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 Jenn!
You’ve been my go-to site for recipes that I had to get your cookbook! I am also going to use your recipes for Thanksgiving as well and wanted to know if this can be assembled the day before then placed in the fridge overnight. If so, if there anything additional I need to add to the stuffing (ie. Chicken broth or butter)? And I’m guessing the cooking time may be longer as well?
Thanks for the amazing recipes!! Keep them coming!
Tamara
Hi Tamara, so glad you like the recipes (and thanks for purchasing the cookbook)! ❤️
You can definitely assemble this a day ahead and refrigerate with no modifications needed. It may take a hair longer in the oven, but the difference won’t be significant. Hope you enjoy!
Hi Jen,
Just a clarification. Are you saying make it all and place in the buttered dish, do not bake, cover it and put it in fridge. Next day, warm to room temperature and cook 350 for 65-75 min or make it day before and bake day before. Cool and refrigerate and then reheat at 325 until hot?
Hi Sarah, you really can go either way here, but typically when I’ve made it in advance, I’ve assembled and refrigerated it and then baked it before serving. Hope that clarifies!
Can I bake this at 400? Everything else is being baked at 400 and wanna make my life easier. Thanks!
Sure, Tabytha – that’s fine.
This sounds perfect. However, my family likes Rachel Ray’s method of “stuffin’ muffins” made in muffin tins. I’m guessing this should work fine just shorter cooking time?
Yep!
Hi, this looks fantastic! Do you think a bit of dried cranberries would be a good addition? Thanks!
Definitely!
Can I use seasoned stuffing mix instead of plain? If yes, how do I modify the recipe so it’s not salty ?
Sure, Wendy – just cut the salt and herbs in half and then taste before baking. If it needs more of either, add to taste.
This recipe looks amazing and I’m planning on cooking it for Thanksgiving. I wanted to cook it along with my turkey, which will be baking at 325 degrees. Can this stuffing be cooked at 325 degrees and if so, will the length of time be longer?
Hi Kim, Yes and yes. 🙂 I’d start checking at 80 minutes.
This looks delicious but my family doesn’t eat sausage and some family members are vegetarian. Have you made this without the sausage and did it work? Any suggested replacements?
Hi Sarah, this recipe kind of screams for the sausage as it adds a ton of flavor. So you may want to check out this this recipe instead.
Hi there. Your recipe looks wonderful and think I might try for T day. I love mushrooms and would like to add them in to this, do you think this would taste ok? If so, how many mushrooms would I add to recipe you have here?
Thank you for sharing.
Hi Michelle, I think mushrooms would be a nice addition here! I’d suggest about a cup of diced mushrooms and I’d saute them along with the other veggies. Hope you enjoy!
Could I use minced garlic instead of whole garlic cloves?
Sure, Tina, that will work. Enjoy!
Second year in a row making this and got amazing reviews for last weekend’s Friendsgiving!
I followed recipe exactly except: (1) I inadvertently ended up with regular chicken broth vs low-sodium. Per your suggestion, I cut the salt about in half (I used kosher salt) and it was fine, (2) I dotted about 2T cubed unsalted butter on top before baking, (3) I covered tightly with foil first 30 minutes, baked uncovered last 40 minutes (I don’t like ‘crispy’ stuffing), and (4) I used mild italian sausage instead of sweet.
I used the Pepperidge Farm Unseasoned Stuffing Cubes and assembled the entire thing the night before. This recipe is so easy and such a crowd pleaser; I will never use another stuffing recipe again. Thank you!
Hi Jenn,
I’m reheating my turkey on Thanksgiving day at 250 to 300 degrees. Can I pre-cook the stuffing the day before and then reheat with the turkey in the oven at the same time? How long should the stuffing be reheated at 250 or 300 degrees? I don’t want it to be dry. Thanks!
Sure, Julie – I’m guessing it will take 35 to 40 minutes at 300.