Sausage Mushroom Thanksgiving Stuffing
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Sausage Mushroom Thanksgiving Stuffing Recipe – A fluffy and comforting bread dressing baked with zesty pork sausage and earthy mushrooms.
Bread stuffing is my absolute favorite part of Thanksgiving dinner. In fact, I would go as far as to say if I had to pick just one traditional Thanksgiving recipe to enjoy, it would be a humble baked stuffing.
Buttery, carb-acious, herb-infused, and packed with comforting appeal, Thanksgiving dressing is hard to beat!
Today I’m sharing my other favorite stuffing recipe.
Although we have several amazing stuffing variations here on A Spicy Perspective, I am extremely partial to our vegetarian slow cooker version, and this hearty Sausage Mushroom Thanksgiving Stuffing.
The mix of sausage and mushrooms is a traditional flavor combo in stuffing recipes. I’m not reinventing the wheel here.
Instead I’m just sharing my favorite Sausage Mushroom Thanksgiving Stuffing, packed with dense rustic bread cubes and tons of fresh herbs.
If you’ve never been crazy about holiday stuffing, give today’s recipe a try this year. I have a feeling I can win you over with this irresistibly rich Thanksgiving Stuffing.
Sausage Mushroom Thanksgiving Stuffing Ingredient Checklist
- Rustic Italian bread loaf – Pick a heavy sturdy loaf like Italian country bread or ciabatta.
- Pork sausage – Use ground Italian sausage or pork breakfast sausage.
- Button mushrooms – You can use any variety of mushrooms you like!
- Butter – Because all good stuffing recipes need a little butter. Or a lot.
- Sweet onion – I like sweet onions, but you can select any onion variety you prefer.
- Celery – For a well-rounded comforting flavor.
- Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme – If these herbs are good enough for Simon & Garfunkel…
- Chicken broth and eggs – To saturate the bread and hold it together.
- Parmesan cheese – For a cheesy golden finish.
- Salt and pepper – Obviously.
How to Make Sausage Mushroom Thanksgiving Stuffing
Cube and Dry the Bread – Bread cubes hold their shape best in stuffing, when they’ve had some time to dry out. This can be done as little as one hour before mixing in the other stuffing ingredients, or up to several days ahead.
Sauté the Pork and Veggies – Cook pork sausage in butter, breaking it into small pieces with a wooden spoon. Add in all the vegetables and cook until the onions, celery, and mushrooms are very soft.
Add Fresh Herbs – We often get questions about fresh herbs versus dry herbs. Everyone wants to know if it’s worth buying fresh herbs even though they go bad so quickly. In short, the answer is yes. Especially on special occasions. I always keep dry herbs for impromptu cooking and slow-simmered stews. Yet for Thanksgiving, go with fresh!
Saturate the Stuffing – It takes some liquid to bring all these flavors and ingredients together. A mixture of chicken broth and eggs, seasoned with salt and pepper, is the perfect unifier.
Bake – Once you spoon the stuffing into a baking dish, sprinkle with parmesan cheese and bake until puffy and golden.
Get the Complete Sausage Mushroom Thanksgiving Stuffing Recipe Below!
Sausage Mushroom Thanksgiving Stuffing Tips and Substitutions
Although I think this stuffing recipe is sheer perfection as-is, I understand there are times you might need or want to make adjustments.
- Yes, you can use any variety of dense hearty bread you like.
- As for using gluten free bread, just be sure you find one that will hold its shape and texture once dampened with broth. If you are trying to make gluten free stuffing for the first time, I might be tempted to make a mini test-batch a few days ahead to be sure you are not disappointed with your choice of breads. For a truly gluten free recipe, make sure your sausage is also gluten free.
- For a dairy free version, skip the parmesan cheese and substitute vegan butter.
- You can also substitute any kind of mushroom and onion in this recipe.
- If swapping out the pork sausage for another variety, I would stick with ground sausage instead of links. If using a leaner type of sausage you might need to add in a little extra butter or broth, as pork sausage releases fat that aids in the moisture and flavor of the stuffing.
- If making ahead, you can either prep all the ingredients and keep the liquid separate until right before baking. Or you can make the recipe in its entirety, then rewarm the whole pan on Thanksgiving. However, rewarming the stuffing will take at least 30 minutes, while the baking time is only 45 minutes. Personally, I would go with the prep-ahead, not bake ahead method.
Alternative Thanksgiving Stuffing Recipes
Perfect Slow Cooker Thanksgiving Stuffing
Cornbread Stuffing with Apple and Pancetta
Sausage Mushroom Thanksgiving Stuffing
Ingredients
- 1 rustic Italian bread loaf (12 cups cubed)
- 1 pound ground pork sausage
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1 large onion, peeled and chopped
- 1 1/2 cup chopped celery
- 1 pound mushrooms, quartered or chopped
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
- 2 tablespoon fresh sage, chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped
- 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
- 2 large eggs
- 3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Cut the bread loaf into 3/4-inch cubes and lay them out so they dry out a little. (This can be done several days ahead.)
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9x13-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
- Place a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the butter and pork sausage. Break the sausage into small pieces with a wooden spoon and cook for 3-5 minutes.
- Add the onions and celery. Cook for a couple minutes, then stir in the mushrooms. Sauté until the sausage is cooked through and the mushrooms are soft, about 5 more minutes. Stir in the fresh chopped herbs, then turn off the heat.
- Beat the eggs and chicken broth together and season with 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper. Stir the broth mixture into the sausage and mushroom mixture.
- Fold the bread cubes into the sausage mixture, making sure the cubes are well coated in broth.
- Spoon the stuffing into the prepared baking dish. Spread it out evenly, then sprinkle the top with Parmesan cheese. Bake for 45 minutes, or until puffed and golden in the center. Serve warm.
Notes
Nutrition
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Could you reduce the broth to make a less moist version or does it come out more custard like with the eggs? I was also thinking of substituting half and half or milk for the broth?
Hi Lindsay!
The broth keeps the stuffing moist and the eggs help hold it together. I wouldn’t say it has a true custard quality, but more like the texture of french toast. If you reduce the broth the stuffing will have a much dryer consistency, not sure I would do that.
Does that answer your question? Help me understand what you are trying to achieve…
Can I stuff my turkey with this?
Hi Cindy, Absolutley!
This recipe was awesome! I changed it up slightly, and used about 7oz of a dry Chardonnay and 7-8 ounces of broth. It punched up the flavor and it was amazing!
Just the recipe I was looking for – mushrooms and sausage in a stuffing. It was easy to make and oh so delicious. Mixed Parmesan cheese in with other ingredients and stuffed in turkey. This is a new family favorite and a keeper.
Hello!! This recipe looks amazing and I’m going to make it tomorrow. This may be a dumb question, but would it be better to use “regular ground pork” or sausage like Jimmy Dean breakfast sausage? I don’t want to mix a flavorful sausage like Jimmy Dean with the herbs you have listed here if it will be “too much” or would ruin the flavor. THANKS FOR THE ADVICE!!
Hi Carla,
I just usually go with “bulk” pork sausage, but if you have a favorite brand, feel free to use that. :)
My husband doesn’t like parmesan, is this necessary or should I substitute it?
Hi Alle,
You can do either, omit or swap it for a cheese he prefers. :)
oH DONT FORGET sausage + mushroom + stuffing?? what can go wrong ! mushroom is the alternative meat and boy it is my FAV
anything involving stuffing and mushrooms is an automatic winner ! havent tried but i showed my lady this and will wait for the day to come haha! love this little blog keep it up ! will be back for more
The photos made me hungry. Need to try making this mushroom recipe for the family. Thank you for this.
This recipe sounds amazing! What variety of mushroom would you recommend if I was trying to make the healthiest version of this recipe?
Hi Jeff,
Just simple button mushrooms are a great choice. :)
Thanks Sommer! I ended up trying this recipe shortly after I posted the comment (with white buttons), and it was AMAZING! thank you for sharing it :)
Hi,
I was wondering if this recipe could be made in a crock pot vs. the oven?
I would assume everything would be the same up to the point of putting it in a casserole dish and baking it in the oven.
Then, once it’s finished in the crock pot, it could be dished into a casserole dish and served or placed in the oven for 5-10 minutes to brown the Parmesan cheese.
I would think it might be a little more moist. What are your thoughts?
Hi Christie,
Yes, that sounds exactly right! Although you wouldn’t even need to move it to the oven at the end. The stuffing around the edges turns into the “crispy bits” instead of the top. We do it with another stuffing recipe here: https://www.aspicyperspective.com/slow-cooker-thanksgiving-stuffing/
Wow, I will try this
Thank you so much for sharing! This is an amazing recipe! Kids will definitely enjoy this and it is so much healthier. This is another way for me to persuade them to eat the healthy type of foods!
Looks delicious. I sure have to try that.
I love this! This proves that mushroom is another amazing and indeed
a magical plant. Thank you for sharing those mouth-watering recipe. Will surely give it a try. Amazing!
This is my FAVORITE stuffing recipe! I make it all-year round!
Love all the flavors in this stuffing recipe! Looks so delicious!
I adore the combination of mushrooms and sausage in this stuffing recipe!
Best stuffing ever! So dang good
Sausage + mushrooms- this is my husband’s favorite stuffing!