Name: Stuffing
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 60 min
Ingredients: 10 cups sourdough bread (dried out and torn into pieces); 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

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It’s not Thanksgiving without homemade stuffing, whether you make it inside the bird or out, it’s a classic. Add some Italian sausage, celery, onions and sourdough bread for what will be your new go-to side dish.

A baking dish of sausage stuffing — Baked Stuffing

I’ve always loved stuffing and thought that the only way to make true Thanksgiving stuffing was to actually stuff it inside a turkey. If it didn’t cook in all the yummy turkey juice then it wasn’t the real deal. All other stuffings or dressings I had tried were dry and didn’t have much flavor. However, I’ve had a change of heart and this is now my favorite stuffing recipe. Both the texture and flavor are perfect in what I consider to be the BEST Thanksgiving stuffing.

Is it STUFFING or DRESSING

I’ve lived most of my life in the South but my parents are not from the South, so we had “stuffing” growing up which was bread, celery, onion, butter and egg along with some seasonings that you stuffed inside a turkey. Anything that wasn’t inside the turkey was “dressing” and something other people ate. So this recipes is actually “dressing” and not “stuffing”.

However, I’ve learned that what you call this side dish depends more on where you are from then whether it’s cooked inside or outside of the turkey. Southern’s call it “dressing” where the rest of the country, me included, call it “stuffing”.

Why should you make this homemade stuffing recipe

The perfect stuffing recipe has flavor from onions and celery along with sage. It’s like a savory bread pudding. But with all the other soft food you typically see at Thanksgiving, like corn pudding and mashed potatoes, it’s nice to have something with a little crunch. This easy stuffing recipe uses sourdough bread, which when baked is crunchy on the top but soft and moist inside.

A spoon full of Thanksgiving stuffing — Baked Stuffing

Since this is baked outside the turkey, you can assemble it ahead of time and bake it right before dinner. If your stuffing is inside the turkey, you have to remove it when you remove the turkey to keep from getting salmonella and then if you’re not eating right away, it can get cold. This version stays hot and crispy.
The Italian sausage adds so much flavor to the traditional stuffing ingredients.
You can make this any time of year, not just when you’re cooking a turkey.
It’s perfect if you are spatchcocking the turkey. Not sure how to spatchcock a turkey, check out Laura’s post on Foodology Geek where she walks you through the steps.

What kind of bread should you use for stuffing

For this Thanksgiving side dish, I like to use sourdough bread for that distinct flavor but if that’s not your favorite, then go with a French loaf from the bakery section. Regular sandwich bread will get a little mushy. The important thing is to let your bread dry out before you use it. I generally cut it into cubes and let it sit out all day. If you forget and your bread is fresh, cut it into cubes and place in the oven at 250º for a few minutes. Dried bread will absorb more of the liquid and flavor.

How do you make Thanksgiving stuffing

Step 1: Combine dry bread pieces with toasted pecans.

Step 2: Cook the Italian sausage and when browned add it to the bread.

Step 3: 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 together eggs and chicken stock and pour that over the bread mixture. Season and transfer to a large baking dish and top with butter.

A baking dish of sourdough stuffing before it has been baked

Step 5: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

Can you freeze leftover stuffing

Stuffing freezes great. Just let it thaw and then reheat in the oven, the top will even stay crispy after it’s been frozen. You can serve it with Lemon Garlic Chicken, or if you are crunched for time, have some with a rotisserie chicken.

MORE Thanksgiving SIDE DISHES

Creamy corn pudding is a must

A baking dish of Cornbread Corn Pudding — Cornbread Corn Pudding

Add bourbon to your sweet potato casserole

Bourbon sweet potato casserole in a baking dish — Bourbon Sweet Potatoes

Go green with a fresh broccoli salad

A bowl of all the ingredients for broccoli salad — Fresh Broccoli Salad

Even the kids will love this cheesy broccoli Casserole

A casserole dish of cheesy broccoli casseole — Cheesy Broccoli Casserole

Don’t forget creamy green bean casserole

A pan of Green Beans with Mushroom Cream Sauce — Green Bean Casserole

I hope these sides make your Thanksgiving feast even more special.

If you make this Stuffing, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to also tag me on Instagram! I would love to see your creation.

Adapted from Bon Appetit

Stuffing

5 from 2 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Keyword: dressing, Thanksgiving

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Servings:

Calories: 277kcal

Ingredients

10 cups sourdough bread dried out and torn into pieces
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 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 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 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 1/2 cup of butter, stirring until melted. Pour over bread mixture.
In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs and stock and pour over bread mixture. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to baking dish and dot with remaining 1/4 cup of butter.
Cover baking dish with foil. Bake for 30-35 minutes until a knife inserted in 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.

Notes

Recipe Tips

If using fresh bread, cut into cubes and place in 250º oven until slightly dry.
You can prepare this a day ahead and bake before serving.
If you don’t like sourdough, use a french bread, not sandwich bread which will get mushy.
You can freeze the leftovers and cover and reheat in a 350º oven for 5-10 minutes.

Nutrition

If you make this recipe be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to also tag me on Instagram! I would love to see your creation.