Apple Walnut Sausage Stuffing
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This make-ahead apple sausage stuffing is a classic holiday side dish! Made with savory sausage, sweet apples, and fresh thyme and sage!
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Why you’ll love Apple Walnut Sausage Stuffing
- Great make-ahead recipe. Thanksgiving can be stressful with strict timing, coordination, and oven space in what seems to be a 10-hour marathon. But this stuffing can easily be prepped 1 day in advance, really letting the flavors meld, and allowing for a calmer, more memorable Thanksgiving meal.
- Balance of flavor and texture. You have the most perfect blend of sweet and savory from the tart apples to the savory, rich sausage. It’s also moist on the inside with just enough crunch and crispness on the top.
- Flexible, giving recipe. This stuffing is so easy to customize with what you have on hand. Swap for breakfast sausage or turkey sausage, substitute pecans, or even add dried cranberries. The options are endless.
How to make apple walnut sausage stuffing (dressing)
- Dry the bread. Spread the bread cubes in a single layer on a baking sheet, avoiding any overcrowding or overlap. Bake at 400°F for 10-13 minutes until crisp and golden.
- Cook the sausage. Brown the sausage in a large cast iron skillet over medium heat, breaking it up as it cooks. Remove the sausage using a slotted spoon, reserving some of the juices in the skillet.
- Sauté the aromatics. Melt the butter with the leftover pan juices. Stir in the garlic, onion, and celery until tender, then stir in the apples, sage, and thyme until fragrant.
- Combine. Stir in (or use a large bowl) the toasted bread cubes, crumbled sausage, walnuts, parsley, salt, and pepper until well combined.
- Add the stock. Pour in the chicken or turkey stock, stirring gently until the bread is evenly moistened but not soggy. Let sit for 5 minutes, allowing the bread to absorb the liquid. Pro tip: to make this ahead of time, let this cool completely, then cover and chill up to 1 day in advance.
- Bake. Transfer the mixture to a greased 9 x 13 baking dish, baking at 350°F for 45 minutes until the top is browned and crispy.
- Serve. Let it rest for 5-10 minutes and serve warm.
to stuff or not to stuff
Skip the stuffing in the turkey. When cooking the stuffing inside your turkey, you are left with 2 options:
- cook until the stuffing is cooked through or
- cook until the turkey is cooked through.
But by the time the stuffing reaches a safe temperature to eat (165°F), the turkey will unfortunately be overcooked and dry. And by the time the turkey is ready, the stuffing will be undercooked and unsafe to consume. Instead, opt to cook the stuffing separately in a 9 x 13 baking dish.
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Apple Walnut Sausage Stuffing: Frequently Asked Questions
Stuffing is generally cooked inside a turkey, soaking up all the rich turkey juices and fat, while dressing is typically cooked separately from the turkey in a casserole dish with additional liquid. This recipe is technically a dressing as it is not “stuffed” inside a turkey.
Mild or hot Italian sausage, pork breakfast sausage, and turkey or chicken sausage can all be used here.
Yes! Popular add-ins include carrots, mushrooms, sweet potatoes, and leafy greens (kale or spinach).
Honeycrisp, Pink Lady, and Gala apples are all excellent options.
Pecans would be a great swap.
Absolutely! Prep and assemble the night before, letting it come to room temperature for about 30 minutes prior to baking as directed.
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days, reheating in the oven at 350°F with a splash of stock and covered tightly in foil until heated through. Optional: for a crisped top, remove the foil during the last 5 minutes.
Yes! Portion into plastic freezer bags in individual servings, keeping in the freezer for 1-2 months.
Apple Walnut Sausage Stuffing
Ingredients
- 10 cups bread cubes, blend of sourdough, multigrain, whole wheat, and pumpernickel bread
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound mild ground pork sausage
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 ½ cups sliced celery
- 2 Honeycrisp, Pink Lady or Gala apples, chopped
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh sage leaves
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh thyme leaves
- 1 cup toasted walnuts
- ½ cup finely chopped fresh parsley
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 2 ½ cups chicken or turkey stock
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Spread bread cubes in a single layer on a baking sheet. Place into oven and bake until crisp and golden, about 10-13 minutes; set aside.
- Heat olive oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add sausage and cook until browned, about 5-8 minutes, making sure to crumble the sausage as it cooks. Transfer sausage to a paper towel-lined plate.
- Melt butter in the skillet. Add garlic, onion and celery, and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 4-5 minutes. Stir in apples, sage and thyme until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- In a large bowl, combine bread, sausage, apple mixture, walnuts and parsley; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Stir in chicken stock until absorbed and well combined. Let stand 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until liquid is absorbed.
- Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Lightly oil a 9 x 13 baking dish or coat with nonstick spray.
- Spread bread mixture into the baking dish. Place into oven and bake until top is browned, about 45 minutes.
- Serve immediately.
Equipment
Notes
- Use sturdy, stale bread. Stale 1 to 2 day-old bread is ideal here to soak up all the liquid without breaking down. Avoid soft, freshly sliced bread as it will cause the stuffing to turn soggy and mushy.
- Mix multiple breads. Use a blend of sourdough, multigrain, whole wheat, and pumpernickel bread for a surprise in every bite, avoiding a monotonous flavor profile.
- Don’t skimp on the butter. Avoid using low-fat substitutions or using less butter. The fat is essential here for rich flavor and crispy edges.
- Sauté the aromatics first. Never use raw vegetables in your stuffing. Always sauté the garlic, onion, and celery in butter until soft and tender before mixing them in.
- Fresh herbs are best. Although you can certainly substitute dried herbs, fresh herbs are ideal here, delivering the best kind of flavor. This is also a great time to use up all the leftover herbs from your holiday turkey or leg of lamb.
- Make it vegetarian. This recipe can easily be adapted to be vegetarian, omitting the sausage and substituting vegetable stock for the chicken stock.
- Prep the night before. Stuffing is one of those great sides that you can prep ahead of time, assembling everything the night before and really allowing all the flavors to meld and marry overnight.
- Skip stuffing the turkey. Cook the stuffing separately to avoid mushy textures and to keep the turkey meat juicy and moist.
- Let it rest. Though not required, letting the stuffing rest for at least 5 minutes will allow it to set, making it much easier to serve and spoon onto plates.
- Reheat with a splash of stock. A splash of stock will restore some of the lost moisture, reheating in the oven at 350°F (covered in foil) until warmed through. Remove the foil during the last 5 minutes for a lightly crisped top.
Did you make this recipe?
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Can you add dried cranberries? If so do I need to cut them in half
Can you make this the day before but don’t cook it until the next day?
Can you make it a day in advance and then cook next day as opposed to reheating?
I made this last year and plan to make it this year again, it was very delicious. But as other commenters mentioned here, mine comes out looking grey…does anyone know what causes this and how to avoid it? Thanks for a great recipe!
The stuffing was so delicious. The only thing I have complain about is it was a gray color, what do I do to avoid this in the future also, it calls for one cup of walnuts do we chop the walnuts or do they stay whole?
I made my pretty much the exact same as above except i just got store bought stuffing cubes. It was fantastic. I always go a little heavy handed on the sausage and nuts so mine comes up with a pretty small bread ratio but you can easily adjust portions to your liking. This is my go to recipe
I love all your recipes but would really love it if you included Nutritional Information. Especially looking for sodium content for those of us with high blood pressure issues. Thank you.
Mine turned out an unattractive gray color… don’t know how to avoid that, but it tasted good.
Love it!
I never make good stuffing. I thought I would try one last year to make it from scratch. I’m so glad I did. I’ve never made a bad recipe of yours so I thought this one had to be good. It’s going to be my go to for thanksgiving every year. Thank you so much for such a great site!
This is a very good recipe. A lot of people I know don’t like sage, thyme, or poultry seasoning in their dressing. I made a similar version of this recipe but I used a spice blend called Italian Seasoning. It is more of an everyday flavor than the traditional seasonings and people prefer it over the old fashioned version.
I also make a double recipe. Then I portion out about three cup servings and freeze them so I have this dressing all year. Best to cook it in the oven in a nonstick frying pan so it browns nicely because freezing makes the dressing a little wetter.
One other tip is that I use an electric knife to cut my bread into cubes. It doesn’t crush the bread like a knife does.
I’m so happy I found your site. I love all of your recipes so much. Everything always turns out so good. I will be making this stuffing this year. Wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving from Northwest Arkansas.
Can you make this in the crock pot?
What is a good substitute for the braeburn apples?
You can really use any apple that is on the tart side. I’d say Honeycrisp is probably your best bet but as always, please use your best judgment when making substitutions and modifications.
Can this recipe be made with a StoveTop breadcrumbs?
This sounds so good! All I have on hand is gala apples. Will those be alright in the dressing? Thanks!
Dear Chungah, thank you for a damn delicious stuffing! My sister and I shared Thanksgiving cooking duties and this smelled so good even before we baked it, it was all we could do to stop ourselves from chowing down. We followed your recipe exactly and used 8 cups sourdough and two cups of pumpernickel. It made a great flavor combination. We have tossed all of our other stuffing recipes and will never even explore another one… why mess with perfection! Thanks again for helping make our holiday special.
Aw thank you, Susan! We love hearing that!
This was such a quick and yummy dish for our Thanksgiving dinner! I’m going to use a different ground meat next time as the Italian sausage was a little overpowering. I’ll use the regular recipe as a separate meal in the future!
This was really good! We made this for our Thanksgiving, and stuffed the turkey but also had some left over that we baked in a dish. I love the flavors and the fresh herbs. We used chicken sausage and some homemade wheat bread that was starting to dry out.
If I’m making a version without the sausage for my vegetarian friends, what do I adjust to make sure it stays damn delicious? Thanks! Love your recipes and spirit!!
Have you thought about using vegetarian sausage?
No! What a great idea and only one batch to make. Thanks and happy thanksgiving!
I was also thinking how to make this more vegetarian friendly, maybe subbing the sausage with assorted mushrooms (oyster, shiitake, cremini). Thoughts??