Sausage Stuffing

4.45 from 20 votes
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Sausage Stuffing – the BEST Thanksgiving dressing recipe with savory sausage and herb bread cubes. So easy to make and it is the perfect side dish for your holiday table.

Pretty much my entire life I think the best part of Thanksgiving is the sausage stuffing. I would eat that as my main course if it was acceptable. But it kind of has to be this stuffing. This is the tried and true stuffing recipe that we have been making in my house pretty much the entire 40 years I have been alive.

thanskgiving stuffing in casserole dish

 

And the best part about making this stuffing is how easy it is to make. You can do it in steps ahead of time, you can bake it in the oven, you can put it in the crock pot; whatever makes the holiday easier you can do with this recipe and it still comes out perfectly every time!

spoon of stuffing in dish

Tips For Sausage Stuffing

  • Help from the store. You can absolutely use the store bought seasoned bread cubes they sell around the holidays. Use a whole bag in this recipe and it will make your life easy! If you want to use your own cubed bread go for it, you will just need about 8-10 cups.
  • Prep: Chop the celery and onions the day before and store them in an air tight container in the fridge. Cook the sausage ahead of time and store in the fridge as well.
  • Make Ahead. You can assemble the whole dish the night before and bake the day of. If you want to save time on the actual day, make the recipe as noted, and just place covered in the fridge overnight. Let it warm up at room temperature while the oven preheats. You make need to add a few minutes to the bake time depending on how cold it is when you put in the oven.
  • Short on Oven Space. The crock pot works great as well. If you have one of those plastic disposable liners this is the time to break it out. It is not necessary, but will make clean up faster. Just pour the stuffing in and cook on low for 4-5 hours until it is hot. You may need to stir during the cooking time.
ingredients for stuffing

You will often hear stuffing and dressing used interchangeably around the holidays. So what is the difference? Really it just comes down to how it is cooked. Traditionally stuffing was stuffed inside the turkey cavity to cook, hence the name stuffing. But the food itself is the same. Less and less people stuff their birds these days, because of the food safety behind it. But the name has stuck.

So whatever you do and whatever you call it, ditch the box stuff. Sausage stuffing is super easy to make and not intimidating at all! And it will surely become the star of the show during the holidays.

celery, onions and sausage in a bowl

How To Make Sausage Stuffing

  1. In a medium sized sauce pan bring the chicken broth, chopped onion, chopped celery, butter, pepper and poultry seasoning to a boil. Simmer for 20 minutes until the veggies are soft.
  2. Meanwhile in a skillet brown the sausage, breaking it apart into small chunks. Drain away any of the fat and let it sit until you are ready assemble.
  3. In a very large bowl add your cubed bread and the sausage and mix until it is combined.
  4. Pour in the chicken broth mixture in batches. Start with about half and mix to combine. Depending on the amount of bread you may have a little bit left over. If the mixture is dry add a little milk for more liquid. You want the bread cubes to be wet but not soggy.
  5. Pour the stuffing into a butter casserole dish, cover and bake for about an hour until it is hot and the top is browned.
  6. Remove from the oven and serve.
cooked sausage stuffing in casserole dish

Stuffing Variations

This is a great base recipe and I love it the way it is. But there are also many different ways you could mix it up.

  • Add chopped walnuts or pecans. My mom adds walnuts sometimes and it is delicious.
  • Dried fruit like cranberries add a great sweetness and texture.
  • Apples that you dice and saute until they are soft would be great added in.
  • Different bread flavors – use sourdough or cornbread for a fun twist
wooden spoon in casserole dish if thanksgiving dressing

This is the sausage stuffing recipe I have been making almost my entire life, so I am a little bias. But it will be a huge hit for the holidays. It is probably the first thing to disappear every year from our table.

More Thanksgiving Recipes

Sausage Stuffing - the BEST Thanksgiving dressing recipe with savory sausage and herb bread cubes. So easy to make and it is the perfect side dish for your holiday table.
4.45 from 20 votes

Thanksgiving Stuffing

By Erin
Sausage Stuffing – the BEST Thanksgiving dressing recipe with savory sausage and herb bread cubes. So easy to make and it is the perfect side dish for your holiday table.
Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 1 hour 20 minutes
Total: 1 hour 35 minutes
Servings: 10

Ingredients 

Instructions 

  • Preheat oven to 350º F.
  • In a saucepan combine onions, celery, butter, chicken stock, pepper and poultry seasoning. Bring to a boil, and cook for about 20 minutes, until the celery and onions are soft.
  • In a large skillet brown sausage. Drain and set aside.
  • Place stuffing mix in a very large bowl. Add cooked sausage.
  • Add the chicken stock mixture in batches. Depending on the amount of bread crumbs, you may or may not need it all. Stir until the bread is moist, but not soggy. If you do not have enough liquid you can use a little milk.
  • Pour into a buttered 3 quart casserole pan. Cover and bake for 1 hour.
  • Remove from oven, and serve immediately

Notes

You can place the stuffing in a crock pot on low for 4-5 hours instead of using the oven if needed.

Nutrition

Calories: 413kcal | Carbohydrates: 31g | Protein: 16g | Fat: 25g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9g | Trans Fat: 0.5g | Cholesterol: 60mg | Sodium: 765mg | Potassium: 317mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 337IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 87mg | Iron: 3mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Author: Erin
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 35 minutes
Course: Side Dish Recipes
Cuisine: American
Servings: 10
Calories: 413
Like this recipe? Leave a comment below!

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About Erin S

Welcome to Dinners, Dishes, & Desserts where my love of food meets my busy life. My name is Erin and I’m a casual home cook who loves to feed people. On this blog, you’ll find hundreds of quick and easy recipes made mostly from scratch. My days are spent in the kitchen, creating new recipes to share with family and friends.

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4.45 from 20 votes (19 ratings without comment)

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20 Comments

  1. This was such an easy recipe and paired perfect with dinner last night! Definitely adding this to my Thanksgiving menu this year!

  2. 3 stars
    I don’t know what happened . I followed the recipe but it burned on the bottom . The recipe is inconsistent where it says to bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or 1 hour 30
    Minutes . I cooked it in a glass casserole dish and it still
    Burned on the bottom . To save it for a dinner party, I had to salvage it by taking out the non burnt parts and place it into another casserole dish .

    1. I just reread the entire post and recipe, I am not sure where it says to bake for 1 hour 30. It says to boil the chicken broth, butter and onions together for about 20 minutes, and then mix everything together and bake for 1 hour. I have been making this for 30 years and never had the bottom burn, did you place it at the bottom of your oven? I always bake in a glass casserole dish. How long will slightly depend if you have it in a thin layer, like a 13×9 inch pan or a casserole dish with higher sides so it is thicker. If you can let me know where it says to bake for 1 hour 30, I can fix it, but I searched and could not find that in the post.

    1. When I make it the day before I usually don’t bake it, just assemble, cover and place in the fridge. Then the day of, take it out of the fridge to warm up some before putting it in the oven to bake. You may need to increase the bake time 10 minutes or so, depending on how cold it is when you start.

  3. Can you do this recipe on the stove as well? I didn’t realize that it took an hour I just now saw that the turkey is in the oven. Would the recipe change?

    1. No, the breadcrumbs need to bake it doesn’t work on the stovetop. You could do a crockpot on high for probably an hour or so. But bread needs to dry out with baking.