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.
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.
This dries out the bread and basically turns it into croutons! Pretty cool, right?
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 8x8 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
Serving: 1cupCalories: 316kcalCarbohydrates: 23gProtein: 14gFat: 18gSaturated Fat: 6.9gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2.2gMonounsaturated Fat: 7.4gTrans Fat: 0.1gCholesterol: 46mgSodium: 665mgPotassium: 214mgFiber: 2gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 378IUVitamin C: 3mgCalcium: 124mgIron: 2mg
Please be aware that nutritional values are approximate and intended as a helpful guide
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
