Apple, Cranberry and Sausage Stuffing
Can you believe Thanksgiving is just next week? I swear these past few months have just flown by! This time of year is one of my favorites because it is filled with family gatherings and delicious foods. I am always looking for new recipes to share during the holidays and I decided to take one of my favorite dishes and make it unique. I don’t want to show up to Thanksgiving dinner with just any stuffing… I was to provide a stuffing so good that people will be begging for for seconds! This inspiration led to the creation of apple, cranberry and sausage stuffing and I can not wait to share the results with you!
For this recipe you are going to need to following ingredients:
- 1 lb Johnsonville’s Ground Italian Sausage
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 ribs celery, diced
- 1 granny smith apple, peeled and diced
- 3 cups stuffing mix
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1⁄2 cup dried cranberries
- 1 egg
If you are short on time, feel free to use some stuffing mix you find at the grocery store. If you are feeling a bit more ambitious, try and make some homemade stuffing to give this dish an ever more scrumptious flavor. There are several different ways to make your own, simply go on Pinterest and find the method that works best for you.
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees, ten spray a 9×13 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray and set aside. Cook the sausage in pan, stirring to crumble and then rinsing and draining once cooked. For this recipe we used the Johnsonville’s Ground Italian Sausage because it is all natural and already contains great flavor and seasoning. Another great thing about this sausage is that it comes in three flavors (mild, sweet, and hot) which allows you to really add some flavor to any recipe you use.
Return the cooked sausage to the stove top and add the chopped onion and celery, cooking for about 5 minutes, or until vegetables are softened.
In a large bowl, combine your sausage mixture, diced apple, stuffing mix, chicken broth, cranberries and egg. Stir to combine and then pour into your baking dish. Cover the stuffing with foil and bake for 25 minutes. You will then want to remove the foil and bake for an additional 5 minutes so you can give it that crispy outer layer.
I was so surprised how delicious this came out, the flavors complementing each other surprisingly well! This is a great alternative to traditional stuffing if you are looking to change things up. This is definitely going to be a crowd pleaser at Thanksgiving dinner this year!
We hope you enjoyed this recipe! Let us know in the comments below if you tried this out and what you thought about adding the Johnsonville’s Ground Italian Sausage to your stuffing!