Mom’s Sausage Stuffing
Mom’s Sausage Stuffing recipe is a homemade stuffing made with sausage, onion, garlic, celery, hand-torn bread, and plenty of spices. It’s always a big hit and Thanksgiving wouldn’t be complete without it!
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Recently, my friend asked for my Mom’s Sausage Stuffing recipe and I decided that not only do I need to actually write it down, I need to put the recipe on this blog so everyone can have access to THE BEST STUFFING EVER!
My mom has been making her awesome sausage stuffing every Thanksgiving for as long as I can remember.
When I lived near her, we would usually make it together; someone is chopping veggies, while the other is cooking the sausage or tearing the bread.
We never had her recipe written down and we don’t measure anything, so when someone would ask for the recipe I was never really able to give it to them.
Even though the military has sent me across the country from my mom, I still make Sausage Stuffing for my own family every Thanksgiving and usually, on Christmas too.
I love the moist bread combined with the veggies, pieces of sausage, and all the seasonings that give it that quintessential stuffing flavor.
To me, the best part is the top where the bread pieces get a little crispy from cooking in the oven. Yum!
Ingredients needed to make this recipe (scroll down to recipe card for complete recipe):
- Pork sausage
- Loaf of bread
- Celery
- Onion
- Garlic
- Butter
- Poultry seasoning, white pepper, black pepper, salt
- Chicken stock
How to make Mom’s Sausage Stuffing:
- Tear the bread into bite-size pieces and place in a large bowl and set aside.
- Cook the sausage in a pan, then add it to the bowl with bread, leaving some of the sausage drippings in the pan.
3. Add the butter, veggies, and seasonings to the now empty sausage pan. Cook the veggies until they’re tender.
4. Pour the buttered, seasoned veggies over the bread pieces (including all the melted butter), add the sausage, and combine.
5. Gradually pour in the chicken stock while stirring the stuffing to make sure the stock is evenly distributed.
6. The bread should be moist. Pour into a greased casserole dish, bake for 30 minutes and that’s it! The top should be nice and crispy, while the stuffing underneath is nice and moist!
Some people say “stuffing” is when you put it in the turkey, otherwise it is called “dressing”. I don’t stuff my bird and I don’t call it “dressing”, so I guess I’m breaking all the rules!
Do you want to serve turkey, but don’t need a whole gigantic turkey?
Try my Slow Cooker Cajun Butter Turkey Breast! Perfect for 4-5 guests, this slow cooker turkey breast is ideal for smaller gatherings!
Delight your holiday guests with a slow cooker full of Spiced Apple Cranberry Warm Rum Punch (pictured below).
Made with tart cranberry, sweet apple cider, warm spices, and the kick of spiced rum, it’s a warm mug full of joy and holidays! Plus, it will make your home smell amazing!
What kind of bread is best for making stuffing?
Fun fact: I never buy a good loaf of bread for this recipe.
I always get the cheapest loaf of white bread on the shelves! You can, however, use sourdough, rye, or most other types of bread that you enjoy eating.
What kind of sausage is best for making stuffing?
I buy the 1 lb. tube of plain pork sausage.
They do offer it in “Sage”, “Maple”, and other varieties, but I like the plain best so I can season everything myself.
A lower-fat sausage like turkey won’t produce quite the same results since we cook the veggies in the sausage drippings. I know, not healthy, but it’s Thanksgiving!
How long is homemade sausage stuffing good for?
Leftover sausage stuffing can be stored in the refrigerator in an air-tight container for 3-4 days.
Looking for more holiday side dishes? Here are some fan favorites:
- Slow Cooker Baked Potatoes
- Curry Spiced Roasted Carrots
- Slow Cooker Herbed Baby Potatoes (shown below)
- Braised Cabbage & Onions
- Creamy Blue Cheese Mashed Potatoes
- Herbed Butter Garlic Rice
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NOTES:
- You’re going to need to season the butter/veggies liberally with salt and pepper. Remember, we’re seasoning a whole loaf of bread!
- The poultry seasoning I use is Frontier Organic Poultry Seasoning. Not only is it organic, it’s the best-tasting one I’ve found! In addition to the typical ingredients (sage, thyme, marjoram, and black pepper), it also contains onion, celery seed, and cayenne. You can get some HERE from Amazon.
Mom's Sausage Stuffing
Equipment
- 2 1/2 quart casserole dish
- large bowl
Ingredients
- 1 16 oz loaf of white bread hand-torn into bite-size pieces
- 1 lb. pork sausage
- 1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
- 1 yellow onion diced
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 1 cup diced celery (about 3 stalks)
- 1 1/4 tsp. poultry seasoning
- dash white pepper
- Plenty of salt & pepper
- 1 1/2 cup chicken stock if there are dry spots after mixing well, you may need to add a little more
Instructions
- Place torn bread in a large bowl and set aside. This can be done hours ahead if you want to save time.
- Preheat oven to 375°. Cook sausage until done and add it to the bowl with bread. Leave the sausage drippings in the pan and add the butter, onion, celery, garlic, and seasonings. Cook until the veggies are tender.
- Add the veggies and any leftover butter from the pan to the bowl with the bread and sausage. Gradually pour chicken stock over the bread mixture while stirring, to fully incorporate everything. When the stuffing mixture is moist and well-seasoned, add it to a greased 2 1/2 quart casserole dish and bake at 375° for 25-30 minutes or until the top is a little crunchy. Enjoy!
Did you make this recipe? Rate it and let me know in the comments below! ♥
I also have a fun Facebook group for us foodies to share recipes and talk about food. I’d love to have you! Request to join HERE. Cheers!
Flavorful Eats is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
What kind of salt do you use? Table salt, kosher salt, sea salt?
I use whatever I happen to have on hand, which is usually sea salt. Salt is measured by weight because of the difference in size of salt crystals from one type to another, so I don’t measure salt for this recipe, each person can season to taste with whatever salt they want :)
Do you dry out the bread? Everywhere says if you don’t dry it out then it will be very soggy and soupy.
Yes. The first instruction on the recipe card says to “Place torn bread in a large bowl and set aside. This can be done hours ahead if you want to save time.” If desired, you can do it the night before. I always do it first thing in the morning :)
If I use Italian bread, is one loaf enough? Also, can I omit the garlic?
The recipe calls for a 16oz loaf of white bread, so I guess I depends how much your Italian loaf weighs. You can definitely omit the garlic :)
What kind of salt do you use? Coarse salt from a grinder, regular salt, kosher salt, sea salt?
You can season it to taste with your preferred type of salt. I don’t say how much salt because everyone’s tastes are different.
Easy and delicious!
This has been my go to stuffing since I found this recipe!! So so good! I use spicy Jimmy Dean pork sausage and sourdough bread. Everyone loves this stuffing!!
Loved this recipe! Tasted like what my mother use to make!
I love hearing that! Thank you so much for letting me know!
I’ve have been making this stuffing for 35 years. It is really an Irish stuffing. I add a little broth and bell’s seasoning which gives it a lot of flavor. You can add milk and eggs but I don’t. This is an excellent recipe.
For YEARS I have been trying to find the recipe my mom made every year. She passed away 6 years ago and never gave me the recipe and it was as close as it could get. Everyone loved it. Thank you so much!!!
I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you for taking the time to let me know!
Just made this it is a 5 star recipe!!
My Mom made this recipe for years. It is the best and I just needed to find the ingredients. My Mom is gone now so I carry on the tradition. Thank you for posting. Happy Thanksgiving!
I am so glad you have it now! Happy Thanksgiving to you too :)
If I were to stuff the turkey, do I back off on some of the liquid?
This has only been made as a stand alone side dish, and not stuffed in the turkey, so I can’t say for sure. I’m not sure how much liquid/moisture is released in a turkey. You’ll have to let me know how it turns out :)
This is the absolute closest recipe to my grandmother’s dressing she made – when she passed away she took the recipe with her. I made this last year and my entire family agreed – keep this recipe! I do add chopped walnuts to it, my grandmother always did and it’s just completes it for me.
Happy Holidays!!
I’m so glad! It’s such a nostalgic dish! Glad you have it now. Happy Thanksgiving!
This is the tastiest stuffing I have had love the crunchy on the top and the inside is so moist making again!!
I made this last Thanksgiving my family loved it, making it again!!!
Made this last Thanksgiving. My family is begging for it again. Thanks for the great recipe
I love hearing that! Thank you for letting me know! Happy Thanksgiving!
This stuffing is soooo good! Made it exactly as written and it came out perfect!
Read all the reviews and i’m sold this years thanksgiving stuffing will be Mom’s Sausage Stuffing…………..
Jesus, I can’t wait to hear what you think! :)
It’s sooo yummy!
This was basically my moms recipe too! I just remembered the ingredients and how to, so thanks for sharing!!
You’re welcome! Enjoy :)
Excellent flavor and very easy!!
I couldn’t take a photo before we all dug in. This is the best stuffing recipe ever! I tore my bread into bites about 5 hours before cooking it and I didn’t have any white pepper so I just used regular black pepper and it was wonderful. Thanks for sharing your family recipe!
I’ve been making this for years. Love it cold!
Going to make it all the time
I was looking for a stuffing with sausage that cooked in a pan as I always put it in the turkey and whats left around it, I needed to know the teperature and how long to cook it for. I use all the same ingrediants except I put everything raw in a big bowl with thyme, rosemary, sage and,savory. I mix it all up with my hands and stuff my turky. And everyone loves it, I think sausage added to it makes the best stuffing!
This was perfect! It finally convinced my husband that we don’t need to buy the stuffing bags of mini croutons.
We used Neese’s sausage, added cranberries (a must-have in our family), I didn’t have poultry seasoning so I used garlic/herb blend, and used bouillon cubes in water for the chicken stock. I like the cube look so I did cut the bread into cubes.
I’m so glad you were able to convert your husband to this stuffing! Homemade is truly best :) Thanks for sharing!
Exactly as our British version (minus the garlic) and just as yummy.
This is my mom’s recipe and she is from Liverpool :)
Perfect,a Holiday must have. And try and save some for the Thanksgiving Sandwiches.
Thank you! I haven’t tried it on sandwiches, but I have made leftover patties with turkey and sausage and fried them in a pan. Delish ;)
Hands down the best stuffing, I didn’t change a thing
Just had to let you know that I tried your stuffing recipe for Thanksgiving! My husband & grown son loved it! My son only likes Stove Top Stuffing. He tried yours and said to me: “Have you tried this? It’s awesome!” Thank you so much!!!
I’m so glad to hear that!
I made this today for the first time and it was delicious; we both loved it and it was the perfect complement to our Thanksgiving meal. Will definitely be making it again!
Thank you for letting me know, Laurie! I’m s glad you both enjoyed it! Happy Thanksgiving!
Has anyone ever let the bread cubes dry out on the counter for days in advance before making this?
Hi…I open the bag of bread for about 4 hours on the counter before using.
Do you drain sausage or add some of the grease to the bread?
Hi there. Normally when cooking, I drain the grease, but when I make this stuffing I don’t. Personal preference though!
Can you make this ahead of time and leave in fridge overnight and just bake it right before serving?
I have never made it in advance. It may dry out a little bit, but if you plan for that, it should be ok! Enjoy!
I know this may be a silly question But I want to confirm! Is it 1&1/4 cup of broth?
Hi! Yes it is one and a quarter cups of broth or 1.25 cups of broth :)
I’m looking forward to trying your stuffing recipe but what kind of pork sausage do you usually use? Original? Bob evans? Jimmy Dean? Have you ever doubled it? Thanks so much!!
Hi there! I generally use a tube of Jimmy Dean “original”, but I have used other brands in the past. I have not doubled the recipe, but if you do, I would recommend using a wider pan rather than a deeper one as the crispy crust on the top is priceless ;)
I am a Stouffers stuffing girl and this is the first homemade stuffing that I liked. Will definitely be making this recipe for Thanksgiving!
This Recipe is the only Stuffing/Dressing recipe we have on Thanksgiving. My family has made this for at least 60 years. We do not use Garlic. Which I’m surprised. Maybe I need to add it to the recipe.
Kristi, I know what you mean. You just have to have this stuffing on Thanksgiving, or the meal isn’t complete. This is my mom’s recipe and she adds garlic, so I do, too. You’ll have to let me know how you like it with garlic ;)
Do you need to dry the bread out overnight first or can you use it right out of the bag?
Hi there! You can definitely use the bread right out of the bag! I like to have it sit in a bowl for an hour or two if I have time, but it’s still wonderful without that step! Enjoy :)
This is my Mom’s basic stuffing recipe and I assure you it is DELICIOUS stuffed in the bird!!
I have actually never put it inside the turkey before! I love the crunchy texture the top gets when it’s baked in the oven :) Glad you enjoy it!
The buttered veggies make all the difference. Best stuffing ever! Makes for great leftovers too….if you can stop yourself from eating it all
Hands down this is the best stuffing make it every Thanksgiving
Only stuffing we have now! So delicious
So glad you enjoyed this stuffing! It’s a family favorite! :)