Apple Sausage Stuffing is so good it might upstage your Thanksgiving turkey! Loaded with hearty vegetables and apple sausage, it’s a family favorite!
This post is sponsored by Beko Appliances. All opinions are my own.
When it comes to Thanksgiving, there are always recipes my family expects to see on the table. A big roasted turkey, dinner rolls, stuffing, cranberry sauce, sweet potato casserole, and green bean casserole. Each year I like to mix things up a little and update one of our side dishes.
I flip between pecan pie and pumpkin pie or orange cranberry sauce and brown sugar cranberry sauce. My family gets the dishes they love and I don’t feel like we’re in a rut.
This year, I’m upping my stuffing game with this delectable Apple Sausage Stuffing. The smokey apple sausage pairs beautifully with mushrooms, celery, and onions. This sausage stuffing is so good I may keep it on the menu for a few years.
APPLE SAUSAGE STUFFING
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One of the hardest things about coordinating Thanksgiving dinner is timing all the dishes and feeding a large number of people. Luckily, my new Beko Appliances are up for the challenge.
This 30-inch built in wall oven has so many great features. I love that I can use it for 12 different cooking functions like warming, pizza cooking, and slow cooking. It preheats quickly so I can get to cooking sooner… or as my boys like to think of it, eat sooner.
The oven door locks too so I don’t have to worry about the kids running around the house and through the kitchen while I’m working on our meal. The oven even has a full-extension telescopic lower rack that will be my Thanksgiving turkey’s best friend. No reaching into the oven to pull things out with a chance of getting burned.
The 36-inch gas built-in cooktop is awesome too. The different burner sizes make it easy to choose the right heat source for what I am making. I can have cranberry sauce on one of the smaller burners and my skillet for the apple sausage stuffing on the larger burner. It’s quiet, ignites easily, and is made of the same fingerprint-free stainless steel as the oven. My kitchen looks tidy and, it saves me clean up time when company is coming over for the holidays.
Between these two appliances, I’m whipping up the best sausage stuffing around!
Ingredients for this Apple Sausage Stuffing Recipe
- Prepared stuffing cubes or 1 to 2 day old French bread cut into bite-sized pieces
- Unsalted butter
- Apple chicken sausage
- Yellow onion
- Button mushrooms
- Celery
- Low-sodium chicken broth
- Fresh parsley
- Dried sage
- Dried thyme
- Salt & pepper
- Walnut pieces
- Eggs
I really this toasting the walnuts takes this recipe to a whole other level of yumminess. Simply spread out the walnut pieces on a baking sheet and toast at 250 degrees F for about 7 minutes until they’re golden.
If you’re in a pinch and didn’t have a chance to let your French bread dry out, cut up the bread into bite-sized pieces and then bake it on a baking sheet for 10 to 12 minutes at 375 degrees F to dry it out.
How to Make Sausage Stuffing
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Start by preheating your oven to 325 degrees F. While the oven warms up, butter the bottom and sides of a 9-inch x 13-inch baking dish.
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grab a large mixing bowl and pour the stuffing cubes into the bowl. Then, set aside the bowl while you prepare the other stuffing ingredients.
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For the meats and veggies, melt 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Once the butter is melted, add the chopped sausage to the skillet and cook until the sausage is warmed through and browned on both sides. This should take about 5 minutes. Once the sausage is cooked, remove it from the skillet and put the sausage into a bowl to cool down.
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In the same skillet you cooked the sausage in, melt more 2 tablespoons butter. Next, add the onions, mushrooms, and celery to the skillet. Cook the veggies until the onions are softened and the garlic is fragrant. Be sure to stir often to evenly cook the veggies. This should take about another 5 minutes.
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After everything has been cooked, add the sausage, onions, garlic, celery, and any pan drippings into the bowl that has the stuffing cubes in it.
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To finish the stuffing mix, pour the chicken broth into the bowl and add in the parsley, sage, thyme, salt, and pepper as well. Take a large spoon and use it to gently stir everything together until it’s moistened and all the ingredients are mixed up well.
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The final step for the stuffing mix is to add the walnuts and beaten eggs to the bowl and give everything one more stir so the eggs and nuts are mixed in.
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Now you’re ready to bake! Pour the stuffing mix from the mixing bowl into your prepared baking pan. Use the large spoon to spread the stuffing mix into an even layer in the pan. Just be sure not to pack it down. You don’t want stuffing loaf.
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Place the baking dish onto the middle oven rack and bake the stuffing for 30 minutes uncovered. A crust will form on top (AKA a crunchy layer that doesn’t have a ton of color yet).
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To finish off the stuffing, drizzle 2 tablespoons of melted butter all over the top of the stuffing. Then continue to bake it until the top is crispy and golden. This will take about 15 to 20 minutes longer.
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Once the stuffing is golden and your house smells amazing, take the baking dish out of the oven. Let the stuffing rest until you’re ready to serve. I like to serve it warm, but it’s just fine at room temperature too in case you need the space in your oven to cook more items for your meal.
What is Thanksgiving stuffing made of?
Stuffing is traditionally made from small pieces of dried bread, eggs, onion, celery, salt, pepper, and other herbs and spices including sage. (It’s a very poultry friendly herb.)
There are so many variations to a classic stuffing that are delicious!
- Apple & Cranberry Cornbread Dressing
- Butternut Squash and Leek Stuffing
- Pear Pomegranate Stuffing
- Thanksgiving Stuffing
Do you put eggs in stuffing?
Yes. The eggs help to bind the stuffing and give it the signature stuffing texture.
Broth is added to stuffing baked in a casserole dish to help replicate the juices the accumulate in the stuffing while cooking inside a turkey and keep the stuffing moist.
What’s the difference between stuffing and dressing?
The recipes are the same, but the cooking styles are not.
- Stuffing is stuffed inside the turkey and baked. Then it’s scooped out and served in a bowl.
- Dressing is cooked in a baking dish and served as is.
That being said, when you’re in the South most people say “dressing” as a catchall term to refer to this type of side dish. The two terms are also used interchangeably around the country, sort of like “pop” and “soda” are regional terms for the same beverage.
What goes good with stuffing?
At our house, we serve this stuffing with a juicy roasted turkey for Thanksgiving. Then we make sandwiches and all other kinds of yummy things with the leftovers.
More delicious holiday side dishes!
- Mamaw’s Dinner Roll Recipe
- Baked Sweet Potato
- Pineapple Casserole
- Roasted Asparagus
- Scalloped Potatoes
- Brown Sugar Cranberry Sauce
- More SIDE DISH recipes…
Ingredients
- 6 ounces stuffing cubes **see note
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter plus extra for greasing pan
- 12 ounces apple chicken sausage
- 1 medium yellow onion chopped
- ¾ pound button mushrooms washed and sliced
- 2 celery ribs chopped
- 3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- ¼ cup fresh parsley chopped
- 1 teaspoon dried sage
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ cup walnut pieces toasted (optional)
- 2 eggs beaten
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Butter a 9x13 baking dish. Place stuffing cubes in a large mixing bowl. Set aside.
- Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add sausage to the skillet. And cook until browned, 5 minutes. Remove from pan and let cool.
- Melt 2 more tablespoons butter in the same skillet and add the onions, mushrooms, and celery. Cook until onions are softened and garlic is fragrant, about 5 minutes.
- Add the sausage, onions, garlic, celery, and any pan drippings into the bowl with bread cubes.
- Add broth, parsley, sage, thyme, salt, and pepper to the mixing bowl. Gently stir everything together until moistened.
- Mix in the walnuts and eggs until combined.
- Pour the dressing into your prepared pan and spread into an even layer. Don’t pack it down too much.
- Bake for 30 minutes uncovered until a crust form on the top. Drizzle 2 tablespoons melted butter over the top of the stuffing. Cook until the top is crisp and golden, about 15-20 minutes more.
- Remove from oven and serve warm.
Notes
- To toast the walnuts: Spread them on a baking sheet and toast at 250 for 7 minutes until golden. Do this while you cook the sausage and veggies. Then turn the oven heat down.
- Instead of pre-made stuffing cubes, you can use 1 pound of 2-day old French bread. Cut it into bite-sized pieces and proceed as directed.
- If you haven't let the bread dry out, cook the bread cubes on cookie sheets for 10-12 minutes at 375 degrees.
Nutrition
Susan says
Could you put this in a crockpot to cook? Maybe on high 1-2 hours??