Cranberry Apple Sausage Stuffing

Classic Sausage Herb Stuffing with Fresh Apples and Cranberries make this the most savory Thanksgiving stuffing recipe. This Homemade Sausage Stuffing is the perfect Thanksgiving side dish recipe.

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5 from 7 votes

Cranberry Apple Sausage Stuffing

Classic bread stuffing with sausage, dried cranberries, and crisp apple. A perfect Thanksgiving side dish!

Prep Time40

Cook Time40

Total Time1 20

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Keyword: cranberry apple sausage stuffing

Servings: -12

Author: Melissa Stadler, Modern Honey

Equipment

Ingredients

(1) 16-ounce pkg. Breakfast Sausage
2 Onions chopped
1/2 cup Celery chopped (optional)
6 Tablespoons Butter
2 Granny Smith Apples peeled and diced
1 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Pepper
12 cups French Bread or High-Quality White Sandwich Bread cut into 3/4 in cubes (about 1 1/2 lb. full loaf)
1 1/2 teaspoons Sage
1/2 cup Fresh Parsley Leaves diced
2 cups Chicken Broth (may add more if you want a moister stuffing)
3 Eggs
1/2 cup Dried Cranberries or Cherries
2 Tablespoons Melted Butter (optional to drizzle on top of stuffing)

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Instructions

Cook sausage in a large skillet over medium heat until browned and fully cooked. Remove from pan and set aside.
Heat butter over medium- high heat. Add chopped onions and celery (optional) and cook for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Continue to cook until the onions are a golden color.
Add the apples and continue to cook for 5 minutes. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl.
Add the bread cubes, sage, and parsley. Stir to mix.
Whisk the chicken broth and eggs together in a small bowl. Pour the mixture over the bread cubes. Stir in dried cranberries and cooked sausage. Gently toss to mix the ingredients.
Stuff turkey with stuffing or pour into greased 9 x 13 pan. Optional: drizzle with 2 Tablespoons of melted butter.
Cover with foil. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-44 minutes. After 30 minutes, remove foil and let it toast up in the oven.

Notes

What type of sausage to use in stuffing?

You can use your favorite type of breakfast pork sausage. I suggest the breakfast sausage in a rolled package. I like to use the Jimmy Dean regular or hot sausage. If you want your stuffing to be a little spicy, I suggest using hot sausage.

What type of apples to use?

I suggest using a firm, crisp, yet sweet apple in this stuffing recipe. I use Gala, Fuji, or Honeycrisp apples. You can leave the peels on the apple or remove the peels, depending on preference. I peel the apples before dicing them into bite-size pieces.

What type of bread should I use in stuffing?

So what bread should be used in this Cranberry Apple Sausage Stuffing? It's debatable but I put some of them to the test.

The winner was a high-quality white sandwich bread or a hearty French Bread. This isn't the 98 cent special that you may or may not have grown up on. You want substantial white sandwich bread that will hold up to the chicken broth without getting soggy. I found that the Arnold, Oroweat, or Sara Lee Artesano gourmet bread does the trick.

Challah and french bread are alternatives as well. Challah is slightly sweet but it dense enough to hold up to the chicken broth.

My favorite bread to use is French bread as it is much heartier than white bread so it may be slightly tougher but it lends itself to a more crispy crust. I like to cut them into larger pieces which stand up against the chicken broth.

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