This isn’t your Grandma’s stuffing. This Apple Stuffing with Sausage is everything you’ve been dreaming about and the perfect side dish for your Thanksgiving feast.
This simple side dish is perfect for Thanksgiving or any day of the year. It’s hearty, filling, and very easy to make. When it comes to the holidays – people sure do love the stuffing with their family dinner.
For as long as I can remember, our family always made my grandmother’s “New England” stuffing that is made with ground beef, ground sausage, and potatoes. I always wondered why people would have stuffing made with bread. That is until I made some of this apple stuffing with sausage.
I love this stuffing because we have a ton of apples here from our trees and I’m always looking for different ways we can use them up. There are so many things you can do with apples – and adding them to this stuffing brings a wonderful flavor that is absolutely divine when served with a holiday turkey.
Plus the sweetness of the apples paired with the savory sausage is perfect. Sort of like pork chops pair with applesauce – only better. I don’t know about you – but I REALLY love to balance the flavors with notes from opposite ends of the spectrum. This is probably why I love salty/sweet combos too.
sausage apple stuffing
Here are some commonly asked questions
How to store leftover stuffing
If you happen to have any stuffing leftovers after serving – just transfer the remaining stuffing to a shallow airtight container and keep refrigerated until ready to serve again.
To reheat – microwave for about 30-60 seconds or until hot again.
Why use a shallow container to store the leftovers?
Well, when the container is shallow, the contents chill faster than if you were to use a large, deep container. Ideally, you don’t want it to take too long for the leftovers to get to their chilled/stored temperature.
As I mentioned, if the food remains above about 35 degrees for more than 1 hour after cooking, the bacteria starts to grow.
apple stuffing recipe
Should I use salted or unsalted butter?
This is really a personal preference. If you are watching your salt intake, then use unsalted butter.
I usually use whatever I have on hand because when I’m busy preparing for the holidays, I really don’t care about what butter I have. But I typically keep salted butter on hand & I love that little bit of extra salt that it adds to this recipe because we aren’t adding any other seasonings here.
Can I use dried veggies instead of fresh?
Yes, absolutely, that will work fine. I often keep those on hand more so than fresh – so we have made it both ways.
sausage and apple stuffing
Ingredients for Apple Stuffing with Sausage
- ground sage breakfast sausage or your favorite ground breakfast sausage
- butter
- apples – chopped
- onion – chopped
- celery with leaves – chopped
- Salt and pepper to taste
- chicken broth stock
- premade cornbread
- loaf bread torn (brioche, french, italian)
- eggs – beaten
Apple Equivalents & Measures – rough estimates
- 1 bushel of apples is the dry equivalent to 2 gallons of produce
- 2 large apples = 1 pound
- 3-4 medium apples = 1 pound
- 3 cups cored, sliced or chopped apples = 1 pound
- 1-1/3 cups applesauce = 1 pound of apples
- 1 pound dried apples = 8 cups cooked apples
- 1 pound dried apples = 4 1/3 cups
- 4 pounds fresh apples = 1 pound dried apples
- 4 pounds of fresh apples = 4 cups of applesauce
- 1/2 cup mashed apples = 1 medium apple
- 3/4 cup cored, chopped apples = 1 medium apple
- 1 cup cored, sliced apples = 1 medium apple
- 2 pounds fresh apples = filling for ONE 9″ pie
- Small apples are approx 2 1/4 inches in diameter.
- Medium apples are approx 2 3/4 inches in diameter.
- Large apples are approx 3 3/4 inches in diameter.
Can this be stuffed and baked into the turkey?
I don’t personally recommend eating stuffing that has been cooked inside the turkey. You can make this to stuff inside the turkey to add flavor to the turkey – but you would have to make an entirely different batch for serving as a side dish.
Stuffing is porous, and during the cooking process, juices from the turkey that may contain bacteria are absorbed by the stuffing. Additionally, when checking the temperature, many people neglect to check the temperature of the stuffing, which also needs to be cooked at 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
As a result, bacteria remain in the stuffing, which can cause guests to get sick and puts them at risk for salmonella poisoning. Any stuffing that contains meat juices must be cooked to the same minimum internal temperature as the meat itself in order to ensure any bacteria is killed during the cooking process.
Also – it will increase the cooking time. The difficult part is that the turkey and the stuffing would require different cooking times and one would end up being overcooked in order to make sure the other reaches the proper temperature.
apple stuffing for turkey
How to Make Apple Stuffing
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
- In a large skillet over medium heat melt 2 tablespoons of the butter.
- Add the sausage and cook until it browns and crumbles.
- Add the onion, celery and apple to the sausage and continue to cook until the sausage is cooked through and the vegetables are tender.
- Salt and pepper to taste.
- Pour in the chicken stock and add the remaining butter to the pan. Bring to a simmer.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the bread and cornbread.
- Beat the eggs in a small bowl and then add them to the stuffing mixture, stirring gently to blend.
- Place the stuffing a greased 9×13 dish. If you started by using a cast iron skillet – you can bake it in the skillet instead of transferring to a baking dish.
- Bake for 60 minutes until golden brown.
Can this recipe be doubled?
You can double this recipe, but the issue will be the size of the skillet. You might want to make the batches in 2 skillets simultaneously and bake them side-by-side.
apple sausage stuffing recipe
Can I use ground turkey instead of sausage?
Yes, absolutely, that will work just fine. Any type or flavor of ground meat – chicken, turkey, sausage or even beef that you prefer will work great.
What to Serve with Apple Stuffing
While the possibilities are endless when it comes to flavor pairings for this delicious apple stuffing with sausage – here are a few of our favorites that we will be serving this holiday season.
- Applewood Smoked Turkey
- Garlic Parmesan Stuffed Mushrooms
- Air Fryer Turkey Breast
- Deviled Eggs
- Mini Apple Pies
- Honey Glazed Carrots
- Air Fryer Brussels Sprouts
- Easy Apple Crisp
- Cranberry Meatballs
- One Hour Dinner Rolls
- Eggnog Cupcakes
sausage apple dressing
DON’T MISS THESE HOLIDAY E-BOOKS!
Products I love when making stuffing…
This holiday stuffing recipe is SUPER EASY and delicious – and if you’re like me this time of year, then you maybe already have some of these items on hand OR maybe you have never made homemade stuffing before, & you might be a bit nervous – but you’re going to love it. I have made a list below of the things I absolutely can’t live without when it comes to making this holiday recipe.
If you love this Easy Apple Stuffing recipe, you’re going to love these other holiday recipes too. Please click each link below to find the easy, printable recipe!
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Apple Stuffing with Sausage
Ingredients
- 16 ounce roll of ground sage breakfast sausage or your favorite ground breakfast sausage
- 1/2 cup butter plus more for buttering the pan
- 3 medium apples chopped
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 2 ribs celery with leaves chopped
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 4 cups chicken broth stock
- 16 ounces premade cornbread
- 4 cups of loaf bread torn (brioche, french, italian)
- 2 large eggs beaten
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
- In a large skillet over medium heat melt 2 tablespoons of the butter.
- Add the sausage and cook until it browns and crumbles.
- Add the onion, celery and apple to the sausage and continue to cook until the sausage is cooked through and the vegetables are tender.
- Salt and pepper to taste.
- Pour in the chicken stock and add the remaining butter to the pan. Bring to a simmer.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the bread and cornbread.
- Beat the eggs in a small bowl and then add them to the stuffing mixture, stirring gently to blend.
- Place the stuffing a greased 9×13 dish. If you started by using a cast iron skillet – you can bake it in the skillet instead of transferring to a baking dish.
- Bake for 60 minutes until golden brown.
Nutritional information for the recipe is provided as a courtesy and is approximate. Please double-check with your own dietary calculator for the best accuracy. We at Yummi Haus cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site.
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