Italian sausage stuffing is packed full of savory herbs, crunchy pecans mixed into tender bread. This delicious side dish is packed full of flavor, and is one of our must-make dishes for Thanksgiving dinner and Christmas dinner.

A casserole dish filled with stuffing and mushrooms.

Table of Contents

Why We Love Stuffing With Italian Sausage

Flavorful Stuffing Side Dish – This stuffing is full of savory flavor and is worth adding the extra spices for the perfect stuffing alongside any turkey recipe.
Easy To Prep Ahead – Make this stuffing up to the point of baking up to 24 hours in advance! This frees you up later when you are trying to balance multiple dishes at once.
Amazing Holiday Dish – We make this delicious stuffing for either Thanksgiving or Christmas almost every year for the holiday season. This Italian sausage stuffing recipe has become a family favorite. My husband in particular says this is his favorite holiday side dish, he always makes a stuffing sandwich the second day.

Try more great holiday favorites like the roast turkey tenderloin, baked candied yams, gooey green bean casserole with bacon or the delicious honey orange ham glaze.

Ingredients For Stuffing With Italian Sausage

Ingredients for sausage stuffing in bowls from above with text labels.

Find the full printable recipe with specific measurements and directions below in the recipe card.

Stuffing Ingredients

medium onion diced small
celery diced small, about 1 cup for three stalks
carrots grated, about 1 cup for three carrots
mushrooms diced, fresh, also known as white button mushrooms
butter salted, divided
Italian sausage casings removed if using links
Pepperidge Farm stuffing mix or 12-16 ounces of stuffing mix
chicken broth low sodium
pecans

Spices Needed

poultry seasoning
garlic powder
paprika
oregano
parsley
salt
pepper

How To Make Stuffing With Italian Sausage

Spray a 9 x 13 casserole dish generously with oil and set to the side. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Place a large skillet over medium heat. Melt butter in the pan, the chopped onion and celery in the butter and stir. Cook the onions and celery mixture until just soft. Add carrots and mushrooms to the pan. Cook and stir all the vegetables until soft. Remove vegetables and place in a large bowl.

A frying pan with diced onions and celery with bowls of carrots and mushrooms nearby.

Add sausage to the pan over medium heat. Cook the sausage, breaking it up with a wooden spatula until cooked all the way through and browned, usually about 5-7 minutes. Place the cooked sausage crumbles in the bowl with the vegetables.

A frying pan with broken up raw sausage in the pan.

Ground beef, carrots and spices in a large bowl before mixing.

Sprinkle all of the spices including the poultry seasoning, garlic powder, paprika, oregano, parsley, salt and pepper to the top of the vegetables and sausage and mix well. Add the stuffing mix and broth to the bowl and continue mixing until combined. The stuffing mix will start to become soft and absorb all of the liquid. You should not have excess liquid in the bowl when you have finished mixing.

A glass bowl filled with meat, vegetables and stufifng mixture with spices and broth in bowls nearby on the counter.

Place two tablespoons of butter in a clean skillet and melt over medium heat. Add pecans to butter and stir to toast the pecans, about 3-5 minutes until they just begin to brown then remove from the heat.

A frying pan with chopped pecans in melted butter.

Scoop the stuffing mix (greased) 9×13 baking dish. Stuffing will fill the pan very full but should fit. Sprinkle warm pecans over top of the stuffing. Slice the remaining two tablespoons of butter into small thin pieces. Lay the butter pieces evenly over the stuffing.

A rectangular casserole dish filled with stuffing.

A rectangle baking dish filled with stuffing and pats of butter on top.

Cover the pan with foil. Place the stuffing in the oven. Bake at 350 for 35-45 minutes or until hot for serving. Then enjoy!

A rectangle baking dish with stuffing topped with pecans.

Can I Swap Or Remove The Nuts?

Pecans give this stuffing a lot of great texture, but you can swap in swap chopped walnuts.

Chopped or slivered almonds can also make a nice swap for pecans. I personally prefer the flavor that pecans or walnuts bring to the stuffing.

You can also leave the nuts out entirely if you prefer.

Can I Use A Different Brand Of Stuffing Mix?

You can use a different brand of stuffing mix if you prefer, you want a bag between 12-16 ounces. I use the Pepperidge Farm stuffing mix because I really like the flavor profile it already has, and it is always convenient at my store.

Can I Make This Stuffing With Fresh Bread?

Yes you can use bread cubes instead of the stuffing mix. You will need an entire loaf of bread for this recipe. I prefer using a chewy french or white bread when making this recipe with a loaf of bread.

It also either needs to be stale bread and crunchy, or toasted in the oven to make it into a dry bread before mixing it into the stuffing.

I also often will double the poultry seasoning in this recipe when making it with fresh bread. The stuffing mix already has a little bit of seasoning included.

How To Toast Fresh Bread For Stuffing

To toast the bread, cut it into cubes that are about an inch or so. Place the bread on a baking sheet or pan and spray it lightly with cooking oil.

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees. Place the bread in the oven for 25-40 minutes, stirring about every 15 minutes. Toast until the bread is golden brown.

Can I Use Another Type Of Sausage?

Mild Italian sausage or spicy sausage are my favorite to use in this recipe. You can use a turkey sausage or chicken sausage if you prefer, though the stuffing may have a little less flavor. You could also use a sausage mixture without Italian flavors.

Links or loose ground sausage can both be used. If using fresh links of sausage, just remove the casing before browning it just like you would for creamy sausage pasta or pork sausage meatloaf.

Sausage stuffing on a plate being lifted with a with a fork.

Other Holiday Recipes To Serve With Stuffing

Here are a few other savory recipes perfect to add to your holiday table.

Roast Turkey Tenderloin or Slow Cooker Boneless Turkey Breast With Cranberry Sauce

Orange Honey Ham Glaze

Stuffed Pork Tenderloin

Honey Roasted Baby Carrots

Green Bean Casserole with Bacon

Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Cornbread Muffins

Homemade Cranberry Sauce

If you have holiday leftovers, make my Thanksgiving Leftovers Pizza Recipe, the family goes crazy for it!

Can I Prep This Stuffing With Sausage Ahead Of Time?

Yes, you can absolutely prep this stuffing ahead of time up to 24 hours in advance. This is our favorite stuffing for Thanksgiving, and we will often prepare it up to the point of baking the day before or the evening before our feast.

You can bake the stuffing in advance and then reheat it the day of, but I find it does tend to make the stuffing a little more dry when you heat it a second time.

Can I Use This Recipe To Stuff Turkey Inside?

It’s generally not recommended to stuff stuffing inside of the turkey anymore. It’s really easy to have food safety issues, which is why I make this stuffing on the side. Read more about the food safety concerns of stuffing a turkey.

How Long Will This Stuffing Last?

Expect this sausage will last for about three days once baked. Store leftovers in a covered airtight container in the refrigerator if possible.

You can also cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil or saran wrap. This is the best way to keep it fresh when it’s still in the pan and your pan doesn’t have a lid.