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Make the best Sage Sausage Stuffing recipe ever with this classic dressing recipe! Loaded with aromatic herbs and minced sausage, this dish will become a family favorite for holidays and cozy meals.
While stuffing is typically seen as a Thanksgiving or Christmas dish, this dish is great ANY time of the year. And this sage sausage stuffing recipe is the coziest, tastiest, and simplest dressing recipe ever!
Sage Sausage Stuffing Ingredients
This easy stuffing recipe is rocking:
- Stuffing bread cubes
- Sausage (see notes below if you need substitution ideas)
- White or yellow onion
- Celery
- Chicken stock (related: Turkey Bone Broth, How to Make Chicken Broth, and Canning Chicken Broth)
- Garlic and LOTS of it!
- Herb squad* – fresh rosemary, sage, and thyme
- Butter or cooking spray for the dish
*Many grocery stores sell a packet of fresh herbs in the produce section labeled “poultry blend” and it contains thyme, rosemary, and sage. Grab one of those and you’ll be all set to make this sausage stuffing AND our incredible Stuffing Biscuits.
How to Make Sausage Stuffing
*I’ll walk you through it here with some photos and tips, and you’ll also find a printable recipe card at the bottom of the post with exact measurements, etc. You can also click “jump to recipe” to skip down.
In a deep skillet or a dutch oven, cook the minced sausage over medium heat, breaking it apart with a wooden spoon or a meat masher until it is fully cooked through.
When the stuffing is fully cooked, use a slotted spoon and transfer it to a large mixing bowl. Go ahead and set that side; you’ll use it in a bit.
In the pan you used to cook the sausage, drain all but 3 tbsp of fat from the pan. Cook the onion, celery, garlic, and herbs in the grease until the celery has started to soften. This will take about 6-8 minutes. Transfer the cooked veggies to the bowl with the cooked sausage.
Add the bread cubes to the bowl with the sausage and veggies, and stir to mix everything thoroughly.
Next up, slowly stir in the chicken or turkey stock ~1 cup at a time, stirring after each addition. Keep adding stock and stirring until you can no longer hear the bread cubes on the sides of the bowls. It’s a very silly little kitchen hack that works every time.
Butter a 9×13 baking dish and add the stuffing. Cover it with foil and bake for 30-40 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for an additional 10-20 minutes or until the top is crispy and the middle is set and hot.
Make Ahead Tip
You can cook the sausage, celery, onions, garlic, and herbs for up to two days before assembling the stuffing. Store it in an airtight container in the fridge.
I like to reheat it for 1-2 minutes in the microwave before combining it with the bread cubes and hot chicken stock. That allows the sausage and veggies to separate enough to evenly mix into the bread cubes.
How to Store and Reheat
Storing Leftovers: Allow the stuffing to fully cool before storing it covered in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Reheating Leftovers: You can reheat the stuffing for 1-2 minutes in the microwave. I’m not telling you how to live life, but my husband loves leftover stuffing with a fried egg on top.
Freezing: I do not recommend freezing this recipe.
Substitutions/Variations
If you can’t find sage sausage, it’s easy enough to make your own. Purchase your favorite ground/minced sausage or pork and increase the amount of fresh sage in the recipe by 1 tbsp. That will mean a total of 3 tbsp of fresh sage for the recipe.
If you’d like to make this recipe vegetarian or vegan, use your favorite plant-based sausage/crumbles. You’ll also want to sub in vegetable broth for the chicken stock. To make this vegan/dairy-free, use cooking spray instead of butter for the baking dish.
This recipe has not been tested with gluten-free bread/bread cubes. My best guess is that you may need to increase the chicken stock used by at least 1/4 cup as gluten-free bread tends to be drier than traditional bread.
In the last 5 minutes of cooking, consider sprinkling some fried shallots on top of the stuffing to take it to the next level.
Homemade Bread Cubes For Stuffing
If you can’t find premade bread cubes or want to make your own, I’ve got your back! You can use your favorite loaf bread (french bread, no-knead dutch oven bread, sourdough, and honey wheat bread are especially delicious) by tearing it or cutting it into cubes.
My preference is to lightly toast the bread in the oven to guarantee the perfect texture. Simply spread the bread on two baking sheets and bake at 300˚F degrees for 20 minutes, switching the placement of the pans in the oven at 10 minutes.
What to Serve With Old-Fashioned Stuffing
Stuffing is typically served as a side to large meals. It works great alongside Dry Brined Chicken, Instant Pot Ham, or Air Fryer Turkey Breast.
For veggies, I love it with Cheesy Green Bean Casserole, Chopped Cabbage Salad, Hasselback Roasted Beets, Air Fryer Butternut Squash, Cream Cheese Mashed Potatoes, and Air Fryer Bussel Sprouts With Bacon.
Pro Tips/Recipe Notes
- The amount of chicken stock needed will depend on the size of your bread cubes. While stirring the mixture, I listen for the bread cubes to stop making noise in the bowl. That means they’ve all absorbed the liquid that they need. It’s weird but it works every time!
- Make your meal prep a breeze by using prepped frozen minced garlic, frozen onions, and frozen celery. You’re welcome!
- Depending on the size of your bread cubes and your casserole dish, you might need to divide this recipe into two baking dishes. The cooking time will remain the same.
- Depending on the store, bread cubes may also be labeled as breadcrumbs, but these are not the same as traditional breadcrumbs for breading chicken, etc. But those would be delicious in this Air Fryer Chicken Cordon Bleu!
More Delicious Side Dishes You’ll Love
Sausage Stuffing Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 lbs ground sage sausage
- 1 cup white onion {diced}
- 8 cloves garlic {minced}
- 3 cups celery {chopped}
- 2 tbsp fresh sage {chopped}
- 1.5 tbsp fresh thyme
- 1.5 tbsp fresh rosemary {stems removed, chopped}
- 24 oz stuffing bread cubes {~2 bags)
- 4 cups low sodium chicken stock {you may need less depending on the size of the bread cubes}
- butter or cooking spray for dish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350˚F.
- In a very large frying pan or dutch oven, cook sausage over medium heat while breaking it apart with a wooden spoon.2 lbs ground sage sausage
- When the sausage has finished cooking, transfer it into a very large mixing bowl with a slotted spoon. Set aside.
- Drain all but 3 tbsp of grease from the pan.
- Add onion, garlic, celery, and chopped herbs to the pan, and cook, stirring often until celery has softened (~6-8 minutes).1 cup white onion, 8 cloves garlic, 3 cups celery, 2 tbsp fresh sage, 1.5 tbsp fresh thyme, 1.5 tbsp fresh rosemary
- Transfer cooked veggies to the bowl with the sausage.
- Add the bread cubes and stir to mix.24 oz stuffing bread cubes
- Slowly pour in the chicken stock, stirring until all the bread cubes are moist.4 cups low sodium chicken stock
- Butter a 9×13 (3.5-4 quart) casserole dish.butter or cooking spray for dish
- Cover with foil and bake for 30-40 minutes.
- Remove the foil and bake for an additional 10-20 minutes or until the top is crispy and the middle is set and hot.
Notes
- Depending on the store, bread cubes may also be labeled as breadcrumbs, but these are not the same as traditional breadcrumbs for breading chicken, etc.
- If you can’t find sage sausage, increase the fresh sage by 1 tbsp in step 5.
- The amount of chicken stock needed will depend on the size of your bread cubes. While stirring the mixture, I listen for the bread cubes to stop making noise in the bowl. That means they’ve all absorbed the liquid that they need. It’s weird but it works every time!
- Depending on the size of your bread cubes and your casserole dish, you might need to divide this recipe into two baking dishes. The cooking time will remain the same.
- Nutrition values are an estimate only.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This is the recipe I want to make as a side to our Christmas turkey. I do have a quick question as a canadian not used to ounces. How much bread is 24 oz?  Should I convert to cups? Or grams? I’m making my own bread and having a tough time figuring this one out. Thank you so much!Â
I also wanted to say I love your blog. It has become my go to when looking for recipes for the instant pot and air fryer. Thank you!Â
There are 12 cups per 12 oz bag, so 24 cups would be needed for this recipe.
In a pinch, you can do what I did and google “stuffing cubes nutrition label” on google images. It will bring up the ingredients, but also the serving size and how many servings are in the bag. It’s not a perfect science but has saved me many times!
Anyway I can make this ahead of time and just add the broth before I bake?
Hi Kristin, that is exactly what I do every year, and will do again this year. I cook the sausage and veggies the day before, and mix them with the cubes and hot broth right before baking.
It works great. Happy Thanksgiving!
This is the stuffing I learned to make from my grandmother. Delicious every time. If you are feeling creative and have the time, make some homemade herb bread a few days before and use that for the stuffing. Really takes it up a notch. That is now my whole family’s request for Thanksgiving stuffing.
The herb bread sounds incredible! Your grandma knew exactly what she was doing! 🙂