Easy Sausage & Herb Thanksgiving Stuffing
This sausage and herb Thanksgiving stuffing is the side dish that disappears first. Savory pork sausage, toasted bread cubes, and a tumble of celery and onion are bound together with butter, broth, and a generous handful of fresh sage and thyme, then baked until the top is crisp and golden while the center stays soft and rich. It’s the stuffing that tastes like the holidays — no stuffing mix, no mystery seasoning packets, just real ingredients that come together in one pan.
Baking it in a dish (rather than inside the bird) is what gives you the best of both worlds: a crunchy, buttery top and a moist center, with none of the food-safety worry of cavity stuffing. It also frees up oven space on the busiest cooking day of the year, since you can assemble it the night before and bake it while the turkey rests.
This recipe is part of our Thanksgiving collection — the turkey, every classic side, the pies, and a day-by-day plan for getting it all to the table.
Prep time: 20 minutes Cook time: 50 minutes Total time: 1 hour 10 minutes Servings: 8–10
What You’ll Need
- Large oven-safe deep skillet with a lid, or a 9×13-inch baking dish
- Large mixing bowl
- Wooden spoon for breaking up the sausage
- Rimmed baking sheet for toasting the bread cubes
For a pan that goes from stovetop to oven, see our best oven-safe deep skillets with lids guide.
Ingredients
- 1 pound (16 ounces) day-old white bread or sourdough, cut into 1-inch cubes (about 12 cups)
- 1 pound pork sausage, casings removed (sweet or mild Italian sausage works well)
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
- 1 large yellow onion, diced
- 3 celery stalks, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage leaves
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary leaves
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, plus more for garnish
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 2 to 2½ cups low-sodium chicken or turkey broth
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
1. Toast the bread cubes. Preheat the oven to 300°F (150°C). Spread the bread cubes in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet and toast for 15–20 minutes, stirring once, until dry and lightly golden at the edges. Set aside. (If your bread is already stale and dry, you can skip this step.)
2. Brown the sausage. Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large oven-safe deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and cook, breaking it into small crumbles with a wooden spoon, for 6–8 minutes until browned. Transfer to a large mixing bowl with a slotted spoon, leaving the fat in the pan.
3. Soften the vegetables. Melt the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter in the same skillet. Add the onion and celery and cook for 6–7 minutes until softened and translucent. Stir in the garlic, sage, thyme, and rosemary and cook for 1 minute more, just until fragrant.
4. Combine everything. Add the toasted bread cubes and the browned sausage to the skillet (or transfer everything to a large mixing bowl if your skillet is full). Pour in the beaten eggs and 2 cups of broth, then season with salt and pepper. Toss gently until the bread is evenly moistened but not soggy — add the extra ½ cup of broth only if the mixture looks dry. Stir in the parsley.
5. Bake covered, then uncovered. If using the skillet, cover it with its lid (or foil for a baking dish) and bake at 350°F (175°C) for 25 minutes. Then uncover and bake for 20–25 minutes more, until the top is crisp and deeply golden and the center is hot and set.
6. Rest and serve. Let the stuffing rest for 10 minutes before serving so it firms up slightly and slices cleanly. Garnish with extra chopped parsley and serve warm.
Tips for the Best Sausage & Herb Thanksgiving Stuffing
- Dry bread is the whole game. Wet, fresh bread turns to mush. Day-old bread, or cubes toasted in the oven until truly dry, absorb the broth without collapsing — that’s what gives you distinct, tender cubes instead of porridge.
- Don’t drown it in broth. Start with 2 cups and add more only if needed. The stuffing should look moist, not swimming. It will steam and soften further under the cover, so slightly under-moistened at assembly is better than soggy.
- Make it ahead. Assemble the stuffing (without baking) up to a day in advance, cover, and refrigerate. On Thanksgiving Day, let it sit at room temperature for 30 minutes, then bake as directed, adding 5–10 minutes to the covered bake time if it’s still cold from the fridge.
Savory, buttery, and crisp where it counts — this is the stuffing that earns its place next to the herb butter roast turkey every single year. Double it if your crowd takes seconds, because they will. Serve it with homemade turkey gravy.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between stuffing and dressing?
Technically, stuffing is cooked inside the bird and dressing is baked separately in a dish. Most of us use the words interchangeably — this recipe is baked in a dish, which is safer, easier to time, and gives you the crisp top that stuffing cooked in the bird never gets.
Can I assemble stuffing the day before?
Yes — assemble it in its baking dish on Wednesday, cover and refrigerate. Add a splash of extra stock before baking, because the bread absorbs liquid overnight, and bring it toward room temperature while the turkey rests. Bake until the centre is hot all the way through.
Why is my stuffing soggy (or dry)?
Soggy means too much liquid for the bread you used — denser bread drinks more stock than soft sandwich bread. Dry means the opposite, or it baked uncovered too long. Add stock a quarter-cup at a time: the cubes should be moist throughout but not swimming.
