This Thanksgiving Stuffing recipe has fresh Italian pork sausage, herbs, and veggies for the perfect holiday side dish!
Ingredients
1loaf ciabatta bread*cut into cubes and left out overnight, uncovered
8tbspbutter(1 stick, salted preferred)
3cupschopped yellow onion
1.5cupschopped celery
salt
black pepper
3/4lbsweet Italian pork sausagecasing removed
1/2cupchopped parsley
2largeeggsbeaten
2.5cupschicken broth
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 375F.
Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat, then add the onion, celery, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp black pepper. Cook for about 10 minutes, until the vegetables are soft and fragrant.
Pour the cooked veggies into a large mixing bowl, and return the skillet to the heat. Turn the heat to medium high, and brown the pork sausage. Break the pork sausage up into small pieces with your spatula, if needed, and cook until fully cooked through, about 7-8 minutes. Add the cooked pork sausage to the mixing bowl.
Add the bread cubes to the mixing bowl, as well as the parsley and eggs. Slowly pour the chicken broth over the bread cubes, then toss everything together to distribute the ingredients evenly.
Pour the ingredients into an 8×11 baking dish, cover with aluminum foil, and bake for 40 minutes until golden on top. Enjoy!
Notes
*The loaf I buy from the bakery is usually a little more than a pound in weight (18 to 20 ounces), and is about 12 cups of bread cubes (it seems like a lot, but the cubes are not packed in so they take up a lot of volume). Storing leftovers: Keep in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 5 days.Freezing: leftovers can be frozen for up to 2 months. Make sure it’s well wrapped or stored in an airtight container, so it doesn’t absorb off flavors or get freezer burned. When ready to reheat, bake it in a 350F oven for about 15 minutes, until warmed through.Make-ahead options: You can stale the bread a month in advance, by leaving the cubes out overnight, then putting them into a bag and storing in the freezer. You can also fully assemble the dish the day before, then bake when you’re ready. It may need an extra 5 to 10 minutes in the oven if it's straight cold from the fridge.Didn't stale the bread in time? You can also cut fresh bread into 1-inch cubes and bake them in a single layer on a sheet pan in a 300F oven for about 15 minutes, until you have dry bread cubes that are lightly golden brown.Slow Cooker Option: If you wish, you can finish this sausage stuffing in the slow cooker instead of the oven. Follow the instructions the same, cooking the veggies and sausage in a large pan on the stove, up to the point of placing the stuffing in the baking pan, and instead, put it directly into the crockpot. Cook on low for 4 hours.Adding more herbs: If you wish, you can add up to 1/4 cup total of chopped fresh sage, rosemary, and/or thyme, in addition to the parsley.