Best Stuffing Ever
Our best ever homemade stuffing with Italian sausage and savory seasonings is the perfect make-ahead side dish for holiday meals.
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You will love this Best Ever Stuffing Recipe!
The best stuffing recipe ever is easy to make in 30 minutes and can be made ahead of time if you're making it for a holiday meal. Your family and friends will be so impressed!
This stuffing is absolute perfection with Italian sausage and seasoned stuffing cubes.
Stuffing vs. Dressing
The only difference between Thanksgiving stuffing and dressing is how they're cooked.
Stuffing is a mixture used to stuff another food, like a Turkey, before cooking. Dressing is cooked in a pan outside of the turkey cavity.
So, technically this recipe is dressing, because it is cooked in its own 9x13 baking pan, separate from the Thanksgiving Turkey. For all intents and purposes, we call this stuffing, and it is delicious.
This recipe is made with herb seasoned stuffing cubes, so it's also super fast and easy. Mrs. Cubbisons is our favorite brand. I love that you don't have to sacrifice taste, but still have time to make all your other favorite Thanksgiving dishes.
Check out what else we do to save time and all of our tips for Thanksgiving prep here.
Best Homemade Stuffing Recipe Ingredients
- Butter
- Italian Sausage
- Onion
- Celery
- Herb seasoned stuffing cubes
- Poultry seasoning
- Chicken Broth
How to make the Best Sausage Stuffing Recipe Ever
- Brown Italian sausage in large stock pot and break up into crumbles. Set aside on a plate.
- Into the same pot add butter, onions and celery on medium high heat and sauté until tender, about 8-10 minutes.
- Turn heat to medium low. Add chicken broth and seasoning, then stir until well mixed.
- Remove from heat. Add sausage back to pan and stir until mixed.
- Add stuffing cubes and GENTLY fold into broth mixture. Add more cubes, 1 cup at a time, until your desired consistency is achieved. (After mixing the stuffing cubes in, add extra broth slowly. You can always add more if you need to, but if you add too much liquid your dressing will be mushy.)
- Be careful to not over mix as that could also make stuffing mushy. If stuffing seems dry, add a small amount of broth a little at a time.
- Put stuffing into a buttered casserole dish and bake at 350 degrees uncovered unti dressing is heated through and top begins to look crispy.
Make Ahead Stuffing
You can make this stuffing recipe a day ahead and keep it covered in the fridge until ready to bake.
Just prepare the stuffing as directed in the recipe, and do not bake it until about an hour before your big meal!
Plan on cooking for 40-50 minutes if putting the dish into the oven straight from the fridge.
How to store the Best Homemade Stuffing Recipe
Store stuffing in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Along with this, consider trying some of our other favorite Thanksgiving side dishes - Pomegranate Apple Salad, Slow Cooker Mashed Potatoes, and this EASY Green Bean Casserole!
Best Stuffing Ever FAQs
You can prepare dressing up to one to two days in advance.
Cook the Italian sausage, prepare the bread or other ingredients, and mix them together as per your recipe.
Store the prepared dressing in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
On the day you plan to serve the dressing, bake it until it is heated through completely and a little brown on top.
Add an extra 30 minutes to cook time if putting dressing into the oven straight from the fridge.
If you want to prepare the dressing further in advance, consider freezing it before baking.
Wrap the unbaked dressing tightly in plastic wrap or aluminum foil and store it in the freezer.
Thaw it in the refrigerator for a day or two before you plan to bake it.
If you try this stuffing I'd love if you would leave us a good rating and review in the comments!
Best Ever Stuffing Recipe
Video
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter
- 1 lb Italian sausage
- 2 cups chopped onion
- 2 cups chopped celery
- 1 ½ teaspoon poultry seasoning
- 32 oz chicken broth
- 10 cups Herb Seasoned Stuffing Cubes see notes
Instructions
- Butter a 9x13 casserole dish. Brown sausage in large stock pot and break up into crumbles and set aside on a plate.
- In the same pot add butter, onions and celery on medium high heat and sauce until tender, about 8-10 minutes.
- Turn heat to medium low and add chicken broth, seasoning, and stir until well mixed.
- Remove from heat and add sausage back to pan and stir until mixed. Add stuffing and GENTLY fold into broth mixture. Add more stuffing 1 cup at a time until your desired consistency is achieved.
- You don't want too much liquid or it will be mushy. You basically want just enough liquid to moisten stuffing crumbs. Be careful to not over mix as that could also make stuffing mushy. If stuffing seems dry, add a small amount of broth a little at a time.
- Put stuffing into your buttered casserole dish and bake at 350 degrees uncovered until heated through and top is just becoming crunchy (about 20 minutes depending on your oven).
Notes
Nutrition
Happy Thanksgiving everybody - I hope you have a wonderful holiday season!
xo,
Thanks for the recipe! Few questions-1. Do you drain the sausage grease? If not do you still use the whole cup of butter? 2. Has anyone tried this as make ahead? I am worried about the texture being mushy or grainy. I was planning on adding some chopped walnuts and some dried cranberries too, so not sure if that would be an issue. Thx!
Yes, I do drain the sausage grease! You can definitely make this ahead and it shouldn't be mushy. Adding those things should be fine as well!
Can I use half crumbled stuffing and half cubed stuffing to makes this ?
I never have before, it would taste fine but using crumbled stuffing will change the consistency so I wouldn't recommend.
This has become my favorite go-to for dressing. Yum! Could this be cooked in a crock pot? I have to feed 20+ people and I want to keep
It warm.
Thanks!
Marianne, I am so glad you love it, thank you! Unfortunately you probably won't get the same final result in a crock-pot, the oven browns the top so nicely in a way the crock-pot can't.
Hi I’m looking for a fairy simple stuffing recipe , and this looks exactly what I’m looking for I’ve been told turkey mince aswell as sausage meat it’s delicious, can I do half and half in this recipe ?
Yes, you absolutely can.
I happen to be looking for a Stuffing casserole recipe and as fate would have it that I have 2 leftover bags of Mrs Cubbison’s stuffing! From a previous Costco haul. The stuffing I cook inside the turkey is gone in about 2 days. So I was wanting a recipe to cook up and serve with all my leftover meat. I am using sweet Italian Sausage links, by squeezing out the meat for recipe. I do that when I make veal and chop meat Italian Meatballs and think it will be perfect for this. I will come back and let you know how it turned out later today :-) The recipe looks great and cant wait till its done :-) :-)
Oh what perfect timing!! Hope you love it!
If making the day before, do I not bake it at all before refrigerating?
Yes, that is correct!
If I leave out the sausage do I still follow the recipe the same?
Yes!
How can I halve this recipe, as we have a fairly small family? For instance, how much broth and how much bagged stuffing cubes should I use if I were to halve it?
Hi Emily! Click on 'print recipe' and then at the top there is a drop down box to calculate how many servings you want to make. It says 12, but you can change it to any amount and then the amounts will change and print with the specific amounts you will need.
Stuffing is my favorite! This looks so good!
It really is! Thanks Anna!
Love all the flavors in here! So easy too :)
They really are the best! Thank you Ashley!
This is perfect for thanksgiving!
It totally is!
Stuffing is one of my favoritr holiday meals! And to top it off we love easy. This recipe is so great!
Me too! Thanks so much Alli!
So easy to make, and packed with flavor!!
Totally! Thank you Aimee!