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–+ servings
Finished Homemade Stuffing in white casserole dish.

Thanksgiving Stuffing

Amy Cross
This recipe is for classic, flavor filled stuffing that is sure to be a hit at your Thanksgiving celebration.
5 from 2 votes
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Course Side Dish
Cuisine American
Servings 8 people
Calories 576 kcal

Equipment

Ingredients
  

  • 1 T. Olive oil
  • 1 White onion, chopped
  • 4 Garlic cloves
  • ¾ c. Craisins
  • ¼ c. Pine nuts
  • 1 lb. Ground sausage, I used sweet Italian
  • 2 Apples, any kind
  • 2 ½ c. Apple cider or apple juice, ½ used to rehydrate craisins, the other 2 will be poured over stuffing mixture before baking
  • 1 bag Seasoned Stuffing Mix 12 oz bag, optional if doing gluten-free
  • 1 loaf Sourdough bread, gluten-free if needed
  • ½ c. Butter, melted
  • 3 T. Thyme
  • 3 T. Sage
  • salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions
 

  • Add craisins and ½ c. juice to a small bowl and set aside. These will soak about 10 minutes, which is about the amount of time it takes to cook the meat and other ingredients.
  • Toast pine nuts in a pan on medium heat for 1-2 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside.
  • In a pan, on medium-high heat, add chopped onion and garlic to 1 tbsp. of oil. Cook until tender.
    Add in ground sausage and cook until brown. Drain if needed.
  • Add in chopped apples and cook until tender. *See note below
    Add in thyme, sage, salt and pepper. Mix to evenly coat.
  • Cut up sourdough loaf into bite-sized pieces and add to large bowl.
    Pour in bagged stuffing mix to bowl with sourdough pieces.
  • Turn off heat and add sausage mixture, toasted pine nuts, and craisins (juice and all) to the mixing bowl with the bread and stuffing. Pour 2 cups of apple juice over the stuffing mix. *See note below
    Thoroughly combine and place in an oven-safe baking dish.
    Pour melted butter over the top and cover with tin foil.
    *See note below for freezing instructions
  • Bake at 350° for 25 minutes.

Video

Notes

Freezing to use later: Do not add in 2 c. of juice. Mix all other ingredients together and put in a container in the freezer. When you pull this out later to use, you will dump the stuffing into a large bowl, add the juice, and proceed with directions.
  • If you are freezing this dish to eat later, I would recommend moving it from the freezer to the fridge the night before you want to use it. Adjust the baking time to 40 minutes instead of 25.
It is also important to note that the apples must be cooked through if freezing so they do not brown. 
This dish is not gluten-free but you could easily make it so by switching out the bread. You don’t have to use the stuffing mix either. Some years I have omitted it and just used homemade gluten-free sourdough bread. If you do not use the stuffing mix, add more seasoning and use 2 loaves of bread instead of 1. You can also omit the pine nuts.
The Cross Legacy provides estimated nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is collected from the USDA database via Spoonacular, when available. If not available, nutrition information is pulled from other online calculators. Ingredients can vary and The Cross Legacy can make no guarantees to the accuracy of this information.

Nutrition

Calories: 576kcalCarbohydrates: 58gProtein: 16gFat: 33gSaturated Fat: 13gPolyunsaturated Fat: 5gMonounsaturated Fat: 12gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 71mgSodium: 799mgPotassium: 391mgFiber: 4gSugar: 23g
Keyword Stuffing, Thanksgiving