Sourdough Sausage Stuffing with Sage

This baked sourdough stuffing is crispy on top and soft, not mushy, underneath, with Italian sausage running through every bite. It skips the classic problem of stuffing cooked inside the turkey turning soggy, since this version bakes on its own in the oven. Toasted pecans add crunch, and you can assemble it the night before and bake it right before dinner.

The Trick to Stuffing That’s Never Dry or Mushy

Most stuffing recipes fall into one of two camps: baked inside the turkey, where it picks up flavor but often turns mushy, or baked on its own, where it can end up dry and bland. This one solves both problems by baking covered at a lower temperature first, then uncovered at a higher temperature at the end, so the inside stays moist while the top turns deeply golden and crisp.

Italian sausage does a lot of the flavor work here, and a splash of white wine and fresh sage round out the vegetables before everything comes together. If you’ve been let down by a dry or flavorless baked stuffing before, this is the version that fixes it.

A Recipe Born From Two Different Thanksgivings

My family always stuffed the bird. My husband’s family always made cornbread dressing, baked in its own dish and never anywhere near the turkey. When I started hosting my own Thanksgiving, I wanted something that split the difference, a stuffing that still tasted like the dressing I’d married into, without giving up the tradition I grew up with. If you want to see the other side of that argument, my old-fashioned cornbread dressing made with store-bought cornbread is the version my husband’s family swears by.

Why Italian Sausage Instead of Turkey Drippings

Stuffing cooked inside the bird gets its flavor from turkey juice as it bakes. Since this version bakes on its own, it needed something else to carry that same savory weight, and Italian sausage does the job without competing with the turkey it’s served next to. It’s a contrast to the turkey instead of more of the same flavor. That’s what made me think this could sit right next to a stuffed bird and nobody would miss it.

Small Steps That Make a Real Difference Here

• Don’t skip deglazing the skillet with the white wine after the onions and celery. Scraping up those browned bits is where a lot of the flavor comes from.
• Toast the pecans before adding them. Raw pecans go soft once they’re mixed into the custard, and you lose the crunch.
• Season the bread mixture well. Sourdough has more flavor than sandwich bread on its own, but it still needs real salt and pepper to come through once it’s baked.
• Bake covered first, then uncovered at the higher heat. Skipping the covered step or rushing it is the most common way to end up with a dry top and an underdone center.
• Serve it alongside cranberry sauce with Grand Marnier and toasted walnuts, the tartness cuts through the richness of the sausage and butter.

The Ingredients Behind the Crispy Top

• Sourdough bread: use a 1 lb loaf, dried out so it can soak up the egg and broth mixture without turning to mush.
• Pecans: toasted and chopped, added for crunch.
• Italian sausage: this is where most of the flavor comes from since the stuffing isn’t cooking inside the turkey.
• White wine: use a dry white wine you’d actually drink, it adds acidity that cuts through the richness of the sausage and butter.
• Bay leaf and fresh sage: both go in with the onions and celery. Fresh sage makes a real difference here over dried.

How to make the Best Sausage Stuffing Recipe Ever

Step 1: Dry the Bread and Toast the Pecans

Step 2: Brown the Italian Sausage

Step 3: Cook the Onions, Celery, and Sage

In the same skillet, sauté onions, celery and sage and add to the bread mixture. Add some white wine to the skillet and cook down and then add butter until melted. Pour over your bread mixture.

Step 4: Whisk the Eggs and Broth, Then Assemble

Step 5: Bake Covered, Then Uncovered Until Crisp

Bake for 30 minutes covered at 350º, then increase the temperature to 450º and remove the cover so that the top can get golden and crisp

Whichever side of the stuffing-or-dressing debate you grew up on, this one gives you a homemade version worth setting on the table every year.

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Sourdough Sausage Stuffing with Sage

Author: Barbara Curry

This baked sourdough stuffing is crispy on top and soft, not mushy, underneath, with Italian sausage running through every bite. It skips the classic problem of stuffing cooked inside the turkey turning soggy, since this version bakes on its own in the oven. Toasted pecans add crunch, and you can assemble it the night before and bake it right before dinner.

3.86 from 14 votes

Print Pin

PREP: 30 minutes minutes

COOK: 1 hour hour

TOTAL: 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Servings: 16

Ingredients

 

1x2x3x

• ▢ 10 cups sourdough bread dried out and torn into pieces (1 lb loaf)
• ▢ ½ cup pecans toasted and chopped
• ▢ 3 tablespoons olive oil
• ▢ 12 ounces Italian sausage
• ▢ 2 onions diced
• ▢ 1 cup celery diced
• ▢ salt and pepper
• ▢ 1 bay leaf
• ▢ 1 tablespoons fresh sage chopped
• ▢ ½ cup white wine
• ▢ ¾ cups butter divided
• ▢ 2 eggs beaten
• ▢ 2 cups chicken stock

Instructions

 

• Preheat the oven to 350º. Butter a 9 X 13 glass baking dish.
• Tear dried bread into pieces and place in a large bowl. Add toasted and chopped pecans to the bowl.
• Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat and add sausage, breaking it up with a wooden spoon. Cook until browned and cooked through about 7-10 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and add to the bowl with bread.
• In the same skillet add onions and celery, season with salt and pepper, sage and bay leaf and cook until onions are slightly browned and soft, about 10 minutes. Transfer to the bowl with bread.
• Reduce heat to medium and add wine to the skillet, scraping up the browned bits. Cook until almost evaporated, about 1 minutes. Add ½ cup of butter, stirring until melted. Pour over bread mixture.
• In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs and chicken stock and pour over the bread mixture. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to baking dish and dot with remaining ¼ cup of butter.
• Cover baking dish with foil. Bake for 30-35 minutes until a knife inserted in the center comes out hot. Increase temperature to 450º. Remove foil and bake uncovered until golden brown and crisp, 20-25 minutes. Let sit for 10 minutes before serving.

Barbara’s Tips + Notes

• If your bread isn’t already dry, cut it into cubes and dry it out at 250° for a few minutes before using.
• Assemble this up to a day ahead and refrigerate, then bake right before serving.
  Swap sourdough for French bread if you prefer, just avoid sandwich bread since it turns mushy.
• Store cooled leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge, or freeze and reheat covered at 350° for 5-10 minutes. Don’t freeze it unbaked, the texture won’t hold up.

Nutrition

Calories: 277kcal | Carbohydrates: 13g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Cholesterol: 60mg | Sodium: 378mg | Potassium: 172mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 324IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 29mg | Iron: 1mg

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