 9″ x 13″ pan with cooking spray.
- Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in a large pan over medium heat. Add the sausage and cook for 5-6 minutes or until done, breaking up the meat with a spatula.
- Add the remaining 7 tablespoons of butter, onion and celery to the pan. Cook for an additional 4-5 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
- Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds.
- Place the bread cubes in a large bowl. Add the sausage mixture, chicken broth, eggs, sage, parsley and salt and pepper to the bowl.
- Gently stir until everything is well combined. Pour the stuffing into the prepared pan.
- Bake for 60 minutes. If the top starts to get overly browned before the cooking time is over, then cover the pan with foil.
- Remove from the oven. Sprinkle with additional parsley, then serve.
Notes
- You can use pre-prepared unseasoned stuffing cubes, or make your own stuffing cubes by cutting your favorite variety of bread into pieces and leaving it out overnight to get stale.
- Sausage stuffing can be assembled up to 8 hours in advance, then covered and stored in the fridge until you’re ready to bake it.
- If the top of the stuffing starts to brown too quickly in the oven, you can cover the dish with foil until it is completely cooked through.
This is my new favourite stuffing! Even people that don’t usually like stuffing had seconds! I used store bought croutons instead of stale bread and it worked great.
Can you make the stuffing without eggs ?
I haven’t tried it this way, I think the flavor would still be good but the texture will be more crumbly without eggs as a binder.
does making it ahead of time before cooking it make it soggy?
It will have a softer texture but the outside will still get crispy in the oven!
It’s so good I make it as a main course and serve it with a Caesar salad!
We don’t eat stuffing in Italy, but I wish we did! I love the look of this recipe and it seems so easy to make too. Definitely drooling here!
This recipe sounds like everything I love! I find it super original and I need to try it asap!
I love stuffing and this one looks really good. We’re having a house party for friends in November and cooking an early Christmas dinner so I’ll give this recipe a try.
This dish is absolutely delicious, I will try to make this at home and I am sure my husband will def like it.
i would love to try this at home! we eat sausage fairly often but never homemade, always stroe bought
Stuffing is my all time fave! I will definitely give your recipe a try!
Yum this looks really good. I never considered making stuffing with sausage but this recipe looks yummy!
This sausage stuffing recipe looks really delicious and looks so easy to make. I will definitely make this for my family and I am sure they will like it.
Looks delicious! I used to love sausages when I was little, haven’t eaten for ages. You just made want to plan them next week,
So yummy! I can’t wait to give this recipe a try! I’ll have to try them!
This looks so yummy! We love making a version of this for Thanksgiving dinner. It’s a family tradition!
Sounds absolutely scrumptious! I love stuffing – and I like your ideas for this recipe.
Thank you for sharing – I will be making this for sure!
Alex xx || itsnotcomplicatedrecipes.com
Going on my Thanksgiving list! I love sausage in the stuffing! Yummy!
Stuffing is definitely my favorite holiday food. I usually make cornbread stuffing but this looks awesome! I might have to try it out for my upcoming Friendsgiving party!
These stuffing ideas! ok i officially love you! Thank you so so much, these are great! Can’t wait to try them…
I’ll have to give this a try this Thanksgiving. I’m always up for a new recipe, especially stuffing. I LOVE stuffing.