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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This stuffing is amazing. I never cared for stuffing and I have made this twice for my family and my mother in-law called me last week and said for my to make the stuffing this year again!
How do you feel about adding apple to the recipe?
I think apple would be a great addition! 🙂
Could you elaborate and tell where to add apples? Sounds delicious
I’d dice and add them in with the onions and celery so they can all be sauteed together. Please LMK how it turns out if you make it with the apples!
Hi Jen,
I usually make stuffing and add raisins, do you think it would work well with this recipe ?
Thanks, N.
Sure, Nazela – I don’t see why not. Hope you enjoy!
I made this recipe last Thanksgiving for my nephew who did not like our traditional meat stuffing. He loved it and so did the rest of the family, so this recipe will be used every year with our Thanksgiving feast! Thank you for the all the recipes you share with us!
Hi, this recipe looks wonderful and I am going to try it this year for Thanksgiving. Thanks for posting it. Can I substitute some dried cornbread cut into small pieces for half of the stuffing cubes? I would use the same amount of dried bread ingredients just substitute corn bread for half of it.
Sure, Rhonda, that will work. You may also want to take a peek at my cornbread stuffing. Hope you enjoy whatever you make!
I just realized that the Pepperidge stuffing I bought is not cubed. (…yikes!). I’ve not opened the package but it seems more like crumbs. Will this be a problem? (It says Herb Seasoned Classic Stuffing).
Hi Gabe, that stuffing will work — just omit the salt and sage from the recipe and season to taste. Hope you enjoy!
I have used this recipe the last 2 thanksgivings and plan on using it for many years to come. I even had someone tell me they don’t usually eat stuffing because it’s soggy and flavorless; but they loved this one. I definitely prefer The Whole Foods stuffing cubes for the texture. I used a food processor for my onions, celery, and garlic… I also add a carrot for a little sweetness.
Hi Jenn, I cannot wait to try your sausage and herb stuffing but I have two questions: 1) Can I make this ahead of time? and 2) if I decide to omit the sausage would that alter the recipe any? Thank you!
Hi Anna, Yes, you can make this ahead of time but the sausage in the recipe adds a ton of flavor, so you want to omit it, you may want to check out this recipe instead.
Hi jenn,
I am also interested in making this ahead of time (the day before) since I will be traveling to celebrate with family a couple hours away. How do you recommend reheating it the next day without drying it out?
Hi Deb, Reheat it, covered with foil, in a 325°F oven until hot. (The foil will keep it from drying out.) Enjoy! 🙂
So do you recommend baking it first and then refrigerate- then cover and reheat the next day? I am making tonight for a 6:00 pm dinner tomorrow! Thanks!
Ideally I would prep it tonight, refrigerate, and bake it tomorrow. But if you’re not able to do that, I’d bake it tonight, refrigerate, and reheat tomorrow. Hope that helps!
Can I stuff the turkey with this recipe? It sounds delicious, my nonna made a similar stuffing. Can’t wait to try.
Sure, Barbara – it will work. Just reduce the broth by 1/2 cup so it isn’t too soggy (the turkey’s cavity will add moisture to the stuffing). Hope you enjoy!
I plan on making this for a Friendsgiving but already bought seasoned stuffing cubes and normal (not low sodium) chicken broth. If I omit the additional salt do you think that’ll be okay or still too salty?
Hi Hannah, I think it should still work – I’d just omit the salt and sage. Please LMK how it turns out!
Hi Jenn… I’m planning on making your stuffing recipe for Thanksgiving. I’d like to make a portion of the ingredients and freeze them to minimize my prep time. Can I combine the cooked vegetable mixture with the cooked sausage, freeze the combination and then add the thawed combination to the stuffing cubes, broth, and eggs just prior to cooking?
Hi Joan, I’ve never done that, but I suspect it should work. You can also fully prepare and bake the stuffing and then freeze it if you’d like. See the bottom of the recipe for freezer-friendly instructions.
I also could only find herbed seasoned. Ingredients included rosemary extract. It just mentioned spices, did not mention sage. Should I still include the rosemary and also add the sage? I will be using dried herbs.
Hi Karen, I’d leave out the herbs to start and then just taste before adding to the baking dish. If you think it could use more flavor, add them then.
Can this be cooked and frozen? Thawed and reheated day of?
Yep — see freezer-friendly instructions at the bottom of the recipe. Hope you enjoy!
I have a large group for Thanksgiving and not all are turkey lovers. I am making both a small turkey and a pork crown roast. I only want to make one stuffing. Would this recipe work for both meats or is there a better choice? Substitute ground pork for Italian sausage?
Hi Joan, I think this stuffing would work for both meats (and I wouldn’t swap out the sausage for ground pork). Hope everyone enjoys!
Oops…I meant pork sausage. But probably stick to the Italian right? Pork sausage may be too much like breakfast. 🙂
Actually, Italian sausage is usually made with pork, so I’d just stick with the recipe. 🙂