¼ cup each fresh parsley, sage and thyme, finely chopped
1 cup poultry stock
sprinkle kosher salt and black pepper to taste
Takes ,
serves 8+.
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375°F. Grease a rectangular casserole dish or oven-safe crock with butter. Set aside.
Prepare sourdough: Rip or cut bread up into chunks placing them into a food processor fitted with a blade attachment. Run on a low setting to shred the bread then spill into a large bowl.
Prepare mirepoix: Melt butter in a large skillet on medium-high or moderate heat. Add onions, celery and carrot, sautéing until soft and translucent. Spill over bread.
Cook sausage: Place sausage meat into medium pan set over moderate heat. Cook sausage, stirring continuously, crumbling it into tiny morsels. When fully cooked, spill over bread and vegetables.
Prepare dressing: Add the apples, seasoning and fresh herbs plus a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Drizzle with chicken stock. Stir together gently to combine. Taste then season, if necessary.
Transfer to buttered casserole dish, spreading out into an even layer. Transfer to oven and bake uncovered for 30 minutes or until top is lightly browned and toasted. Cool for 5 minutes. Sprinkle with a bit of chopped parsley and serve.
Sausage Dressing Recipe
Ingredients
1 lb pork sausage, removed from casing
1 loaf sourdough bread, torn or cut apart
3 tablespoons butter
½ sweet white onion, finely diced
3 celery ribs, finely diced
1 carrot, peeled and diced
3 apples, cored and chopped (I added 5!)
1 tablespoon dried savoury
¼ cup each fresh parsley, sage and thyme, finely chopped
1 cup poultry stock
sprinkle kosher salt and black pepper to taste
Directions
Preheat oven to 375°F. Grease a rectangular casserole dish or oven-safe crock with butter. Set aside.
Prepare sourdough: Rip or cut bread up into chunks placing them into a food processor fitted with a blade attachment. Run on a low setting to shred the bread then spill into a large bowl.
Prepare mirepoix: Melt butter in a large skillet on medium-high or moderate heat. Add onions, celery and carrot, sautéing until soft and translucent. Spill over bread.
Cook sausage: Place sausage meat into medium pan set over moderate heat. Cook sausage, stirring continuously, crumbling it into tiny morsels. When fully cooked, spill over bread and vegetables.
Prepare dressing: Add the apples, seasoning and fresh herbs plus a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Drizzle with chicken stock. Stir together gently to combine. Taste then season, if necessary.
Transfer to buttered casserole dish, spreading out into an even layer. Transfer to oven and bake uncovered for 30 minutes or until top is lightly browned and toasted. Cool for 5 minutes. Sprinkle with a bit of chopped parsley and serve.
Sausage Dressing Recipe
5 / 5. 2
Morsels of sausage mixed with shredded sourdough, sautéed veggies, fresh herbs and juicy Ontario apples…
This SAUSAGE DRESSING WITH APPLES isn’t just for the holidays; serve it any day of the year!
We posted our original version of this SAUSAGE DRESSING recipe a few years back and it was well received. Loaded with chunks of toasted bread, hunks of sausage, sun-dried cranberries, dried apricots and seasoned with herbs, everyone loved it. But a few weeks back, I started wondering if we could make it even better, and with a few simple tweaks to the ingredients and process, we not only made it way easier but tastier too. Here’s the absolute best SAUSAGE DRESSING WITH APPLES ever. Called it!
We not only reimagined the ingredients and instructions, but also when to enjoy it. Although this sensational side dish recipe works when served with OVEN-ROASTED TURKEY for major holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas, we also realized a really well-made dressing or stuffing recipe need not be saved only for special occasions. Remember it for weeknight dinners and relaxed get-togethers, serving it with ROASTED CHICKEN, PORK CHOPS, a tender slice of SIRLOIN ROAST or a classic POT ROAST.
Here’s why this SAUSAGE DRESSING recipe works:
INGREDIENTS FOR SAUSAGE DRESSING
All of the ingredients needed to make this easy homemade dressing are readily available at your local grocery store. I’ll share some thoughts on the kind of bread in a bit, but the overall takeaway on the ingredients is, nothing fancy here. Look for the vegetables—carrots, onions and celery—and fresh herbs in the vegetable section. You’ll find the fresh sausage in the butcher area and the apples in the fruit section. Told you this was easy!
ONTARIO APPLES
So let me go back and mention a few things about the apples because they’re important in this dressing recipe. First, if you can, pick up fresh ONTARIO APPLES. Look for the FOODLAND ONTARIO logo on signs, stickers or display cases, remembering good things grow in Ontario.
If you’re unsure what variety of apples to use, head HERE for a complete list. We’ve had great success using Honeycrisp apples, Idareds, McIntosh apples and, most recently, Cortland apples. Notice the skin is left on the apples, while we trim the flesh away from the core and chop it into bite-sized pieces. The small pieces of apple provide a pleasing, slightly crunchy texture and sweet flavouring throughout.
SOURDOUGH BREAD
Before readers start writing in asking if they can make the recipe using French baguette, cornbread, whole wheat bread, or a classic crusty white bread, lemme just say, sure. All of those types of bread will work, but for some reason, we think a dense sourdough bread works best, and if it’s HOMEMADE SOURDOUGH, even better.
A couple of things to guarantee best results. First, we changed this recipe so there are no extra steps of cutting the bread into uniform cubes, laying it onto a parchment-lined baking tray and toasting them. Instead, we’re simply chopping or tearing the loaf into smaller chunks, surrounding crust and all. Then, zip it up in a food processor fitted with a blade attachment. The goal is shredded fluffs of bread. Pro tip: you can zip the bread up 1 or 2 days in advance, keeping it in the refrigerator in an airtight container or zip bag until you make the dish.
SAUSAGE
In the VIDEO I invite you to make this recipe your own by using your favourite uncooked sausage. Regardless of whether you make it with mild Italian sausage, Chorizo, honey-garlic, hot Italian sausage, herbed pork sausage or another favourite, there are two important prep steps. First, remove the raw, uncooked meat from the sausage casings, then stir the meat vigorously as you cook it in a large skillet or big pan. We found that breaking the sausage meat down into small morsels helped distribute it more evenly throughout the dish. This, in turn, yields a more balanced, consistent flavour profile.
FRESH HERBS AND SEASONING
Another chance to make this recipe your own is by using your favourite fresh herbs instead of dried poultry seasoning. We made this version of the recipe using fresh sage, flat-leaf Italian parsley, plus fresh thyme. That said, feel free to try it using other herbs such as fresh chives, rosemary, marjoram, basil and even dill. We also added a tablespoon of dried savoury, which has an earthy, peppery flavour with subtle citrus notes. It delivers an herbal taste to the dressing without overpowering it.
STIR UP THE DRESSING
We’re big fans of recipes such as this. You’ll need a cutting board, two small pans—one to cook the sausage, another to sauté the vegetable mirepoix in butter—then one large bowl to bring it all together. Then simply drizzle with a cup of chicken stock or veggie broth for added moisture and stir gently to combine. Make sure to try the dressing at this point and add more kosher salt and black pepper to taste as needed.
DRESSING OR STUFFING
Here’s the big question: are you making a sausage dressing or a sausage stuffing? Good news! It’s the exact same recipe with the only difference being how we cook it. Dressing = baking dish, while stuffing goes in the bird to roast.
If making a dressing, you’ll need to grease a glass casserole dish or oven-safe crock, then pour the stuffing mixture in, spreading it out in an even layer. Then transfer to the oven and bake for 40 minutes, or until the top has a gorgeous golden colour and the surface looks crispy.
If making a stuffing, transfer the mixture directly into the cavity of a turkey, chicken, goose or duck. You can also place the mixture into a cloth stuffing bag, which makes removal from the bird easier.
CASSEROLE DRESSING
Having now tested this dressing a number of different ways, we found that baking the sausage and apple-studded mixture in a glass casserole dish works best. Spreading the stuffing mixture out in an even layer is important, but the dish bakes evenly without incident. That said, if you find the top is crisping quicker than you’d like, add a piece of foil over the top. The dressing will remain moist, light and tender regardless.
This delicious side dish recipe is so wonderful, we suggest you PIN the recipe to a favourite side dish, holiday recipes, and weeknight meals board on PINTEREST or BOOKMARK this tab for easy access. SHARE it with friends so they can make them too. We’d also appreciate seeing pics of all the delicious dishes you’re making these days. Use #weekendatthecottage when you post those pics on Facebook and Instagram. Thanks!
UPDATE: If you’re looking for the original dressing recipe made with chunks of bread, apricots and cranberries, go HERE. Everything’s explained in the original VIDEO.
Enjoy this SAUSAGE DRESSING WITH APPLES with your next meal!
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Ingredients
1 lb pork sausage, removed from casing
1 loaf sourdough bread, torn or cut apart
3 tablespoons butter
½ sweet white onion, finely diced
3 celery ribs, finely diced
1 carrot, peeled and diced
3 apples, cored and chopped (I added 5!)
1 tablespoon dried savoury
¼ cup each fresh parsley, sage and thyme, finely chopped
1 cup poultry stock
sprinkle kosher salt and black pepper to taste
Directions
Preheat oven to 375°F. Grease a rectangular casserole dish or oven-safe crock with butter. Set aside.
Prepare sourdough: Rip or cut bread up into chunks placing them into a food processor fitted with a blade attachment. Run on a low setting to shred the bread then spill into a large bowl.
Prepare mirepoix: Melt butter in a large skillet on medium-high or moderate heat. Add onions, celery and carrot, sautéing until soft and translucent. Spill over bread.
Cook sausage: Place sausage meat into medium pan set over moderate heat. Cook sausage, stirring continuously, crumbling it into tiny morsels. When fully cooked, spill over bread and vegetables.
Prepare dressing: Add the apples, seasoning and fresh herbs plus a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Drizzle with chicken stock. Stir together gently to combine. Taste then season, if necessary.
Transfer to buttered casserole dish, spreading out into an even layer. Transfer to oven and bake uncovered for 30 minutes or until top is lightly browned and toasted. Cool for 5 minutes. Sprinkle with a bit of chopped parsley and serve.
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