New England Sausage and Dried Cranberry Stuffing
This New England Sausage and Dried Cranberry Stuffing combines savory sausage and sweet dried cranberries for a perfectly balanced side dish perfect for a special holiday meal.
Now that Halloween is officially over, it’s time to start getting our Thanksgiving menus together. We always have our traditional Thanksgiving Dressing on Turkey Day, but a few years ago when my we started having a December “Dickens Dinner” with my sister’s family, I started making this New England Sausage and Dried Cranberry Stuffing. Since I don’t eat pork, I substitute chicken or turkey sausage and even the pork-eaters love this stuffing.
This was a really nice change from our usual dressing. It’s a delicious balance between the savory sausage and the sweet apples and cranberries. Whether you’re looking for a new recipe for Thanksgiving or one of the many holiday dinners ahead of us, this recipe is worth trying!
We always have Warm Sticky Figgy Pudding at our annual Dickens Dinner as well. It is the perfect end to any Holiday Meal!
LOOKING FOR MORE THANKSGIVING RECIPES?
Check out my favorite recipes for Thanksgiving or any special Holiday Meal:
Honey Butter
Compound Herb Butter
Mashed Potatoes and Root Vegetables
Thanksgiving Dressing
Herb Roasted Turkey Breast
Haricot Verts with Shallots
Garlic Roasted Cauliflower
Spinach Souffle
Pumpkin Yeast Bread
and for leftover turkey, Homemade Turkey Soup is a must!
My favorite Thanksgiving dessert recipes:
Fall Leaf Sugar Cookies
Pumpkin Chocolate Tart
Chocolate Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars
Apple Crumble Pizza Pie
French Apple Cake
Chocolate Pear Tart
New England Sausage and Dried Cranberry Stuffing
Ingredients
- 6 cups white bread (cut into 3/4-inch cubes)
- 1/2 pound sausage (casings removed; traditional, chicken, or turkey)
- 1/4 stick butter
- 3 cups onion
- 1/2 pound tart green apples (or apple of your choice, peeled, cored, chopped)
- 1 cup celery (chopped)
- 1/2 tablespoon poultry seasoning
- 1/4 cup dried cranberries
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley
- 1 1/2 eggs (beaten)
- 3/4 cup chicken broth
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Place bread cubes on a large baking sheet and bake until slightly dry, about 15 – 20 minutes. Cool completely. You can also leave the cubes out overnight to dry.
- Sauté the sausage in a large skillet over medium-high heat until cooked through, crumbling coarsely with the back of a spoon, about 10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the sausage to a large bowl. Pour off any drippings from the skillet.
- Using the same skillet, melt the butter. Add the onions, apples, celery, and poultry seasoning to the skillet. Sauté until onions are softened, about 5 – 8 minutes.
- Mix in dried cranberries. Add the mixture to the sausage, then mix in the bread, eggs, and parsley. Season stuffing to taste with salt and pepper. Add the chicken broth to moisten stuffing depending on how most you like it (can be prepared one day ahead. Cover and refrigerate).
- Butter a 7 x 11-inch baking dish. Transfer stuffing to the dish, cover, and bake at 350 degrees F until heated through, about 45 minutes. Uncover and bake until top is golden brown, about 15 minutes.
