Some name it stuffing, some name it dressing, however all who’ve tried it agree that this sausage & herb stuffing is an important a part of a Thanksgiving meal. You’ll love the comforting medley of herbs, sausage, mushrooms, apples, and bread. So many textures and flavors in a single dish!
One reader, Carla, commented: “A staple Thanksgiving stuffing for our household! Completely excellent. No vacation could be full with out it. ★★★★★“

This sausage & herb stuffing is the exact same one I’ve loved yearly at each Thanksgiving vacation for so long as I can keep in mind. Mother prepped it the night time earlier than, stuffed some into the turkey, and served the remainder as dressing alongside candied candy potatoes and inexperienced bean casserole. This humble Thanksgiving aspect dish stole the present every 12 months, to the purpose the place we simply started making it recurrently for dinner.
Whereas this sausage & herb stuffing is an absolute must-have aspect dish on my household’s Thanksgiving desk, who says it’s important to restrict this comforting casserole to Thanksgiving? And even to the aspect dish class, for that matter. With its mixture of sausage, greens, and bread, this stuffing recipe makes a terrific all-in-one meal, no turkey required!
One reader, Danielle, commented: “I made this tonight—it was AMAZING! I may eat an entire plate of simply this. ★★★★★”

Why You’ll Love This Thanksgiving Stuffing Recipe
- Tender within the center with crisp toasted edges
- So many flavors and textures multi functional dish
- Customizable—swap mushrooms for butternut squash, or make it vegetarian
- As scrumptious all by itself as it’s as a aspect dish
- Simply double or halve to scale it up or down
- Egg-free stuffing recipe—merely not wanted
- You can also make it forward of time! And that’s gold on the subject of vacation meals.
With its cozy herby flavors and contrasting textures, it is a savory recipe you can also make any time you crave consolation meals with a aspect of nostalgia. It warms the soul, similar to hen pot pie.
Use These Substances for Sausage & Herb Stuffing:

- Bread:I normally use entire grain bread right here, however you’ll be able to actually use any form of bread on this stuffing recipe. From customary sliced sandwich bread to crusty sourdough or artisan selfmade bread… entire grain or white… or strive cornbread stuffing!
- Herbs: Thyme, sage, and parsley brighten up the stuffing and add heaps of aromatic taste. You need to use dried or contemporary or a mixture of each.
- Sausage: This provides savory richness to the dish. I like to make use of candy Italian sausage—similar I normally use for sausage stuffed peppers—however spicy Italian sausage works simply as nicely. For a vegetarian choice, change the sausage with extra mushrooms or diced butternut squash. You too can use vegetable broth as a substitute of hen broth.
- Mushrooms: For hearty taste and texture.
- Apples: The fruit’s sweetness provides a pleasant distinction to the wealthy sausage and much more texture. I normally use 1 Granny Smith and 1 Honeycrisp apple, for a mixture of tart and candy, however you should use whichever apples you’ve got readily available.
You additionally want some hen (or turkey, or vegetable) broth, a bit butter, onion, celery, and salt & pepper. Dried cranberries are non-compulsory, however I like the sweetness and colour they add.
Let Me Present You Tips on how to Make This Sausage & Herb Stuffing
For BEST texture, toast the bread cubes: Unfold bread cubes out on baking sheets, and bake for quarter-hour. Frivolously toasting the bread helps it take in a few of the liquid components, which prevents your stuffing from tasting soggy. I do the identical factor once I neglect to depart the bread out to get stale for pumpkin French toast casserole.
Prepare dinner the greens, herbs, & sausage: Now it’s time to get issues cooking on the range in a big skillet. Begin by softening the onion and celery in some butter. That is the flavorful base of the stuffing. Then add the mushrooms and herbs, adopted by the sausage and apples.
The sausage will frivolously brown, the apples will barely soften, and all of the unbelievable flavors will mix collectively in good concord:

Mix every thing: Combine the cooked components along with the frivolously toasted bread (every thing can nonetheless be heat at this level), and pour over some hen broth. The broth serves to bind the stuffing components collectively, and to maintain the stuffing from drying out.

Bake. Bake the stuffing in a big baking dish, or stuff it into an unbaked turkey. Should you’re stuffing the turkey, cool fully earlier than utilizing.
Sure, completely. You may flip this right into a vegetarian stuffing recipe by changing the sausage with extra mushrooms, or some diced butternut squash. The cooking directions stay the identical. You too can use vegetable broth as a substitute of hen broth.

Tips on how to Make Stuffing Forward of Time
It can save you time (and treasured oven house) the day of the massive meal by making this sausage & herb stuffing prematurely.
Essentially the most fantastic half about this Thanksgiving stuffing recipe is that, like a straightforward breakfast casserole, it’s truly BEST ready forward of time. All of the savory herbs, browned sausage, and candy apples soak collectively in a single day to maximise taste. Nevertheless, the bread loses numerous texture for those who make the stuffing fully forward of time, so I like to recommend you wait to mix the bread, sausage combination, and broth and bake till the day you intend to serve it.
Right here’s what I do: Retailer the cooked sausage/apple combination within the fridge in a single day, and retailer the toasted bread cubes at room temperature. Mix and bake the next day.

Extra Thanksgiving Facet Dish Favorites

Sausage & Herb Stuffing
Prep Time: 45 minutes
Prepare dinner Time: 45 minutes
Complete Time: 1 hour, half-hour
Yield: serves 8-10
Class: Facet Dish
Technique: Baking
Delicacies: American
Description
Some name it stuffing, some name it dressing, however all who’ve tried it agree that this sausage & herb stuffing is an important a part of a Thanksgiving meal. You’ll love the comforting medley of herbs, sausage, mushrooms, apples, and bread. It tastes greatest ready forward, so save your self time on the massive day.
Directions
- Preheat oven to 300°F (149°C). Unfold bread cubes out on two giant baking sheets and bake for quarter-hour, or till frivolously browned and crisp. Switch to a big bowl.
- Place butter in giant skillet over medium-high warmth. Add onion, celery, salt, and pepper. Sauté for about 4 minutes till greens start to melt. Add mushrooms, thyme, sage, and parsley. Proceed cooking for one more 3 minutes. Squeeze the sausage meat out of the casings into the skillet. Break up with spoon, then add the apples. Prepare dinner for about 4 minutes, till sausage meat is nearly cooked via.
- Take away from warmth and stir the sausage/apple combination in with the toasted bread. Pour the broth on prime, then the cranberries, if utilizing. Stir to mix every thing.
- If utilizing to stuff a turkey, enable to chill fully earlier than stuffing. If baking the stuffing individually like I did in these images, warmth oven to 350°F (177°C). Grease a 9×13-inch or any 3- to 4-quart baking dish (pictured). Spoon stuffing into the dish, then bake for 40-45 minutes or till frivolously browned and crisp on prime.
- Garnish with contemporary herbs earlier than serving, if desired. Serve heat.
- Cowl leftovers tightly and retailer within the fridge for as much as 5 days. Reheat within the microwave.
Notes
- Make Forward & Freezing Directions: Should you make this stuffing forward of time, be ready for max taste! The stuffing is definitely BEST made forward and right here’s methods to do it. The bread loses numerous texture for those who make the stuffing fully forward of time. As an alternative, put together the recipe via step 2. Retailer the cooked veggies/apples/sausage within the fridge in a single day and retailer the crisp bread cubes frivolously coated at room temperature. Proceed with step 3 the following morning. For lengthy storage, freeze the baked stuffing as much as 3 months. Thaw in a single day within the fridge, enable to come back to room temperature, then reheat it in a 350°F (177°C) oven for 20-25 minutes, or till warmed via, earlier than serving.
- Particular Instruments (affiliate hyperlinks): Baking Sheets | Glass Mixing Bowl | 9×13-inch Baking Pan or any 3- to 4-quart Oven-safe Baking Dish (pictured)
- Can I Make This Vegetarian? Sure, completely. You may flip this right into a vegetarian stuffing recipe by changing the sausage with extra mushrooms, or some diced butternut squash. The cooking directions stay the identical. You too can use vegetable broth as a substitute of hen broth.
Key phrases: sausage Thanksgiving stuffing