Sausage Stuffing Dressing Recipe
Bake a big dish of Sausage Stuffing, this classic holiday side dish is loaded so much flavor. Choose to make it with a spicier or a mild sweet Italian sausage. It also has boxed cornbread, crunchy celery, soft French bread, sweet dried cherries, and tart dried cranberries all mixed into one heavenly dressing recipe. Deep rich flavor comes from the scrumptious crumbled sausage, it might just become your new stuffing recipe this holiday season. The texture is incredible, there is something different in each bite. Soft, crunchy, crispy, and chewy all in one happy stuffing.
Servings: 20
Calories: 267kcal
Ingredients
- 1 box cornbread stuffing
- ½ loaf French bread cut into 1" cubes
- 32 oz Italian Sausage mild and or spicy hot (bulk sausage)
- 1 cup dried cherries
- 1 cup dried cranberries
- ½ cup butter
- 8 stalks celery finely sliced
- 2 brown onions finely sliced
- ¾ cup flat-leaf parsley finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon kosher sea salt
- 1 teaspoon fresh black pepper
- 28 oz chicken stock
Instructions
- Brown and crumble sausage in a large pan and remove using a slotted spoon. You can drain the grease off if you wish. Scrape all the browned bits with a wooden spoon from the pan, there is a lot of flavor on there! Place the cooked sausage into a very large mixing bowl. You can also use a deep metal roasting pan to mix and bake in. Spray the pan to help with easier cleanup.
- Slice the French bread into 1" bread cubes. Dice the onion and celery using a good sharp knife. Chop the parsley, and keep in a small bowl.
- In the same large sauté pan or large skillet pan, melt butter, ½ cup (1 stick). Add finely sliced onion, sea salt, and black pepper. Cook the onion for 5 minutes until translucent over medium heat, add the celery and, cook for 3 more minutes. Add the onion and celery mixture to the mixing bowl with any liquid to the sausage mixture.
- Now add the rest of the ingredients into the bowl. Pour in the bag of cornbread dressing, French bread cubes (sourdough bread is great too!), dried cherries, dried cranberries, and chopped parsley. Now pour in the 3.5 cups of chicken stock or chicken broth. Using a large spoon, mix and stir the sausage stuffing until well combined.
- Spray a large baking dish or in a roasting pan, the bottom of the pan, coat with a good cooking spray. This helps to release the stuffing, and washing up! Use a coconut oil, olive oil spray, or any non-stick brand you prefer.
- Oven bake at 375 degrees f for 1 hour uncovered until golden brown, and serve hot.
- Make Ahead Tips: Spray a prepared casserole dish, put the Italian dressing inside, and cover it with aluminum foil. Or put inside an airtight container, refridgerated up to one day ahead. Pull out about a half hour before baking it for your dinner, remove the foil and bake.
- Variations and Additions: Some people love chopped mushrooms, apples, pecans, raisins, or walnuts in their stuffing, that is all up to you!
Video
Notes
SAUSAGE: Buy an Italian pork sausage, a bulk sausage in a tube package not sold as individual sausages. Once out of the package, it cooks and crumbles nicely in the pan and is the best way to mix it into the stuffing evenly.
MAKE AHEAD: If you make this dressing recipe a day ahead, it only gets better. The first day is fabulous, but oh that second day its is unreal!! Mix this stuffing ahead, and freeze. It freezes perfectly in ziptop bags. Then just defrost, fill a baking dish, and bake. A great time saver during the holidays.
SOFT & CRUNCHY BREAD: It hits all the right notes, cornbread is a classic stuffing start, and the golden toasted cubed french bread adds chunky pieces to soak up all the flavors.
TART & SWEET: An interesting balance of sweet dried cherries combined with notes of tart dried cranberries is just right.
GORGEOUS COLORS: Fresh green parsley brings more color and brightness, and the flavors of red dried cranberries and cherries make it so festive for the holidays.
FAVORITE STUFFING RECIPE: Serve this savory sausage bread stuffing as a side or use it to make a stuff turkey, with classic Roast Turkey, and for Christmas serve it with crown pork roast, Double Smoked Ham, or Beef Roast.
LEFTOVERS: Have takeout containers for people, and I usually pop some in the freezer for leftovers at home. You can also use it in my Thanksgiving Leftover Turkey Shepards Pie Casserole! It's so rich that it's a meal in and of itself! Each year, I make two GIANT mixing bowls of this delicious stuffing.
Nutrition
Calories: 267kcal | Carbohydrates: 21g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 35mg | Sodium: 619mg | Potassium: 242mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 490IU | Vitamin C: 5.3mg | Calcium: 34mg | Iron: 1.3mg