| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 2 hr 10 min |
| Prep: | 25 min |
| Cook: | 1 hr 45 min |
| Yield: | 10 to 12 servings |
Ingredients
- 1 stick unsalted butter, plus more for tasting
- 6 medium firm apples (such as Macoun or Braeburn), peeled and cut into large cubes
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 12 slices white sandwich bread, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
- 1 pound spicy Italian sausage, casings removed, broken into bite-size pieces
- 10 sage leaves, cut into thin strips
- 2 tablespoons fresh thyme
- 1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
- 4 leeks (white and light green parts only), halved lengthwise and thinly sliced crosswise
- 6 stalks celery, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced crosswise
- 1 pound small parsnips, peeled, quartered lengthwise and thinly sliced crosswise
- Kosher salt and freshly ground white pepper
- 1 cup low-sodium chicken stock
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Heat 1 tablespoon butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat until it melts and starts to brown; add the apples, reduce the heat to medium and cook, stirring, until slightly tender, about 4 minutes. Stir in the honey and vinegar, then transfer to a large bowl to cool.
- Melt 2 tablespoons butter in the same skillet over medium-low heat. Add the bread cubes and toss to coat, then transfer to one side of a large rimmed baking sheet; add the sausage to the other side. Bake until the sausage is cooked through and the bread is toasted, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the sausage and bread to the bowl with the apples; add the sage, thyme and rosemary.
- Heat another 1 tablespoon butter in the skillet over medium heat. Add half each of the leeks, celery and parsnips, and 2 tablespoons water; season with salt and pepper. Cook until the vegetables are translucent, about 8 minutes, then transfer to the bowl with the sausage-apple mixture. Add the remaining leeks, celery and parsnips, and 2 tablespoons water to the skillet, season with salt and pepper and cook about 8 minutes; transfer to the bowl and toss. Warm a spoonful of the stuffing in the skillet with a touch of butter and taste the seasoning; adjust as needed. (It’s so important to taste your stuffing while it’s hot to get a sense of the seasonings and flavors.) Add the chicken stock to the bowl and toss to moisten all of the ingredients.
- Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Brush a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with 1 tablespoon butter. Transfer the stuffing mixture to the dish and dot with the remaining 3 tablespoons butter. Cover with aluminum foil and bake 40 minutes, then uncover and continue baking until golden brown, about 40 more minutes.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 12 servings |
| Calories | 385 |
| Total Fat | 21 g |
| Saturated Fat | 9 g |
| Carbohydrates | 41 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 6 g |
| Sugar | 16 g |
| Protein | 10 g |
| Cholesterol | 49 mg |
| Sodium | 649 mg |
Reviews
My husband asked me to make this for Thanksgiving. It was a smash with even the picky eaters…. and my family has plenty.
Very nice change of pace for stuffing. I used Granny Smith apples, which gave it more of a tart flavor instead of a sweet flavor. Next time I would definitely do the sausage on the stove top so I could break it up smaller. I used parchment paper instead of tinfoil because I find that things burn less often that way, and my bread was just fine. I used a baguette to prevent sogginess….next time I would probably choose something slightly softer. The stuff had great flavor, but it seemed like all the ingredients stayed very separate – I think that doing the sausage on the stovetop and maybe using just a bit softer bread (without reverting to white bread would be improvements. It is very good leftover too!
I did not brown the sausage in the oven but browned it in a pan. Turned out perfect and the bread toasted nicely in the oven. The whole family loves this very tasty and moist stuffing.
It’s a keeper!
It’s a keeper!
I typically don’t like coked apples but these apples add such a great flavor. I would say that the dish is a little sweet for typical stuffing but oh so yummy. If you like moist, sweet stuffing this is the recipe for you. If you like your stuffing not as moist just add more bread or less stock. I didn’t have any issues with the bread burning as I buttered the pan prior to cooking and stirred during the toasting. Enjoy!!
My husband and I really enjoyed the flavors in this dish. However, toasting the bread cubes at that high a temperature burned the bottoms rather badly. It’s good for the pork, but not the bread.