This Sage Sausage Stuffing is a classic sausage stuffing recipe that’s a must have side dish on any Thanksgiving dinner table. Super easy, delicious and a total crowd pleaser!
If you’re not yet tired of Thanksgiving recipes, here I am again with a stuffing recipe. I’ll be the first to admit that growing up I hated stuffing, I was strictly a turkey leg and mashed potato kinda girl and skip all the other fluff.
If you’re like me, hear me out. If you use ingredients you like then stuffing isn’t all that bad, it actually tastes pretty good. So that’s what I did here. The main ingredients here are herb sausages, which I really love, a nice crusty bread all cubed and baked until crispy and dry and eggs, so if you look at it this way, it’s sort of like a bread pudding.
Stuffing Vs. Dressing
Technically the name of this recipe should be dressing because stuffing is actually used to stuff the bird with. This is really just sage sausage dressing.
I never stuff my turkey, and neither did my mom. I think I remember her stuffing a turkey once and nobody really liked it. There are a lot of real health hazards such as making sure the stuffing is completely cooked. Plus it makes your turkey cook slower.
Ingredients
- Sausage – Pork sausage chopped up with the casings removed, 2 entire links.
- Bread – French bread or sourdough bread cubed up to be incorporated into the dish to offer some chew and some tang.
- Onion – We want something that will cook down nicely like white or yellow.
- Butter –Â Unsalted as we want to control the sodium content of our dish.
- Celery –Â Diced up for some crunch and dimension.
- Craisins –Â For some sweetness and chew.
- Garlic –Â Use as much or little as you like.
- Broth – We’re using a bit of low sodium chicken broth today, it will give us lots of flavor and will also give the pieces of bread something to absorb to ensure the stuffing isn’t dry.
- Eggs –Â We’re using 3 entire eggs today to bind our stuffing and ensure it bakes properly outside of the bird.
- Herbs –Â Fresh sage and parsley – fresh is a must. If dried is all you have on hand just keep in mind that 1 teaspoon dried equals 1 tablespoon fresh.
- Seasoning – Salt and pepper to taste.
What Sausage Is Best?
I strongly recommend using a spicy Italian sausage with herbs if you can find because it really does give the dressing a nice flavor, but if you cannot find any or do not like spicy food, choose a garlic and herb sausage.
How To Make Sage Sausage Stuffing
- Preheat oven to 275 F degrees. Spread bread cubes evenly over a baking sheet. Bake about 45 minutes or until bread is completely dried. Increase oven temperature to 350 F degrees. Spray a baking dish with cooking spray.
- Cook the sausage: In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add sausage and break with a wooden spoon or potato masher, into fine pieces. Cook until sausage is no longer pink.
- Saute the sauteables: Add onion, celery, garlic, sage and craisins; cook for about 10 minutes, until vegetables have softened. Remove from heat.
- Combine the stuffing: In a bowl whisk eggs, parsley, garlic and broth. Season egg mixture with salt and pepper. Add the sausage mixture to the eggs and gently fold in the bread cubes until evenly mixed.
- Bake: Transfer stuffing to prepared baking dish and cover with aluminum foil. Bake for 45 minutes. Remove the foil and continue baking until golden brown and the top is crispy, for another 15 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool. Garnish with parsley and serve.
Some Tips
- Use a good bread like a sourdough or a French baguette. Toast the bread until it’s completely dry, this way it will absorb the stock better and hold its shape.
- If you have fresh chicken or turkey broth, used those instead. Homemade broths are loaded with more flavor and will make your stuffing taste even better.
- I love the leftover stuffing. I bet you want to know why so I will tell you. The next day throw some in a pan, crack a couple eggs over it and you’ve got yourself the best hash you could ever have for breakfast!
- If you like a bit of crunch, add some toasted pecans or walnuts.
How To Serve
If you’re scratching your head over what exactly to serve alongside your turkey this year, try out some of these.
- Loaded Scalloped Potatoes
- Instant Pot Turkey
- Warm Kale Salad with Roasted Butternut Squash
- Garlic Parmesan Roasted Brussel Sprouts
- Soft Buttermilk Dinner Rolls
- Creamy Garlic Parmesan Mushrooms
- Roasted Fingerling Potatoes
- Brandy Glazed Carrots
Leftover Ingredients?
If you end up with leftovers from this stuffing recipes, there are so many things you can do with it. You can turn it into a breakfast casserole or stuff an acorn squash with it and then bake it. A favorite of mine is to make bacon wrapped stuffing bites, crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. They’re to die for.
Other ideas include leftover stuffing muffins, perfect for grab-and-go for breakfast or lunch. Break out your ramekins and make baked stuffing and egg individual breakfast. Just add some stuffing to the ramekin and then crack an egg on it, bake it and voila!
Storing Leftovers
You can either make this recipe ahead or store it for days after, either work just fine! Store leftover sage sausage stuffing in an air tight container in the fridge for 3 to 4 days.
FREEZER
Freeze leftovers in a freezer bag or air tight container for up to a month. Allow to thaw overnight in the fridge before bringing back up to temperature.
Craving More Thanksgiving Recipes? Try These
- Port Infused Nut Stuffing
- How To Roast a Turkey
- Sweet Potato Casserole
- Crockpot Honey Mustard Glazed Ham
- Brined Roast Turkey Breast
- Pumpkin Pie
- Instant Pot Corned Beef
- Roasted Green Beans
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Sage Sausage Stuffing
Ingredients
- 1 loaf bread cut into cubes, I used a French baguette
- 4 tbsp butter unsalted
- 1 lb pork sausage casings removed
- 1 onion chopped (white or red)
- 2 stalks celery chopped
- 1/4 cup sage fresh, chopped
- 1/2 cup craisins
- 3 eggs
- 1/4 cup parsley fresh, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 3/4 cup chicken broth low sodium
- 1/2 tsp salt or to taste
- 1/2 tsp black pepper or to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 275 F degrees. Spread bread cubes evenly over a baking sheet. Bake about 45 minutes or until bread is completely dried.
- Increase oven temperature to 350 F degrees. Spray a baking dish with cooking spray.
- In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add sausage and break with a wooden spoon or potato masher, into fine pieces. Cook until sausage is no longer pink.
- Add onion, celery, garlic, sage and craisins; cook for about 10 minutes, until vegetables have softened. Remove from heat.
- In a bowl whisk eggs, parsley, garlic and broth. Season egg mixture with salt and pepper. Add the sausage mixture to the eggs and gently fold in the bread cubes until evenly mixed.
- Transfer stuffing to prepared baking dish and cover with aluminum foil. Bake for 45 minutes. Remove the foil and continue baking until golden brown and the top is crispy, for another 15 minutes.
- Remove from oven and let cool. Garnish with parsley and serve.
Video
Recipe Notes
- I strongly recommend using a spicy Italian sausage with herbs if you can find because it really does give the dressing a nice flavor, but if you cannot find any or do not like spicy food, choose a garlic and herb sausage.
- Note that I did not use a lot of salt and pepper because I find that the sausage is salty enough for my taste and it’s really flavorful, but feel free to add as much as you want.Â
- Use a good quality loaf of bread like a French baguette. The bread is even better if it’s a day old. When you toast the bread it should be nice and crispy so that when it’s mixed in with the egg mixture it doesn’t become soggy.
- Leftovers can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 4 days and frozen for up to 1 month.
- Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on products used.
Nutrition Information:
Originally published Nov 2014.
