I’ve never been a big lover of stuffing – even my grandma’s. But, this stuffing…this delicious, savory Stuffing recipe with Italian Sausage is incredible and the one we will forever make each holiday season. It’s my go-to Thanksgiving side dish and the one dish that truly marks the celebration for us.
What is stuffing?
So, let’s get this out of the way. Technically, stuffing is what gets stuffed inside of the bird. If you want to be really technical about it, this is “dressing”. But no one in United States really uses that correct vernacular. So for the sake of simplicity and vocabulary, we are going to call this a Stuffing recipe with Italian Sausage.
Stuffing always got a bad rap
Now back to business…As I mentioned stuffing has never really been my thing. I always felt it was too dry with not enough flavor. If I was going to eat a holiday dish full of carbs that was sure to fill me up, I was sure it was going to be the pasta that we always eat before the main course even reaches the table.
But save room for this one, friends. This Stuffing Recipe with Italian Sausage just might be the dish that makes you pop open the top button on your pants. And you will be happy about it too. 🙂
This Stuffing Recipe with Italian Sausage is filled with flavor in each bite. It’s moist and it’s really one of those classic dishes that will stay with your heart.
So, what makes stuffing good?
For me, I really want the flavors to kind of sing together. Every now and then I come across one that’s too herb-y, or has some odd herb in it that makes me strongly dislike it. I don’t want it to be too soggy or dry either.
This Stuffing Recipe with Italian Sausage hits all the high notes for me. It combines fresh herbs like parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme along with some of my favorite savory ingredients. The Italian Sausage really helps here too and you can use your favorite kind. I tend to use Johnsonville Mild Italian Sausage. While it probably doesn’t make the recipe seem overly sophisticated, it’s easy to find in almost any grocery store and it’s a flavor profile many people already enjoy. However, if your family has another favorite, I strongly suggest using that so you love this recipe just as much as I do.
Combined with eggs and chicken broth to help keep it all moist, the stuffing recipe with Italian sausage will become a fast family favorite.
Tips for making this Stuffing Recipe with Italian Sausage
- Use an Italian Sausage you love and that your family loves. Whether it’s from another brand or a local butcher.
- Buy the French Bread ahead of time, let it sit for a day. Then cut the French Bread a few hours before you need it. If you don’t do this, you will need to dry out the bread a bit before cooking the stuffing recipe with Italian Sausage. If this is the way you decide to do it, put it in the oven at 300 for about 15 minutes. Flip it once and bake another 15 minutes.
- Use sea salt instead of table salt. It will add a lot more flavor and help the dish feel well-rounded.
- You can make this the day before Thanksgiving and then just warm it up the day of. See full instructions for that in the stuffing recipe with Italian sausage below.
- You need a Dutch oven to make this before baking it. I have this one {HERE} from Le Creuset and I love it. I make everything in it from pastas to soups to bread and more.
Thank you so much for stopping by today, friends! I hope that you love this stuffing recipe with Italian Sausage as much as I do! For more Thanksgiving recipes, click {HERE}.
Stuffing Recipe with Italian Sausage
Equipment
- Dutch oven or large pot
- Baking pan
Ingredients
- 1 package Italian Sausage I use mild Johnsonville Italian Sausage.
- 1 1/2 loaves French bread, cubed or torn
- 1 stick butter, salted
- 2 1/2 cups yellow onion, diced
- 2 cups celery, sliced
- 1 1/2 cups Italian parsley, chopped
- 1 1/2 Tbsp. fresh rosemary, minced
- 1 1/2 Tbsp. fresh sage, minced
- 1 1/2 Tbsp. fresh thyme
- 1 tsp. sea salt
- 1 tsp. black pepper
- 2 1/2 cups chicken broth, divided
- 2 large eggs
- 2 Tbsp. olive oil
Instructions
- If you need to dry out your bread, do this first. Preheat oven to 300. Add the bread cubes to a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Flip and then bake again for another 15 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Brown the sausage in a large Dutch oven or a large pot. You can see mine above in my Dutch oven that's about 5 quarts.
- When the sausage is almost brown, add the butter, onion and celery. Cook for about 5 more minutes until the onions begin to soften.
- Turn off the heat.
- Add in the bread cubes and then add in all the herbs plus the salt and pepper. Gently mix everything to combine it. Don't worry if you can't fit all the bread cubes right at that moment. As the mix cooks down, you can add in a few more pieces.
- Drizzle half of the chicken broth over the mixture and mix lightly.
- Whisk the eggs and the other half of the chicken broth together. Pour over the stuffing mix and fold everything together.
- Grease a baking dish with the olive oil.
- If you have any remaining bread cubes that you have not combined yet, add them to the bottom of the baking dish.
- Add the stuffing mixture to the baking dish. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes.
- ****If you want to make this the day before Thanksgiving and then heat it up on the day of, stop here for now and put the stuffing in the refrigerator with the foil on.****
- Remove the foil and bake for about 45 minutes.
- Serve immediately with additional salt and pepper to taste and additional fresh parsley and thyme.
I think that stuffing is the best best part of the Thanksgiving meal. I will be trying this recipe.
I am sure I would love this stuffing. I am a big fan of sausage. This looks and sound delish!
This is such a hearty stuffing recipe it could be a meal all on its own. So easy to make too.
This looks delicious. I love the heartiness of this dish.
I’ve never tried sausage inside of stuffing. It looks and sounds so delicious!
I moved abroad in 2010 and Thanksgiving always hits me hard with a bout of homesickness. This recipe looks delicious!
This made me really miss home! My mom used to make a similar dish.
This recipe looks so easy and delicious. I am sure everyone will love this. Yum!
I need to include this stuffing recipe in my menu. It’s so rich and flavorful!
Oh this sounds amazing!!! We’re going to my sister’s for Thanksgiving and I’ve been struggling with what to make. I think this is it!!!
This is really great! Now I have options on what to do on Thanksgiving.
Wow! This looks amazing. Very timely since I have some guests coming over next week and I think this would be a nice addition to our menu. Thank you for shairng the recipe.
This stuffing looks really yummy! Perfect for the holidays!
I need to give this recipe a try.
Using sausage adds so much flavour. That’s a such a great recipe.
This sounds like a great idea for stuffing. I never thought to add in sausage and it definitely would make it more flavorful and make it more hearty.
Yum! I am definitely saving this for Thanksgiving this year
This stuffing looks amazing! I love that you used italian sausage
while i will skip the sausage and chicken broth and substitute with tofu instead, as well as be using this stuffing for something like bell peppers, this sounds great
This recipe has been THEE number one favorite dish of my family/s the past couple Thanksgivings and even make it Christmas because I get so many requests! For me, I keep it covered with foil half of the time its in the oven instead of uncovered the whole time as I noticed it makes it much more moist. Every recipe I make of yours is amazing!
Awe! Thank you! I’m so glad everyone loves it!