This post first appeared on Yellow Bliss Road where I am a contributor.
Thanksgiving Sausage Stuffing is a holiday classic that’s a must have alongside your turkey! Italian sausage and fresh sage are the flavors of the season!
I’m a planner. I like to know what’s going on and be ready to tackle stuff. From work to our family to the holidays, I like to have a plan or some idea of what’s going on. With Thanksgiving just around the corner, I’m already thinking about our holiday dinner. We’ll definitely have Thanksgiving turkey & pumpkin pie which just leaves the side dishes up for debate. Stuffing is a must have for Thanksgiving and this year I’m going super traditional with this Thanksgiving Sausage Stuffing recipe. It’s easy to prepare and will make your house smell amazing!
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Now there’s one thing I need to address and it’s the whole stuffing/dressing thing. I call this a stuffing because that’s the general term for this type of side dish, but at my house, it’s all called dressing. It dresses your plate. Stuffing is stuffed inside the bird and not baked on its own. You call it what you want, but don’t get weirded out when you hear me say “dressing.” Moving on!
This sage sausage stuffing recipe is super easy to make and has all those classic Thanksgiving flavors. Onion and celery for aromatics, flavorful Italian sausage for meatiness and yummy pork fat, and sage & parsley for an aroma no one can resist. I like to use French bread for this recipe so there are bigger chunks of bread and it feels more rustic. Just let your bread sit out for a day or two on the counter to get a little stale and you’re ready to get started! This Italian sausage stuffing recipe is the perfect side for your turkey and is so good it’ll become a regular at your holiday table.
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Thanksgiving Sausage Stuffing
Ingredients
- 2 pounds mild Italian sausage
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter divided
- 4 stalks celery diced
- 1 yellow onion diced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 ½ loaves french bread cut into 1-inch pieces (about 12 cups)
- 28 ounces low-sodium chicken broth
- 2 eggs
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoons fresh sage finely chopped
- ¼ cup fresh parsley finely chopped
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
- Place a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the Italian sausage until browned and no longer pink, about 8 minutes. Transfer the sausage to a bowl and set aside. Leave the grease in the skillet.
- Add 2 tablespoons of butter to the same skillet. Once the butter has melted, add the celery and onions. Stir to coat the veggies in the fats and cook for 3 to 5 minutes until the onions are softened. Add garlic, stir and cook for 2 more minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Place the bread in a very large mixing bowl. Pour the celery mixture over the bread. Add the chicken broth, eggs, salt, pepper, sage, and parsley to the bowl. Mix gently until combined. Add the sausage and mix once more.
- Coat a 9-inch x 13-inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Transfer the stuffing to the baking dish and spread into an even layer. Dot the top of the stuffing with the remaining butter.
- Bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until the top is crisp and golden. Carefully remove from the oven. Serve immediately (it'll be HOT!) or let sit for 5 to 10 minutes for serving.
Notes
- Buy your french bread ahead of time and leave it on the counter for 1 to 2 days to get a bit hard. This will help give the stuffing more texture. Or you can cut the bread and toast it in a 300 degrees oven on a baking sheet for 8-10 minutes.
- I have not made this recipe with the store-bought stuffing mixes. You can try this substitution if you like, but the number of servings will vary.
Nutrition
All nutritional information is based on third party calculations and is only an estimate. Each recipe and nutritional value will vary depending on the brands you use, measuring methods and portion sizes per household.
Donna says
Hi Julie! How much chicken broth should be used? I omitted the eggs as my sister is allergic and added the broth til moist but not too moist. Smelled fabulous as it was cooking and tasted very good. Thanks for a great recipe!
Julie Espy says
Oh my goodness Donna! Thank you so much for catching that! It should be 28 ounces of low-sodium broth. I’ve updated the recipe card to reflect this. I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Stuffing is one of my favorite side dishes…and not just at Thanksgiving. 🙂
Lenora says
Why eggs what does it do
Julie Espy says
The eggs act as a binder and help prevent the stuffing from being crumbly.
Anne Madison says
Hi there we have been making a sausage stuffing for several years very similar but as we have folk with Coeliac disease we use gluten free cornbread instead of bread.
Always very popular have to make extra as it is even better as left overs
Anne