Easy Homemade Stovetop Stuffing with Sausage: Your Quick Thanksgiving Side

Forget the box and free up your oven this holiday season! This incredible homemade stovetop stuffing with sausage is made completely from scratch and comes together in just about 30 minutes. Bursting with savory flavors from rich sausage, fragrant fresh herbs, and tender vegetables, this easy skillet stuffing recipe is poised to become your new Thanksgiving favorite. It’s the perfect solution for a flavorful, comforting side dish without all the fuss.

This homemade stovetop stuffing with sausage confidently checks all these boxes! It’s designed for convenience, requiring only 30 minutes of your time on the stovetop, leaving your oven free for roasting the turkey or baking pies. More importantly, it delivers an incredibly cozy and satisfying flavor that will have everyone reaching for seconds. While it’s a wonderfully straightforward stuffing recipe, it’s packed with depth and richness thanks to the savory sausage, a generous amount of butter, and a medley of aromatic fresh herbs.

So this year, consider skipping the more complex baked stuffings or dressings that often demand prolonged oven time. And please, don’t even think about resorting to a bland boxed stuffing mix when you can create something so incredibly delicious and fresh. Serve this easy, from-scratch stovetop sausage stuffing instead, and prepare for rave reviews!

Table of Contents

• Ingredients You’ll Need for Stovetop Stuffing
• How to Make This Homemade Stovetop Stuffing Recipe
• Recipe Tips and FAQs for Perfect Stuffing
• Flavor Variations for Your Sausage Stuffing
• Can This Recipe Be Made Ahead?
• More Delicious Side Dishes for Your Table
• Get the Full Recipe

Ingredients You’ll Need for This Easy Stovetop Stuffing

Creating a truly flavorful homemade stuffing starts with quality ingredients. Here’s what you’ll need to gather for this delicious stovetop sausage stuffing:

• Bulk Ground Sausage: This is the star of our stuffing, providing a rich, savory depth that elevates the entire dish. You can opt for mild, spicy, or even Italian sausage depending on your preference. For a vegetarian version, simply omit the sausage and perhaps add extra vegetables or plant-based sausage.
• Onion, Celery, and Garlic: This classic aromatic trio forms the foundational flavor base, often referred to as the “holy trinity” in many savory recipes. They soften and release their sweet, pungent notes, infusing the stuffing with essential character.
• Unseasoned Dried Stuffing Bread Cubes: The secret to the speed and ease of this recipe! Using pre-dried cubes means you skip the step of drying out fresh bread, saving significant time. Look for them in the baking aisle or near boxed stuffing mixes in most grocery stores, especially around the holidays.
• Fresh Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme: Fresh herbs are highly recommended here as they impart a vibrant, aromatic fragrance and flavor that dried herbs simply can’t match. These traditional Thanksgiving herbs complement the sausage and vegetables beautifully. If fresh isn’t available, see our tips below for dried herb substitutions.
• Chicken Broth, Turkey Broth, or Vegetable Broth: The liquid that moistens and flavors our bread cubes. Using warm broth is crucial for ensuring the stuffing is perfectly tender and stays warm when served. Choose chicken or turkey broth for a richer flavor, or vegetable broth for a vegetarian option.
• Salted Butter: A generous amount of butter adds incredible richness, moistness, and a luxurious mouthfeel to the stuffing. It also helps in sautéing the vegetables and binding the flavors together.
• Salt and Pepper: Essential seasonings to enhance all the natural flavors of the ingredients. Adjust to your taste, remembering that some broths and sausages can be quite salty already.

Each ingredient plays a vital role in building the layers of flavor that make this from-scratch stuffing truly exceptional. Don’t underestimate the power of fresh, simple components!

How to Make This Homemade Stovetop Stuffing Recipe

This recipe is designed for maximum flavor with minimal effort. Follow these simple steps to create a delightful homemade stuffing right on your stovetop:

1. Cook the Sausage: Begin by browning your bulk ground sausage in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Break it apart with a spoon as it cooks until it’s completely cooked through and beautifully browned, which usually takes about 5-7 minutes. The browning process adds a significant amount of flavor to the stuffing. Once cooked, transfer the sausage to a paper towel-lined plate to drain any excess fat.
2. Sauté the Vegetables and Herbs: In the same skillet (no need to clean it, those bits of sausage flavor are a bonus!), melt the salted butter over medium heat. Add the chopped onions, celery, minced garlic, and the fresh, fragrant herbs (sage, rosemary, and thyme). Cook this mixture, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender and aromatic, typically about 5 minutes. This step builds the savory foundation of your stuffing.
3. Warm the Broth: While your vegetables are cooking, make sure your chicken, turkey, or vegetable broth is warm or hot. This is a crucial step that ensures the bread cubes absorb the liquid quickly and evenly, resulting in a perfectly tender stuffing that remains warm when you’re ready to serve. You can heat it gently on the stove in a separate saucepan or briefly in the microwave.
4. Combine Bread, Sausage, and Broth: Return the cooked sausage to the skillet with the tender vegetables. Add the dried stuffing bread cubes to the pan. Gently toss everything together to combine. Then, carefully pour the warm broth over the entire skillet, making sure to moisten as many bread cubes as possible. Stir very gently – you want to coat the bread without turning it into mush.
5. Cover and Rest: Once the broth is added and gently mixed, cover the skillet with a tight-fitting lid. Turn off the heat completely and let the stuffing sit undisturbed for 15-20 minutes. This allows the bread cubes ample time to fully soak up the flavorful broth, steam, and become wonderfully tender and moist.
6. Broil for a Toasted Golden Topping (Optional, but Recommended!): For that irresistible crispy, golden-brown topping, transfer your skillet (if oven-safe) to the broiler for 2-4 minutes. Keep a very close eye on it, as stuffing can go from perfectly toasted to burnt quickly. This step adds a fantastic textural contrast and an extra layer of flavor.
7. Serve Immediately: Your homemade stovetop stuffing is now ready to be enjoyed! You can serve it directly from the skillet for a rustic presentation or transfer it to a beautiful serving bowl. Garnish with a sprig of fresh herbs if desired.

And there you have it – a magnificent, flavorful, and incredibly easy homemade stuffing, ready to be the star of your holiday table!

Recipe Tips and FAQs for Perfect Stovetop Stuffing

To ensure your homemade stovetop stuffing turns out perfectly every time, here are some invaluable tips and answers to frequently asked questions:

• Choose the Right Skillet: A large skillet with a lid is ideal for this recipe. I particularly love using a wide cast iron skillet because it offers more surface area for browning the sausage and vegetables, which significantly deepens the flavor. Cast iron also holds heat wonderfully, helping the bread cubes absorb the broth evenly. However, any large pot or Dutch oven with a lid will work.
• Finding Dried Unseasoned Bread Cubes: These are your secret weapon for speed! Most grocery stores carry them, often located in the same aisle as boxed stuffing mixes, or sometimes in the bakery section, especially as Thanksgiving approaches. They save you the step of drying out fresh bread, making this a truly quick stovetop stuffing.
• Make Your Own Dried Bread Cubes: If you prefer to go completely from scratch, or can’t find pre-dried cubes, you can easily make your own. Simply cut any kind of bread (sourdough, white, whole wheat, challah) into very small, uniform cubes (about 1/4 to 1/2 inch). Arrange them in a single layer on a large baking sheet and let them air dry overnight, uncovered. Alternatively, you can bake them in a low oven (around 250°F / 120°C) for 20-30 minutes, tossing occasionally, until they are dried but not toasted. You’ll need about 5-6 cups total.
• How to Make This Dish Vegetarian: It’s incredibly simple! Just omit the bulk ground sausage entirely and ensure you use vegetable broth instead of chicken or turkey broth. You might consider adding extra vegetables like mushrooms or a finely diced bell pepper for added texture and flavor.
• Fresh Herbs Make a Difference: While dried herbs can be used in a pinch, fresh herbs (sage, rosemary, thyme) will provide the absolute best, most vibrant flavor and aroma. If you must use dried, substitute about 1 1/2 teaspoons of a good quality dried poultry seasoning blend for the fresh herbs.
• The Importance of Warm/Hot Broth: This isn’t just a suggestion, it’s a key technique! Adding warm or hot broth ensures that the bread cubes quickly absorb the liquid and prevents the overall temperature of the stuffing from dropping too much. This means your finished stovetop stuffing will be delightfully warm and ready to serve immediately after resting.
• Don’t Skip the Broiling Step! While technically optional, placing the stuffing under the broiler for a few minutes before serving creates an incredibly delicious, crispy, and golden-brown top layer. This textural contrast is a game-changer and adds an extra depth of flavor. Just be sure to watch it very carefully to prevent burning.
• Adjusting Moisture Levels: If your stuffing seems too dry after resting, you can gently stir in a little more warm broth (a tablespoon or two at a time) until it reaches your desired consistency. If it’s too wet, don’t panic. You can uncover it and cook on low heat for a few minutes, stirring gently, to allow some of the liquid to evaporate.
• Serving Suggestions: This versatile stuffing pairs wonderfully with roast turkey, chicken, ham, or pork. Don’t forget the gravy, and a side of cranberry sauce is always a welcome addition!
• Storage: Store any leftover stuffing in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days.

Can This Homemade Stovetop Stuffing Be Made Ahead?

More Delicious Side Dishes for Your Holiday Table

Round out your holiday feast or any special meal with these other fantastic side dish recipes that pair perfectly with our homemade stovetop sausage stuffing:

Get the Full Recipe for Homemade Stovetop Stuffing with Sausage

This recipe for Easy Homemade Stovetop Stuffing with Sausage was originally published in November 2020, and was created in partnership with Go Bold With Butter. Thank you for supporting partnerships with brands I love and believe in, which make Completely Delicious possible. All opinions are always 100% my own.