Sausage Apple Cranberry Stuffing

Take your classic stuffing to the next level with this awesome Sausage Apple Cranberry Stuffing! Make your stuffing from scratch and fill it up with crusty sourdough bread, fresh herbs, and delicious dried cranberries to really wow your guests. It's guaranteed to be everyone's favorite side dish at Thanksgiving!

Why You'll Love This

• An upgraded classic: This easy recipe has all the delicious components of a traditional stuffing: hearty bread, crunchy onion and celery, and fall-favorite herbs. But it's loaded up with sausage, dried cranberries, and fresh apple to create a delicious mix of flavors and textures.
• Customizable: This Sausage Apple Cranberry Stuffing is amazing as-is, but you can easily add your own touch to it. Include your favorite vegetables, change up the sausage or bread, and season to your heart's liking!
• Prep it in advance: Save time and coveted oven space on Thanksgiving by prepping this homemade stuffing a day early. The flavors meld together overnight and it reheats well!

🧂 Ingredients

• Sourdough bread: Adds a tangy flavor to balance the rich and savory flavors of this easy dressing. Stale bread works best - I recommend buying the bread 3 days in advance so it has time to dry out.
• Sausage: So what's the best sausage for stuffing? I love using sweet or mild Italian pork sausage, breakfast sausage in this dish but any type of sausage meat would work here. Purchase bulk sausage if you can, or remove the casings first if you're using links.
• Onion, celery, and garlic: Classic vegetables that are usually in stuffing to help create a flavorful base.
• Apple: I love using Honeycrisp, Pink Lady, or Fuji apples for a sweet and crispy texture. For a more tart flavor, use a Granny Smith.
• Fresh herbs: Sage, thyme, rosemary, and parsley are a must during the holidays. You can use dried herbs, but fresh herbs add more of a savory and festive touch.
• Dried cranberries: Adds gorgeous color, texture, and tartness. I use sweetened.
• Turkey broth: Provides moisture and richness in this baked Sausage Apple Cranberry Stuffing. I love using bone broth as it's richer in nutrients, collagen, and flavor. Be mindful of the sodium level - I recommend unsalted or low sodium stock.
• Butter: I recommend unsalted butter for more control of the seasoning, but salted butter would work as well.
• Egg: Acts as a binder to hold the Apple and Cranberry Stuffing together.

Substitutions & Variations

• Aside from sourdough bread, you can substitute with any bread that's mild in flavor with low moisture content. Some popular choices are corn bread, Italian bread, white or whole wheat bread, French baguettes, or stuffing cubes.
• Use any type of sausage or meat you'd like in this Apple and Cranberry Stuffing! You could also use ground turkey, chicken, or pork instead and add your own seasoning blend.
• If using dried herbs in place of fresh, halve the amount. Or replace with poultry seasoning, which is a blend of sage, thyme, and rosemary.
• If adding different types of vegetables, make sure to pay attention to the cook time. Leeks, bell pepper, and jalapeno would be easy additions - just throw them in with the onion.
• For crunch, sprinkle in nuts like chopped walnuts, pecans, almonds, or chestnut.
• To make gluten-free Sausage Apple Cranberry Stuffing, use gluten-free bread like Whole Food's Gluten-Free Sandwich Bread.
• To make this dairy-free, replace the butter with vegan butter.
• To make a vegetarian stuffing, leave out the sausage or replace with a vegan meat alternative or finely chopped mushrooms. Also substitute the turkey broth with vegetable broth.
• To stuff the turkey with homemade Sausage Apple Cranberry Stuffing, first make sure both the turkey and stuffing are at room temperature before cooking. Right before you roast the turkey, line the cavity of the turkey with cheesecloth and add the uncooked stuffing. Roast at 325ºF (163ºC) until the internal temperature of both the stuffing and turkey reaches 165ºF (74ºC) in the thickest part of the thigh.

STEP ONE: First, preheat your oven to 350ºF and grease a baking dish with butter or oil.

If your sourdough bread isn't already stale, cut them into cubes and toast in the oven for 5-8 minutes until lightly browned. Transfer the bread to the casserole dish.

STEP TWO: In a skillet, melt butter over medium-high heat and add the sausage. Break it up into bite-sized pieces and sear until no longer pink, about 5 minutes.

Then transfer the sausage to the casserole dish on top of bread - but don't stir yet!

STEP THREE: If there's a lot of rendered fat from the sausage, drain all but 1-2 tablespoon from the skillet. Then add the onion, apple, and celery along with a pinch of salt. Cook for 3-4 minutes, then add the garlic, sage, thyme, and rosemary. Toast for 1 minute until fragrant, then pour it all on top of the sausage in the casserole dish.

STEP FIVE: While the sourdough is soaking, sprinkle the dried cranberries and parsley on top.

STEP SIX: Once the bread has absorbed most of the liquid, gently mix the stuffing.

STEP SEVEN: Cover the baking dish with foil and bake the Sausage Apple Cranberry Stuffing for about 30 minutes. Then turn the temperature up to 400ºF, remove the foil, and gently stir. Let continue baking for 15-25 more minutes until until the tops are golden brown.

💭 Top Tips

• Save your butter wrappers: Use it to easily grease your casserole dish!
• Use stale bread: Stale bread works best to soak up liquid, otherwise you're left with a mushy stuffing. Cube the sourdough and place it in a bowl for 2-3 days on the counter. Or a quick shortcut is to lightly toast the bread: bake, air fry, or toast the sourdough cubes at 350ºF (177ºC) for 5-10 minutes until lightly toasted.
• Adjust the broth: Be careful with the turkey broth as you want it to moisten the sourdough bread but not turn the stuffing soggy. You may have to add more or less than what the recipe calls for, depending on how dry your bread is.
• Cover when baking: Cover your Sausage Apple Cranberry Stuffing with foil for the first part of baking to retain moisture and prevent the top from burning. Then remove the foil at the end for a perfectly golden and crispy exterior.

What To Do With Leftover Sausage Apple Cranberry Stuffing

• Put together a Thanksgiving leftovers sandwich with sourdough bread, a slice of turkey, a generous scoop of Sausage Apple Cranberry Stuffing, cranberry sauce, and your favorite condiments.
• Make sourdough stuffing balls by mixing in an extra egg to your leftovers and forming 2-inch balls. Then bake at 375°F (190°C) for 15-20 minutes until lightly crispy.
• Toss the leftover dressing in a bowl with crisp lettuce and drizzle with your favorite dressing for a flavorful panzanella salad. Or you can just scoop them into the lettuce to make lettuce wraps.
• You can also use leftovers to stuff your favorite vegetables like acorn squash, bell peppers, or zucchini. 
• Generously grease a waffle iron to make savory, crispy Cranberry and Sausage Stuffing waffles.