Some call it stuffing, some call it dressing, but all who have tried it agree that this sausage & herb stuffing is an essential part of a Thanksgiving meal. It’s been a family favorite for decades. You’ll love the comforting medley of herbs, sausage, mushrooms, apples, and bread. So many textures and flavors in one dish!
I originally published this recipe in 2014 and have since added new photos and a video tutorial.
This sausage & herb stuffing is the very same one I’ve enjoyed every year at every Thanksgiving holiday for as long as I can remember. Mom prepped it the night before, stuffed some into the turkey, and served the rest as dressing alongside candied sweet potatoes and green bean casserole. This humble Thanksgiving side dish stole the show each and every year, to the point where we just began making it regularly for dinner.
While this sausage & herb stuffing is an absolute must-have side dish on my family’s Thanksgiving table, who says you have to limit this comforting casserole to Thanksgiving? Or even to the side dish category, for that matter. With its combination of sausage, vegetables, and bread, this stuffing recipe makes a great all-in-one meal, no turkey required!
One reader, Carla, commented: “A staple Thanksgiving stuffing for our family! Absolutely outstanding. No holiday would be complete without it. ★★★★★“
One reader, Danielle, commented: “I made this tonight—it was AMAZING! I could eat a whole plate of just this. ★★★★★”
Why You’ll Love This Thanksgiving Stuffing Recipe
- Soft in the middle with crisp toasted edges
- So many flavors and textures all in one dish
- Customizable—swap mushrooms for butternut squash, or make it vegetarian
- As delicious all on its own as it is as a side dish
- Easily double or halve to scale it up or down
- Egg-free stuffing recipe—simply not needed
- You can make it ahead of time! And that is gold when it comes to holiday meals.
With its cozy herby flavors and contrasting textures, this is a savory recipe you can make any time you crave comfort food with a side of nostalgia. It warms the soul, just like chicken pot pie.
Use These Ingredients for Sausage & Herb Stuffing:
- Bread: I usually use whole grain bread here, but you can really use any kind of bread in this stuffing recipe. From standard sliced sandwich bread or whole wheat bread, to crusty sourdough or artisan homemade bread, you can also use homemade croutons… or try cornbread stuffing!
- Herbs: Thyme, sage, and parsley brighten up the stuffing and add heaps of fragrant flavor. You can use dried or fresh or a mix of both.
- Sausage: This adds savory richness to the dish. I like to use sweet Italian sausage—same I usually use for sausage stuffed peppers—but spicy Italian sausage works just as well. For a vegetarian option, replace the sausage with more mushrooms or diced butternut squash. You can also use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth.
- Mushrooms: For hearty flavor and texture.
- Apples: The fruit’s sweetness adds a nice contrast to the rich sausage and even more texture. I usually use 1 Granny Smith and 1 Honeycrisp apple, for a mix of tart and sweet, but you can use whichever apples you have on hand.
You also need some chicken (or turkey, or vegetable) broth, a little butter, onion, celery, and salt & pepper. Dried cranberries are optional, but I love the sweetness and color they add. Grab a bag and make a loaf of cranberry nut no-knead bread, too!
Let Me Show You How to Make This Sausage & Herb Stuffing
For BEST texture, toast the bread cubes: Spread bread cubes out on baking sheets, and bake for 15 minutes. Lightly toasting the bread helps it absorb some of the liquid ingredients, which prevents your stuffing from tasting soggy. I do the same thing when I forget to leave the bread out to get stale for pumpkin French toast casserole.
Cook the vegetables, herbs, & sausage: Now it’s time to get things cooking on the stove in a large skillet. Start by softening the onion and celery in some butter. This is the flavorful base of the stuffing. Then add the mushrooms and herbs, followed by the sausage and apples.
The sausage will lightly brown, the apples will slightly soften, and all the incredible flavors will blend together in perfect harmony:
Combine everything: Mix the cooked ingredients together with the lightly toasted bread (everything can still be warm at this point), and pour over some chicken broth. The broth serves to bind the stuffing ingredients together, and to keep the stuffing from drying out.
Bake. Bake the stuffing in a large baking dish, or stuff it into an unbaked turkey. If you’re stuffing the turkey, cool completely before using.
If you aren’t stuffing a turkey, a 9×13-inch baking pan or any 3- to 4-quart oven-safe baking dish (the one pictured) is best.
Yes, absolutely. You can turn this into a vegetarian stuffing recipe by replacing the sausage with more mushrooms, or some diced butternut squash. The cooking instructions remain the same. You can also use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth.
How to Make Stuffing Ahead of Time
You can save time (and precious oven space) the day of the big meal by making this sausage & herb stuffing in advance.
The most wonderful part about this Thanksgiving stuffing recipe is that, like an easy breakfast casserole, it’s actually BEST prepared ahead of time. All the savory herbs, browned sausage, and sweet apples soak together overnight to maximize flavor. However, the bread loses a lot of texture if you make the stuffing completely ahead of time, so I recommend you wait to combine the bread, sausage mixture, and broth until the day you plan to bake and serve it.
Here’s what I do: Store the cooked sausage/apple mixture in the refrigerator overnight, and store the toasted bread cubes at room temperature. Combine and bake the following day.
And for even more recipe inspiration, see my complete list of 40+ Thanksgiving side dishes.
Sausage & Herb Stuffing
- Prep Time: 45 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes
- Yield: serves 8-10
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Some call it stuffing, some call it dressing, but all who have tried it agree that this sausage & herb stuffing is an essential part of a Thanksgiving meal. You’ll love the comforting medley of herbs, sausage, mushrooms, apples, and bread. It tastes best if it’s partially prepared ahead of time, so save yourself time on the big day.
Ingredients
- 10 cups (400g) cubed bread (any bread works; I usually use whole wheat)
- 2 Tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 3 stalks celery, thinly sliced (about 150g)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 cup (about 100g) roughly chopped mushrooms
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves (or leaves from about 3 stalks fresh thyme)
- 1 teaspoon dried sage (or about 2 Tbsp chopped fresh)
- 2 teaspoons dried parsley (or about 2 Tbsp chopped fresh)
- 1 pound (454g) uncooked mild Italian sausage
- 2 cups (240g) diced apples (about 2 medium apples)
- 2 and 1/4 cups (540ml) low-sodium chicken broth
- optional: 2/3 cup (80g) dried cranberries
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300°F (149°C). Spread bread cubes out on two large baking sheets and bake for 15 minutes, or until lightly browned and crisp. Transfer to a large bowl.
- Place butter in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, celery, salt, and pepper. Sauté for about 4 minutes until vegetables begin to soften. Add mushrooms, thyme, sage, and parsley. Continue cooking for another 3 minutes. Squeeze the sausage meat out of the casings into the skillet. Break up with spoon, then add the apples. Cook for about 4 minutes, until sausage meat is just about cooked through.
- Remove from heat and stir the sausage/apple mixture in with the toasted bread. Pour the broth on top, then the cranberries, if using. Stir to combine everything.
- If using to stuff a turkey, allow to cool completely before stuffing. If baking the stuffing separately like I did in these photos, heat 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 until lightly browned and crisp on top.
- Garnish with fresh herbs before serving, if desired. Serve warm.
- Cover leftovers tightly and store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Reheat in the microwave.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: If you make this stuffing ahead of time, be prepared for maximum flavor! The stuffing is actually BEST made ahead and here’s how to do it. The bread loses a lot of texture if you make the stuffing completely ahead of time. Instead, prepare the recipe through step 2. Store the cooked veggies/apples/sausage in the refrigerator overnight and store the crisp bread cubes lightly covered at room temperature. Continue with step 3 the next morning. For long storage, freeze the baked stuffing up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, allow to come to room temperature, then reheat it in a 350°F (177°C) oven for 20–25 minutes, or until warmed through, before serving.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Baking Sheets | Glass Mixing Bowl | 9×13-inch Baking Pan or any 3- to 4-quart Baking Dish (pictured)
- Can I Make This Vegetarian? Yes, absolutely. You can turn this into a vegetarian stuffing recipe by replacing the sausage with more mushrooms, or some diced butternut squash. The cooking instructions remain the same. You can also use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth.
Reader Comments and Reviews
Hi, If omitting the sausage and adding extra mushrooms instead, how much more of the mushrooms should I add? Was thinking of adding another cup. Also, since there won’t be as much fat if sausage is eliminated, would it be a good idea to add extra butter? Not that extra butter is ever a bad idea…;)
Hi DC! An extra cup should work well. A little extra butter certainly wouldn’t hurt anything!
Do you know if this would work using gluten free bread?
Hi Shirley, we haven’t tested it, but we can’t see why not!
Do you have to make the bread 1 day in advanced?
Hello! This looks delicious! Could I use cornbread in this recipe?
Hi Colleen, here’s our cornbread stuffing recipe!
If I buy the store bought stuffing do I eliminate the baking of the bread crumbs?
Hi Lisa, we’re unsure how this recipe would need to be adapted to use with a pre-made stuffing mix. We highly recommend making this one totally from scratch, but let us know what you try!
Can I omit the mushroom/squash? What else could be used instead?
Hi Tina, You can leave out the mushrooms or replace with a different vegetable.
Does the cooking time change if I half the recipe? And does it change between using a 9×9 or a smaller 7×5 Corningware dish?
Hi Lisa! The bake time will be a little shorter for a smaller batch.
Question. I would like to freeze this about 1 week before Thanksgiving. Question: should I bake it and then freeze or do I assemble through step 3, freez and then bake?
Hi Carol, see Notes after the recipe for our recommended make-ahead instructions! There’s a few ways you can do it and they all turn out well!
Delicious! We just made it because we love stuffing, but only had chorizo sausage and didn’t have sage or parsley yet it still packed with layered flavors.
This one was an absolute hit. Best stuffing I’ve ever made. Probably among the best I’ve ever had. I used spicy Italian sausage and it added a really nice kick. This will be my go-to recipe for stuffing for now on.
Hi Sally. Can I sub croutons for the bread?
Hi Effath, unseasoned croutons would likely be fine. Same amount.
Hi Sally, could you use loose sage sausage instead of Italian? If so, would I leave out the sage seasoning? Thanks
Hi Toni, you definitely can! And whether you want to add in the sage or leave it out is probably a matter of taste and how much you like sage.
We bought a small 10 pound turkey this year. How big a turkey is this stuffing recipe intended for?
Hi Kim, this makes a decent amount, so I would recommend using just what you need to stuff the turkey, and then baking the remaining stuffing separately in a baking pan.
I made this last year and we all loved it! Looking to make it this year too. Can I make the sausage apple mixture 4-5 days in advance and leave in the fridge?
Hi Julie, you can find all our make-ahead suggestions in the Notes section immediately following the recipe. I’m not sure whether the sausage and apple mixture should be made quite that far ahead, but if you try it, please let us know how it works out!
I have 2 recommendation: first, I’d add carrots; and second, there’s nothing better than stuffing used for brunch by adding poached or fried eggs. Yolk soaking into bread… yum!!
Hi Sally, I have esophagitus and GERD and need to avoid onions in my diet. Do you think this recipe could still work out if I omit them? Thank you.
Hi Jenn, you can leave it out.
I make this recipe every year for Thanksgiving and it is loved by family and friends alike! I make it without mushrooms due to family allergies and I add fresh/frozen cranberries. Delicious!!!
Thanks for the great recipe! I’d love to know if it’s possible to make this in the slow cooker?
Hi Tracy, we haven’t tested anything, but let us know if you do!
Can you cheat by using pepperidge farm stuffing? If so, no baking the cubes correct?
Hi CK, that should work just fine. Hope you enjoy it!
Not sure I would like the apples
– if I leave them out, should any other ingredients be modified?
Hi Gail, you can leave them out with no changes to the recipe.
Trying this for the first time this year.
I noticed that you call for 3 STALKS of celery. Given that you have the weight as 150g, I assume you mean 3 RIBS celery. Is that correct?
Yes, thank you for picking up on that. 3 individual ribs.
I’m not usually a stuffing fan, but I can’t get enough of this! I love it!!! Not a mushroom fan, so I just add extra celery.
I always use sausage in my stuffing, but this year, I used your recipe and everyone in my family loved it, proclaiming it is the best I’ve ever made. You can bet this will be the recipe I use every year from now on. Thanks, Sally!
I got your email for this and made it part of our Thanksgiving meal. There were no leftovers! The flavors are excellent. Will be making this every year.
This was my first time making this recipe. It was fantastic!! By the way, my family loves your candied sweet potatoes too.
A very flavorful dressing/stuffing recipe with the addition of apples and dried cranberries. Some family members requested that I make it again, but without the dried cranberries, but others liked it that way. I’ll definitely make this recipe again. It was delicious.
This is a great stuffing recipe. My husband couldn’t stop eating it and said it was “perfection”. The only changes I made was to use only half the amount of sausage in the recipe. I also used half sourdough bread and half whole grain bread. For the stock, I created my own “enhanced stock” the day before and used it in the recipe for added flavor. How I enhanced my stock: I browned two large turkey wings and some chicken gizzards in a stock pot for 10 minutes, then added 1.5L store-bought stock, large chop mirepoix, handful of fresh herbs and a tsp of soy sauce. I brought this to a boil and then simmered for 1 hour, then strained. A-mazing flavor.
This has incredible flavor! I used whole wheat bread. Made it last weekend to test it for tomorrow, but that was not necessary. It’s perfect as is and I’m excited to serve it again. Thanks Sally!
This was a big hit last Thanksgiving and I just finished putting it together for today. We’re all looking forward to it. I 1.5x the recipe today because there were no leftovers last year!
Whoops! One more question: the recipe calls for dried sage. Do you mean rubbed or ground? I have ground and i read you should use about 1/2 as much as rubbed so that could make a big difference! Thanks!
Hi Jenni, you can really use either one here, but when Sally and I made this last week, we used ground!
Excellent and so easy! I did leave out the apples though. Next time I will add raisins, which I usually added to my previous recipe. This is now my “Go-to”. Highly recommend!!
Do you think it would be ok to make sausage mixture up 2 days ahead?
Hi Sherrie, absolutely – it should be fine. Cover and store in the refrigerator.