Italian Sausage Stuffing with Apples, Cranberries, Pecans, and fresh herbs

Italian Sausage Stuffing with fresh herbs is one of the best and easiest holiday side dishes you can make for Thanksgiving and Christmas!  Made with apples, dried cranberries, and pecans, this flavorful stuffing has a moist texture on the inside and a crunchy layer on the outside. This recipe uses store-bought bread cubes which makes the recipe really easy!

Why make sausage stuffing

• Beautiful presentation. Regular stuffing might taste pretty good, but it usually has a quite boring and unappealing presentation. This stuffing with the Italian sausage not only tastes good but will also add colors and vibrancy to your holiday table!
• More flavor. This Thanksgiving side dish is packed with herbs, fruit, and nuts! Sausage, apples, dried cranberries, and pecans add so much more flavor than regular boring stuffing.
• Better texture. Because of the addition of fruit and nuts, this Italian sausage stuffing has a wonderful texture!
• Perfect holiday side dish. Sausage tastes great when combined with all the classic Autumn flavors, such as apples, dried cranberries, and pecans. This is one of the best holiday meals you'll ever try! It's a perfect side dish for Thanksgiving or Christmas.

Easy holiday side dish

There is an interplay of savory and sweet flavors, and this stuffing can be eaten as a meal.  The texture is moist on the inside, and crunchy on the outside.  I can honestly say this is one of the best sausage stuffing recipes I've ever tasted!  It's so much better than your regular basic Thanksgiving or Christmas stuffing!

• Store-bought bread cubes (croutons) are used in this recipe. There is really no reason to toast your own croutons! This saves you a lot of time!
• Herbs from Provence are used in generous amounts to add flavor to this easy stuffing recipe. The mix that I used contained dried rosemary, thyme, parsley, tarragon, marjoram, basil, and sage.
• This stuffing is filled with just the right amount of crumbled sausage (not too much and not too little).
• Add chopped apples and dried cranberries to provide a perfectly sweet contrast to savory ingredients (bread cubes and sausage).  They are also festive ingredients to use during Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons.
• Add pecans for crunch and texture.  Another delicious holiday ingredient!

What to serve with sausage stuffing

• Festive sides. My other favorite holiday side dishes that will go really well with sausage stuffing are roasted Brussels sprouts with cinnamon butternut squash, pecans, and cranberries and Christmas Brussels sprouts with bacon.
• Fancy main course. If you're looking for a simple yet delicious main course alternative to holiday turkey, try these roasted Cornish hens with herb butter and winter vegetables.   Another great Christmas or Thanksgiving entree is the whole roasted duck.

Cook the stuffing inside or outside the turkey?

I always cook the stuffing outside the turkey for 4 reasons:

• Crunchy layer on the outside. When cooked in a casserole dish, outside the turkey, the sausage stuffing gets a chance to get a nice, crispy, golden-brown crust on top.
• The texture is better when you cook the stuffing outside the turkey, and you can even eat the stuffing as a meal in this case. However, if you cook the stuffing inside the turkey, it will likely get overcooked and be soggy.
• For food safety reasons, it's best to cook the stuffing separately from the turkey, in a separate casserole dish.
• Presentation.  When you cook the stuffing inside the turkey, what you have in the end is an unappealing (though delicious), soggy mixture.  If you cook the sausage stuffing in a casserole dish, it acquires a beautiful "roasted" look and will look much more attractive on your Thanksgiving table.

Can you make this ahead?

Yes, you can prepare this recipe a day in advance, completely cook it, cool it off, cover it air-tight (the stuffing can stay in the same baking dish), and refrigerate it overnight.  You can reheat it the next day in the preheated oven at 350 F for about 30 or 45 minutes.  If the texture is dry, add a small amount of chicken broth or even water.  It's great to have this option to make sausage stuffing a day ahead - it will save you precious cooking time during Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner preparation!

Storage and reheating tips

• Fridge.  Refrigerate the sausage stuffing in an air-tight container for up to 4 days.
• How to reheat.  Reheat it in an ovenproof baking dish in the preheated oven at 350 F for 30 or 45 minutes.  Or, if you have just a small amount of stuffing leftover, reheat it in the microwave oven. You might have to add a small amount of chicken broth when reheating if the stuffing gets too dry.

Cooking tips and recipe notes

• What kind of sausage to use? I recommend using crumbled spicy Italian sausage.  It adds flavor and just the right amount of heat, without making the dish spicy at all, since all the spiciness is absorbed by a lot of bread cubes and other ingredients. If using sausage in casings, remove the casings and crumble the sausage.
• Store-bought bread cubes. You can use store-bought toasted bread cubes (stuffing mix). It works well, and I don't see why you have to toast your own bread cubes!
• Make your own bread cubes. If you do wish to make your own toasted bread cubes, use yesterday's bread and slice it in cubes. Then place bread cubes on a baking sheet and toast them in the preheated oven at 350 F for about 20 minutes or longer until the bread cubes become like croutons. Or, just buy crouton-like bread cubes as stuffing mix in the store!
• How to make this stuffing gluten-free?  There are many great gluten-free stuffing mixes on the market. My favorite one is Olivia's gluten-free stuffing (rosemary and sage flavor).
• Double the recipe.  This recipe is enough to serve 6 people - great for a small gathering! You can easily double this recipe and use a 9x13 inch pan.

Other holiday side dishes you might like

If you want to discover other colorful and vibrant Thanksgiving and Christmas side dishes, check out these recipes:

• Roasted Brussels Sprouts Salad with Maple Butternut Squash, Pumpkin Seeds, and Cranberries
• Cheesy Baked Asparagus with Gruyere cheese, Garlic, and Bacon
• Butternut Squash and Spinach Salad with Pecans, Cranberries, Pomegranate

4.97 from 26 votes

Italian Sausage Stuffing with Apples, Cranberries, Pecans, and fresh herbs

Italian Sausage Stuffing with fresh herbs is one of the best and easiest holiday side dishes you can make for Thanksgiving and Christmas!  Made with apples, dried cranberries, and pecans, this flavorful stuffing has a moist texture on the inside and a crunchy layer on the outside. This recipe uses store-bought bread cubes which makes the recipe really easy!

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr

Total Time 1 hour hr 20 minutes mins

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American

Servings 6 people

Calories per serving 527 kcal

Author: Julia

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 8 oz Italian sausage crumbled
• 1 onion small, chopped
• 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning or Herbs from Provence
• 2 apples medium, chopped, I used Gala red apples
• 1.5 cups chicken broth divided
• 9 oz dried bread cubes about 3 or 4 cups (see notes below the recipe instructions!)
• 1 egg
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• ½ cup dried cranberries
• fresh thyme

US Customary - Metric

Instructions 

• Preheat oven to 350 F.
• Heat olive oil on medium heat in a large skillet. Add crumbled sausage, chopped onion, Italian seasoning (or Herbs from Provence), and cook for about 6 minutes until the sausage is cooked through.
• Add chopped apples (set some chopped apples aside for later - to put on top of the stuffing) and cook on medium heat, stirring, for about 2 more minutes. Remove from heat.
• Add 1 cup of chicken broth to the skillet and stir (this warms up the broth).
• Transfer the skillet contents onto a large heatproof mixing bowl.
• Add dried bread cubes. Stir everything well and let it rest for about 3 minutes. Then stir again and let it rest, until the liquid is completely absorbed and there is no liquid on the bottom of the mixing bowl. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
• In a small bowl (or a mason jar), whisk 1 egg. Add the remaining ½ cup of chicken broth. Mix well. Add to the mixing bowl, and stir everything well until the liquid is absorbed (you might have to let the mixture rest for 2 or 3 minutes). The bread cubes should be moist but not soggy. There should be no liquid on the bottom of the mixing bowl.
• Add chopped pecans, dried cranberries, and fresh thyme to the mixing bowl. Mix well. Note: set aside about ¼ cup of chopped pecans, some cranberries, and some fresh thyme to use for later (to put on top of the stuffing).
• Use the baking dish of the appropriate size, such as 9 x 9 inches baking dish - enough to hold about 2 or 3 quarts. Or, you can also use 2 smaller baking dishes. I used 2 baking dishes 1 quart each. Grease a baking dish with butter.
• Pour the stuffing into the baking dish (or dishes). Top with the reserved chopped apples (red skin sides up, for presentation), chopped pecans, and dried cranberries that you set aside. Top with fresh thyme.
• Bake, uncovered, for about 30 or 45 minutes. If the stuffing gets too brown, you can tent it with foil.

Notes

• Sausage. I recommend using crumbled spicy Italian sausage. You can also use Italian sausage links in casings, remove the casings and crumble the sausage.
• Herbs from Provence are used in generous amounts to add flavor to this easy stuffing recipe. The mix that I used contained dried rosemary, thyme, parsley, tarragon, marjoram, basil, and sage.
• Use store-bought bread cubes. You can use store-bought toasted bread cubes (stuffing mix). It works well, and I don't see why you have to toast your own bread cubes!
• Want to make your own bread cubes? Use yesterday's bread and slice it into cubes. Then place bread cubes on a baking sheet and toast them in the preheated oven at 350 F for about 20 minutes or longer until the bread cubes become like croutons. 
• How to make this sausage stuffing gluten-free?  There are many great gluten-free stuffing mixes on the market. My favorite one is Olivia's gluten-free stuffing (rosemary and sage flavor).
• What size baking dish to use? Use the baking dish of the appropriate size, such as 9 x 9 inches - enough to hold about 2 or 3 quarts.  Or, you can use 2 smaller baking dishes, which is what I did.  I used 2 baking dishes 1-quart each.
• You can double the recipe.  In this case, you can use a 9x13 inch pan.

Nutrition

Nutrition Information

Italian Sausage Stuffing with Apples, Cranberries, Pecans, and fresh herbs

Amount per Serving

Calories

527

% Daily Value*

Fat

 

30

g

46

%

Saturated Fat

 

6

g

38

%

Trans Fat

 

1

g

Polyunsaturated Fat

 

6

g

Monounsaturated Fat

 

15

g

Cholesterol

 

56

mg

19

%

Sodium

 

1101

mg

48

%

Potassium

 

438

mg

13

%

Carbohydrates

 

54

g

18

%

Fiber

 

6

g

25

%

Sugar

 

18

g

20

%

Protein

 

13

g

26

%

Vitamin A

 

99

IU

2

%

Vitamin C

 

9

mg

11

%

Calcium

 

91

mg

9

%

Iron

 

3

mg

17

%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Nutrition Disclaimer:

The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed. It should not be used as a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

Keyword sausage stuffing

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