Apple Walnut Sausage Stuffing
Make your stuffing ahead of time! It’s easy, quick, and flavorful with crumbled sausage, fresh herbs, and apples! SO GOOD!!!
There’s a ton of stuffing recipes out there. I have seen a lot of them using chorizo, some using buffalo cheddar bear bread and even a pumpkin puree one.
But to me, stuffing is a classic.
So let’s just keep it simple. I used fresh herbs, a combination of my favorite breads – sourdough, multigrain, whole wheat and pumpernickel – crumbled sausage, and tart apples.
It’s a blend of savory and sweet, moist on the inside with just enough crunch and crispness on the top.
You can also stuff it in the bird, or bake it separately.
Just note that you can make this 1 day ahead of time! Also, calories don’t count during Thanksgiving. That’s why we use almost a whole stick of butter here.
Apple Walnut Sausage Stuffing
Ingredients
- 10 cups 1-inch bread cubes*
- 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 Braeburn 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 stock
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly oil a 9 x 13 baking dish or coat with nonstick spray.
- Spread bread cubes in a single layer on a baking sheet. Place into oven and bake until crisp and golden, about 10-12 minutes; set aside.
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add sausage and cook until browned, about 3-5 minutes, making sure to crumble the sausage as it cooks; set aside.
- 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.*
- Spread bread mixture into the prepared baking dish. Place into oven and bake until top is browned, about 45 minutes.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
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Can this be baked in the turkey like regular stuffing? Sounds delicious, thank you. we’ve used many of your recipes.
Yes, absolutely.
Donna, the only difference between a stuffing and a dressing is that the stuffing is cooked inside the meat (in this case, turkey) while a dressing is the same thing cooked separately. In virtually all cases they can be used interchangeably…So, since this is cooked outside the turkey, technically, it is a dressing and not a stuffing. 🙂
That really didn’t need clarification.
Can I use turkey sausage. We are not a fan of pork. BTW, love, love your recipes!
Yes, absolutely!
Are regular pork breakfast sausages ok to use in this recipe?
Yes, absolutely.
love it, walnuts too, and glad that you call for them to be finely chopped, otherwise its a texture thing, love the sausage and all of the traditional ingredients too, thank you!