I’ve been making this Italian Sausage Thanksgiving Dressing for so long that now it wouldn’t feel like Thanksgiving without it. In the years that we’ve been doing this blog, we’ve learned a lot about others’ family tradition when it comes to Thanksgiving. One thing we’ve learned is everyone is scared of making the turkey (don’t be...our turkey recipe is a lot of work, but it’s hard to mess up!) Another thing we’ve learned is people don’t like you messing with their Thanksgiving dressing (or stuffing, depending on what you actually did with it and where you live).
Ingredients Needed
- Italian sausage – I recommend mild/sweet Italian sausage.
- Onion
- Celery
- Fresh garlic
- Mushrooms
- Granny smith apple
- Cubed stuffing or dressing bread mix – I like Pepperidge Farms Herb Seasoned Classic Stuffing. For this recipe, I try to stay away from Stove Top because the flavor is so overwhelming.
- Chicken broth
- Pecans – Chopped and toasted.
- Dried cranberries
How to Make Italian Sausage Dressing
- Preheat oven to 350℉. Lightly spray a 9×13″ baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
- Heat a very large skillet or Dutch oven to medium heat and add a light drizzle of olive oil. If necessary, remove sausage casings and crumble the sausage in the pan. As it starts to brown, stir in onions, celery, and garlic. As the sausage cooks, break up larger pieces.
- As the onions begin to turn translucent, stir in mushrooms and apple and cook until the mushrooms are tender.
- Sprinkle dressing mix over the sausage mix and then add chicken broth. Continue stirring as the dressing mix absorbs the liquid. Add in pecans and cranberries (if desired). When the liquid has been incorporated and the mixture is fully mixed, taste and add hot sauce (like Tabasco) to taste.
- Transfer to a 9×13 dish sprayed with cooking spray. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 10 minutes. Remove foil and bake for another 10 minutes.
Storing and Other Tips
- Store leftover dressing in an airtight container in the refrigerator and consume within 3-4 days for best results.
- If you’d like to make this 1-2 days ahead of time, cover it after you place it in the 9×13 pan, and then bake it straight from the fridge.
Frequently Asked Questions
This recipe is designed for use with a dry, pre-seasoned bread mix. While you can certainly play around with using fresh bread and seasonings and adjusting the liquid, it would probably be best to find a recipe that calls for fresh bread.
You can, but I prefer to use sweet/mild sausage and adjust the heat by adding other spices to the whole batch as desired.
Yes! You can assemble the dressing 1-2 days before, simple cover it in the baking dish and refrigerate until ready to bake. Keep in mind it may need a few extra minutes in the oven when being baked straight from the fridge.
Italian Sausage Thanksgiving Dressing
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 pound Italian sausage I recommend mild/sweet and then adding additional heat if desired
- 1 onion chopped
- 2 stalks celery chopped
- 5-6 cloves garlic minced
- 1 cup mushrooms chopped
- 1 Granny Smith apple, grated a food processor is handy but not necessary
- 1 16-oz. package cubed stuffing or dressing I like Pepperidge Farms; for this recipe, I try to stay away from Stove Top because the flavor is so overwhelming
- 2 ½ cups chicken broth
- 1 cup chopped pecans toasted (optional)
- ½ + cup cranberries, dried optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉. Lightly spray a 9×13" baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
- Heat a very large skillet or Dutch oven to medium heat and add a light drizzle of olive oil. If necessary, remove sausage casings and crumble the sausage in the pan. As it starts to brown, stir in onions, celery, and garlic. As the sausage cooks, break up larger pieces.
- As the onions begin to turn translucent, stir in mushrooms and apple and cook until the mushrooms are tender.
- Sprinkle dressing mix over the sausage mix and then add chicken broth. Continue stirring as the dressing mix absorbs the liquid. Add in pecans and cranberries (if desired). When the liquid has been incorporated and the mixture is fully mixed, taste and add hot sauce (like Tabasco) to taste.
- Transfer to a 9×13 dish sprayed with cooking spray. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 10 minutes. Remove foil and bake for another 10 minutes.
Notes
- Store leftover dressing in an airtight container in the refrigerator and consume within 3-4 days for best results.
- If you’d like to make this 1-2 days ahead of time, cover it after you place it in the 9×13 pan, and then bake it straight from the fridge.
Questions & Reviews
Wow really nice and awesome recipe with full of nutrients. Many Thanks for posting this recipe, I will must try to home. As a Nutritionist I appreciate this recipe with all healthy ingredients.
Holy. Crap. I got this prepped today to make our Thanksgiving day a little simpler; and the few bites I snuck- AMAZING. I’ve never found a stuffing recipe that I felt was as good or better than my moms. This definitely takes the cake.
Approximately how many cups does this make? We will have 10 adults and 6 kids for thanksgiving dinner and I”m trying to figure out how many to make!
It makes a very full 9×13 pan, or atleast my batch just did.
I think this sounds great…I am going to try it with deer sausage…
THANK you for this recipe! I’ve been searching for 30-some years for a misplaced stuffing/dressing recipe that everyone loved the one and only time I served it. I was very excited to see your recipe because it seemed the closest of any I’ve ever found. Served it yesterday and it was AWESOME. I will NOT lose this recipe! One note for the recipe: I should have used sodium-free chicken broth because mine came out a bit salty for my tastes (but not for anyone else at my table, just me); might have been the brand of sausage or dressing that we used too. Regardless, this dressing was very yummy and among the top favorite of the dishes I served yesterday. So thank you again!
I don’t make stuffing very often (in fact the last recipe I used has comments from 2004) so when I learned that I was hosting this year’s Thanksgiving I turned to your recipes for some help. We just finished our turkey dinner and I made this stuffing and it was amazing! Easy to prepare and the sausage made it really tasty. My husband even had a second helping and he doesn’t even like stuffing! Way to go – another great recipe!!
This is just the way my Dad makes it too! I can’t wait to make it for my family reunion of a Thanksgiving this year! Happy Holidays!
I tried the recepie and added two cans of waterchesnuts
and some Italian parsley .
My 21 and 24 year old sons loved it!
Happy holidays!
This sounds really good. But, like your dad, I have to tinker with everything. Might have to cut the recipe in half. Sold the family over on deep fried turkey instead of roasted, but still have to have some traditional stuffing.
Thanks
I think this sounds so good that my mouth is watering! Having computer problems so don’t know if this will get to you. I do so enjoy being part of such an awesome site.
Lana