Sausage Apple & Sage Dressing
Sausage, apple, and sage dressing turns an ordinary box of stuffing mix into a truly extraordinary side dish for your holiday table. This semi homemade stuffing recipe will be a Thanksgiving favorite you’ll want to make anytime of year with all of your chicken dinners.
I know everyone gets most excited for the main course during holiday dinners, but I have to let you in on one of my dirty little secrets.
As much as I enjoy a good turkey or roast, for me, the best part of holiday eating is the side dishes. Mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, and of course the stuffing or dressing.
Stuffing versus Dressing
Ok, before we go on we need to settle a little debate about what this sausage, apple, and sage dressing actually is: stuffing or dressing.
The two terms basically mean the same thing though there’s some regionalism to it.
For example, if you live in the South, you’re much more likely to say dressing.
If you’re in the North, chances are you call it stuffing.
The real difference between stuffing and dressing isn’t where you live though.
It’s what you do with the bread mixture.
Technically, stuffing is any combination of ingredients that you ‘stuff’ inside meat or poultry.
On the other hand, dressing is cooked in a separate dish.
Cooked in the bird, or out of the bird- that’s the real difference.
And now you know.
Ingredients
To make this you’ll need:
- Stuffing mix- 16 ounces of bagged stuffing mix. Use your favorite kind!
- Butter– Salted
- Sausage– Ground sausage. Add extra flavor by using your favorite kind of sausage. I’m using regular ground sausage but it would be nice with sweet Italian sausage as well. Even a hot and spicy variety goes great in this. It is balanced out by the sweetness of the apples.
- Onion– Dice it up
- Apples– Peeled, cored, and chopped. I recommend Granny Smiths for the tartness but you can use any firm apple you like.
- Celery– Thinly sliced and chopped
- Broth– Chicken broth or if it’s near Thanksgiving and you can find turkey broth go for it!
- Herbs– Both chopped fresh parsley and a few chopped fresh sage leaves
- Eggs
How to Make
To make this homemade sausage apple dressing recipe, start by melting two tablespoons of butter in a large skillet over medium heat.
When the butter melts, cook the sausage in the skillet until it’s not pink anymore but not so done it’s dry.
After you’ve cooked the sausage, put the stuffing mix into a large bowl.
Then pour the sausage and its drippings into the bowl with the stuffing mix.
Now add the rest of the butter to the skillet and return the skillet to the heat.
Once the rest of the butter is melted, add the onion, apple and celery to the pan.
Cook for a few minutes until the veggies are tender and they start to get translucent.
Now you can add the broth and the chopped parsley to the pan and bring it to a boil.
Then you can pour the veggie broth mix over the stuffing and sausage and stir in the sage.
Now let the mixture cool almost completely so you don’t scramble the eggs when you add them.
Once the mixture is almost cool, crack the eggs into another mixing bowl and whisk them until they are smooth.
Then add the beaten eggs to the stuffing and mix until the eggs are evenly incorporated.
To finish, you can transfer the dressing into a buttered 9×9 oven safe dish and bake it at 350 until the top is crisp and the mixture is cooked through.
Serve with gravy and enjoy!
Storing Leftovers
Store leftover sausage dressing in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 to 4 days.
Reheat it in the microwave or in a hot oven until warmed through.
Do you put eggs in stuffing?
This recipe indeed calls for eggs.
The eggs act as a binding and hold everything together.
They also let the top of the stuffing get nice and crisp.
What kind of sausage do you use in sausage dressing?
I am using regular ground sausage, but you can use any kind of ground sausage you like.
Can this dressing be Stuffed and Baked in the Bird?
While we tend to just prepare and fix it as a dressing, it’s easy to turn this yummy recipe into a more traditional stuffing inside the turkey (or a roast chicken).
To do it, prepare the mixture as written, but instead of transferring it to a baking dish you can stuff it directly into the chicken or turkey’s cavity.
Keep in mind, you don’t want to overstuff the bird so it doesn’t affect the cooking time.
That can mean I have extra dressing.
Don’t let that go to waste though!
Any excess I just transfer to a small, buttered oven safe dish and bake right alongside the bird.
Can I double this sausage dressing recipe?
Worried you won’t have enough to feed all your guests?
This recipe easily doubles to serve the needs of a larger crowd.
Instead of adding it to a square baking dish, prepare it in a 9×13 inch baking dish instead.
Tips and Tricks
- Make sure you use all the sausage drippings. It will flavor the dressing and make it extra yummy.
- Don’t skip letting the mixture cool before you add your eggs. If you add the eggs to the hot ingredients, you risk scrambling the eggs.
- If paring this with a holiday turkey, add it to the oven to cook during the last hour of the turkey’s cooking time. This will ensure both dishes are ready to serve at the same time.
- You can sub dried crumbled corn bread for the prepackaged stuffing mix, or even pieces of stale baguette bread.
- If you want a heartier side dish, you can double the meat and use an extra apple in the recipe.
Other Thanksgiving Side Dishes You Might Love
This sausage, apple, and sage dressing is a delicious side for any holiday menu, but you need all the sides on Thanksgiving day!
Consider adding one or two (or more) of these other great dishes to your menu too:
- Pumpkin Cornbread
- Garlic Parmesan Smashed Sweet Potatoes
- Fresh Green Bean Casserole
- Whipped Boursin Cheese Mashed Potatoes
- Instant Pot Turkey Gravy
Sausage, Apple, And Sage Dressing
Ingredients
- 1 16 oz bag stuffing mix
- 6 tbsp salted butter
- 1 lb ground sausage
- 1 white onion chopped
- 2 apples peeled, cored, & chopped
- 2 ribs celery thinly sliced & chopped
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 1/4 cup chopped parsley
- 2-3 leaves sage roughly chopped
- 2 large eggs
Instructions
- In a large skillet, melt two tablespoons of butter. Add the sausage and cook it, breaking up as you go, for about 5 minutes. No longer bright pink, but not so done it's dry either.6 tbsp salted butter, 1 lb ground sausage
- Add the stuffing mix to a large mixing bowl. Pour the cooked sausage & dripping mixture from the skillet into the mixing bowl.1 16 oz bag stuffing mix
- Add the rest of the butter to the skillet, and once melted stir in the onion, apple, and celery. Cook the mixture, stirring occasionally, for 3-4 minutes- until the veggies are tender and the onion translucent.1 white onion, 2 apples, 2 ribs celery
- Pour in the broth & add the chopped parsley. Bring the mixture to a boil. Pour this mixture over the stuffing mixture in the mixing bowl. Stir in the sage.3 cups chicken broth, 1/4 cup chopped parsley, 2-3 leaves sage
- Let the mixture sit and cool. Once cooled, crack the eggs into a smaller mixing bowl. Whisk them together until smooth. Add the egg mixture to the stuffing mix, and continue mixing until evenly incorporated.2 large eggs
- Rub butter along the inside of a 9x9 inch square baking dish. Add the dressing mixture to the dish, packing the top as necessary.
- Cook the sausage apple and sage dressing at 350 degrees for 40 minutes, or until the top is crisp and the mixture cooked through.
- Scoop the mixture onto plates and serve. Enjoy!
Notes
- Make sure you use all the sausage drippings. It will flavor the dressing and make it extra yummy.
- Don’t skip letting the mixture cool before you add your eggs. If you add the eggs to the hot ingredients, you risk scrambling the eggs.
- If paring this with a holiday turkey, add it to the oven to cook during the last hour of the turkey’s cooking time. This will ensure both dishes are ready to serve at the same time.
- You can sub dried crumbled corn bread for the prepackaged stuffing mix, or even pieces of stale baguette bread.
- If you want a heartier side dish, you can double the meat and use an extra apple in the recipe.
Nutrition
Can this stuffing be made the day before/ahead of time?
Looks like a work of art with the recipe! Beautiful colors and I am sure it tasted so so good! That sounds fab with this ingredients Thanks for sharing with us.