Easy Sausage & Herb Stuffing Recipe
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This rich and savory stuffing recipe is perfect the holidays. Hearty sausage, fragrant herbs, and store-bought stuffing cubes make it easy—and you can even make it ahead!
I used to host elaborate Thanksgiving celebrations, where I’d cook for days on end, only to be completely exhausted by the time my guests arrived on Thanksgiving day. After one glass of wine, I’d be nodding off at the table and dreaming of my pillow. I finally wised up by simplifying my side dishes and desserts. This rich sausage and herb stuffing recipe relies on store-bought stuffing cubes, which eliminates the step of slicing and drying out the bread. Believe me, when you’re using a pound of sausage and an entire stick of butter, and pairing the dish with turkey gravy and cranberry sauce, the type of bread you use does not matter. This is the easiest and best stuffing recipe, hands down!
“I made this for Thanksgiving and made the mistake of not doubling the recipe. Corrected that for Christmas as it was GONE – first empty dish on the buffet table.”
What You’ll Need To Make Sausage Stuffing
- Store-bought unseasoned stuffing cubes – I’ve made this easy stuffing recipe using dried bread cubes from both Arnold and Pepperidge Farm. I’ve also had good results with the “fresh” dried bread cubes from Whole Foods, which add a bit more texture (these are sold in plastic bags labeled “stuffing cubes”).
- Unsalted butter – Adds rich flavor and helps create a moist texture.
- Aromatics (yellow onion, celery, and garlic) – Provide savory depth and a classic stuffing flavor.
- Bulk sweet Italian sausage – If you can, look for bulk sausage (sausage without casings). If only whole sausages are available, just remove the casings: cut through the sausages with kitchen shears, then peel the casings off—it’s much easier than squeezing out the meat.
- Low-sodium chicken broth – Keeps the stuffing moist without adding too much salt.
- Large egg – Helps bind the stuffing together for a cohesive texture.
- Fresh Herbs (rosemary, sage, and parsley) – Bring freshness and a touch of earthy, holiday flavor.
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper – For seasoning and balancing flavors.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-By-Step Instructions
Begin by melting a stick of butter in a large skillet.
Add the chopped onions and celery.
Cook until soft, about 8 minutes.
Add the garlic and cook a few minutes more.
Transfer the vegetables to a large bowl. In the same pan, cook the sausage until browned.
As it cooks, use a metal spatula to break it apart into small pieces.
Add the sausage to the stuffing cubes and veggies. Then add the broth, egg, herbs, salt and pepper.
Mix well.
Transfer the contents to a buttered 9 x 13-inch baking dish or similarly sized casserole dish.
Bake for 65 to 75 minutes, until the top is golden brown and crisp.
Enjoy!
Make-Ahead & Freezing Instructions
This homemade stuffing recipe can be assembled up to a day ahead and refrigerated until ready to bake. Allow a few extra minutes in the oven if baking from the fridge. It can also can be frozen after baking, tightly covered, for up to 3 months. When you’re ready to serve it, defrost in the refrigerator for 24 hours. Reheat it, covered with foil, in a 325°F oven until hot.
Video Tutorial
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Easy Sausage & Herb Stuffing
Ingredients
- 8 cups (500 g) store-bought unseasoned stuffing cubes
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
- 1½ cups diced yellow onion, from 1 large onion
- 1 cup diced celery from 3 stalks celery
- 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1 lb bulk sweet Italian sausage (i.e., sausage with the casings removed); see note below
- 2¾ cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 1 tablespoon fresh chopped rosemary
- 1 tablespoon fresh chopped sage
- ¼ cup fresh chopped parsley
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease a 9 x 13-in (23 x 33-cm) baking dish with butter.
- Place the stuffing cubes in a large mixing bowl.
- In a large sauté pan, melt the butter. Add the onions and celery and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for about 8 minutes, or until the vegetables are soft. Add the garlic and cook 2 minutes more. Add the vegetables to the stuffing cubes. (Don't wash the pan but scrape out every last bit of vegetables, otherwise they will burn in the next step.)
- In the same pan, cook the sausage over medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes, until browned and cooked through, breaking up the sausage with a metal spatula while cooking (the largest pieces should be no greater than ¼-in/6-mm). Add the browned sausage and fat to the bread cubes and vegetables.
- Add the chicken broth, egg, rosemary, sage, parsley, salt, and pepper to the bread cube mixture and mix until the bread is soft and moistened. Transfer the stuffing to the prepared baking dish and bake for 65 to 75 minutes, uncovered, until deeply golden and crisp on top.
Notes
- If you can't find bulk sausage, buy regular sausage and remove the casings.
- Make-Ahead/Freezing Instructions: The stuffing can be assembled up to a day ahead and refrigerated until ready to bake; follow the baking instructions in the recipe, allowing a few extra minutes in the oven. It can also be frozen after baking, tightly covered, for up to 3 months. When you’re ready to serve it, defrost in the refrigerator for 24 hours. Reheat it, covered with foil, in a 325°F (165°C) oven until hot.
Nutrition Information
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Hi, if I doubled the recipe, how would the cook time differ? Thank you!
Hi Diana, It should take about 10 minutes longer to bake. Hope that helps!
I brought this to a pot luck and got rave reviews. This year I plan to serve it with my Thanksgiving dinner. However, I have one oven and a very large turkey, so its not going to be possible to cook the stuffing and the turkey at the same time. Would it be better to reheat the cooked stuffing while the turkey rests or keep it warm in a slow cooker? Is cooking it in a roaster oven an option?
By the way, I love your book!
Hi Julie, Glad you like the book! 🙂 I think it’s best to reheat the stuffing while the turkey rests – the timing should work out perfectly. By cooking it in a roaster, do you mean cook it with the turkey?
Hi Jen, thanks for your reply. By a roaster I mean a counter top roasting oven.
Hi Julie, I’ve never used a roasting oven, but I think it should work. (This recipe is pretty forgiving.) Hope you enjoy!
Hey Ms. Segal, can I use chicken stock instead of broth? Thanks!
Sure, Luke. 🙂
Ms. Segal, my mother and I are making this for thanksgiving. Thank you for making and posting this recipe. I was wondering if I could use chicken stock instead of broth? Also, after the vegetables are done, should I pat them dry from the butter? Or should add everything to the bread cubes? Thank you!!
Sure, Luke, chicken stock will work. There is no need the pat the veggies dry – just go ahead and add everything to the bread cubes. Hope it turns out well! 🙂
can I freeze it without cooking until thanksgiving day?
Sure, Edna – that’s fine.
Hello Jen, just came across your stuffing recipe. Looks so good and I can almost taste it! Can this recipe be made in a slow cooker? Have a Friends-giving to go to and would like to keep stuffing warm while the oven is being used. Thanks
Hi Tracy, I’ve haven’t tried this in a slow cooker so I can’t say for sure how it would turn out. That said, if you want to give it a try, here are some conversion tips that may help. If you try it this way, LMK how it turns out!
Hi,
This recipe looks delicious and will be my first time making this. I cannot seem to find the cubed bread crumbs in my area. Can I use a regular white loaf of bread and cut it into cubes myself?
Hi Nicole, Sure! I would suggest an Italian loaf if you can find it (anything but sourdough will work). Hope that helps and that you enjoy!
First of all, you are my favorite place to come for recipes. They never disappoint!
Have you ever tried this recipe with the prepackaged cornbread stuffing? I want to make an easy cornbread stuffing so I thought I’d alter this and use a bag of that instead of regular. What do you think?
Hi Danielle, I haven’t tried it but think it’d work fine. Please LMK how it turns out if you try it that way. 🙂
For make-ahead, is it better to bake and reheat or assemble, refrigerate overnight and then bake?
You really can go either way here, Sue, but I’ve generally assembled and refrigerated it and then baked it before serving. Hope you enjoy!
I can hardly wait to make this recipe. Although it is the middle of summer, at my age , and with an overcrowded brain I have to ask questions immediately lest I forget. I would love to stuff the turkey with part of this stuffing but have read that it can be unsafe bacteria wise. What is your opinion on this
I agree with what you’ve read, Carole – I do not recommend stuffing a turkey. I also think the stuffing is more delicious baked separately, as it doesn’t get soggy. Hope that helps!
I have always followed my mom’s recipe getting up very, very early in the a.m., preparing a basic bread stuffing, then stuffing the turkey and putting it in the oven for outstanding results. This past New Years Eve, I was hosting my husband’s extended family with 3 big turkeys… time to check out Jenn’s recipes! I made 2 of the turkeys the day before following Jenn’s high heat/Safeway suggestion with excellent results. While the 2nd turkey was cooking, I doubled this easy recipe (actually very close to Mom’s with the addition of sausage), substituting Argentinian sausage for the Italian (great flavor) and using a multi-grain bread instead of cubes. Baked it as soon as the 2nd turkey came out of the oven. Homemade Gravy? Yep…Jenn’s recipe!! Next day, only 1 turkey to cook (again the high heat method) so no need to get up at the crack of dawn and easy reheating following Jenn’s instructions. The dinner was outstanding with rave reviews! Thanks Jenn for this wonderful website!!!