Just a classic sausage stuffing recipe—day-old French bread is scented with sage and tossed with sausage and baked to perfection! Hearty, herby and ready for your Thanksgiving table.
Categories
- Fall
- Thanksgiving
- Winter
- Dinner
What to serve with your stuffing?
Perfect Roast Turkey
Turkey Gravy
Classic Cranberry Sauce
Green Bean Casserole
Classic Sausage Stuffing: Everyone’s Favorite Gravy Soaker-Upper.
Of all the Thanksgiving side dishes, stuffing (AKA dressing) is arguably the most classic, the most beloved. That ideal sausage and sage stuffing recipe, the one you’ll pass down, the one that’s the first thing you crave when you remember that Thanksgiving is around the corner—that is THIS Thanksgiving stuffing recipe! You can even make this stuffing a day ahead of time! Bonus, if you have any leftovers, add them to our Turkey Hand Pies or serve with the rest of your leftovers on top our Herby Rhodes Rolls! Make your Pumpkin Pie and check out our 40 Best Thanksgiving Recipes for even more inspiration.
Classic Stuffing Ingredients
Our favorite Thanksgiving side dish is a really, really good pan of homemade sausage stuffing. We want pure, classic, bready, herby goodness. And that’s exactly what this recipe yields. Oh, and it’s easy, too! Here’s everything you’ll need to make it:
Ground Italian sausage
Butter
French bread
Yellow onions
Celery
Fresh sage, rosemary, parsley and thyme
Nutmeg
Chicken broth
Eggs
What Is the Difference Between Dressing and Stuffing?
If we’re really being sticklers about it, the difference between stuffing and dressing is that stuffing is literally “stuffed” inside the turkey to be cooked, and dressing is when you cook it outside of the bird in a baking pan. So yes, that means that this recipe actually, technically, should be called sausage dressing because it is not cooked inside the turkey. However, stuffing has become most people’s go-to word for the bready stuff that has sausage and herbs in it and so we’re calling it that.
What Is the Best Bread for Stuffing?
And the best bread for stuffing is... old, dry bread! Why? Because you need the bread to be nice and dry and ready to soak up all of the liquid you’re going to pour into it to make a sausage stuffing that’s moist and almost custard-y inside. Not only do we want you to use day-old bread, but you’ll also toast it in the oven a bit just to be sure that it’s really dried out. All of this should be really good news. We like to make stuffing with old-fashioned French bread—and no, we don’t mean a long, thin baguette. We mean soft-on-the-inside, decidedly un-fancy, oval-shaped loaves from the grocery store—the kind you might use to make garlic bread. As far as we’re concerned, there’s no better bread for making stuffing! If you’re looking for more great ways to use day old bread, pop over to our .
How Do You Make Sausage Stuffing From Scratch?
Making sausage stuffing from scratch is pretty darn easy, and since you can make it a day ahead of time, it’s really a breeze! Even on Thanksgiving! We’ll walk you through it—you’ve got this.
Rip up the day old loaf of French bread into a bunch of pieces.
Dry out the bread by baking it at 300° for about 45 minutes.
Brown the sausage. When it’s starting to brown, add butter, onion and celery and sauté.
Toss the sausage and bread with parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme, nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Drizzle with broth and mix again.
Whisk more broth into the eggs, and toss that with the rest of the stuffing mixture.
Pour the stuffing mixture into a baking pan, cover and bake for 30 minutes!
Take the foil off and give the stuffing another 45 minutes in the oven until the top is lovely and golden.
Tools You’ll Need
More Thanksgiving Side Dish Recipes You’ll Love
Sweet Potato Casserole
Brussels Sprouts Gratin
Glazed Carrots
Spoon Bread
- Sweet Potato Casserole with Marshmallows and Pecan Streusel It’s not Thanksgiving dinner until there’s a sticky, rich, delicious pecan-and-marshallow topped sweet potato casserole baking in the oven. And our sweet potato casserole recipe is the best ever!
- Brussels Sprouts Gratin This decadent Brussels sprouts gratin boasts loads of cream and garlic, plus it gets a super dose of cheesiness from both Parmesan and Gruyère cheeses.
- Glazed Carrots Glistening orange, with a brown sugar-butter glaze, these glazed carrots call for a mere three ingredients and are certain to brighten your dinner table.
- Spoon Bread Moist and custardy and studded with pieces of sweet corn kernels, this easy spoon bread recipe can’t be beat!
It’s Never Too Early To Start Thanksgiving Menu Planning!
For more recipe inspiration, follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Pinterest or order our cookbook. We love when you share your meals. Tag us on Instagram using #themodernproper. Happy cooking!
💌 Let's Stay Together
There are so many great ways to receive all of our latest recipes, meal tips, and inspiration.
Classic Sausage Stuffing
November 5, 2020
- Serves:10
- Prep Time: 45min
- Cook Time: 1hr15min
- Calories:460
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Related Recipes
- Cornbread Stuffing
- One Pot Chicken Stuffing Casserole
Ingredients
- 1½ loaves French bread, crust removed and torn into 1-inch pieces (about 12 cups)
- 16 ounces ground mild Italian sausage
- ½ cup (1 stick) salted butter, plus more for greasing
- 2 cups chopped yellow onions
- 2 cups diced celery
- ½ cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh sage
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
- 2½ cups chicken broth, divided
- 2 large eggs
Method
Preheat the oven to 300°F with a rack in the center position. Grease a 9x13-inch baking dish.
Add the bread to a large rimmed baking sheet in a single layer. Bake, stirring every 15 minutes, until dried out, about 45 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl.
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and cook, stirring, breaking into pieces, until beginning to brown, 5 minutes. Add the butter, onion and celery, continue cooking until the sausage is browned and crumbled, about 5 minutes more.
Add the sausage/onion mixture to the bowl with the bread. Add the parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme, nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Toss to evenly distribute. Pour in 1½ cups of the chicken broth and gently toss to combine.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs and the remaining 1 cup of chicken broth. Add to the bread mixture and gently toss until thoroughly combined.
Transfer the sausage mixture to the prepared baking dish. Cover the dish with foil, and bake until set, about 30 minutes. The mixture shouldn’t move when you jiggle the pan. (See note.) Remove the dish from the oven and discard the foil. Return to the oven uncovered and bake until browned and crispy on top, about 45 minutes more.
Note: If you are making this recipe a day ahead of time, stop after baking for the first 30 minutes! Let the stuffing cool, then refrigerate overnight. Bring the stuffing to room temperature before returning to the oven for 45 minutes.
Nutrition Info
- Per Serving
- Amount
- Calories460
- Protein19 g
- Carbohydrates53 g
- Total Fat21 g
- Dietary Fiber3 g
- Cholesterol84 mg
- sodium692 mg
- Total Sugars5 g
