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It’s not Thanksgiving without Sausage and Sage Stuffing! With hearty sourdough bread, flavorful sausage, and earthy herbs, it’s the ultimate addition to your feast.
Growing up, my mom always made a rendition of this stuffing recipe and it was a personal favorite on the table for the holidays. It was a recipe that my grandma would always make and would include even more butter than I include here—which is definitely what made it so delicious! The inclusion of hot Italian sausage also makes this even more flavorful and exciting in my opinion.
And it wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without a little debate, which means we have to talk about stuffing vs. dressing. I talked about this on Instagram and did not realize how divisive the topic would be! I always thought stuffing was what actually went inside a turkey while dressing was the delicious bread, sausage, and veggie mixture I grew up loving. I thought maybe it was a regional thing because Cady was confused by me calling it dressing. But then, a lot of you said that the difference has to do with the type of bread you use. Honestly, I am still confused as I write this, but all I know is that this version is a must-have for your Thanksgiving spread.
ingredients:
- Sourdough Bread
- Unsalted Butter
- Yellow Onion
- Celery
- Garlic Cloves
- Fresh Thyme
- Kosher Salt
- Freshly Ground Black Pepper
- Mild or Hot Italian Sausage
- Fresh Sage
- Dry White Wine
- Flat-Leaf Parsley
- Large Eggs
- Low-Sodium Chicken Broth
- Dried Sage
- Dried Thyme
step-by-step:
step one: preheat the oven and prep the baking dish
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking dish with butter.
step two: dry the bread
Cut the bread into 1/2-inch cubes (around 12 cups total) and spread evenly across 2 large baking sheets. Transfer to the oven and bake until the bread is completely dry and beginning to crisp, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside.
step three: sauté the vegetables
Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium heat and melt 9 tablespoons of butter. Add the onions, celery, garlic, thyme, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Cook, stirring often, until the onions and celery are very tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a large mixing bowl and set aside.
step four: cook the sausage
Increase the heat to medium-high. Add the sausage and sage. Cook, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon, until the sausage is cooked through, about 6 minutes.
step five: add the wine
Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter and toss until coated. Add the wine, stir, and cook until reduced by half, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer the sausage mixture to the bowl with the onions and celery.
step six: assemble the stuffing
Add the toasted bread to the mixing bowl and toss until well combined. Add the chicken broth, eggs, parsley, dried sage, dried thyme, the remaining 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Toss again to combine.
step seven: bake the stuffing
Transfer into the prepared baking dish and bake, uncovered, for 20 to 25 minutes until the bread is golden brown.
I love using hot Italian sausage but if your crowd is sensitive to spice, you can definitely use mild Italian sausage or even a pork-based breakfast sausage.
Of course! Use your favorite type of hearty, crusty gluten-free bread so that it doesn’t turn soggy.
Regardless if you call this stuffing or dressing, this Sausage and Sage Stuffing (Dressing) is a classic that I hope is on your Thanksgiving table for years to come!
looking for more Thanksgiving recipes? try these!
Caramelized Onion Scalloped Potatoes
Roasted Calabrian Chili Green Beans with Crispy Shallots
Sausage and Sage Stuffing
Ingredients
- 10 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for greasing
- 1 pound loaf of sourdough bread
- 2 cups finely diced yellow onions, (from about 1 large onion)
- 1 cup thinly sliced celery (from 3 to 4 stalks)
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves (from about 8 sprigs of thyme)
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
- 1 pound mild or hot Italian sausage
- 10 to 12 fresh sage leaves, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 1/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth
- 3 large eggs, beaten
- 1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves
- 1 teaspoon dried sage
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking dish with butter.
- Cut the bread into 1/2-inch cubes (around 12 cups total) and spread evenly across 2 large baking sheets. Transfer to the oven and bake until the bread is completely dry and beginning to crisp, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside.
- Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium heat and melt 9 tablespoons of butter. Add the onions, celery, garlic, thyme, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Cook, stirring often, until the onions and celery are very tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a large mixing bowl and set aside.
- Increase the heat to medium-high. Add the sausage and sage. Cook, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon, until the sausage is cooked through, about 6 minutes.
- Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter and toss until coated. Add the wine, stir, and cook until reduced by half, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer the sausage mixture to the bowl with the onions and celery.
- Add the toasted bread to the mixing bowl and toss until well combined. Add the chicken broth, eggs, parsley, dried sage, dried thyme, the remaining 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Toss again to combine.
- Transfer into the prepared baking dish and bake, uncovered, for 20 to 25 minutes until the bread is golden brown.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Food Photography and Styling by Eat Love Eats.
I’m calling it stuffing if it’s in the bird and dressing if it’s not. Final answer. As long as it’s delicious, who really cares?
true that!! Let’s just eat and be happy haha
Can I prep this through step 6 the day before Thanksgiving and then not put into the oven until closer to serving? I didn’t know if the bread and eggs would get weird in the fridge? Thanks for your insights!
Yes this works great to prep-ahead!
I have sweet Italian sausage..will this work?
Definitely!
Looking forward to making this! Do you have a substitution for eggs? We have someone with an egg allergy. Thanks!
I haven’t tried it, but typically I recommend swapping in a “Flax egg” for eggs in recipes when you have an allergy! I find it works the best.
This is the 2nd year making this stuffing for Thanksgiving. It was my very favorite side dish and I am so excited to make it again. It is everything stuffing should be. SO delicious!!
Of I’m using sage and pork sausage so I also need to add the 10 sage leaves to it? Will that be too much sage?
Thank you!
I think it will still be amazing
Hi Alex, any suggestions for an egg substitute? I’ve used flax and applesauce in other recipes, but wanted to get your expert opinion. Thanks in advance!
Would it be possible to make a substitution for the butter to make it DF?
vegan butter would be the best alternative
This was incredible. Which is not surprising because all of Alex’s stuff is incredible but holy cow. I’ve been struggling along with crappy gf boxed stuffings the past few years and this was such a game changer. It is so flavorful and delicious. Unless someone needs to know for allergies, don’t even tell anyone its gf!! They’ll never know. I’m still battling the stigma that gf food isn’t good with some friends and family and this stuffing leaves people speechless when they do find out its gf. Thanks for finally giving us gf folks an AMAZING stuffing!! (note: i used TJ gf white bread since I couldn’t find a good gf sourdough in time and it worked beautifully)
This was absolutely amazing! So much flavor! Best stuffing I’ve ever had!