Sausage stuffing is the side dish that must be at everyone’s Thanksgiving table. Cheap sandwich bread, two pounds of Jimmy Dean breakfast sausage and more butter than I’m willing to admit, all baked until the top gets golden and crispy. Pour on the gravy and don’t talk to me for a few minutes!
Diane’s Sausage Stuffing
This recipe is from my mother-in-law Diane, who makes the best stuffing in the world! I kid you not. She makes the most amazing Thanksgiving feasts, and now I’m happy to be able to recreate her famous stuffing recipe.
This is now my go-to stuffing, with classic flavor and lots of texture. It’s full of savory breakfast sausage, buttery onions and celery, and plenty of parsley and poultry seasoning. The toasted bread cubes soak up all that flavor, turning soft and fluffy on the inside and staying crispy on top.
Serve it with lots of gravy as the perfect addition to your Thanksgiving table.
🩷 xoxo, Ana
Recipe headnote
Plain sandwich bread gets cut into cubes, dusted with poultry seasoning and toasted until golden, so it can drink up the stock without turning to mush. Onions, celery and a big handful of parsley soften in butter before two pounds of breakfast sausage go into the pot to brown and crumble.
Everything gets tossed together with chicken stock and baked until the edges crisp and the top turns a deep golden brown.
Ana’s Recipe Tips
- Go cheap on the bread. Regular sandwich bread soaks up the stock evenly and gives you that soft middle. Sourdough, ciabatta or French bread work too, they just stay chewier.
- Dry bread is the goal. Let the cubes sit out on the counter for a day or two, or toast them in the oven. Fresh, soft bread turns to mush.
- Add the stock slowly. Every bread brand drinks differently, so start with 3 cups and keep the rest nearby. You can always add more, but you can’t take it back.
- Taste before you salt. Jimmy Dean sausage brings plenty of salt on its own. Mix everything first, taste, then decide.
- Want a little heat? Swap in Jimmy Dean Hot or Sage sausage for half of the regular.
- Don’t pack it. Spread the stuffing loosely in the dish so the top gets crispy.
Make Ahead, Storing and Reheating
I always find stuffing tastes better a day or two after making, it gives the seasoning time to settle in. Here’s how to get ahead.
- Bread: Toast up to 3 days ahead. Cool completely and keep it in a big zip-top bag or airtight container at room temperature.
- Sausage mixture: Cook it the night before, cover and refrigerate. Warm it on the stove for a few minutes the next day so the butter loosens, then mix with the bread and stock and bake.
- Fully assembled: Mix everything, spread in the dishes, cover and refrigerate up to 24 hours. Bake straight from the fridge at 350°F (175°C), adding 10 to 15 minutes.
- Leftovers: Store in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 to 4 days.
- Freezing: Freeze baked, cooled stuffing wrapped tightly in foil or in freezer bags for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge.
- Reheating: Splash with a little stock, cover with foil and bake at 350°F (175°C) for 20 minutes. Uncover for the last 10 to crisp the top. Single portions reheat fine in the microwave.
Print recipe:
Sausage Stuffing Recipe
Equipment
- 2 rimmed baking sheets or a large roasting pan, large pot, very large mixing bowl, two 9×13-inch baking dishes.
Ingredients
- 2 large loaves sandwich bread - (about 40 ounces / 1.1 kg total)
- 2 Tablespoons Poultry seasoning (Bell's preferably)
- 1 cup (2 sticks / 226 g) unsalted butter, divided
- 2 medium white or yellow onions - finely chopped
- 1 celery bunch (about 8 ribs) - finely chopped
- 1 large bunch flat-leaf parsley - finely chopped
- 2 pounds (900 g) Jimmy Dean Regular pork sausage
- 3 ½ cups (28 ounces / 830 ml) chicken stock, plus more as needed
- 1 Tablespoon kosher salt or more to taste
- ½ Tablespoon freshly ground black pepper or more to taste
Instructions
Toast the bread (up to 3 days ahead)
- Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
- Cut the bread into ¾-inch cubes. Spread in a single layer on the baking sheets or roasting pan (work in batches as needed) and sprinkle evenly with the poultry seasoning.
- Bake 15 to 20 minutes, stirring halfway, until golden and dry. Cool completely.
Cook the sausage mixture
- Melt 1 stick of butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onions, celery, parsley, a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, until softened, 5 to 7 minutes.
- Add the second stick of butter and the sausage. Break it up with a spoon and cook until browned and no longer pink, 8 to 10 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes.
Mix
- Place the bread cubes in a very large bowl. Add the sausage mixture with all the butter and drippings. Pour in 3 cups of stock and mix gently with your hands.
- Add more stock a splash at a time until the stuffing is evenly moist and holds together when squeezed. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Diane's note: You want the dressing to stick together nicely, evenly moist, but not too loose.
Bake
- Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Divide the stuffing between the two baking dishes, spreading it loosely.
- Bake uncovered for 30 to 35 minutes, until the top is golden brown and crispy.
Notes
- Less expensive sandwich bread works as well as expensive bread.
- Jimmy Dean is salty, so season after mixing, not before.
- Make-ahead, storing and reheating details are in the post.
Private Notes
Nutrition
FAQs
Stuffing gets cooked inside the turkey and dressing bakes in its own pan. So technically, this is dressing. Most of us just call it stuffing no matter where it’s cooked, and in the South you’ll hear dressing for both.
You can, but the stuffing in the center of the bird has to reach 165°F (74°C), and by then the breast meat is usually overcooked. Baking it in a dish is safer and gives you the crispy top.
Diane’s version never had them. The stock, butter and sausage drippings hold it together, so it bakes up fluffy and light instead of dense and casserole-like.
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