Sausage and Cranberry Stuffing, a sausage stuffing recipe that pushes away the idea of conventional “stuffed in a turkey” stuffing, is a great, filling, and festive side dish for the Thanksgiving holiday season.
Thanksgiving Side Dishes – YES~!
I know this year has been a bit crazy, but before you know it, the holidays are going to come back around. And while we may not be able to see people the same way as in the past, that’s no reason to skip a delicious home cooked meal this season. Personally I have had stuffing so many different ways – sweet, salty, more bread, more meat, even rice (that’s my favorite) based.
This particular stuffing recipe combines sausage, bits of sweet apple and dried cranberries, which look pretty and taste tangy and sweet.
Perfect for any type of meat including chicken, turkey, even roast, if you are looking for a new unique stuffing, give this recipe a try and let me know how you made it your own!
Stuffing with Ground Sausage, Apples, and Cranberries
Looking to get away from plain old stuffing? Skip the stove top!!
This ground sausage, diced applies, and sweet dried cranberries sausage is a perfect side dish. Full of herbs and flavors, plus fall cranberries, this is a new take on a traditional holiday favorite. Serve up next to turkey with all the fixings!
- 1 lb ground sausage
- 1/2 cup chopped onion
- 1/2 cup chopped celery
- 1 package, 12 oz, plain bread crumb cubes
- 1 apple, peeled and diced
- 2 teaspoons dry sage
- 1 teaspoon rosemary
- 1 teaspoon thyme
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 3/4 cup dry cranberries
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 4 tablespoons melted butter
RELATED RECIPES FOR HOLIDAY TABLES: Oven Baked Sweet Potato Casserole, Candied Stove Top Sweet Potatoes, Crock Pot Cheesy Corn, Crock Pot Green Beans and Ham, Green Bean Casserole from Scratch
How to make Sausage Stuffing
Preheat oven to 350 and grease a large casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
Add sausage, onion and celery to a skillet and cook until sausage is no longer pink and onions and celery are fragrant.
Add bread crumbs, sausage mixture, apple, spices and cranberries (see suggestions below on substitutions for cranberries) to a large mixing bowl. Mix all ingredients well.
Pour broth and melted butter over mixture and stir well.
Spoon stuffing into prepared baking dish. Spray a piece of foil with nonstick cooking spray (so it doesn’t stick to the food) and cover stuffing.
Bake for 30 minutes.Uncover, stir, and bake for an additional 10 minutes.;Remove from oven and serve immediately.
Answers to Common Sausage Stuffing Questions
- Can fresh herbs be used? Yes, but the measurements from fresh to dry are different. You have to do the conversion from dry to fresh, but its typically double fresh what you had to dried.
- What sausage should be used for sausage stuffing? There are a huge variety of sausage kinds, some with sage, breakfast sausages, turkey sausage, pork sausage – use any flavor you like!
- Can more cranberries be added? Absolutely. I love dried cranberries and happily add tons more. Additionally dried cherries and golden raisins make a lovely alteration.
- Can sausage stuffing be made ahead? You can PREP it ahead by combining all DRY ingredients, including cooked sausage, together in a prepped pan and simply add the broth and butter day of. Bring casserole dish to room temp, add broth and butter, and then bake as normal.
- Can regular bread be used instead of bagged bread? Yes, but the bread you choose should be dried. You can either dry it out by just letting it go stale on the counter or use an oven method to properly cube and dry your bread. This helps with flavors and textures as you are baking with broth and butter (not too soggy!)
Optional Stuffing Additions
This particular stuffing is also delicious with Pecan Pieces – they provide a delicious crunch. Just add in about a half a cup prior to spreading mixture in baking dish.
Did you make this recipe and have a substitution that worked (or made it better!)? Please feel free to leave a comment letting me know if you loved it as is or mixed it up.
Your changes make for delicious recipes too and I LOVE hearing your ideas. You can also find me on Pinterest here and save all of my sites recipes and share with me your pictures.
Sausage Stuffing with Applies and Dried Cranberries
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground sausage
- 1/2 cup chopped onion
- 1/2 cup chopped celery
- 1 package 12 oz, plain bread crumb cubes
- 1 apple peeled and diced
- 2 teaspoons dry sage
- 1 teaspoon rosemary
- 1 teaspoon thyme
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 3/4 cup dry cranberries
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 4 tablespoons melted butter
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 and grease your favorite large casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
- Add sausage, chopped onion and chopped celery to a skillet and cook until sausage is no longer pink and onion is fragrant.
- Add plain cubed bread crumbs, cooked sausage and onions mixture, diced apple, all spices (dried or fresh) and dried cranberries to a large mixing bowl.
- Mix all ingredients together very well.
- Pour chicken broth and melted butter over mixture and mix well.
- Spoon sausage into prepared baking dish.
- Spray a piece of foil with nonstick cooking spray and cover stuffing.
- Bake for 30 minutes.
- Uncover, stir, and bake for an additional 10 minutes to brown the top.
- Remove from oven and serve immediately.
Notes
- This stuffing can be altered fairy easily. Feel free to change up apple kinds (or even add more apple) or substitute dried cranberries for other dried fruits like golden raisins, dried cherries or dried blueberries.
- Another fun variation that is fun for fall is to add in chopped pecan pieces (1/4th to 1/2 a cup depending on how sweet and crunchy you would like it) prior to baking.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is an estimate and provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Sharing of this recipe is encouraged and appreciated. Copying of full recipe to any social media is prohibited.
Comments & Reviews
Susie says
Made this two years in a row. DELICIOUS and a family favorite! I use sourdough bread. Thank you for this amazing recipe!!
Trisha Haas says
That is wonderful to hear! Cranberry and sausage stuffing is the ONLY “dressing: i eat for the holidays! So glad you found this recipe and it was a hit for your family too. Happy Thanksgiving!