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Make this easy sausage stuffing recipe for a flavorful, rich and savory side dish. It pairs perfectly with turkey, mashed potatoes, and cranberry sauce!
This easy Sausage Stuffing recipe is perfect for the holidays, with savory sausage, sweet apple, and crispy bread cubes. Plus, it’s egg-free!
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Whether you call it stuffing or dressing, this apple Sausage Stuffing recipe needs a permanent spot on your holiday menu! It’s rich, savory, and made completely from scratch (while still being super easy to prepare!). The top is crispy, the center is soft and moist, and the sausage adds a meaty flavor to every bite. And because I don’t use eggs, this recipe is also egg-free and can easily be made veggie/vegan! Pile it high on your Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner plate, and I guarantee you won’t have any leftovers.
Here’s what you’ll need to make this sausage apple stuffing:
When I said you can use any type of bread for this stuffing, I meant it! It’s a great recipe for using up the heels of bread from sandwich loaves you may already have on hand. You can even use burger and hot dog buns! Just try to end up with about 9 ½ cups of bread cubes.
I like using a mixture of bread for different flavors and textures, but whatever you have on hand will work great.
This side dish is easily made vegan or vegetarian-friendly with a few simple swaps. You can use a vegetable bouillon and find a vegan sausage or ground beef substitute in place of the chicken broth and sausage. I also recommend double-checking that the bread you use is vegan-friendly, as some can contain dairy or eggs. We also have a vegetarian stuffing recipe you can check out as well!
I love an easy make-ahead dish, especially over the holidays when my kitchen is already overflowing with food! You can prep this Italian sausage stuffing recipe up to two days in advance. I’d toast the bread cubes and then follow the recipe as written up to step 5, stopping just before the chicken broth is added. Let everything cool, cover it with a lid or some foil, and refrigerate until you’re ready to bake it. When you’re ready, pour the chicken broth over the top and bake as directed.
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Preheat oven to 350f. Cut 12 slices of bread into 1-inch cubes and spread out on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Spray the bread cubes lightly with cooking spray. Bake in 350F oven for 15 minutes until dehydrated and lightly toasted. You should have around 9 ½ cups of bread cubes. Set aside.
In a large sauté pan, cook 1 lb ground sausage, breaking it apart as it cooks, until browned. Strain excess fat and set cooked sausage off to the side in a bowl.
Wipe out the sauté pan and melt 1 stick salted butter. Add 1 medium diced onion, 4-5 diced celery stalks, 4 cloves minced garlic, 2 Tbsp poultry seasoning, ½ tsp salt and 1 tsp pepper.
Cook over medium heat until the onions and celery are glossy and have softened, about 5-8 minutes.
Add cooked sausage and a handful of toasted bread cubes to the sauté pan and mix to combine.
Add more bread cubes until all have been used up. Then, add 1 diced green apple.
Pour chicken broth (made from combining 3 tsp chicken bouillon and 2 ¾ cups hot water) over the top of the stuffing mixture.
Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes in 350F oven. If the top is starting to get too dark for your liking, add a tinfoil tent, but you want the top to crisp up a bit.
You can serve it hot straight out of the oven or let it cool a bit for a firmer texture. Sprinkle with 2 Tbsp fresh parsley just before serving.
You won’t believe how easy making this stuffing with sausage is. You’ll never go back to using a store-bought mix again!
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We love these sourdough slab biscuits! Fluffy, tender and tangy made with sourdough discard and sharp cheddar cheese. These are great for a holiday meal or even for a weeknight dinner. Delish! I’ve got your bread for Thanksgiving!! These sourdough slab biscuits just might be my new favorite thing. They are tender and fluffy and […]
The post Cheddar Sourdough Slab Biscuits. appeared first on How Sweet Eats.
We love these sourdough slab biscuits! Fluffy, tender and tangy made with sourdough discard and sharp cheddar cheese. These are great for a holiday meal or even for a weeknight dinner. Delish!
I’ve got your bread for Thanksgiving!!Â
These sourdough slab biscuits just might be my new favorite thing. They are tender and fluffy and have a perfect crumb, all with that tangy, classic sourdough flavor!
I mean, just look at these little biscuit clouds.
I use sourdough discard for this recipe, so it does require that you have an active sourdough starter on hand. Â
I’ve had my sourdough starter going for over a year now and I can’t believe it. I mostly have to thank this sourhouse home that I purchased last year because it has made a huge difference. I’m a freak who likes to keep our house COLD and it was never warm enough to maintain a good starter. This has removed that problem and it’s totally worth it.Â
Not to mention, it’s a cute little sourdough house. I love it!Â
By no means am I even close to a sourdough expert. I don’t feel comfortable creating my own recipes for bread or anything yet, but I do make a ton of recipes with sourdough discard! In fact, I maintain a slightly larger starter just so we can have discard every week because I use it so often. Pancakes, waffles, pizza dough, even cookies – I love using it!Â
I started my starter (ha!) with ½ cup flour and ½ cup water. I only use KAF organic bread flour. For about 2 weeks, every 24 hours I would discard half of the starter and add ½ cup flour and ½ cup water, then cover and repeat a day later.Â
These days, I feed my starter morning and night (it is so active and bubbly!) – using 90 grams water, 30 grams starter and 90 grams flour. A kitchen scale is an absolute MUST for a good starter. I starter measuring in grams two weeks after I began, when my starter was beginning to bubble.Â
P.S. you can also buy a good sourdough starter!!! I know a ton of people who have done this. But I still suggest getting a sourdough home and a kitchen scale to maintain it. (more…)
The post Cheddar Sourdough Slab Biscuits. appeared first on How Sweet Eats.
Looking for a fun, bite-sized twist on classic stuffing? These Apple Sausage Stuffing Bites are adorable, perfectly portioned, and a hit with kids and adults alike! Made with sweet apple sausage, crisp celery, and tender apples, they bake up golden and delicious in a muffin tin. Why I Love This Recipe The Ingredients Substitutions and…
The post Apple Sausage Stuffing Bites appeared first on Weelicious.
Looking for a fun, bite-sized twist on classic stuffing? These Apple Sausage Stuffing Bites are adorable, perfectly portioned, and a hit with kids and adults alike! Made with sweet apple sausage, crisp celery, and tender apples, they bake up golden and delicious in a muffin tin.
Step 1: If your bread isn’t stale, toast it in a 300°F oven for 8-10 minutes to dry it out.
Step 2: Dice and brown the sausage in a sauté pan for 4-5 minutes or until golden. Add to large mixing bowl and let cool enough to handle.
Step 3: In the same pan, sauté the produce until tender. Add to the same mixing bowl as the sausage.
Step 4: Add the remaining stuffing bite ingredients into the large mixing bowl with the sausage and sautéed produce.
Step 5: Spoon the stuffing mixture into greased muffin tins, filling all the way to the top. Pat the mixture down to pack it well.
Step 6: Bake for 45 minutes or until crispy around the edges.
This is a must do in my book! Stale bread is better than fresh, but toasted is even better. By completely drying out the bread, it will more readily soak up the egg and broth mixture. This will also help the muffins hold their shape. Fresh bread isn’t able to soak up as much liquid and will also fall right apart.
These are a great option to make ahead of your holiday dinner. If making ahead, store in an airtight container in the fridge. Remove from the fridge for about 30 minutes to come to room temperature before doing a quick toast in the oven as you set out the other dinner items. This way they will get their crispy edges back but won’t dry out. I also think they taste great cold and pack them in my kids’ lunches!
A fully cooked chicken sausage is the perfect option here, though I do brown it in the skillet first. Browning always adds more flavor! However, feel free to use ground pork, though you will want to precook it first to break it into crumbles as well as drain off any excess grease. It would also be fun to use cooked and crumbled bacon or even a turkey breakfast sausage.
These Apple Sausage Stuffing Bites are a total game-changer for your holiday table! With their bite-sized charm, crispy edges, and delicious blend of sweet apple sausage, veggies, and herbs, they’re sure to be a hit with everyone coming to enjoy Thanksgiving dinner. I’d love to know what you think of this recipe — leave a comment and rating below!
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The post Apple Sausage Stuffing Bites appeared first on Weelicious.
Cranberry Orange Bread is an easy quick bread recipe that’s soft and moist with tons of orange flavor. It’s bursting with fresh cranberries and a delicious orange glaze on top! I love quick bread so much – especially my banana bread recipe and my lemon bread. Orange and cranberry flavors go so well together and…
Cranberry Orange Bread is an easy quick bread recipe that’s soft and moist with tons of orange flavor. It’s bursting with fresh cranberries and a delicious orange glaze on top!
I love quick bread so much – especially my banana bread recipe and my lemon bread. Orange and cranberry flavors go so well together and are perfect at the holidays. This Orange Cranberry Bread is has the best orange flavor throughout – and that sweet orange glaze is the perfect finisher to mix with the tart cranberries. I couldn’t stop sneaking pieces of this bread and it’ll for sure show up on both my Thanksgiving Christmas tables.
This bread will be crumbly until it cools so let it cool completely before slicing.
A toothpick will come out clean from the center of the crack in the bread.
My 4-ingredient banana bread recipe uses pantry staples to yield a light, moist, and fluffy loaf. It’s perfectly sweetened, and you can add all sorts of mix-ins! Need another easy banana bread recipe? Try my blueberry banana bread, strawberry ban…
My 4-ingredient banana bread recipe uses pantry staples to yield a light, moist, and fluffy loaf. It’s perfectly sweetened, and you can add all sorts of mix-ins! Need another easy banana bread recipe? Try my blueberry banana bread, strawberry banana bread, or banana pecan bread next. As soon as I notice a couple of browning… Whip up this hanky panky recipe the next time you need an appetizer. It’s loaded with cheesy pork and beef, perfect for crackers or bread.
Get an instant bread fix with my delicate and fluffy cloud bread. Made with 4 simple ingredients in under 30 minutes. Looking for more low carb bread recipes? Try my keto bread, coconut flour bread, 90 second keto bread, and keto English muffin next. R…
Get an instant bread fix with my delicate and fluffy cloud bread. Made with 4 simple ingredients in under 30 minutes. Looking for more low carb bread recipes? Try my keto bread, coconut flour bread, 90 second keto bread, and keto English muffin next. Rarely does a meal go by in my house without bread… Gooey melted cheese tops delicious roast beef piled onto a soft bun for these roast beef sliders sandwiches.
This sourdough bread recipe is the ultimate guide! After years of research, we created these easy to follow instructions, a…
This sourdough bread recipe is the ultimate guide! After years of research, we created these easy to follow instructions, a printable checklist, and a step-by-step video help you master that tangy flavor, chewy crust, and perfect texture.
Making homemade sourdough bread is one of the most satisfying, transformative things you can do. It’s tastier, healthier, and cheaper than any bread you’ll buy at the store.
As two cookbook authors with previous careers in business writing, Alex and I are passionate about making complex processes simple. So we created this Simplified Guide for Sourdough Bread! It has easy to understand steps, a video, and a printable checklist to make sure you’re able to master the process. Ready to get started?
In this video, Alex shows you everything you need to know about making this sourdough bread recipe! So much of bread making is learning by watching, so this video is crucial to understanding how to make sourdough bread.
This sourdough bread recipe is years in the making. For the past 2 years, Alex and I have been making sourdough bread every week. In that time, we’ve learned that making sourdough bread is an involved process. But we’re also passionate making cooking pretty simple.
We wanted to simplify the process, so set out to make our best sourdough bread recipe: which to us is the most repeatable, easiest to follow recipe with bakery style results. We developed this original recipe after extensive research using the Tartine cookbook and The Perfect Loaf. And we’re happy to say: it turned out brilliantly.
It’s got a chewy crust, tangy flavor, and just enough holes in the bread to be interesting but still hold up to a slather of peanut butter. Our sourdough bread recipe is the perfect everyday bread for snacking, sandwiches, and serving with soup.
Making sourdough bread is a process that spans across 3 days. Here’s an outline of the tasks and approximate active time for how to make sourdough bread:
| Day 1 Evening | Feed the starter (5 minutes active time) |
| Day 2 | Make bread and proof overnight (5 hours active time) |
| Day 3 | Bake (1 hour active time) |
Our instructions are thoughtfully crafted to be easy to follow—and even memorize! The traditional method of cooking the bread using steam can be hard to create at home, so our recipe uses a Dutch oven. Best of all, we’ve created a custom video series and printable checklist so that you don’t miss a step. The hardest part is waiting for the bread to cool!
Not sure you’re ready? Start with this artisan Dutch oven bread recipe instead.
Making sourdough bread requires some special equipment to get the job done. Here’s a list of the required tools. We’ve linked to the exact tools that we use.
You can make sourdough bread with many different types of flour. For our sourdough bread recipe, we use a mixture of all-purpose flour (for texture), bread flour (for strength), and whole wheat flour (for flavor). We find that this mix makes a moderately open crumb—those beautiful holes in sourdough, a chewy crust, and tangy flavor.
Personally, we use King Arthur brand organic flour for all three of the flours. In testing many different flours, we find it has the best and most consistent results for our sourdough bread recipe. (Some other flour brands made for a denser bread.)
Before we start, let’s talk about proofing. Proofing is when you let bread dough rest after you’ve added yeast so that it rises. In this recipe, there are multiple steps that involve proofing, some at room temperature and some in a warm area. For best results, your sourdough bread proofing temperature should be between 80°F and 90°F.
The recipe below calls for setting up a warm proofing area where the bread can sit at this temperature. If you have it, use the proofing setting on your oven for this step. Or, you can turn on the oven to preheat for about 1 minute and then turn it off before you place the dough in the oven. You can also pour a few cups of boiling water into the oven beneath your bowl to raise the temperature.
Whatever the case, while the bread is proofing, be careful not to accidentally turn on the oven for any other reason. We’ve had this happen before, and it’s not pretty!
For the final proofing stage in our sourdough bread recipe, the bread proofs in a basket called a banneton. The banneton helps to shape the bread and also makes for those lovely decorative lines on the top of the bread.
To ensure the bread doesn’t stick to the banneton, the inside is coated with a mix of ½ cup all purpose flour and ½ cup rice flour, a tip we learned from the Tartine cookbook. We keep a container full of this mix on hand for baking days.
When it’s not in use, you can store the banneton at room temperature. There’s no need to clean the banneton; simply let it dry out after baking. After every few bakes, we scrape out any excess flour with a spoon so that you can still get those nice decorative lines in the top of the dough.
Sourdough bread is a naturally leavened bread, meaning that instead of using active dry yeast to rise, it uses a sourdough starter. The first step in our sourdough bread recipe is to feed the sourdough starter. The night before you decide to make bread, feed the sourdough starter following the instructions in the recipe below.
Learning how to care for your sourdough starter is an important part of any sourdough bread recipe. To learn more, see How to Feed Sourdough Starter (it includes a helpful video).
If you don’t have a sourdough starter yet, you can learn how to make sourdough starter at home. See How to Make Sourdough Starter—out of thin air! You can also buy a sourdough starter online: here’s a live sourdough starter.
If you’ve read up on sourdough bread, you may have heard of the terms “baker’s percentage” or “hydration level”. These terms refer to the amount of water in the recipe, as compared to the amount of flour.
This sourdough bread recipe is a high hydration bread. The baker’s percentage for this bread is 78% hydration (350 grams of water / 450 grams of flour).
Equally as important as making sourdough bread is learning how to store it! Once you’ve baked your homemade bread, it is best eaten within 48 hours.
We store ours wrapped in cloth at room temperature. You can use a clean dish towel; or, made a special bread bag for storage out of a large napkin. Do not store it in plastic, or it becomes soggy.
If you don’t think you’ll eat the entire loaf in 48 hours, you can freeze whatever you don’t think you’ll eat! Let the sourdough bread cool fully to room temperature, then cut it into slices and place it into a sealed bag or container.
As we’ve honed this recipe through the years, we found that the hardest part of making sourdough bread was keeping track of which step we were on! To solve that problem, we created a printable checklist so that you don’t miss a beat.
Filling in the circles also adds satisfaction to each step! You can reuse the checklist five times—after that, print a new checklist and you’re good to go.
Printable checklist: Download our Sourdough Bread Checklist.
This post is one of three in our series on how to make sourdough at home:
We created this recipe to have a medium-sized crumb. To get holes in the bread like you see in our picture, make sure you are very gently during the folding and shaping steps so that you don’t press out the air.
If you are using a different brand of flour (we use King Arthur) then you may need to increase the bread flour a little bit! Otherwise, just keep practicing your folding technique so that the dough can build strength.
We like this How to Troubleshoot Bad Bread chart from Serious Eats to determine whether your bread was over-proofed or under-proofed. Over-proofed bread has a more dense crumb, while under-proofed bread will have large holes around the edges
Yes! We prefer the oval shape for slicing, but any banneton will work!
Yes, we recommend trying our timing once and seeing how your dough behaves. After that, you can try adjusting the timing to fit your lifestyle.
This sourdough bread recipe is the ultimate guide to making your own sourdough bread! You’ll be amazed by the tangy flavor, beautiful chewy crust, and perfect texture. And don’t forget the printable checklist! Also, see our FAQ if you are having any problems.
On Day 1, you’ll feed your sourdough starter the night before you prepare the dough.
Feed the starter: Remove the active starter from the refrigerator around 9:00 pm. Discard all but 1 tablespoon of the starter. Add 50 grams of purified water and 50 grams of all purpose flour. Stir, cover, and leave at room temperature overnight. The starter should be bubbly and about doubled in size between 9:00 am and 11:00 am the following day. (More about feeding your starter is at How to Feed Sourdough Starter.)
Print the printable checklist: Print off our Sourdough Bread Checklist to use when preparing the dough tomorrow!
On Day 2, you’ll make and proof the dough. This is the most labor intensive day; the entire process will take around 5 hours. The step numbers correspond to the printable checklist; make sure you have it printed and ready to go!
1 Mix flour and water; rest for 1 hour at room temp (“autolyse”): In a small mixing bowl, combine the all purpose flour, bread flour and whole wheat flour with the purified water. Use a spoon or dough whisk to stir until all dry flour has been incorporated into a raggy dough. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or place the bowl in a large Ziploc bag and place leave room temperature. Set a timer for 1 hour.
2a Prepare the proofing area: Prepare a warm area for proofing before starting next step. For best results, the proofing should be in a warm location, between 80° and 90° degrees. (For more on creating a proofing area, see the section above, “Proofing sourdough bread.”)
2b Stir in the starter and proof for 30 minutes: Add the starter to the dough and stir until loosely incorporated; it does not need to be perfectly stirred in. Cover the bowl and place it in the warm area for proofing. Set a timer for 30 minutes. Watch the video instructions for about folding for the next few steps.
3 Add salt, mix with your hands, and proof for 30 minutes: Add the kosher salt evenly across the dough and mix the dough with your hands until the salt is incorporated. See the video above to watch how to mix the dough. Return the covered dough to the proofing area and set timer for 30 minutes.
4 Fold and proof for 30 minutes: Fold the dough: with wet hands, lift one side of the dough straight up so that it stretches and fold it across the center; turn the bowl a quarter turn and repeat 4 times. Lift up the dough and wrap it onto itself until you have a smooth surface, then flip it over and place it in the bowl seam side down. See the video above to watch how to fold the dough. Return the covered dough to the proofing area and set timer for 30 minutes.
5 Fold and proof for 45 minutes: Fold the dough again in the same way as Step 4, wrapping it as much as possible without tearing the dough. Return the covered dough to a warm area and set a timer for 45 minutes.
6 Gently fold and proof for 1 hour 30 minutes: Gently fold the dough in the same way as Step 4, being careful not to deflate built up air in the dough. Return the covered dough to a warm area and set timer for 1 hour 30 minutes. Before you start Step 7, watch the video for instructions on pre-shaping and shaping the dough.
7 Pre-shape the dough and rest for 30 minutes at room temp: At this point the dough should appear bubbly on top and wiggle when shaken. (If it is not ready, proof for a few more minutes; the timing can vary depending on the temperature of your proofing and variations in the starter.)Â Turn the dough onto an unfloured countertop. Lightly flour the top of the dough and then use a bench scraper to gently scrape the dough into a ball, creating tension on top. Do not go so far that you tear the dough. Place an inverted bowl over the top of the dough. Set a timer and rest the dough for 30 minutes.
8 Shape the dough, place it in the banneton, and rest for 30 minutes at room temp: Prepare the banneton by rubbing the 50/50 rice flour mixture into all of the grooves of the banneton. Remove the bowl from over the dough; the dough should be formed into a gently rounded shape. Rub just enough flour onto the top of the dough so that it isn’t tacky. Use the bench scraper to flip the dough so that the floured side is down. Gently stretch the dough into a rectangle. Moving quickly, fold the top third of the dough down, and the bottom third up to create a packet. Rotate the dough 90 degrees and gently roll it into a log shape. Be careful to not press the dough or deflate it. Use your hands to gently pull the dough tight and pinch off the seams at the end of the dough. Rub a little more flour onto the top of the dough so that it isn’t tacky. Gently flip the dough into the banneton and pinch off the bottom seam. Place the banneton into the proofing bag and set timer for 30 minutes.
9 Refrigerate overnight: Place the banneton in a bag and refrigerate until the following morning.
10 Preheat the Dutch oven at 515°F for 30 minutes: The following morning, place a covered Dutch oven on the center rack in your oven. Preheat to 515°F for at least 30 minutes. If your oven only reaches to 500°F, the recipe will still work, but you won’t get quite as much rise out of the bread.
11 Place on parchment, score, and bake for 17 minutes in Dutch oven:
12 Place the bread on the oven rack, reduce to 400°F and bake for 23 minutes: After 17 minutes, reduce the oven temperature to 400°F. Remove the Dutch oven, carefully take out the bread, and set the bread directly onto the oven rack. Bake for an additional 23 minutes. Remove the bread from the oven and allow it to cool on a cooling rack for at least 45 minutes. After cooling, the bread is ready to eat. Store the bread wrapped in cloth or in a bread bag on the counter for up to 2 days, or freeze wrapped in foil in a plastic bag for several months.
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