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This Sourdough Stuffing Recipe is the kind of Thanksgiving side dish that’ll have folks going back for seconds before the turkey even hits their plate! Buttery, toasted sourdough bread gets tossed with savory breakfast sausage, sautéed onions and celery, fresh herbs, crunchy pecans, and sweet dried cranberries, then baked until golden brown and crispy on top. And those buttery edges with that soft, flavorful center? Absolutely incredible!
For more thanksgiving sides, try this bourbon sweet potato casserole, sage and sausage stuffing, and slow cooker collard greens!
One of my favorite things about this time of year is ALL the comfort food! Don’t get me wrong, turkey is great and baked pot roast is delicious, but let’s be clear – the holidays are ALL about the sides! Give me mac and cheese, sweet potatoes, collard greens, and a big ol’ pan of homemade stuffing, and I’m a happy camper! This sourdough stuffing is inspired by my mom’s recipe, but I’ve added my own twist with fresh herbs, tart cranberries, and crunchy pecans. It’s buttery, savory, a little sweet, and exactly what I want sitting next to a heaping scoop of Southern baked mac and cheese!
Sourdough Stuffing Recipe Overview
- ⭐ Difficulty: Easy
- ⏱️ Prep Time: 25 minutes
- 🍞 Cook Time: 1 hour
- 🕒 Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes
- 👨👩👧👦 Servings: 8
- 🌿 Made With: Sourdough bread, breakfast sausage, celery, onions, fresh sage, thyme, rosemary, pecans, dried cranberries, chicken broth, eggs, and butter.
- ❤️ Why You’ll Love It: This sourdough sausage stuffing has a buttery, crispy top, a soft and savory center, and just the right touch of sweetness from dried cranberries. Toasting the bread first keeps it from turning mushy!
- 🦃 Perfect For: Thanksgiving, Christmas, Friendsgiving, and Sunday dinners.
Table of Contents
Key Ingredients
(The full ingredient list and measurements can be found in the recipe card below.)
- Sourdough bread: I love using homemade sourdough, but a good bakery loaf works beautifully! You’ll need about 12 cups of 1-inch bread cubes. Its sturdy texture helps the bread hold its shape after absorbing the broth.
- Breakfast sausage: The savory backbone of this stuffing! I use breakfast sausage because its seasoning works beautifully with the fresh herbs and slightly tangy sourdough.
- Fresh herbs: Sage, thyme, and rosemary give this stuffing that classic holiday flavor. Fresh sage is especially good here, honey! Its earthy flavor is made for sausage stuffing.
- Celery and onions: These soften as they cook with the sausage, adding sweetness, texture, and plenty of savory flavor.
- Pecans and dried cranberries: My favorite little twist! The pecans add a buttery crunch, while the cranberries bring a pop of sweetness that balances the rich sausage.
- Chicken broth and eggs: The broth moistens the toasted bread, while the eggs help bind everything together as the stuffing bakes.
- Salted butter: A generous drizzle of melted butter adds richness and helps give the stuffing those beautiful golden edges.
Substitutions
- Switch up the sausage. Mild or spicy breakfast sausage works beautifully. You can also use turkey sausage or Italian sausage for a different flavor.
- Make it nut-free. Simply leave out the pecans.
- Swap the dried cranberries. Dried cherries are a delicious alternative if you want a slightly different sweet-and-tart flavor.
- Make it vegetarian. Omit the sausage and use vegetable broth in place of chicken broth. Add extra sautéed mushrooms for a more savory filling.
How To Make Sourdough Stuffing
Step 1: Toast the sourdough bread. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Tear or cut the sourdough into 1-inch cubes and spread them on a rimmed baking sheet. Lightly drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and toast for 10–15 minutes until the bread feels dry and slightly golden. Increase the oven temperature to 400°F.
Step 2: Cook the sausage and vegetables. In a large skillet over medium heat, cook the breakfast sausage with the diced onions and celery, breaking the sausage into crumbles as it browns. Cook until the sausage is no longer pink and the vegetables have softened. Season with salt and pepper, add the fresh sage, thyme, and rosemary, and cook for another 3–4 minutes until fragrant.
Step 3: Prepare the broth mixture. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and chicken broth until well combined.
Step 4: Combine the stuffing. In a separate large bowl, combine the toasted sourdough, sausage mixture, pecans, and dried cranberries. Gradually add the broth mixture, about 1 cup at a time, gently tossing between additions until the bread is evenly moistened. Drizzle with melted butter and toss again. Britney’s Tip: The bread should feel soft and moist, not drenched or sitting in a puddle of liquid!
Step 5: Bake until golden. Grease a 9×13-inch baking dish and transfer the stuffing into an even layer. Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 400°F for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 15–20 minutes, until the top is golden brown, the edges are crisp, and the center reaches 165°F. Let it rest for a few minutes before serving.
Britney’s Pro Tips
- Use day-old bread or toast fresh sourdough. Slightly stale, dried-out bread absorbs the broth without turning mushy. If you’re using fresh sourdough, toast the cubes in the oven first. You want them dry and slightly firm, not soft and squishy!
- Add the broth gradually. Not every sourdough loaf absorbs liquid the same way! Start with a little broth mixture at a time and gently toss until the bread is moistened. You may not need every last drop.
- Don’t overmix the stuffing. Toss gently to keep those beautiful bread cubes intact. You want a tender, textured stuffing, not a bowl of mashed bread!
- Use fresh herbs. Sage, rosemary, and thyme bring so much flavor to this recipe. Cooking them briefly with the sausage helps release their aroma before everything goes into the oven.
- Bake covered, then uncovered. Covering the stuffing helps retain moisture while the center heats through. Removing the foil allows the top to brown and develop those crispy, buttery edges!
Serving Suggestions
This Sourdough Stuffing belongs right in the middle of your Thanksgiving spread! Serve it alongside Herb Roasted Turkey with Citrus Gravy or Brown Sugar Mustard Glazed Ham, Slow Cooker Collard Greens, and Grandma’s Baked Mac and Cheese.
And don’t forget the Bourbon Sweet Potato Casserole or Old Fashioned Candied Sweet Potatoes! Between the savory sausage stuffing, buttery vegetables, and sweet potatoes, honey, that’s a holiday plate worth looking forward to!
Storage and Reheating
Store leftover sourdough stuffing in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3–4 days. To reheat, add a splash of chicken broth, cover with foil, and warm in a 350°F oven until the center reaches 165°F. Remove the foil during the last few minutes to bring back those crispy, buttery edges!
Sourdough Stuffing Recipe FAQs
Absolutely! Sourdough is one of my favorite breads for homemade stuffing because its sturdy, chewy texture holds up well to broth. It also has a subtle tang that balances the rich sausage, butter, and fresh herbs.
Nope! Day-old bread works great, but fresh sourdough is perfectly fine as long as you toast it first. The goal is to remove some of the bread’s moisture so it can absorb the broth without becoming mushy.
Usually, it’s because the bread wasn’t dry enough or too much broth was added. Toast the sourdough before mixing, add the liquid gradually, and bake uncovered for the final 15–20 minutes to help the top crisp up.
Yes! I recommend prepping the bread, sausage, and vegetable mixture separately the day before. Store everything properly, then combine with the broth and eggs shortly before baking. This keeps holiday prep manageable without compromising the texture.
More Thanksgiving Sides
Thanksgiving
Stove Top Candied Yams
Main Course
3 Cheese Mac and Cheese Recipe
Appetizers
Brioche Dinner Rolls
Thanksgiving
Slow Cooker Green Beans with Smoked Turkey
If you make this Sourdough Stuffing, please leave a star rating on the recipe card and a comment below! You can also tag @BritneyBreaksBread on Instagram and use #britneybreaksbread so I can see your beautiful creations.
Sourdough Stuffing with Sausage
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 Loaf Sourdough Bread , (cut into chunks, you'll need about 12 cups)
- 2 tbsp Olive Oil, (more if needed)
- 1 1/2 lbs Breakfast Sausage
- 1/2 Yellow Onion, (diced)
- 4 Celery Stalks, (diced)
- 6 Fresh Sage Leaves, (chopped)
- 2 tbsp Fresh Thyme
- 1 tbsp Fresh Rosemary, (chopped)
- 3 Large Eggs
- 3 cups Chicken Broth
- 1/2 cup Pecans, (chopped)
- 1/2 cup Dried Cranberries
- 1/2 cup Salted Butter, (melted)
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Tear bread into medium sized bread cubes (about 1-inch cubes) and place on a rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with a little olive oil, kosher salt, and black pepper. Toast the bread in the oven on the top rack for 10-15 minutes, until hardened and slightly golden brown. Increase the oven temperature to 400 degrees F. 1 Loaf Sourdough Bread 2 tbsp Olive Oil
- While the bread toasts, cook the sausage. Add sausage to a large skillet over medium heat. Then add diced onions and celery and continue to cook down until sausage is thoroughly cooked and onions have softened. Season with salt and pepper. Then add fresh herbs – sage, thyme, and rosemary, and cook until fragrant, about 3-4 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside. 1 1/2 lbs Breakfast Sausage 1/2 Yellow Onion 4 Celery Stalks 6 Fresh Sage Leaves 2 tbsp Fresh Thyme 1 tbsp Fresh Rosemary Salt and pepper
- In a large bowl, whisk together eggs and chicken broth. In a separate bowl, combine toasted bread, sausage and onion mixture, pecans and dried cranberries. Gently fold everything together then begin pouring in the egg and chicken broth mixture – one cup at a time, tossing between each addition. The bread should be moist, not wet/drenched. 3 Large Eggs 3 cups Chicken Broth 1/2 cup Pecans 1/2 cup Dried Cranberries
- Pour melted butter on top and toss to coat. Generously season with salt and pepper as the dry bread tends to soak up a lot of the flavor. 1/2 cup Salted Butter
- Spray a casserole dish with oil or rub with butter. Add bread mixture into the dish and bake in the oven for 30 minutes covered with aluminum foil. Remove the foil and continue to bake for another 15-20 minutes uncovered.
Notes
- Use a large mixing bowl to mix everything together. This may seem like a no brainer but trying to mix the breadcrumbs and the broth is difficult if using a small bowl.
- Add the liquid to the breadcrumbs one cup at a time to allow the liquid to evenly disperse throughout the stuffing. This prevents some pieces from being too dry and other from becoming too soggy.
- Use fresh herbs! Fresh herbs provide the most flavor. Be sure not to overcook your herbs as they’ll taste bitter.
- The best bread to use is day old bread that’s kind of dry and hard. When the bread reaches this point, it holds onto the liquid better and won’t become soggy.
- Make this recipe vegetarian by omitting the sausage and using vegetable broth in place of chicken stock. You can also use white wine for a little extra flavor.
- For a gluten free option, use gluten free bread instead.
- Omit the pecans if you have a nut allergy.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Can you make this up through step 5 and freeze and bake later? If so, how long would you bake?
Yes, you can make it up until step 5, just don’t bake it. Cover it with aluminum foil and freeze for 3-4 days, then heat in the oven at 350 degrees F uncovered until fully warmed throughout and crispy on top.