Sausage Stuffing with Apples, Cranberries, and Fresh Herbs

A flavorful stuffing that’s not overly mushy or soggy. This version combines sage pork sausage, sautéed vegetables, homemade dried bread cubes, fresh herbs, crisp apples, and tart dried cranberries.

This recipe is adapted from a stuffing my cousin Stephanie brought to Thanksgiving. My husband and I weren’t big fans of stuffing until we tried hers — the flavors and texture won us over.

We love the balance of savory sausage, fresh herbs, sweet-tart fruit, and the slightly drier bread cubes that keep the stuffing from becoming soggy.

If you prefer a moister, more traditional stuffing, simply add more broth and optionally mix in eggs (see notes below for details).

Make Ahead:

This stuffing is ideal to prepare a day in advance. Assemble everything but hold back the broth, cover, and refrigerate. When you’re ready to bake, let the dish sit at room temperature for 30–60 minutes, stir in the broth, then bake according to the instructions.

Storage & Reheating:

Leftovers keep well and reheat nicely. We reheated ours in the microwave the next day and the texture remained excellent. Reheat in the oven if you prefer crisp edges.

To freeze, store cooled leftovers in an airtight container. Reheat covered at 350ºF until heated through.

Tips for the Best Sausage Stuffing:

A few tips to ensure great flavor and texture:

• Fresh herbs give the best flavor, though dried can be substituted — see the recipe card for conversions.

• I used sage pork sausage, which adds a classic flavor. If using a different sausage, increase the dried sage in the recipe to 1 ½ teaspoons to maintain that sage-forward note.

• Drying your own bread cubes produces the best texture. Cut bread into ¼–½” cubes and dry thoroughly — under-dried bread results in a soggy stuffing. You can dry cubes up to two weeks ahead.

• This recipe yields a drier, well-textured stuffing. For a moister, more traditional version, add an extra ½ cup of chicken stock and mix in two beaten eggs.

• We prefer baking this separately. If you want to stuff a turkey, reduce the broth to 2/3 cup to account for additional moisture from the bird.

Looking for other holiday sides? Try creamy mac and cheese or a buttery skillet cornbread to round out the table.

Sausage Stuffing {with Apples, Cranberries, and Herbs}

A sausage stuffing that is not too mushy — a blend of sage pork sausage, vegetables, homemade dried bread cubes, fresh herbs, apples, and dried cranberries.

4.85 from 20 votes

Prep Time:
30 minutes minutes

Cook Time:
2 hours hours 20 minutes minutes

Total Time:
2 hours hours 50 minutes minutes

Servings:
10

Equipment

• 12″ cast iron skillet (recommended)
• 9″x13″ baking dish or 3-qt casserole
• Large sheet pan for drying bread

Ingredients

• 8 cups bread blend cubed into ½” pieces (see notes)
• 1 lb. sage pork sausage or other pork/turkey sausage (add 1 tsp extra dried sage if not using sage sausage)
• 1 cup onion diced (1 small or ½ large)
• ¾ cup celery diced (about 2–3 stalks)
• 1 cup dried cranberries (Craisins work well)
• 1 large Fuji apple cored and chopped
• 1 ¼ cup chicken or turkey broth divided
• 4 tablespoon unsalted butter melted (omit extra salt if using salted butter)
• 1 ½ tablespoon fresh rosemary minced (use 1 ½ tsp dried)
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme minced (use ½ tsp dried)
• ⅓ cup fresh parsley
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon pepper
• ½ teaspoon dried sage

Instructions

• If drying your own bread, preheat oven to 250ºF.
• Cut bread into ¼–½” cubes and spread in a single layer on a sheet pan.
• Bake 45–60 minutes, stirring every 20 minutes, until bread is fully dried.
• In a large skillet, cook the sausage over medium heat about 10 minutes, breaking it up as it browns.
• Add diced celery, onion, salt, pepper, and dried sage; cook 5 minutes until softened.
• Pour in ¼ cup of the chicken stock and cook 2 minutes, scraping up browned bits. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.
• In a large bowl combine the dried bread cubes, sausage mixture, chopped apple, cranberries, thyme, rosemary, and parsley.
• Drizzle the melted butter and the remaining broth over the mixture, distributing the liquid evenly rather than pouring it all in one spot.
• Toss to combine, then transfer to a lightly greased 9″x13″ baking dish (or 3-qt casserole).
• Cover with foil and bake at 350ºF for 40 minutes.
• Remove foil and bake uncovered an additional 15 minutes to brown the top.
• Optional: garnish with chopped fresh parsley before serving.

Video

Notes

Bread Tips:

• I used half sourdough and half whole wheat, but any combination of breads works. In my batch, 8 cups of cubed fresh bread equaled about 12 oz.; 8 cups of dried bread equaled about 8 oz.
• Be sure to dry fresh bread thoroughly for about an hour at 250ºF. Skipping this step can lead to soggy stuffing.
• If short on time, store-bought dried bread cubes are an acceptable substitute.

Note: This stuffing is drier than typical versions. For a moister, more traditional texture, add an extra ½ cup chicken stock and stir in two beaten eggs if desired.

*See blog notes for additional tips.

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Keyword: holiday sides

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Recipe adapted from AllRecipes.