Here in Austin, Texas, October is a funny thing. It can be 90 degrees one day and then a cool front will blow through, dropping the temperature 30 degrees overnight. The second that happens, my mind switches instantly to one thing: Thanksgiving planning. And while the turkey gets all the glory, we all know the truth: the holiday is all about the stuffing. This Classic Sage and Sausage Stuffing (or "dressing," since we're baking it in a pan!) is my definitive, non-negotiable, must-have recipe. It's not a dry, crumbly box mix; it's a rich, savory, custard-like side dish, packed with herby sage sausage and a perfectly crisp, golden-brown top.
Jump to:
- A True Thanksgiving Centerpiece (That Isn't the Turkey!)
- Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Ingredients
- How to Make Classic Sage and Sausage Stuffing
- Tips and Tricks for Success
- Variations
- How to Serve
- Make Ahead and Storage
- Recipe Notes / What I Learned
- Nutrition Snapshot
- Classic Sage and Sausage Stuffing (Dressing)
- FAQs
The secret to a stuffing that's perfectly moist and custardy (but not soggy) is to oven-dry your bread cubes first. On my first try years ago, I just used day-old stale bread, and it turned to complete mush. Roasting the cubes at a low 275°F until they are 100% bone-dry, like croutons, is the non-negotiable step for achieving that perfect, spoon-bread-like texture.
A True Thanksgiving Centerpiece (That Isn't the Turkey!)
This is the recipe my family demands every single year. It's a classic for a reason. The flavour is built in layers: first, browning the sage sausage in butter (yes, butter!), then sweating the "holy trinity" of onion, celery, and garlic in those drippings. But the real magic is the liquid. Instead of just broth, this recipe uses a rich custard base of chicken stock and eggs, which binds the stuffing together and makes the center incredibly moist and tender, all while the top bSakes into a crunchy, golden crust.
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Classic Holiday Flavour: This is the quintessential taste of Thanksgiving-savory, herby (thanks to fresh sage), and packed with rich sausage.
- Moist Center, Crispy Top: The egg-and-stock custard keeps the inside tender, while the final 20 minutes of uncovered baking creates that perfect, crunchy crust.
- Perfectly Textured: Because you dry the bread first, the cubes absorb the custard while still holding their shape, preventing a mushy, soggy stuffing.
- The Ultimate Make-Ahead: This is the perfect dish to assemble the day before Thanksgiving to free up oven space and time.
Ingredients
Here's what you'll need for this holiday classic. For the full list with precise measurements, see the recipe card at the end of the post!
For the Base
- Bread: Two loaves of high-quality sandwich bread or soft Italian bread. You want a simple, soft-textured bread, not a crusty artisan sourdough.
- Butter: One stick (4 oz) of unsalted butter.
- Sausage: 1 ½ pounds of bulk sage-flavored pork sausage (casings removed). If you can only find mild Italian, see the Variations!
- Aromatics: A large yellow onion, 4 large ribs of celery, and garlic cloves.
- Herbs: Fresh sage and fresh flat-leaf parsley.
For the Custard & Assembly
- Stock: 1 quart (4 cups) of low-sodium chicken or turkey stock, divided.
- Eggs: 3 large eggs, at room temperature.
- Seasoning: Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.
How to Make Classic Sage and Sausage Stuffing
This recipe has a few key steps. Don't skip drying the bread!
Step 1: Dry the Bread Cubes
First, I preheat my oven to a low 275°F (135°C). I spread my ¾-inch bread cubes evenly over two large, rimmed baking sheets. I bake them for about 50 minutes, stirring them and swapping the trays a few times, until they are completely dry, hard, and sound like croutons when you drop them. I remove them from the oven and let them cool. (This step can be done a day or two ahead!)
After the bread is done, I increase the oven temperature to 350°F (180°C) for baking the stuffing later.
Step 2: Cook the Sausage and Vegetables
In a large Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot, I melt the butter over medium-high heat until it stops foaming. I add the sage sausage. Here's a key tip from the recipe: use a potato masher or a stiff whisk to break the sausage up into very fine pieces as it cooks. This ensures you get savory sausage in every single bite.
I cook, stirring, for about 8 minutes, until only a few bits of pink remain. Then, I add the finely chopped onion, celery, garlic, and minced fresh sage. I cook, stirring frequently, for about 10 minutes, until the vegetables are completely softened and translucent. I remove the pot from the heat.
Step 3: Mix the Stuffing
To the pot with the sausage mixture, I add half of the chicken stock (2 cups).
In a separate medium bowl, I whisk the remaining 2 cups of chicken stock, the 3 large eggs, and 3 tablespoons of the minced parsley until it's completely smooth and "homogeneous."
Stirring the sausage mixture constantly with a wooden spoon, I slowly pour the egg-stock mixture into the pot. This slow pour into the warm (not scorching hot) base gently tempers the eggs and prevents them from scrambling.
Finally, I add all of my dried-out bread cubes to the pot and fold gently until all the bread is evenly moistened. Don't overmix!
Step 4: Bake the Stuffing (Dressing)
I transfer the mixture to a buttered 9- by 13-inch baking dish and spread it out. I cover the dish tightly with aluminum foil.
I bake at 350°F for 45 minutes. The foil traps the steam and allows the custard to set. After 45 minutes (an instant-read thermometer should read 150°F), I remove the foil and bake for another 15 to 20 minutes, until the top is beautifully golden brown, crisp, and begging to be eaten.
I let it cool for 5 minutes, sprinkle with the remaining fresh parsley, and serve.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Using Stale Bread: This is the #1 mistake. Stale bread is not the same as dried bread. Stale bread is just old; it still has moisture and will turn to mush. You must oven-dry the bread cubes until they are hard.
- Using Large Sausage Chunks: If you don't break the sausage up well, you'll end up with a few giant "meatballs" in your stuffing. Using a potato masher, as the recipe suggests, is a brilliant trick for a perfectly integrated flavour.
- Forgetting the Foil: If you bake this uncovered the whole time, the top will burn, and the inside will be dry, as all the moisture from the custard will evaporate before it can set.
Tips and Tricks for Success
- Dry the Bread Ahead: This is a fantastic Thanksgiving prep-step! You can dry your bread cubes 1-2 days in advance. Just let them cool completely and store them in a sealed zip-top bag at room temperature.
- Room Temp Eggs: Using room-temperature eggs helps the custard mixture combine more smoothly and bake more evenly.
- The Egg Slurry: The egg-and-stock mixture is what makes this a "custard-style" or "spoon-bread-style" stuffing. It's what creates that rich, moist, cohesive texture that holds together on a spoon, rather than a dry, crumbly one.
- Get the Corner Piece: My personal tip? Fight for the corner piece. The combination of the super-moist, custardy center and the ultra-crispy, browned top edge is the best bite on the whole table.
Variations
This classic recipe is a perfect base for your own holiday traditions!
- Make it Southern: Use cornbread instead of white bread. Crumble it onto baking sheets and dry it in the oven, just as you would the bread.
- Add Fruit & Nuts: Fold in 1 cup of toasted, chopped pecans or walnuts, and/or 1 cup of dried cranberries or chopped dried apricots with the bread cubes in Step 3.
- Different Sausage: If you can't find bulk sage sausage, use a mild or hot Italian sausage (casings removed). You may want to add 1 extra teaspoon of dried sage to the veggie mix if you do.
- Make it Vegetarian: Use a high-quality plant-based sausage (like Beyond Sausage) and swap the chicken broth for a rich mushroom or vegetable broth.
How to Serve
This Sage and Sausage Stuffing is the star side dish of any holiday meal.
- It is a non-negotiable part of a Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner.
- Serve it hot, straight from the oven, alongside the Roast Turkey, Mashed Potatoes, and Cranberry Sauce.
- It's also fantastic the next day in a classic Thanksgiving Leftover Sandwich!
Make Ahead and Storage
This is one of the best make-ahead dishes for the holidays!
- Make Ahead (Unbaked): You can assemble the entire dish in your buttered 9x13 pan, cover it tightly with foil, and refrigerate it unbaked for up to 24 hours. When ready to bake, you may need to add 10-15 minutes to the covered baking time since you're starting from cold.
- Make Ahead (Baked): You can bake the entire dish 1-2 days in advance. Let it cool completely, then cover and refrigerate.
- Storage: Store leftovers tightly covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Reheating: To reheat a pre-baked dish, cover it with foil and bake in a 350°F (175°C) oven for 25-35 minutes, until hot all the way through. Remove the foil for the last 10 minutes to re-crisp the top.
- Freezing: You can freeze the baked stuffing. Cool it completely, cover tightly, and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating.
Recipe Notes / What I Learned
This recipe is a true lesson in building flavour. It seems like a lot of steps, but each one is crucial. Browning the sausage in butter (not oil) adds a nutty richness. Cooking the aromatics in those drippings, then adding the stock-and-egg slurry, then folding in the bone-dry bread... every step layers on top of the last to create a final dish that is so much more than the sum of its parts. It's the one dish I truly look forward to all year.
Nutrition Snapshot
Estimated Nutrition Per Serving (1/10th of dish): ~480 calories · 18g protein · 45g carbs · 25g fat (This is an approximation and can vCary based on the specific bread and sausage used.)
Classic Sage and Sausage Stuffing (Dressing)
Equipment
- Rimmed baking sheets 2
- Large Dutch oven
- Stiff whisk or potato masher
- Wooden spoon
- Medium bowl
- Whisk
- 9- by 13-inch baking dish
- Aluminum foil
- Instant-read thermometer
Ingredients
Group: Ingredients
- 2 ½ pounds high-quality sandwich bread or soft Italian or French bread (1.25 kg) (about 2 loaves), cut into ¾-inch dice (about 5 quarts)
- 8 tablespoons butter (1 stick; 4 ounces; 115 g)
- 1 ½ pounds sage sausage, removed from casing (680 g)
- 1 large onion, finely chopped (about 12 ounces; 350 g)
- 4 large ribs celery, finely chopped (about 12 ounces; 350 g)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced or grated on a Microplane grater
- ¼ cup minced fresh sage leaves (or 2 teaspoons dried sage leaves)
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper if needed
- 1 quart low-sodium homemade or store-bought low-sodium chicken or turkey stock (4 cups; 1 L), divided
- 3 large eggs
- ¼ cup minced parsley leaves, divided
Instructions
- Adjust oven racks to lower-middle and upper-middle positions. Preheat oven to 275°F (135°C). Spread bread evenly over 2 rimmed baking sheets. Stagger trays on oven racks and bake until completely dried, about 50 minutes total, rotating trays and stirring bread cubes several times during baking. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Increase oven temperature to 350°F (180°C).
- In a large Dutch oven, melt butter over medium-high heat until foaming subsides (do not allow butter to brown), about 2 minutes. Add sausage and mash with a stiff whisk or potato masher to break up into fine pieces (largest pieces should be no bigger than ¼ inch). Cook, stirring frequently, until only a few bits of pink remain, about 8 minutes. Add onion, celery, garlic, and sage and cook, stirring frequently, until vegetables are softened, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and add half of chicken stock.
- Whisk remaining chicken stock, eggs, and 3 tablespoons parsley in a medium bowl until homogeneous. Stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, slowly pour egg mixture into sausage mixture. Add bread cubes and fold gently until evenly mixed.
- Use part of stuffing to stuff turkey, if desired. To cook remaining stuffing, transfer to a buttered 9- by 13-inch rectangular baking dish (or 10- by 14-inch oval dish), cover tightly with aluminum foil, and bake until an instant-read thermometer reads 150°F (66°C) when inserted into center of dish, about 45 minutes. Remove foil and continue baking until golden brown and crisp on top, 15 to 20 minutes longer. Remove from oven, let cool for 5 minutes, sprinkle with remaining parsley, and serve.
Notes
If using to stuff a turkey, be sure the stuffing reaches an internal temperature of 165°F (74°C) for safety.
Nutrition
FAQs
Can I really use 2 teaspoons of dried sage if I can't find fresh?
Yes! This is a sage sausage stuffing, so it's meant to have a robust, herby flavour. ¼ cup of fresh minced sage is about 4 teaspoons of dried, so 2 teaspoons is actually a moderate amount. Start with 2, and you can always add a bit more.
Do I really have to dry the bread in the oven?
Yes. I cannot stress this enough. Day-old, "stale" bread still has too much moisture and will turn to a paste. You need to bake the bread cubes at a low temperature until they are completely dry and hard, like croutons. This is the secret.
Do I have to use the eggs?
The eggs are what make this a "custard-style," spoon-bread-like stuffing. If you omit the eggs, the stuffing will be much looser and more "crumbly" in texture. It's a personal preference, but the eggs are key to this classic, moist texture.
