Stuffing with Sausage, Apples, and Dried Cherries
Baked stuffing is my favorite part of Thanksgiving dinner. While technically it’s no longer “stuffing,” I love the crisp top of the bread toasted in the oven with the creamy, bread pudding-like interior. However, if you’re an actual stuffing person, this recipe could be baked inside the turkey rather than in a separate dish.
This stuffing recipe combines sweet and savory with just the right balance to pair well with all the other Thanksgiving dishes. Since I’m never content with stuffing just once a year, I sometimes make it for dinner and serve the stuffing with a salad on the side.
Stuffing with Sausage, Apples, and Dried Cherries
Ingredients
- 8 oz slightly stale bread, (from a crusty loaf of French or Italian bread), cubed to 1 inch
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 3 stalks celery, diced
- 8 oz breakfast sausage, (bulk, not in links)
- 1 apple, peeled and diced
- 1/4 cup parsley, chopped
- 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
- 1 tsp fresh sage, finely chopped
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 cup dried cherries, roughly chopped
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 cup milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare a medium-sized baking dish by lightly coating the inside with butter.
- In a large frying pan, melt the butter over medium heat, then add onions and celery and cook for 6-7 minutes until softened. Add sausage and break it up into small pieces as it cooks. When the sausage is browned (approximately 5 min), add apple, parsley, thyme, sage, salt, and pepper. Cook together for a minute or two. Remove from heat. Add dried cherries, and stir in bread cubes. Transfer to buttered baking dish.
- Whisk the eggs in a large measuring cup, then whisk in broth and milk. Pour over bread mixture. Press on the top of the bread mixture to submerge briefly to make sure all of the bread cubes get a chance to soak up some of the liquid. Let everything sit for 5 minutes to allow liquid to soak into bread cubes. Bake uncovered at 350°F for 45 minutes.
Mark is an experienced food writer, recipe developer, and photographer who is also Umami’s publisher and CEO. A passionate cook who loves to cook for friends, he can often be found in the kitchen or by the grill testing new recipes.
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