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.
Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make this sausage apple stuffing:
- Bread: I slice bread into cubes and toast them slightly in the oven before mixing with the other ingredients. You can use any bread you like—seriously, it doesn’t have to be fancy. I used a mix of brioche, multi-seed, and sourdough.
- Mild Ground Italian Sausage: I chose a mild Italian sausage for this savory holiday side dish. It added the perfect amount of kick while still letting the herbs and spices in the poultry seasoning shine through. I’ve also shared some ideas below for making this dish vegetarian or vegan.
- Butter: You’ll need one stick of salted butter, about 4 oz. This is used to sauté the veggies and add flavor to your sausage stuffing.
- Yellow Onion & Celery: I dice these veggies small for an even mix throughout. They help create that classic stuffing flavor and stretch this recipe without adding too much expense, so don’t skip them!
- Garlic: Infuses everything with a light garlic flavor.
- Seasonings: Salt, pepper, and poultry seasoning are the perfect mix of seasonings! I usually find poultry seasoning (a mix of herbs like thyme, sage, rosemary, and more) down the spice aisle in most grocery stores.
- Chicken Bouillon & Hot Water: We almost always use Better Than Bouillon when making broth here at Budget Bytes! It’s simple to use, affordable and adds so much flavor.
- Apple: I’ve always added apple to my homemade sausage stuffing, and my family loves it. I like using a tart, green apple like Granny Smith. Different varieties will bring different levels of sweetness, so choose your favorite.
- Parsley: For sprinkling on top once the baking dish comes out of the oven.
What’s the Best Bread for 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.
Vegetarian and Vegan Option
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!
Recipe Tips & Variations!
- As you stir in the homemade bread cubes, they’ll begin to soak up the moisture and oils from the vegetables and sausage in the pan, which will make it easier to handle. The bread eventually soaks up all of the yummy liquid; this is almost like a savory bread pudding when finished.
- I saw a lot of recipes calling for eggs, but we never used eggs in our sausage stuffing growing up, so I saved a bit of cash but didn’t sacrifice any flavor or quality while making this.
- Feel free to add any mix-ins you like! I think dried cranberries, chopped nuts, or extra veggies like mushrooms would all work well in this recipe. You can also play around with the seasonings and add your favorite herbs or spices.
- This dish is best served fresh, but leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat in the oven at 350F until the internal temperature reaches 165F. Or, better yet, I’d make these leftover stuffing muffins out of them!
Make It Ahead
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.
Sausage Stuffing Recipe
Equipment
- 3 Quart Casserole Dish
Ingredients
Bread Cubes
- 12 slices of bread*, cut into 1 inch cubes (9 ½ cups total) $2.56
- cooking spray $0.01
Stuffing Ingredients
- 1 lb mild ground Italian sausage $3.57
- 1 stick salted butter $1.06
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced (about 1 ½ cups) $0.94
- 4-5 celery stalks, diced (about 1 ½ cups) $0.95
- 4 cloves garlic, minced $0.12
- 2 Tbsp poultry seasoning, dried $1.32
- ½ tsp salt $0.01
- 1 tsp freshly cracked black pepper $0.04
- 1 apple, cored and diced (skin on) $1.00
- 3 tsp chicken bouillon** $0.27
- 2 ¾ cups hot water (to be mixed with bouillon) $0.00
- 2 Tbsp fresh parsley, minced $0.10
Instructions
Bread Cubes Directions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Cut 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.
Stuffing Directions
- In a large sauté pan, cook 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 the stick of butter. Add diced onion, diced celery, minced garlic, poultry seasoning, salt and 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 diced green apple.
- Pour chicken broth (made from combining bouillon and hot water) over the top of the stuffing mixture.
- Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes in 350 degree oven. If 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 parsley just before serving.
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Notes
Nutrition
how to make Sausage Stuffing – step by step photos
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!
More Thanksgiving Sides
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