Apple Sausage 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 traditional side dish and that’s exactly what this sausage stuffing recipe is. 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
* see recipe card below for FULL PRINTABLE recipe
- croutons or bread cubes
- pork sausage
- unsalted butter
- olive oil
- red apples
- onion
- celery
- chicken broth
- eggs
- sage leaves (optional)
- walnuts
- parsley
How to make sausage stuffing
* see recipe card below for FULL PRINTABLE recipe
- 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 (perfect for 2-4 people)
- 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 8oz pkg or 1 baguette cubed
- 1 16 oz pkg Pork Sausage
- 2 Tbsp Unsalted Butter
- 2 Tbsp Olive Oil
- 2 Red Apples peeled, cored, and diced
- 1/2 Onion diced
- 2 Celery Stalks diced
- 1 1/2 cups Chicken Broth
- 2 Eggs
- 4-6 Sage Leaves
- 1/2 cup Walnuts chopped
- 2 Tbsp fresh Parsley chopped
RECIPE VIDEO
Recipe Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. *See recipe footnote about croutons/cubed bread.
- 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.
Serving and storage
- Serve stuffing warm, sprinkled with PARSLEY.To store stuffing, allow to cool completely and refrigerate in an airtight container up to 5 days.
RECIPE NOTES
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- Cut bread into 1/2" 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
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Apple and sausage are a great combination! I love the use of croutons. Genius!
Aww thanks! Glad you like the crouton idea...it's so delicious and beats the salty storebought dressing mix 😉
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!
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!
Man I love this stuffing recipe more and more every year! I've been craving it. Just one more week! Can't wait to dive in to this with your roast turkey breast 😋
Yay! Glad you love it as much as I do. Next week...I'm here for it too! 💚
This looks so delicious and tasty! I can't wait to make this for Thanksgiving! My family is going to love this!
Awesome, Beth! Glad you can enjoy this for the holiday. Cheers!
Apple and sausage are made for each other - can't wait to try this recipe. Your photos are divine.
Thanks so much! Honored to hear it 💚 Enjoy!
You cannot beat the combo of sausage and apples in this stuffing. Favorite Thanksgiving side dish!
Yessss! So glad you enjoyed this...thanks!
This Apple Sausage Stuffing looks so delicious and would be so perfect for Thanksgiving! I can't wait to make it next week!
Awesome, Kathryn! Enjoy!
Love the flavors in this one! Drooling at your vibrant clicks, I need to try this stuffing asap.
Thanks, Neha 🙂 Love hearing it!
I love how easy this is to make and with so much added flavor!
Thanks, Sapana! We love the flavor too 🙂
Never thought to use these ingredients together, but it was great! Flavors work so well together
So glad you enjoy this...thanks, Noelle 🙂
Perfect stuffing recipe. I love sausage in mine!
Samesies...we love ALL the flavor! 🙂 Thanks, Michelle!
Your stuffing looks perfect! I love the bit of sweet from the apples. I too love apples in my holiday stuffing!
Thanks, Tammy! They add so much flavor and texture 🙂
I've bookmarked this recipe to use over Christmas, it looks simply delicious!
Thanks, Chris! I'm glad you'll enjoy this one 🙂
That looks delicious and really easy to make too.
Thanks, Dannii! It's both...and we make it every year 🙂
What a great idea for Christmas. Thanks for sharing it.
Thanks, Jacqueline! So glad you can enjoy it 🙂
I tried your recipe last night and loved it! Can't wait to make it again!
Awesome! So glad you enjoyed it 🙂
It sounds wonderful no matter what you call it. And you did a fabulous job of making a not-so-attractive dish look appealing.
Haha, thanks Pam! Love the compliment...it's def a challenge to make brown foods pretty LOL
I'm always on the look out for 'no-fuss' stuff - ings (see what I did there!) for Thanksgiving Dinner! This looks perfect for a delicious and easy holiday dinner!
Haha thanks Beth! Yep, we're ALL about no-fuss over here, especially for holiday dinner 🙂
This stuffing has so many wonderful things in it. I could eat it any time of year as a meal itself.
Haha thanks, Andrea! It IS a meal in itself! So glad you can enjoy this one 🙂
add apples to anything & I'm happy. This stuffing looks delicious & a great departure from my family's go to recipe
Thanks, Rebecca! It could become your new go-to 😉 Cheers!
Stuffing is my favorite part of Thanksgiving! The flavors in this one are fantastic!
Thank, Mary! We are so crazy about the flavors in this stuffing, we make the same one every year! 🙂
Never tried a dressing/stuffing (used 100% interchangeably in my Swedish/American family ;)) with meat in it before - but this one goes on the list for tis year's Thanksgiving! Yummy!
Thanks Emmeline! I love a good meatless stuffing too, but the sage sausage in this is SO yum! 🙂