This Sausage Stuffing recipe can be made with homemade or store-bought bread cubes! Use it to stuff chicken or turkey, or bake it in a casserole dish for the best side dish recipe for the holidays!

Be sure to try my Green Bean Casserole,  Mashed Potatoes, Cranberry Sauce, and Dinner Rolls next!

A white casserole dish filled with Sausage Stuffing.

Sausage Stuffing

When it comes to Thanksgiving  or Christmas recipes, you just can’t beat this incredible sausage stuffing. This has the be the best part of any holiday meal. Even better than gravy and the turkey!

My mom always included sausage in her stuffing, and I’ll never have it any other way. (My preferred variety of sausage is outlined in my pro tips below!)

You can make this with homemade or store-bought bread cubes and apples, dried cranberries, and nuts make a great addition to this as well! 

How to Make It

See recipe card below this post for ingredient quantities and full instructions.

Cut the bread into cubes and bake at 350° for 20 minutes, tossing halfway through. They should all feel like croutons.

Cook the sausage, onions, and celery in a little butter and toss it with the bread cubes. Melt more butter, garlic, and herbs and cook for 3 minutes. Drizzle over the bread cubes and toss to coat.

Bread cubes on a baking sheet with sausage, celery, and onions being added to make stuffing.

Transfer to a casserole dish. Combine chicken broth and whisked eggs and drizzle it over the stuffing, toss to coat. Bake covered for 20 minutes. Remove cover and bake for 35 minutes, or until desired brown color is achieved and the mixture is firm. Garnish with parsley and serve!

Sausage Stuffing in a casserole dish before and after being baked.

Pro Tips

  • Variety of Bread Options: You can use any kind of bread for this. I love using hearty Italian loaves, something not too fluffy so that it holds up nicely. You can also purchase bread cubes from the store. If your cubes are very dry, (like the Stove Top brand), you may need to add up to 1 cup of additional broth.
  • Amount of Bread: My bread cubes as shown here (12 cups), weighed 1.2 lbs. (or 544 grams) before toasting them.
  • Sausage: Jimmy Deans Regular Pork Sausage is my go-to for this recipe, but you can also use sweet Italian. The variety that I use is salty enough (420 mg/serving) so that no additional salt is needed. If your sausage has less salt, consider adding up to 1/2 teaspoon of salt to the seasoning mixture. 
  • Eggs: The eggs act as a binder to keep the stuffing together and to prevent it from being dry/crumbly. They can be skipped if needed.
  • Stuffing a Turkey/Chicken: Chill for 45 minutes before using this to stuff a turkey/chicken. Any additional stuffing can be baked in a smaller casserole dish as outlined.

Make Ahead Method

  • Make Ahead Method: Prepare and assemble this as outlined but wait on adding the chicken broth/egg mixture until just before baking. Let it sit out for 30 minutes prior to baking if it’s been refrigerated.

What to Add to Stuffing 

  • Dried cranberries make a nice addition to this, you can stir in about 1/3 cup before adding the chicken broth!
  • Apples are another great add-on. I love using 2 gala apples and cooked them with the sausage, onions, and celery.
  • Chopped Nuts such as walnuts or pecans add a nice crunch! You can roughly chop them and add them right to the stuffing when the cooked sausage is added.

Storage

  • Store in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3-4 days or freeze for up to 3 months.

A white casserole dish with Sausage Stuffing and a spoon on the side.

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Sausage Stuffing in a White Casserole dish with parsley on top.

Sausage Stuffing

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes
5 from 4 ratings
Servings: 12 people
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This Sausage Stuffing recipe can be made with fresh or store bought bread cubes! Use it to stuff chicken or turkey, or bake it in a casserole dish and serve it as a dressing on the side.

Ingredients

US Customary - Metric
  • 12 cups cubed bread, see notes
  • 1 stick butter, divided. Equal to 8 tbs. (I use salted butter)
  • 1 large yellow onion, diced
  • 3 ribs celery, diced
  • 1 lb. ground breakfast sausage, or sweet Italian. See notes.
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 large eggs, whisked
  • 3 cups chicken broth, see notes
  • fresh parsley, to garnish

Seasonings

  • 2 teaspoons EACH: dried parsley, rosemary, thyme
  • ¼ teaspoon EACH: ground sage, black pepper

Instructions

  • Preheat oven 350 degrees. Cut the bread into cubes and spread them out in an even layer on a large, rimmed baking sheet. (You can also use 2 baking sheets if needed.) Bake for 10 minutes, toss, and bake for 10 more minutes, or until they’re all firm like croutons.
  • Meanwhile, preheat a large skillet to medium-high and melt 2 tablespoons of butter. Add the sausage, onions, and celery. Cook and crumble for about 10 minutes, or until cooked through. Add the sausage mixture along with any drippings to the baking sheet with the bread cubes and toss to coat. (You can also do this in a very large bowl.)
  • In the same skillet, melt the remaining 5 tablespoons of butter over medium heat. Use a silicone spatula to “clean” the bottom and sides of the skillet. Add the garlic and seasonings and cook for 2 minutes. Drizzle over the bread cubes and toss to coat.
  • Transfer the bread cubes to a lightly greased 9 x 13-inch casserole dish.
  • Whisk the eggs and the chicken broth together. (The chicken broth needs to be at room temperature (not hot) so that the eggs don’t cook when added.)
  • Pour half of the chicken broth evenly over the stuffing. Toss to coat. Pour more and toss until the breading is moist but not too wet.
  • Cover and bake for 20 minutes. Remove cover and bake 35 more minutes, or until desired brown color on top is obtained and the mixture is firm (not jiggly).
  • Garnish with fresh parsley and serve!

Notes

Make Ahead Method:
  • Prepare and assemble this as outlined but wait on adding the chicken broth/egg mixture until just before baking. I would also let it sit out for 30 minutes prior to baking if it’s been refrigerated.
Crock Pot Method:
  • Prepare as outlined and transfer to the Crock Pot. Cook on high for 30 minutes, then flip to low for 3-4 hours. Keep on warm until ready to serve!
Pro Tips:
  • Variety of Bread Options: You can use any kind of bread for this. I love using hearty Italian loaves, something not too fluffy so that it holds up nicely. You can also purchase bread cubes from the store. If your cubes are very dry, (like the Stove Top brand), you may need to add up to 1 cup of additional broth.
  • Amount of Bread: My bread cubes as shown here (12 cups), weighed 1.2 lbs. (or 544 grams) before toasting them.
  • Sausage: Jimmy Deans Regular Pork Sausage is my go-to for this recipe, but you can also use sweet Italian. The variety that I use is salty enough (420 mg/serving) so that no additional salt is needed. If your sausage has less salt, consider adding up to 1/2 teaspoon of salt to the seasoning mixture. 
  • Eggs: The eggs act as a binder to keep the stuffing together and to prevent it from being dry/crumbly. They can be skipped if needed.
  • Stuffing a Turkey/Chicken: Chill for 45 minutes (or more) before using this to stuff a turkey/chicken. Any additional stuffing can be baked in a smaller casserole dish as outlined.
  • Dried cranberries make a nice addition to this, you can stir in about 1/3 cup before adding the chicken broth!
  • Apples are another great add-on. I love using 2 gala apples and cooked them with the sausage, onions, and celery.
Storage
  • Store in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3-4 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
Nutritional information is an estimate and is per serving. There are 12 servings in this recipe.

Nutrition

Calories: 325kcal, Carbohydrates: 23g, Protein: 12g, Fat: 21g, Saturated Fat: 9g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g, Monounsaturated Fat: 7g, Trans Fat: 0.4g, Cholesterol: 76mg, Sodium: 745mg, Potassium: 199mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 3g, Vitamin A: 328IU, Vitamin C: 2mg, Calcium: 73mg, Iron: 2mg
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Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Author: Stephanie