Sausage Cranberry Apple Stuffing

Recipe for Sausage Cranberry Apple Stuffing! Not only is this the most flavor packed stuffing you will ever make it also happens to be the most colorful! But with savory sausage, sweet apples, and tart cranberries you seriously can’t go wrong! Easy to prep ahead this is a side dish that wills seriously impress on the Thanksgiving table.

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Stuffing with Cranberry and Apples

My husband, the resident stuffing connoisseur pronounced this stuffing as the best stuffing he has ever had. Filled with all sorts of Thanksgiving flavors I think most other people would agree.

This recipe keeps stuffing basic while adding in as many fun flavors as possible. It uses the classic dried bread cubes, as well as seasonings, and chicken broth. But we are adding in amazing flavors like sausage, apples, and cranberries.

Plus you can make it all the day ahead of time and keep it in the fridge overnight for ease on Thanksgiving day.

Ingredients

• Unsalted Butter – I use unsalted butter when cooking because it lets me control the amount of salt in the dish because the salt in butter will vary across brands. But in the chance that you only have salted butter you can use that just use half the salt in the recipe.
• Yellow Onion – A classic addition to a stuffing recipe, the onions will get cooked in the skillet until nice and soft.
• Celery Stalks – Another classic addition to stuffing, I wanted to add the celery in to ensure that the recipe didn’t get too sweet but stayed savory, the celery does a good job helping to balance that flavor.
• Ground Sausage – Ground sausage one of the stars of this dish, I recommend sticking to a classic flavored pork sausage for this dish. I like the All Natural Jone’s brand but use your favorite!
• Kosher Salt – Kosher salt works best when cooking, if you don’t have some in your house I seriously recommend grabbing some. Sea salt works just as well but if you are using table salt only use half the amount the recipe calls for.
• Fresh Sage – Chop up some fresh sage for this recipe, this is a flavor that forever reminds me of Thanksgiving so I had to include it in this recipe! Look below in the note for instructions for using dried herbs (rosemary too) instead of the fresh herbs.
• Fresh Rosemary – Another classic Thanksgiving herb, the rosemary and sage work together so nicely. You will be chopping up the rosemary as well. And just like above you can substitute dried rosemary if needed.
• Apple – The apple is actually probably the most fickle of all the ingredients in this dish. For the apple variety use a hard apple, any of the following apples will work well (but isn’t limited too) Red Delicious, Gala, Fuji, Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, Pink Lady, Golden Delicious. Just note while all these apples are of the harder variety some will be sweeter than others, if you are looking for less sweet I recommend a Granny Smith. If you are looking for sweet go with a Fuji or Gala. Looking for an in-between pick out a Honeycrisp!
• Fresh Cranberries – Cranberry sauce doesn’t get all the fresh cranberries this year! Grab an extra bag so you make sure you have enough for this dish! The fresh cranberries really help even out the sweetness of the apples.
• Chicken Stock/Broth – If you are sensitive to salt you may want to use a low-sodium broth but otherwise just grab your favorite brand from the store.
• Bread cubes – There are going to be different varieties of flavors of the bread cubes at the store. In the photos you will see I went for the Herb Seasoned, you really can choose whichever one sounds best to you. This recipe calls for a full 12 ounce bag.

For a complete detailed list of the ingredients continue towards the bottom of the page.

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350º F. Grease a 9×13 inch casserole dish and set aside. 

In a skillet over medium-high heat melt the butter. once melted add in the diced onion and celery. Sauté 4 to 5 minutes until onion and celery have become tender. 

Add sausage to the center of the pan. Crumble and cook until the pink in gone, about 8 minutes. Drain out any extra liquids. 

Add salt, sage, rosemary, diced apple, cranberries, and chicken stock to the skillet. Mix togther and cook 5 to 7 minutes or until the cranberries begin to pop.

Add the bread cubes to the greased casserole dish. Pour the contents of the skillet over the bread cubes. Toss everything together to combine.

Cover with aluminum foil and cook 20 minutes. Uncover the dish and cook another 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and let rest at least 5 minutes before serving. 

Tips, Tricks, & Questions

• You may sub out the sage and rosemary for the dried versions, use 1 teaspoon dried sage and 1 teaspoon dried rosemary. 

Can this be made ahead of time?

Yes. Go ahead and assemble the casserole by making the sausage, apple, cranberry broth mixture and tossing it with the bread cubes but before baking simply cover keep it in the fridge instead. It can be made the full day before! Once ready to cook remove from the fridge at least 45 minutes before baking.

Looking for more Thanksgiving dinner recipes like Sausage Cranberry Apple Stuffing, you might like these:

• Dry Brined Turkey
• Classic Mashed Potatoes
• Turkey Gravy from Pan Drippings
• Homemade Cranberry Sauce
• Cranberry Sauce Margarita
• Sweet Potato Casserole with Marshmallows
• Roasted Carrots with Dill
• Sunflower Seed Pie

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