White Cheddar Apple Sausage Stuffing
It’s that time of year again. It’s time to pig out, deck the halls, and get jolly AF. I’m so ready! This White Cheddar Apple Sausage Stuffing is a unique side dish that will definitely impress your guests this season. The white cheddar and apple are sweet and savory, while the Italian sausage and herbs like thyme, parsley, and sage come together and sing. Between the homemade baguette croutons, tender onions, crunchy celery, toasted pecans, and the melty white cheddar – every bite was packed with a new texture and flavor. It’s so much more than the ordinary stuffing you see time and time again! This dish was truly something special.
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Where did stuffing come from and why is it a Thanksgiving staple anyway?
Stuffing is actually way older than Thanksgiving! Nearly 2,000 years ago, cooks were stuffing animals with things like grains, herbs, nuts, and veggies to help stretch expensive meats. It was a way to use up stale bread instead of just tossing it into the trash and a way to give the bird, pig, or whatever animal they were stuffing some more flavor.
Historians can’t even confirm if stuffing was a thing at the first Thanksgiving back in 1621, and by the time it was featured at the dinner table – it wasn’t even being stuffed inside the meat anymore. Since then, stuffing has evolved so much! New England often has versions like oyster stuffing, the Southern U.S. has cornbread stuffings, Pennsylvania Dutch features potato stuffings often, and the Midwest likes to make sausage and herb stuffing!
It’s a holiday superstar that can really be whatever you want it to be.
Did you know?
White cheddar and apple are a classic flavor pairing because they balance each other’s opposite flavors. Cheddar is tangy and savory, while apple is acidic and sweet. It’s like a match made in heaven!
This combo also has some deep roots in American history too. For generations slices of cheddar cheese were often served alongside apple pie in places like the Midwest and New England. Isn’t that wild? I personally have never seen that, it’s mainly whipped cream served with the pie, but this pairing is so tried and true there’s actually an old saying that goes, “apple pie without the cheese is like a kiss without a squeeze.”
What ingredients do I need to make this?
For the white cheddar apple sausage stuffing:
Day-Old Baguette
Ground Italian Sausage
Butter
Yellow Onion
Celery
Honeycrisp Apple
Garlic
Rubbed Sage
Fresh Thyme
Salt
Black Pepper
Pecans
White Cheddar Cheese
Parsley
Chicken Broth
Egg
What equipment do I need?
- Large Baking Sheet
- Measuring Cups and Spoons
- Cutting Board
- Chef Knife
- Cheese Grater
- Large Skillet
- Small Skillet
- Spatula
- 8×8 Baking Pan
- Vegetable Peeler
- Whisk
- Mixing Bowls
- Aluminum Foil
- Paper Towel
How do I make it?
To prep the bread:
To get started on this recipe, first preheat the oven to 300°F and get out a large baking sheet. Slice the baguette, then rip it up into small pieces. You can also chop it if you want.
Spread the pieces out onto the baking sheet and bake for a while.
Pro Tip: This dries out the bread and basically turns it into croutons! Pretty cool, right?
Once the bread is done, take it out of the oven and set aside until ready to use, then increase the oven temp to 350°F.
While we wait though, we can be prepping the rest of the ingredients!
To prep the rest of the ingredients:
Wash all the veggies and herbs, then pat them dry.
Dice the onion, dice the celery ribs, and mince the garlic. Chop up the parsley and remove the thyme from the sprigs. Peel and dice the apple and shred the white cheddar cheese.
To make the filling:
In a large skillet on medium, brown the ground Italian sausage, breaking it up with a spatula as it cooks and cooking until no longer pink.
Once done, remove to a plate until ready to use.
Next, in the same skillet with the leftover grease, melt the butter on medium. Sauté the onion and the celery, stirring occasionally, until tender.
Stir in the apple, garlic, rubbed sage, fresh thyme, salt, and black pepper.
Cook a few minutes more, until the apple is tender and the spices, garlic, and herbs become fragrant.
Remove the veggies to a large bowl until ready to use.
To toast the pecans:
Roughly chop the pecans then toast them in a small skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
Once toasted and smelling nutty, remove from heat.
To make the white cheddar apple sausage stuffing:
Add the toasted pecans, shredded white cheddar, parsley, sausage, and bread to the bowl with the veggie mixture, then stir to combine.
Next, get out a separate small bowl and add the chicken broth and the egg. Whisk to combine.
Slowly pour the mixture over the stuffing ingredients, stirring as you pour, and gradually adding more as the liquid absorbs.
Get out an 8×8 pan and lightly grease it.
Spread the stuffing into the pan, smoothing the top out with the back of a spoon.
Cover with foil and bake for a while, then remove the foil and bake several more minutes, until the top is golden brown in color.
To serve:
Serve white cheddar apple sausage stuffing with your favorite Thanksgiving and holiday sides and mains! Enjoy.
Tips:
- If you don’t have white cheddar, you can always use a regular sharp cheddar. You can also switch out the apple for another tart-ish apple such as McIntosh or Pink Lady.
- Feel free to use hot Italian sausage if you want this stuffing to have a little kick! You can also add some crushed red pepper to the filling.
- No baguette? You can substitute with sourdough bread or any other hearty bread you have. Just make sure it’s baked fresh the day before you plan to make this. That part is really important if you don’t want soggy stuffing!
- This stuffing can be prepped and assembled in the pan up to 2 days ahead! It can also be frozen for up to 1 month before baking. So versatile and easy!
Need some more holiday side ideas?
And for the main course?
White Cheddar Apple Sausage Stuffing
Equipment
Ingredients
For the white cheddar apple sausage stuffing:
- 7 cups Day-Old Baguette sliced and ripped into small pieces
- 1 lb. Ground Italian Sausage
- 2 tbsp Butter
- 1 Small Yellow Onion diced
- 2 Celery Ribs diced
- 1 Small Honeycrisp Apple peeled and diced
- 4 Garlic Cloves minced
- ¾ tsp Rubbed Sage
- 1 tsp Fresh Thyme removed from 3-4 sprigs
- ½ tsp Salt
- ¼ tsp Black Pepper
- ⅓ cup Pecans roughly chopped, toasted
- 1 cup White Cheddar Cheese freshly shredded
- 1 ½ tbsp Parsley chopped
- 1 ½ cups Chicken Broth
- 1 Large Egg
Instructions
To prep the bread:
- Preheat the oven to 300°F and get out a large baking sheet.
- Slice the baguette, then rip it up into small pieces. You can also chop it if you want.
- Spread the pieces out onto the baking sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes.
- Once the bread is done, take it out of the oven and set aside until ready to use, then increase the oven temp to 350°F.
- While we wait though, we can be prepping the rest of the veggies, herbs, and cheese.
To make the filling:
- In a large skillet on medium, brown the ground Italian sausage, breaking it up with a spatula as it cooks and cooking until no longer pink, 6-8 minutes.
- Once done, remove to a plate until ready to use.
- In the same skillet with the leftover grease, melt the butter on medium.
- Sauté the onion and the celery, stirring occasionally, until tender, 5 minutes.
- Stir in the apple, garlic, rubbed sage, fresh thyme, salt, and black pepper.
- Cook 3 minutes more, stirring occasionally, until the apple is tender and the spices, garlic, and herbs become fragrant.
- Remove to a large bowl until ready to use.
To toast the pecans:
- Toast the chopped pecans in a small skillet over medium heat for 3-5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Once toasted and smelling nutty, remove from heat.
To make the white cheddar apple sausage stuffing:
- Add the toasted pecans, shredded white cheddar, parsley, sausage, and dried out bread to the bowl with the veggie mixture, then stir to combine.
- Get out a separate small bowl and add the chicken broth and the egg.
- Whisk to combine.
- Slowly pour the mixture over the stuffing ingredients, stirring as you pour, and gradually adding more as the liquid absorbs.
- Get out an 8×8 pan and lightly grease it.
- Spread the stuffing into the pan, smoothing the top out with the back of a spoon.
- Cover with foil and bake for 25 minutes.
- Remove the foil and bake 17-20 more minutes, until the top is golden brown in color.
To serve:
- Serve white cheddar apple sausage stuffing with your favorite Thanksgiving and holiday sides and mains! Enjoy.
Nutrition
Please be aware that nutritional values are approximate and intended as a helpful guide
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