Apple Sausage Stuffing: The True Star of Thanksgiving
Everyone wants to talk about turkey when it comes to thanksgiving, but the sides are the real star of the holiday and Apple Sausage Stuffing is their king. This recipe is way more than bread crumbs. It combines apples, sage sausage, celery, and turkey drippings to create a sweet and savory side dish that is sure to steal the show.
Apple Sausage Stuffing Main Ingredients:
Sage Sausage:
If you’re going to make a substitution, this is not the time! Sage sausage adds a ton of depth tot he flavor profile of this dish and other sausages are not going to get the job done. Jimmy Dean seasonally makes a Sage Sausage that I highly recommend for this recipe.
What if you can’t find this particular sage sausage?
Since 2020, this has been a hard product to find. If you see this at your local grocer, pick it up. If you are unable to find this don’t fret, I have a work around. This is essentially their normal breakfast sausage with more sage added. You can get their original, not hot or maple, breakfast sausage and mix two tablespoons for dried sage into it before cooking. Sometimes not finding what you want is an opportunity to try something new. When I was unable to find this last year I ended up using a high quality breakfast sausage from a local butcher. The main take away: use breakfast sausage
Apples
Every time I go to the store it feels like there is a new variety of apple in the produce section. For this dish I gravitate to golden delicious or granny smith’s. Both cook well and if you can’t decide which, use one of each.
Celery
I am having such an awakening with celery lately. Name a another vegetable that is like water flavored hair raw, but becomes a soft vessel of pure flavor when cooked… I’ll wait.
Stuffing Cubes
These cubes of dried bread lend their name to the dish. I have been partial to the mass produced bags of stuffing cubes that you can find on grocery store end caps this time of year (November and December). I would choose Sag, Italian, or unflavored cubes. Please avoid cornbread cubes.
Apple Sausage Stuffing Do’s and Don’ts
Don’ts:
- Do not stuff this stuffing inside of your turkey. Stuffing cooked inside turkey should not be consumed and this would be a terrible waste of the most delicious stuffing you have ever eaten.
- D not eat this raw. Once the beaten eggs have been added, it is important for the safety of you and your guests that it is thoroughly cooked.
Do’s
- Stuff this stuffing in your pie hole
- Double the recipe because it stores well and leftovers are just a gift to your future self.
Apple Sausage Stuffing
Ingredients
- 2 Apples (Granny Smith of Golden Delicious)
- 2 Ribs Celery (Chopped)
- 1 Onion (Chopped)
- 16 oz Bagged Stuffing Cubes
- 3 Cups Low Sodium Chicken Broth
- 6 Tbsp Butter
- ½ Tsp Kosher Salt
- ¼ Cup Fresh Parsley (Chopped)
- 2 Eggs (Beaten)
- 1 Lb Sage Sausage
Instructions
- Place the stuffing cubes in a large bowl and set aside. Pre heat the oven to 350 °F
- Butter the inside of a 9×13 baking dish and set aside.
- In a large skillet over medium high heat, cook the sausage, breaking it into crumbles and cooking until browned. Dump the cooked sausage and sausage drippings over the stuffing cubes in the large bowl.
- Return the skillet to the stove and melt the rest of the butter. Add the Apple, Celery, and Onion. Cook until softened, about five minutes.
- Add the broth and parsley to the skillet and bring the mixture to a boil. Once boiling, add the vegetables and broth to the bowl containing the sausage and stuffing cubes.
- Beat two eggs and add to the bowl. Mix everything together and spoon the mixture into the greased 9×13 baking dish.
- Bake uncovered for 40 minuets. Spoon a few tablespoons of turkey drippings over stuffing, then bake for an additional 20 minutes. Serve warm!