Everybody loves this homemade sausage dressing, made from scratch with breakfast sausage meat. This perfect old-fashioned Thanksgiving side dish is cooked outside the turkey for safety. It is a smaller recipe that is easy to scale to a small batch of sausage dressing for two with fewer leftovers or up for the small army size.
🍞Ingredients
Bread—cheap white
Breakfast sausage—always Bob Evens at our house
Eggs
Milk or broth—usually chicken or turkey broth
Onion and celery
Pantry ingredients—thyme, sage, dry parsley, salt, black pepper
Jump To (scroll for more)
- 🍞Ingredients
- 👨🍳How to Make Mom's Sausage Dressing—Step-by-Step Photo Instructions
- ⏲️How long to cook sausage dressing
- 🍞The Bread—options and variations
- 🐖Sausage—options and variations
- 🧂Seasoning—options and variations
- 🧅Vegetables
- 🫗Milk or broth
- ↕️Pan size and making a smaller or larger recipe
- 📅Making dressing ahead
- ⚕️Food safety for dressing
- 🍽️Serving
- ❄️How to Store and Reheat Leftovers
- ❓FAQs
- 👨🍳Dressing vs. Stuffing
- 📖 Recipe
Featured Comment by Dolores :
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐"LOVE it."
Call it dressing or call it stuffing, but Mom's Sausage Dressing is a classic Thanksgiving must-make. Made with savory breakfast sausage, bread, and spices, it has a crunch, tasty sausage, and great flavor. It has been a favorite at our house for over 40 years.
This recipe was developed by my wife. She tweaked it a bit early on, but it has stayed the same for decades. It's good enough to be the main event but also an excellent side dish that can easily be adjusted to the needed amount.
Already a smaller recipe (6-8 servings), it can be scaled down to a small batch recipe for sausage dressing with the instructions below.
👨🍳How to Make Mom's Sausage Dressing—Step-by-Step Photo Instructions
1. Prepare the bread by ripping it into small pieces.
2. Cook sausage and move to a bowl.
3. Cook the celery and onion in the sausage fat.
4. Whisk the eggs with spices and broth or milk.
5. Mix the liquid, cooked onion, celery, and sausage with the bread.
6. Spread into a casserole baking dish.
7. Bake at 350° for about 1 hour until well browned and the internal temperature reaches 165 °.
For more details, keep reading. See the Recipe Card below for complete instructions and to print.
⏲️How long to cook sausage dressing
Cooking time is usually about an hour. The surface should be nicely brown, but more importantly, for safety, the internal temperature must reach 165°.
There are many variables. The biggest is the thickness of the casserole, which is mainly determined by the baking dish you choose. Smaller amounts cook faster, and larger amounts may take longer.
🍞The Bread—options and variations
We usually use standard white bread, but you can use any bread you like. You will need about 15 standard slices of bread, more if thinly sliced. This will be slightly under one standard-size loaf.
We have tried a variety of special "stuffing" breads over the years, but they did not add anything to the final results. If you use pre-made spiced-up "stuffing" bread, you may need to adjust the spices since they are frequently seasoned.
We either hand-rip the bread into small pieces or dice it into small bread cubes. Prepare the bread first and let it set out exposed to the air while we prepare the rest. More drying does not seem necessary.
🐖Sausage—options and variations
I recommend breakfast pork sausage, although many recipes use Italian sausage. We are a Bob Evan's sausage household, but you can use the sausage you love for sausage stuffing. Of course, you can also try turkey sausage or other alternative sausage.
The sausage seasoning will significantly contribute to the taste, so I don't recommend unseasoned ground pork. If you like it cooked, you will like it in the dressing.
🧂Seasoning—options and variations
Much of the taste will come from your choice of sausage and any special bread.
In addition to salt and pepper, the savory flavors of thyme, sage, and parsley are used. Some people will add rosemary or poultry seasoning.
Fresh is preferred if you have them available, but the dried version is a good substitute.
🧅Vegetables
The standard celery and onion are added after being sauteed briefly in the sausage fat. Some people prefer to use butter, and that is fine. However, the dressing cooks too fast to skip the saute.
🫗Milk or broth
Part of the fluid comes from the eggs, which hold the dressing together. Since you only need a small amount of additional liquid, we generally use milk or broth.
We use Penzey's turkey base to make our turkey broth for the gravy and commonly use that in the dressing. Otherwise, I suggest chicken broth.
When adding the liquid/egg/herb mixture, get all the bread coated, but do not over-mix.
↕️Pan size and making a smaller or larger recipe
The full recipe makes 6 to 8 servings. Perfect for our "for two" household since we love leftovers and plan for several meals of leftovers or can freeze some. Double for the army size, or make it a small batch for two with a half recipe.
The exact volume of the recipe can vary due to the type of bread you use. You do not want to overcompress the dressing, so any pan that fits works. Too big is better than too small. Here are some estimates.
- A full recipe in a casserole dish of about 1 ½ quarts or a 6X9 deep pan.
- A double size fits in a 2 ½ quart dish or a 9X13 casserole or cake pan.
- A half recipe usually fits in a 6-inch round or another small baking dish.
- Use the recipe card and adjust the number of servings.
- Use the amount of ingredients in the ingredient list, not the instructions—those do not adjust.
- If the scaling of the amount leads to a fraction of an egg, round up to the higher whole egg. And don't be afraid to add more sausage or other ingredients.
- Use an oven-safe baking dish. The dressing should be 1 to 2 inches thick.
- Cook until browning and 165° for safety. Thicker and bigger will take longer. Thinner or smaller will cook faster.
📅Making dressing ahead
The USDA recommends NOT making dressing/stuffing ahead and refrigerating. You can fully cook the dish and reheat it to 165° later. But once mixed, the dressing should be fully cooked.
I prefer to cut the bread, the vegetables, and cook the sausage ahead. Store appropriately until needed—assembly goes quickly with those things done.
⚕️Food safety for dressing
Sausage dressing has eggs, so it must reach 165° to be safe to consume. But even without the egg, the turkey's cavity is a contaminated area, and the cavity and everything in it must also reach 165° to be safe to eat.
So you have four choices.
- You can stuff the cavity and cook to the 165° temperature for the center of the stuffing. But the turkey will be way overcooked and dry. (Not good from the taste standpoint.)
- If you stuff the turkey and cook it to the correct endpoint of 165° in the breast, the dressing will never reach a safe temperature. (This is not good and very dangerous.)
- Use the Cook Illustrated (CI) method of putting the stuffing in the cavity in cheesecloth, then removing it halfway through cooking. Place it in a baking dish to finish cooking it to a safe temperature. (This is very CI and very fussy.)
- Or cook the turkey and the sausage stuffing/dressing separately and safely. (Great all around.)
For more safety tips, see the USDA Food Safety Page.
🍽️Serving
This sausage dressing is usually served with Roasted Turkey Breast, Sweet Potato Casserole, Green Bean Casserole, and many other holiday traditions. See Thanksgiving Recipe Roundup for more recommendations.
❄️How to Store and Reheat Leftovers
After cooking, sausage dressing is good for 3-4 days if sealed airtight in the refrigerator. For more extended storage, use your freezer. Store in an airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months.
Reheat in the oven or microwave and serve with gravy. Reheated leftovers should be heated to 165° before serving.
❓FAQs
The egg is there to stick things together. Without eggs holding the dressing together, it will just fall apart.
The short answer is that it is not safe. The dressing must reach 165° in all parts of the dressing to be safe to eat. This is due to the eggs and the location inside the turkey.
To reach 165° in the center of the stuffing, the turkey will be way overcooked and dry out.
👨🍳Dressing vs. Stuffing
I grew up using the term "stuffing" over fifty years ago. It was always cooked in the cavity of the turkey—we lived through it. In those years, many differentiated the two terms by using "stuffing" if it was cooked in the bird and "dressing" if it was cooked outside the bird.
But in recent years, we also developed a better understanding of food safety, and the two terms have merged. They are now used interchangeably, even by the National Turkey Federation.
So, use the term you want. I seem to go back and forth frequently, but I try to stay with dressing.
For many years, stuffing went in the bird. Now, it is baked in a pan for safety, but it is still a great treat at holiday gatherings with lots of herbs, celery, sausage, and crunchy bread, thanks to the baking in a pan.
📖 Recipe
Mom's Sausage Dressing
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Ingredients
- 15 slices bread - a little under a loaf, do a little extra
- 1 lb breakfast sausage
- 2 ribs celery - diced
- 1 onion - small
- ¾ teaspoon dry thyme
- ¾ teaspoon dry sage
- 3 tablespoons dry parsley
- 2 eggs - slightly beaten
- ¼ cup milk or broth
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- Start by ripping or cutting about 15 slices of bread (about one loaf) into small pieces or cubes—dice 2 ribs of celery to make about 1 cup and one small onion.
- Prepare spices if fresh—¾ teaspoon dry thyme leaves or 3 times that if fresh. ¾ teaspoon dry ground sage or double if fresh. And dry parsley 3 tablespoons or ½ cup of fresh parsley.
- In a Dutch oven or large skillet over medium heat, cook 1 lb sausage until brown. With a slotted spoon, remove the sausage into a medium bowl and set aside.
- Pour all but 2 tablespoons of the pan's drippings out. In the remaining drippings, cook the onion and celery over medium-high heat until tender (about ten minutes), stirring occasionally.
- In a separate bowl, beat 2 eggs, ¼ cups of milk, parsley, thyme, sage, ½ teaspoon of salt, and ¼ teaspoon of black pepper. You can use turkey or chicken broth instead of milk if you wish.
- Mix all together in a large bowl with a wooden spoon or clean hands, but reserve about ⅓ of the bread and add it slowly at the end of mixing to get it completely covered but very dry mix. You may not need all the bread. You may need to add a bit more milk or broth if you add too much bread and can't get it all moist.
- Place in an oven-safe pan.
- Bake at 350° for about 1 hour until well browned and at 165° internal temperature.
Recipe Notes
Pro Tips
- You can use the bread and sausage you like, or you can change the ingredients to suit your taste. We use only white bread and Bob Evans breakfast sausage.
- Do a little extra bread; you may want it.
- The recipe, as written, is cut down. The adjustment of up or down is covered in the post.
- The pan size should allow for a 1—to 2-inch thick casserole—if it fits, it will cook fine. A single recipe usually fits in a 1 ½-quart casserole dish or a 6 by 9 dish. A double recipe needs a 2 ½-quart dish or a 9 by 13 dish. The type of bread used will affect the pan size.
- Do not try to cook inside the turkey. It is not safe.
- You can cook the giblets on the stovetop ahead of time, add the broth for the milk, and add the cooked meat.
- I prefer to dice the bread first and let it dry while I cook the sausage, cut the veggies, and mix the wet components.
- Cook until golden brown and 165° internal temperature (for food safety.)
- Leftovers are good refrigerated for 3-4 days or frozen for about 3 months.
Your Own Private Notes
To adjust the recipe size:
You may adjust the number of servings in this recipe card under servings. This does the math for the ingredients for you. BUT it does NOT adjust the text of the instructions. So you need to do that yourself.
Nutrition Estimate
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Editor's note: Originally Published November 29, 2011. Updated with expanded options, refreshed photos, and a table of contents to help navigation. Enjoy this Thanksgiving Classic.
Fae says
Did you peek in my Moms recipe box??? This is my family's recipe too!
I have been fussing with trying to reduce this to a small recipe!
So many thanks to you for doing this!!
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan says
Hi Fae,
Welcome to the blog.
I talked with my wife and she said the basic recipe was from her Betty Crocker cookbook. That would be the 1972 edition.
Thanks for the note and rating.
Dan
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan says
Any recipe on this site and almost every recipe site will state cover if it should be. This is uncovered.
Carolyn Stephens says
I have plenty of "small army" recipes. I was looking forward to a stuffing recipe for two (with leftovers). That's why I subscribe to your blog.
DrDan says
Hi Carolyn,
Welcome to the blog.
This one is easy to adjust. I left it this one in the version we usually make.
You can easily adjust the ingredients in the recipe card. Set it to 3 servings and you will have a nice for two with large servings. It will not adjust the instructions.
Hope that helps.
Dan
Leslie says
How far in advance can I make the turkey sausage stuffings?
DrDan says
With the raw egg, I wouldn't make ahead. You can get the sausage cooked etc but assemble and cook that day.
DrDan
Chris says
I don't need anything besides that for a meal. I crave savory sausage stuffing and have been known to eat it for breakfast....cold.
Dolores says
Me too! LOVE it.