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! I’ve made this for the holidays the past few years and it’s been a big hit! This year I have someone coming who is allergic to celery. Is there anything you think would be a suitable substitute for it in this recipe?
Hi Mallory, several readers have commented that they’ve used a peeled, diced apple in place of the celery. Diced fennel would also work nicely. Hope that helps!
Can this be made in a crockpot?
Hi Heidi, I don’t have a crockpot — I’ve haven’t tried this in one 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. I’d love to hear how it turns out if you make it in a crockpot!
Hi Jenn….I love your recipes! I need all the space I can in the oven on Thanksgiving. Can this recipe be adapted to a slow cooker? And if so, do you have any suggestions as to timing etc.?
Hi Janis, I’ve never made this in a slow cooker so I can’t say for sure how it would turn out – sorry! If you do want to give it a try, here are some conversion tips that may help. I’d love to hear how it turns out if you try it this way!
Tried..too salty using bagged seasoned cubes. Plain bread is better, unfortunately.. I hate the step- the bread takes so long but tried one package of Pepperidge farm and people loved it but said it was way too salty ..I’ll go back to using my plain white bread dried out… Always have poured like 3/4 of a cup of a bag seasoning cubed mix in but never just used it completely.
I plan to have Janksgiving with leftover turkey from Thanksgiving. And since my Thanksgiving attempt at stuffing was awful, I’m going to try your recipe instead. Quick question though, in reading the reviews it appears thyme is one of the ingredients. Yet in reading the recipe, I don’t see it in the list of ingredients. And I love thyme, so I was planning to add it anyway. 1 TBSP? like the rosemary and sage? or is it more like the parsley? 1/4 cup?
Thanks.
Leslie
Hi Leslie, Thyme would definitely be a nice addition here (and like the rosemary and sage, I’d add 1 Tbsp.). Hope you enjoy! 🙂
This was an easy recipe and tasted great. Keeping this in file for another time!
I made dressing/stuffing for the first time using this recipe and got rave reviews! A winner.
I want to make this but all I have is maple sausage. Would that work?
Yes definitely!
Another question…are stuffing cubes the same as stuffing croutons?
Thanks!
Yep!
Hi,
My son is allergic to eggs. Can I just leave out the egg or should I substitute something else?
I’m really excited and nervous about making stuffing for the first time!
Sylvia
Hi Sylvia, You need the eggs for moisture so I would use an egg substitute. Enjoy!
An egg substitute like milk or yogurt, apple sauce? What do you think would work best?
Thx!
I think applesauce would be a good choice.
I made this stuffing at Thanksgiving and it was delicious and so easy to make. In addition was able to make a gluten free version for a family member with celiacs by substituting the stuffing cubes with some made from gluten free bread.
I need to 1/2 this recipe since there will be only 3 of us for dinner. and I only have dried herbs. Can you tell me how much of the dry herbs (sage and rosemary) I put in? I also have frozen my parsley and what amount would that be as well. THanks
Hi Liz, I’d recommend about 1/2 teaspoon each of the rosemary and sage. And if your parsley is fresh, then you’d need 2 tablespoons. Hope you enjoy!
Thank you