Italian Sausage Cornbread Stuffing Recipe - Savory Simple (2024)

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This Italian Sausage Cornbread Stuffing Recipe is flavorful, easy to prepare and perfect for Thanksgiving!

Italian Sausage Cornbread Stuffing Recipe - Savory Simple (1)

Can you believe it’s almost time for Thanksgiving? This year is flying by at warp speed. Every year goes by a little bit faster, and the big 4-0 is now just around the corner.

It’s been a tumultuous year in countless ways, but I have a lot to be thankful for right now. A happy, healthy husband and family (and cat… too many close calls!), a niece or nephew on the way, a cozy little home, and amazing friends. Enough schmaltz, let’s get to business. Stuffing business. Or is it… dressing business?

Stuffing vs. Dressing

Recently, I learned that I had possibly been using the term “stuffing” wrong my entire life, as I started seeing recipes for Thanksgiving dressing with corresponding photos of stuffing. It was a bit mortifying. When I hear dressing, I think of salads. I was very confused.

It was explained to me that stuffing is the mixture baked into the turkey, while dressing is basically the same recipe but baked in a casserole dish. Eh? So my entire immediate and extended family had it wrong?

Thankfully, no. While I’m sure there are some who would love to debate me on this, it seems that the terminology is a regional difference. Southern Living even has a map of which states search the most for dressing vs. stuffing! Phew.

Italian Sausage Cornbread Stuffing Notes

  • You can take a shortcut with the cornbread, since it’s being dried out and mixed with other ingredients. You can certainly bake some from scratch, but feel free to use a mix, or buy some pre-baked. Regardless of whether it’s homemade or store-bought, I recommend using a cornbread that you’re familiar with and like, since it will still be a dominant flavor. A friend recently served me Trader Joe’s cornbread (from a mix) alongside chili, and I had no idea it wasn’t homemade until she told me.
  • If you want to lighten up the recipe a bit, swap out regular Italian sausage for pre-cooked chicken or turkey Italian Sausage.

More Thanksgiving Recipes

  • Pumpkin Slab Pie (perfect for feeding a large crowd!)
  • Baked Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese (the BEST Thanksgiving side dish)
  • Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheesecake (need I say more?)
  • Pecan Pie French Toast Casserole (brunch for the out-of-town guests!)
  • Beer and Brown Sugar Sweet Potatoes (from The Beeroness)

Italian Sausage Cornbread Stuffing Recipe - Savory Simple (2)

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Italian Sausage Cornbread Stuffing

5 from 5 votes

This Italian Sausage Cornbread Stuffing Recipe is flavorful, easy to prepare and perfect for Thanksgiving!

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American

Keyword Sausage Cornbread Stuffing

Prep Time 1 hour hour

Cook Time 1 hour hour 40 minutes minutes

Total Time 2 hours hours 40 minutes minutes

Servings 6 -8 servings

Calories 377

Author Jennifer Farley

Ingredients

US Customary - Metric

  • 6 cups cornbread (your favorite recipe, cut into 1-inch pieces)
  • 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
  • 12 ounces pre-cooked mild Italian sausage, sliced
  • 1 large yellow onion, diced (approximately 2 cups)
  • 2 ribs celery, diced
  • 1/2 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
  • 1 tablespoon sage leaves, finely chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1 1/2 cups chicken stock, homemade or low-sodium
  • 1 cup half-and-half (or 1/2 cup whole milk + 1/2 cup cream)
  • 1 large egg

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F. Distribute the diced cornbread evenly on a baking sheet and dry out in the oven for 45-50 minutes. Place in a large bowl and set aside.

  • In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat and add the sausage. Cook for several minutes, allowing the pieces to caramelize. Once they are nicely browned, move them to a paper towel-lined plate and set aside. Drain some but not all of the fat from the pan and then add the diced onion and celery with a pinch of salt. The liquid from the vegetables should help loosen up any brown bits on the bottom of the pan; stir those in with the vegetables. Cook for 3-5 minutes until the onions are slightly caramelized. Add the garlic, thyme and sage and cook for another minute before removing from the heat. Stir in the salt and pepper.

  • Whisk together the chicken stock, half and half and egg. Pour the mixture over the cornbread. Add the sausage as well as the vegetable mixture and fold the ingredients together. Cover with plastic wrap and allow the ingredients to chill in the refrigerator for one hour.

  • Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Grease a 9x9 inch baking dish and distribute the stuffing ingredients evenly. Bake for 45-50 minutes, until the top is golden brown.

Please read my full post for additional recipe notes, tips, and serving suggestions!

Nutrition

Calories: 377kcal | Carbohydrates: 29g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 23g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Cholesterol: 92mg | Sodium: 769mg | Potassium: 306mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 280IU | Vitamin C: 3.8mg | Calcium: 116mg | Iron: 1.7mg

Recipe Troubleshooting

For immediate help troubleshooting a recipe, please email me using the form on my contact page. I’ll try to respond to urgent questions as quickly as possible! For all general questions, please leave a comment here :)

Italian Sausage Cornbread Stuffing Recipe - Savory Simple (2024)

FAQs

What does adding egg to stuffing do? ›

Eggs: Two lightly beaten eggs help hold the dressing together and add moisture.

How soggy should stuffing be before baking? ›

The stuffing should be moist but not wet. If there is a puddle of broth at the bottom of the bowl, you've added too much. Add more bread to soak up the excess moisture. If the mix is still dry and crumbly, add more liquid and toss gently until it starts to clump together.

What is sausage stuffing made of? ›

Sausage Stuffing Ingredients

Butter: Cook the vegetables in a mix of butter and sausage drippings. Vegetables: You'll need finely diced celery and a chopped onion. Bread: The white bread cubes should ideally be slightly stale. If your bread seems too soft, lightly toast it in the oven.

Is stuffing better with or without eggs? ›

Eggs add richness to the stuffing, and makes it cohere better. I'd use two eggs per pound of bread.

What can you use as a binder instead of eggs in stuffing? ›

Some common egg substitutes include:
  1. Mashed banana. Mashed banana can act as a binding agent when baking or making pancake batter. ...
  2. Applesauce. Applesauce can also act as a binding agent. ...
  3. Fruit puree. ...
  4. Avocado. ...
  5. Gelatin. ...
  6. Xanthan gum. ...
  7. Vegetable oil and baking powder. ...
  8. Margarine.
Mar 30, 2021

Are you supposed to cook the stuffing before putting it in? ›

Fully cook raw meat, poultry, or seafood ingredients before adding to stuffing. Combine the ingredients and place them in your bird immediately before cooking. Don't stuff whole poultry with cooked stuffing. In addition to the turkey, the stuffing's center needs to reach 165 F.

Should you toast bread before making stuffing? ›

Follow this tip: Stale, dried-out bread makes the best stuffing. Either dry out your bread starting a few days before you plan to make the stuffing by letting it sit out or, if you don't have the extra time, cut the bread into cubes, and then toast over a low heat in the oven until dry.

Is it better to make stuffing the night before? ›

This is a delicious make-ahead stuffing recipe that can be made up to 3 days before you need it. Just mix the stuffing ingredients together and store in the fridge, freeing up time and reducing stress on Thanksgiving Day, when you're dealing with all the other prep!

Why does my stuffing come out mushy? ›

If the stuffing came out too wet and soggy (aka bread soup!) try not to over mix it, otherwise it'll turn into mush. Curtis Stone says to pour it on a large sheet tray and spread it out. Bake it on high heat to crisp it up, but make sure it doesn't burn.

Why is my cornbread dressing mushy? ›

One potential reason for gummy cornbread dressing could be using cornbread that is too moist. It's best to use cornbread that has been left out overnight or is slightly stale to ensure a drier texture.

Why does the casing of sausage keep breaking when stuffing? ›

The casing may have been overstuffed. When. making links, you should only stuff sausage about 3/4. full.

What is Pepperidge Farm stuffing made of? ›

MADE FROM: ENRICHED WHEAT FLOUR (FLOUR, NIACIN, REDUCED IRON, THIAMINE MONONITRATE, RIBOFLAVIN, FOLIC ACID), WHOLE WHEAT FLOUR, SALT, SUGAR, YEAST, CONTAINS 2% OR LESS OF: VEGETABLE OILS (CANOLA AND/OR SUNFLOWER AND/OR PALM), MOLASSES, SPICES, CELERY, ONION POWDER, CALCIUM PROPIONATE TO EXTEND FRESHNESS, MALTED BARLEY ...

What is sausage filling made of? ›

Anyway, most sausage is made up of minced/ground meat (usually pork, but you can make it with any meat), a binder (usually rusk, sometimes rice flour in gluten free versions), water, and seasonings.

How do you keep stuffing moist when cooking? ›

Typically, baking the stuffing inside the bird helps keep the mixture moist. “I prefer stuffing (in the bird) to dressing (outside of the bird) because all those delicious drippings that come off the turkey gets absorbed right into the stuffing,” Bamford says.

What does adding an egg to a recipe do? ›

Eggs play an important role in everything from cakes and cookies to meringues and pastry cream — they create structure and stability within a batter, they help thicken and emulsify sauces and custards, they add moisture to cakes and other baked goods, and can even act as glue or glaze.

How are eggs used as a binder? ›

A whole egg coagulates at about 156°F (69°C). Eggs can act as binding agents. As their proteins set, eggs bind ingredients together giving strength and stability to meatloaves, casseroles and baked goods. Eggs are used to coat foods with crumbs, flour, etc.

What does adding egg to bread do? ›

besides the nutritional benefits there are a few other good reasons to use egg in breadmaking. It makes the bread lighter and fluffier. The reason for that is the fat in the yolk that inhibits gluten formation just as any other fat would. This results in a looser dough that can expand and puff up more.

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