Cornbread Stuffing With Sausage and Apples
Spice up your Thanksgiving spread with this fun cornbread stuffing!
Everybody loves stuffing. And I love the traditional stuffing just as much as the next person, but this cornbread stuffing with sausage and apples? Absolutely next level. I’m here to tell you that you need this on your Thanksgiving table because it’s life changing!
My family and I have been making this cornbread stuffing for years now! The recipe is adapted from one we found from the Neelys.
Just because you make this stuffing doesn’t mean you have to skip the traditional one- my family always makes both. I mean, it’s a day to feast so why not? And like I said… everybody loves stuffing! Just picture this stuffing sandwiched between some turkey, cranberry sauce, and other Thanksgiving leftovers… heaven.
Let’s make this stuffing!
How to make cornbread stuffing with sausage and apples
I love this stuffing because it’s packed with so many great flavors that compliment each other so well. The sweet cornbread is flavored with bourbon, thyme, fresh sage, salty sausage, and has a crunch of pecans for the best texture. But that’s not all. Here’s everything you’ll need to make this cornbread stuffing:
- Olive oil
- Italian sausage
- Onion
- Celery
- Salt and pepper
- Apple (I use Granny Smith)
- Thyme
- Sage
- Bourbon
- Cornbread, homemade and dried or store-bought
- Parsley
- Chicken stock
- Eggs
- Chopped pecans
Step one: the cornbread
When my family makes this, we always either make the cornbread at home (Jiffy mix, nothing fancy) or we go to the bakery of the grocery store and grab cornbread muffins or a pan of it already made, just because I think the cornbread flavor and texture is so much better than the store-bought bag of dried cornbread stuffing mix. However, it is totally easier to use the bag so you do you!
If you’re going to use fresh cornbread, do this step first. chop it up into small-ish cubes and spread them out on a baking sheet. Set the oven to 200°F and bake the cornbread cubes for 30-45 minutes or until they feel dry.
The cornbread can be dried a few days in advance, so you can just assemble the day of or day before thanksgiving!
Step two: the cooking
To start, we’re going to need to heat the olive oil in the pan and brown the sausage. You can buy ground Italian sausage, or if you can’t find it, buy the regular sausage in the casing and just remove and discard the casing. For the sausage, choose any spice-level you like. I use mild, but feel free to grab some spicy or sweet Italian sausage if you prefer it!
Once the sausage is browned, the onions and celery get added and then sautéed until softened. Next, in goes the salt and pepper- add to your taste, but keep in mind the sausage is already a little salty!
Once the celery and onion are softened, throw in the diced apples, thyme, and sage.
It’s up to you whether or not you want to peel the apples. I’ve done it both peeled and unpeeled and didn’t notice much of a difference.
For the thyme and sage, definitely use fresh as opposed to dried, if you can! It makes a huge difference in flavor. I absolutely love the fresh and earthy notes the sage brings to this stuffing!
Next, add in your bourbon. Let it simmer with all the herbs and vegetables until it’s almost evaporated. The flavor that gets left behind and infused into everything is so GOOD- all the alcohol gets cooked out so don’t worry, yes it’s kid-friendly! If you don’t want to use the alcohol though, you can totally omit this step.
Step three: assembling cornbread stuffing with sausage and apples
Once you have your dried cornbread, add it to a bowl with some fresh chopped parsley, chicken stock, beaten eggs, and chopped pecans. Toss this mixture until it’s combined and then add in the vegetable mixture from earlier and mix again. Transfer the stuffing to a large casserole dish and bake it for 30 minutes, until the top and sides start to look browned.
This stuffing is totally my favorite Thanksgiving side dish, and now I hope it becomes your family’s new favorite too!
From my family to yours, Happy Thanksgiving!
Cornbread Stuffing With Sausage and Apples
Need a fresh and fun recipe to spice up your traditional Thanksgiving menu? This cornbread stuffing with sausage apples is your answer! With sweet and salty notes of sausage, apple, sage, pecans, and bourbon, this dish will be the highlight of the holiday.
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 pound Italian sausage (ground or casing removed)
- 1 large onion (chopped)
- 4 stalks celery (chopped)
- Salt and pepper (to taste)
- 1 Granny Smith apple (chopped (and peeled, if preferred))
- 3 tsp freshly chopped thyme leaves
- 1 tbsp freshly chopped sage leaves
- 1/2 cup bourbon
- 1 1/4 pounds cubed and dried cornbread (homemade or store-bought)
- 1 1/2 cups chicken stock
- 2 eggs (beaten)
- 1/4 cup freshly chopped parsley
- 3/4 cup chopped pecans
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Heat olive oil over medium heat in a large skillet.
- Cook sausage until browned. Add the chopped onion and celery and sauté until softened. Add salt and pepper, to taste. Mix in apples, thyme, and sage and sauté for another 3 minutes. Add the bourbon and simmer until it is almost evaporated.
- In a large bowl, add cornbread, parsley, chicken stock, beaten eggs, and chopped pecans. Mix to combine. Add in the vegetables and mix well. Put the mixture into a large casserole dish and bake for 30 minutes, until the stuffing is lightly browning on top and the edges.