Sausage Stuffing

This Sausage Stuffing recipe is a classic savoury holiday side dish. Easy stuffing made with sausage and cranberries that’s perfect for Christmas and Thanksgiving!

 

Estimated reading time: 12 minutes

If you look forward to the holidays because it’s a time to enjoy tried and true, traditional recipes, we feel you! When it comes to making holiday dinners extra delicious, stuffing HAS to be on the menu and our Sausage Stuffing recipe is just the ticket to an amazing (and amazingly easy) side dish for the holidays.

Stuffing, also known as “dressing” in some areas of the world, is a seasoned side dish often served at holiday feasts like Thanksgiving and Christmas. It’s usually made from a base of bread cubes that are seasoned with various herbs, spices, and sometimes meat or sausage, as in this Sausage Stuffing recipe. The bread absorbs flavours from aromatic vegetables, like onions and celery, and from the herbs, spices, and any added liquids, like broth or melted butter. It can be cooked either inside a roasting turkey or chicken (hence the term “stuffing”) or baked separately in a dish (often then referred to as “dressing”).

Stuffing as we know it today is a recipe that’s been around for centuries. The concept of stuffing began as a practical cooking technique: early cooks realized that filling the cavity of meats with other ingredients would not only add flavour but also help the meat maintain its shape.

Over time, stuffing moved from being not just a practical culinary technique but to an essential part of holiday meals, turning it into a dish with emotional and cultural significance for many people. Christmas and Thanksgiving dinners in many parts of the world adopted this delicious side dish, making stuffing an integral part of two of the biggest holiday celebrations in many Western cultures.

Stuffing holds a special place at most holiday tables for several reasons:

1. Versatility: Stuffing can be adapted to suit a wide range of dietary preferences and traditions, making it perfect for a crowd.
2. Comfort Food: Its warm, hearty nature makes it the epitome of comfort food, perfect for gatherings centred around family and togetherness – especially those that take place around Thanksgiving and Christmas.
3. Tradition: For many, a holiday meal simply wouldn’t be complete without stuffing as it’s been a recipe made by families for decades.
4. Economical: Traditionally, stuffing has been a way to extend meals and use up stale bread, making it a cost-effective addition to a holiday meal.

When it comes to making stuffing from scratch it’s important to start at the beginning, which means with the bread, of course! There are so many different kinds of bread available these days, and some perform better than others in homemade stuffing. Here’s a breakdown of different breads and how they’ll perform in this recipe:

1. Brioche or other egg breads: Although soft egg-based breads are popular for baked bread dishes like french toast casserole or bread pudding, they’re not exactly the best choice for stuffing because they’re soft and deflate when they absorb a lot of liquid. If you choose to use a brioche-style bread for this recipe, be sure to use day-old or even two day-old bread that’s dry and stale. Better yet, toast it in the oven first!
2. French bread: French bread is our top choice for this recipe because it’s got a crispy exterior and a soft interior. It holds its shape well and ensures the stuffing is nice and soft on the inside.
3. Sourdough bread: Sourdough is another great option similar to french bread, although it’s a little heartier and creates an even crispier top on the stuffing. If you love the flavour of sourdough, it’s a great one to try.
4. Whole grain bread: Whole grain bread is another option, as long as it has a sturdy exterior that will hold its shape. If you like a softer stuffing, whole grain bread isn’t the best option since it tends to be drier and chewier than french bread.
5. Sandwich bread: Plain old sandwich bread isn’t the best choice as it tends to be softer and won’t hold its shape well. If you choose to use sandwich bread, be sure to dry out the bread pieces for several hours (or overnight) before using. Toasting them in the oven is also a faster way to dry them out for use in this recipe.

• Because homemade stuffing involves bread soaking up liquid, we recommend using day-old or even two-day-old bread that’s been left out to turn stale and dry.
• If you’re short on time, simply use fresh bread, cutting it into cubes and toasting it in the oven at a low temperature (about 300 degrees Fahrenheit or so) for about 20 minutes until it’s dry and stale.
• When it comes to the size of the bread cubes, we recommend cutting or tearing the bread into about 1 to 1 1/2 inch cubes.

• We love using a sweet Italian sausage in this recipe because it creates a beautiful contrast of flavours with the savoury fresh herbs. Sweet Italian sausage usually contains fennel seed, which has a very distinct and savoury flavour that takes this stuffing to the next level.
• Other great varieties of sausage to use in sausage stuffing are standard pork sausage (sometimes called fresh or country sausage), breakfast sausage, or spicy Italian sausage (if you like a bit of heat).

• Be sure to remove the sausage from their casings and cook in the skillet until browned.
• It may be tempting to skip sautéing the aromatic vegetables since they’ll cook in the oven anyway, but this is a CRITICAL step for flavour! Cooking the veggies first adds so much flavour to homemade stuffing it’s definitely not a step to skip!
• Adding fresh or frozen cranberries to this sausage stuffing adds a sweetness that takes this dish to the next level. If you prefer, chop up a large apple and add that instead of the cranberries, or add both if you wish.
• Be sure to follow the recipe when it comes to the amount of liquid added to the bread – this will ensure the stuffing bakes perfectly with the right moisture level.
• We love adding fresh herbs to our homemade stuffing because it adds SO much flavour. Of course, dried herbs work too, but fresh parsley, thyme, sage and rosemary take this homemade stuffing over the top!

Achieving the perfect texture when making homemade stuffing is dependent on the balance between a crispy, dry texture and a soft, moist texture. Our biggest tip for making stuffing with the PERFECT texture is to bake it for the first 30 minutes covered in aluminum foil and then remove the foil for the remainder of the baking time. This creates the best moist, soft interior with the perfect amount of caramelized, crispy bits on top!

We love sharing our favourite holiday meal ideas with you, our dear readers. If you’re looking for more where this came from, check out our FREE No Fail Holiday Meals Email Course where we share ALL our best tips, tricks, and recipes for simplifying your holiday meals! Did we mention it’s FREE?! Sign up below:

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Here are the kitchen items you should have on hand to make this homemade sausage stuffing recipe (paid links):

• measuring cups and spoons
• a cutting board
• a sharp bread knife
• a chef’s knife
• a large skillet
• a large liquid measuring cup
• a silicone spatula
• a whisk
• aluminum foil
• plastic wrap (for make-ahead option)
• a large rectangular baking pan (9-inch by 13-inch or equivalent)

Here’s a list of ingredients you’ll need to make this homemade sausage stuffing recipe (paid links):

• sweet Italian sausage (or use your favourite sausage)
• french bread
• butter
• onion
• celery
• garlic
• salt and pepper
• fresh parsley
• fresh sage
• fresh rosemary
• fresh thyme
• fresh or frozen cranberries (or use chopped apples instead, if desired)
• chicken stock
• eggs

Do you want to save time and effort when preparing your holiday dinner? We’ve got your back! Here’s how to make this homemade sausage stuffing recipe up to 36 hours in advance:

1. Prepare the sausage stuffing as directed in the recipe. Follow all the instructions right up until the point in the recipe where the stuffing goes into the oven (skip the oven preheating step!)
2. When it’s ready to bake, cover it with plastic wrap or an airtight lid.
3. Refrigerate for up to 36 hours.
4. Remove the plastic wrap and replace the lid with aluminum foil. It’s important to cover the stuffing for the first 30 minutes of baking.
5. Add the cold pan to a cold oven. This will allow the pan to heat up slowly as the oven preheats and prevent the pan from cracking, breaking or even shattering in the oven. NEVER add a cold pan to a hot oven!!
6. When the oven reaches temperature, bake as directed in the recipe.

We hope you love this holiday stuffing recipe as much as we do! Let us know in the comments below, what’s your favourite holiday recipe? We’d love to know!

Watch the video below to see exactly how we make this recipe. You can find many more deliciously simple recipe videos on our YouTube channel!

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