aka my BIL Ben being all "omg but seriously what the f~ck is in this."
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It's butter. And sausage. And REALLY good bread, just enough seasoning, and we find that really good sausage stuffing does not have to be really hard to make. In fact, this may be one of the easiest Thanksgiving side dishes to make and quite possibly the best stuffing ever.
I've seen stuffing with TONS of ingredients, sometimes so many that the stuffing becomes a meal in and of itself. I think those recipes are fun and interesting, but for Thanksgiving I'm really into basic recipes so that one thing on the dish isn't completely overwhelming to the rest of the plate.
Enter, this classic and easy sausage stuffing recipe. It's got really yummy flavors but just nine ingredients, stuff that is readily available, and can be made well in advance (a few days before your big meal certainly), baked, and reheated right before you eat.
The resulting sausage stuffing is super flavorful, tender with some crispy bits, salty and savory from the sausage and spices.
How To Make Easy Sausage Stuffing
First! The bread. We cube it the night before and leave it out, uncovered, overnight. If you forget to do this you can toast the bread dry in the oven at 300F until it starts to dry out - 15 minutes or so.
I used about ⅔ of a really big loaf of whole wheat bread. 10 cups or so!
I make this homemade stuffing in my favorite Staub so that I can saute the sausage and veggies and then make the stuffing right in the same dish. You can absolutely make this in any baking dish you like, though.
To prep, melt butter in a large dish or mixing bowl and whisk in the stock and an egg.
Then, brown the sausage in a large skillet (or stove to oven dish) until it's cooked through, then add the celery, onion, salt, and poultry seasoning. If you don't have poultry seasoning, any herb blend you have works well, or a combination of thyme, rosemary, and sage.
Let the sausage and veggies cook together for about 5 minutes, just until they're soft. Then, turn the heat OFF the pan (or move the process to a big baking dish) and add the bread cubes and butter mixture.
Spread the stuffing mixture into the dish you're using and taste a cube: the bread is soggy right now but it should taste good! Add more salt if needed (this depends on your stock and sausage so every dish will be slightly different).
Bake the stuffing at 350F for one hour, until the top is crispy and the inside is hot.
Done! Super flavorful, easy, sausage stuffing that's perfect for a Thanksgiving side dish. You can use any sausage you like (mild Italian is our go-to), change up the bread, or even use several different kinds of bread to make it your own.
The result is: a buttery, crispy, comforting, super legit bouncy house for your gravy to crash into.
Enjoy this!
Recipe
Wildly Delicious + Easy Sausage Stuffing
Equipment
Ingredients
- 10 cups bread cubed and dried out overnight uncovered
- 2 sticks butter melted
- 1 ½ cups chicken stock plus more if needed
- 1 egg
- 1 pound ground sausage casings removed, mild Italian is my favorite.
- ¼ onion finely diced
- 2 stalks celery finely diced
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon poultry seasoning
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F.
- Whisk together the melted butter, stock, and egg. Set aside.
- In a skillet or stove-to-oven dish (like my favorite Staub), saute the sausage until browned, crispy, and cooked through, breaking it up with a spoon as you go. Add the onion and celery and stir to combine. Sprinkle on the salt and poultry seasoning and cook for about 5 minutes until the veggies are soft. Turn the heat off the skillet or braiser.
- **At this point, transfer all of the following steps to a large baking dish, or continue in the same dish if your pan can be transferred to the oven.
- Add the bread cubes to the sausage mixture and stir to combine. Pour the butter mixture over the entire dish.
- Taste a piece of bread (weird and soggy, yes) for seasoning. Add some more salt and stir if the stuffing seems at all bland.
- Flatten the stuffing in the dish and bake for 1 hour until set and crispy at the edges and top of the dish. Devour. This is SO good.
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