Homemade Sausage Stuffing Recipe

A delicious traditional Classic Stuffing made with onions, celery, apples, and pork sausage with a perfect blend of fresh herbs and spices.

Course side

Cuisine American

Keyword dressing recipe, homemade stuffing, sausage stuffing, turkey stuffing

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 45

Servings servings

Calories 478kcal

Author Beth Pierce

1 lb. loaf quality white bread challah, or brioche cut into 1 inch bread cubes and dried
1 lb. pork sausage or Italian sausage
½ cup unsalted butter
1 medium sweet yellow onion finely chopped
2 ribs celery stalks chopped
1 granny smith apple peeled and diced small
2 cloves garlic minced
2 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley
1 tablespoons fresh chopped rosemary
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
2 teaspoons chopped fresh sage leaves
2 ½ cups low sodium chicken broth or chicken stock
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
2 eggs warmed to room temperature and beaten

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x13-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray for easy cleanup.
Prepare by drying out the bread several days in advance or spread the bread out on baking sheets and place it in the oven at 275 degrees for about about 45 minutes tossing it several times.
In a large skillet over medium heat, brown the sausage breaking it up as it cooks. About halfway through the browning process, add the butter and melt it. Add the onion, celery, and apple. Continue cooking until the onions and celery are soft. Reduce the heat to low. Add the garlic, parsley, rosemary, thyme and sage. Cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly.
In a large bowl, toss together the dried bread, sausage mixture, chicken broth, salt, black pepper, and beaten eggs. Spoon into a greased casserole, cover, and bake for 30 minutes. Remove cover, raise oven temperature to 375 degrees, and continue baking for 15 minutes or until the top begins to brown. Place under the broiler for a minute if more browning is desired.

Use a pork sausage with mild flavors like Jimmy Dean All Natural or Bob Evans Naturally. Or better yet maybe your butcher has his own fresh blend.
For this recipe choose a good quality bread with a neutral taste like white, challah, or brioche. Don't forget to plan ahead and dry the bread out.
Cut your celery and onions fine so that there is a little bit in every bite.
If you plan to use prepackaged seasoned bread cubes omit any salt. They usually have a high sodium content and salt can quickly take over the dish.
Add the right amount of broth. Use low sodium chicken broth because of the salt content. The key here is to moisten the bread. It should not be soggy or dry. Add about 1/2 cup at a time until lightly moistened. You can always add more but you can not take it back.
ProTip - reserve a couple pinches of each herb and sprinkle over the top of the dressing before baking.
To brown the stuffing place under the broiler on low for about 1 minute. Stay very close by as broilers are very unpredictable especially in older ovens.
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Freeze for up to 3 months in a sturdy airtight container.