Sausage and apple stuffing is a scrumptious Thanksgiving dressing recipe with sausage, apples, onions, croutons, walnut, and sage topping. It's savory, sweet, and easy to make! Sausage and apple stuffing is a holiday dinner must.

Every holiday table needs a stuffing to go with turkey, gravy, and cranberry sauce. It's a classic, holiday stuffing that can be served right from the skillet. Sausage apple stuffing has the perfect balance of produce, sausage, and bread (croutons). It's so easy and delicious, no holiday table should be without it.
Apple sausage stuffing ingredients
- croutons or cubed bread
- pork sausage
- unsalted butter - or olive oil
- red apples - can be non-tart or semi-tart (such as honey crisp or pink lady)
- onion
- celery
- chicken broth
- eggs
- sage leaves (optional)
- walnuts
- parsley
How to make sausage stuffing
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Preheat a 12” oven-safe skillet on the stove over medium-high heat.
- Add SAUSAGE, break into small pieces, and cook until no longer pink, stirring as needed.
- Transfer to a mixing bowl, drain grease (if needed) and set aside.
- In the same skillet on med-high heat, melt BUTTER.
- Add ONION, APPLES, and CELERY. Sauté until tender, stirring as needed.
- Fold CROUTONS and cooked SAUSAGE into the vegetables.
- In a separate mixing bowl, whisk CHICKEN BROTH and EGGS together until well-combined.
- Pour over vegetables and gently stir to lightly coat the croutons.
- Top with SAGE LEAVES and WALNUTS. Bake (uncovered) 35-45 minutes until the top is golden brown. Allow to rest 10 minutes.
What’s the difference between stuffing and dressing?
Thanksgiving dressing and stuffing can have similar ingredients, but the cooking method sets them apart.
- Stuffing is a filling of one or more food ingredients that are placed and cooked inside of something else.
- Dressing describes similar ingredients to stuffing, but rather than stuffing it in a turkey, the ingredients are baked in a casserole dish.
Geography plays a roll too. In the south, it's often called sausage dressing for Thanksgiving while Northerners call it sausage stuffing, even when it’s not stuffed inside of anything.
Sausage Stuffing Recipe Notes
The best sausage for sausage stuffing
I prefer pork sausage for this recipe, but feel free to use turkey sausage or chicken sausage in equal amounts.
Best apples for apple sausage stuffing
You can use any apples you like for sausage apple stuffing. I prefer a tart Ambrosia apple, but any red or golden apple will provide the perfect balance to the savory flavors in this Thanksgiving dressing.
What's the best bread for stuffing?
You can use packaged croutons or homemade croutons for this sausage stuffing recipe. You can also dry out a loaf of French bread, cube it, and use it instead of croutons.
The best broth for sausage stuffing
The best broth for sausage stuffing is turkey broth, but if you don't have it on hand, you can use chicken broth or vegetable broth. Any of these will work here because the other ingredients promise a flavorful dish regardless of what broth you use.
How to make bread stale for stuffing
You have two options to make stale bread.
- Allow the bread to turn stale by leaving it in a poorly sealed container at room temperature for a few days.
- Cube the bread and toast in a 300°F oven for a minutes at a time until it's golden and dried out.
How to keep stuffing moist
Nobody likes dry stuffing. You can keep stuffing moist by adding broth or stock, or even water. However, too much liquid can make the stuffing loose and watery. The added eggs in this recipe will help keep it from drying out as it bakes in the oven.
Why do you put an egg in stuffing?
The eggs in this sausage stuffing recipe are used as a binder and for moisture. They make the ingredients cohesive, although not to be mistaken for a casserole.
Walnuts in stuffing?
Yep! Walnuts are totally optional, but highly recommended! They add unexpected, delicious flavor and texture to any Thanksgiving stuffing. Who doesn't love apples and walnuts together?
Can I make sausage stuffing ahead of time?
You can prepare components of this sausage stuffing recipe up to two days in advance. For instance, you can make the croutons, saute the produce, and cook the sausage, but don't combine these. Instead, store each component separately in airtight containers. On serving day, continue the recipe instructions where everything gets combined and baked.
Recommended tools
- bread knife or chef's knife
- cutting board
- mixing bowl
- baking sheet (only if oven-drying bread cubes)
- 3.5 qt casserole pan
- stirring utensil
Other holiday recipes
- Herb Roasted Turkey Breast
- Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes
- Baked Smashed Potatoes
- Shaved Brussels Sprout Salad
- Baked Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese
- Pomegranate Cranberry Relish
Apple Sausage Stuffing
INGREDIENTS
- 6 cups Plain Croutons, same as 8 ounce package or 1 baguette cubed
- 1 pound Pork Sausage
- 3 tablespoons Unsalted Butter, or olive oil
- 2 Red Apples, peeled, cored, and diced
- ½ Onion, diced
- 2 ribs Celery, diced
- 1 ½ cups Chicken Broth
- 2 Eggs
- ½ cup Walnuts, chopped
- 2 tablespoons fresh Parsley, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. *See recipe footnote about croutons/cubed bread.
- Preheat a 12” oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat.
- Add SAUSAGE, break into small pieces, and cook until no longer pink, stirring as needed.
- Transfer to a mixing bowl, drain grease (if needed) and set aside.
- In the same skillet on med-high heat, melt BUTTER.
- Add ONION, APPLES, and CELERY. Sauté until tender, stirring as needed.
- Fold CROUTONS and cooked SAUSAGE into the vegetables.
- In a separate mixing bowl, whisk CHICKEN BROTH and EGGS together until well-combined.
- Pour this mixture over the vegetables and cubed bread, stirring to coat.NOTE: Add extra splashes of chicken broth as needed to moisten the bread cubes if they feel too dry. Be careful to prevent making mushy stuffing.
- Cover and bake 25 minutes. Remove cover, top with WALNUTS, and bake 10 minutes, or until the top is lightly browned.
- Allow stuffing to rest 10 minutes. Garnish with PARSLEY and serve warm.
RECIPE VIDEO
Traci's Recipe Notes
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Cut bread into ½" cubes and spread on a baking sheet.
-
Place in preheated oven; bake for 15-20 minutes, or until cubes are dried and lightly toasted, tossing as needed. Set aside.
NUTRITION
Nutrition data provided as courtesy estimates using unbranded ingredients from a nutrition database. Please consult preferred resource for precise data.
Angela says
Apple and sausage are a great combination! I love the use of croutons. Genius!
The Kitchen Girl says
Aww thanks! Glad you like the crouton idea...it's so delicious and beats the salty storebought dressing mix 😉
Vivian says
This is our go-to stuffing recipe. We even make the croutons from your French bread when we time it just right. Who knew homemade stuffing could be so easy! Thanks KG!
The Kitchen Girl says
Yesss! The croutons make sausage stuffing so fun and they're so easy to make from bread 🙂 Glad you love this one as much as I do!