This sausage stuffing is a family holiday favorite. In this recipe, flavorful sausage, toasted almonds, vegetables and homemade croutons are combined to make the best stuffing.
It’s called stuffing but we don’t actually stuff the turkey; instead we bake it in a casserole dish and serve it as a side dish. It’s a hearty dish and practically a meal on its own. I must confess that when it comes to holiday meals, I’m in it for the sides. Nothing beats the combination of mashed potatoes, stuffing and broccoli cheese casserole.
This site contains affiliate links to products. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Ingredients
- 6 Slices of White Bread, cut into cubes and lightly toasted
- ½ cup Sliced Almonds, toasted
- 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
- 1 Small Onion, finely diced
- 2 Celery Ribs, diced
- 2-3 Garlic Cloves, minced
- 16 ounces Pork Sausage, casings removed (or use bulk) and torn into small pieces
- 1 Large Egg, slightly beaten
- 1¼ cup Chicken Broth, more or less as needed
- Pinch of Salt, we used kosher salt
You will also need
- Cooking spray or oil to lightly coat the baking dish
- Casserole dish – we used a 1.5 quart oval dish
- Large baking sheet
Prep Work
As with all Thanksgiving and Christmas dishes there’s some prep work involved in making this stuffing. The good news is some of it can be done in advance. For example, cutting the bread into cubes, toasting the almonds and dicing the vegetables can all be done the night before. Store the vegetables and the sliced almonds in separate airtight containers in the refrigerator and keep the bread in a sealed container (not refrigerated).
The stuffing components need to be made separately, but you can work on them at the same time. That said, I suggest you give the almonds your undivided attention. They go from perfect to burnt so quickly. I’ve burned them so many times, now I just stay put next to the skillet.
Make the croutons
Preheat the oven to 350°F
Cut the bread into roughly 1 inch cubes and arrange them on a large baking sheet. Bake the croutons for 6 – 8 minutes until they’re lightly toasted.
Toast the almonds
Place the almonds in a non-stick skillet over medium heat. Cook them gently for 5-6 minutes until golden. Shake the skillet often and keep an eye on them so they don’t burn. When they’re done, remove the skillet from the heat or they will keep cooking (and could burn) with the residual heat.
The rest
- If you’re using sausage links run a sharp knife tip down the length of the sausage and remove the casings. Whether you’re using links or bulk, tear the sausage into small pieces. This will make it much easier to break it up once it hits the hot skillet.
- Dice the onions and celery. They will go in at the same time so keep them in the same bowl.
- Mince the garlic
- Gather and measure out the remaining ingredients.
Cook the vegetables
Heat the olive oil in a large, deep skillet over medium heat. When the oil is hot, but not smoking, add the onions and celery. Cook gently for 4 – 5 minutes until the onions are translucent, stirring frequently.
Add the garlic, cook for 1 minute, stirring frequently.
Brown the sausage
Raise the heat to medium-high and add the sausage. Cook it about 5 minutes to brown. Stir frequently and break up any large pieces with a wooden spoon or spatula.
Lower the heat to medium-low and add the sliced almonds, stir to combine. Continue cooking for 3-4 minutes while stirring.
Remove the sausage mixture from the heat. You will need to handle it with your hands, so let it cool down. Stir the sausage once in a while to allow the steam to escape, it will cool quicker.
Prepare the sausage stuffing
Preheat oven to 350°F
Add the sausage mixture, toasted croutons, a slightly beaten egg and a generous pinch of salt to a large bowl.
Here’s where you have to get your hands messy: Slowly add in the chicken broth while combining the ingredients with your hands. Continue adding chicken broth until the bread is moist all the way through but not soupy. You need to feel the croutons to make sure they’re moist enough. Plus, the liquid will sink to the bottom so you have to turn over the ingredients so they become evenly moist.
Spray a medium casserole dish lightly with cooking spray. Add the stuffing to the dish without packing it down.
Time to bake
Bake the sausage stuffing for approximately 30-40 minutes until the top is a nice golden brown color, and the internal temperature reaches at least 165°F. Use an instant read thermometer to make sure.
The cooking time will depend on the size of the casserole dish; the thicker the layer of stuffing, the longer the cooking time will be. If you’re using a large casserole dish the layer of stuffing will be thinner so cut the cooking time. Check it after 20-25 minutes and gauge the remaining cooking time from there. As a reference we used a 1.5 quart baking dish so we had a pretty thick layer. Our baking time was 40 minutes.
You may also like:
- Cinnamon Apples
- Loaded Sweet Potatoes
- Garlic Parsley Potatoes
- Green Beans and Bacon
- Baked Potato
- Garlic Dill Potatoes
Follow Us! Subscribe to the newsletter and follow us on Pinterest, Facebook and Instagram for the latest recipes.
Sausage Stuffing
Ingredients
- 6 Slices of White Bread cut into cubes and lightly toasted
- ½ cup Sliced Almonds toasted
- 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
- 1 Small Onion finely diced
- 2 Celery Ribs diced
- 2-3 Garlic Cloves minced
- 16 ounces Pork Sausage casings removed (or use bulk sausage) and torn into small pieces
- 1 Large Egg slightly beaten
- 1¼ cup Chicken Broth more or less as needed
- Pinch of Salt
Instructions
- You will also need: Cooking Spray or oil to lightly coat the baking dish, Casserole dish – we used a 1.5 quart dish
Make the croutons
- Preheat the oven to 350°F
- Cut the bread into roughly 1 inch cubes. Arrange them on a large baking sheet. Bake the croutons for 6 – 8 minutes until they’re lightly toasted.
Toast the almonds
- Place the almonds in a non-stick skillet over medium heat. Cook them gently for 5-6 minutes until golden. Shake the skillet often and keep an eye on them so they don’t burn. Remove the skillet from the heat.
Cook the vegetables
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When the oil is hot but not smoking add the onions and celery. Cook gently for 4 – 5 minutes until the onions are translucent, stirring frequently.
- Add the garlic, cook for 1 minute, stirring frequently.
Brown the sausage
- Raise the heat to medium-high and add the sausage. Cook, about 5 minutes to brown the sausage, stirring frequently and breaking up any large pieces with a wooden spoon or spatula.
- Lower the heat to medium-low and add the sliced almonds, stir to combine. Continue cooking for 3-4 minutes while stirring.
- Remove the sausage mixture from the heat. You will need to handle it with your hands, so let it cool down. Stir the sausage once in a while to allow the steam to escape, it will cool quicker.
Prepare the sausage stuffing
- Preheat oven to 350°F
- Add the sausage mixture, toasted croutons, a slightly beaten egg and a generous pinch of salt to a large bowl.
- Slowly add in the chicken broth while combining the ingredients with your hands. Continue adding chicken broth until the bread is moist all the way through but not soupy.
- Spray a medium casserole dish lightly with cooking spray. Add the stuffing to the dish without packing it down.
Bake
- Bake the sausage stuffing for approximately 30-40 minutes until the top is a nice golden brown color, and the internal temperature reaches at least 165°F. Use an instant read thermometer to make sure.
