Apple Sausage Cornbread Stuffing brings a touch of savory and sweetness to your holiday table. This flavorful dish combines fresh apples, chicken sausage, and cornbread stuffing to create a memorable side that everyone will love.
Yes, my traditional Oyster Cornbread Dressing is our family’s favorite from a recipe passed down by my grandmother. But, sometimes, you want something different. We also like Italian Sausage Stuffing with Wine, and this Apple Sausage Cornbread Stuffing is a winning combination of both.
Food Safety
While many people consider stuffing the bird a Thanksgiving tradition, there are good reasons to bake stuffing outside the turkey.
- For one, stuffing cooked separately stays lighter and has a more uniform texture, with a crispier top that’s a treat on its own.
- When baked separately, it also eliminates any food safety concerns since the stuffing and turkey can both reach their ideal temperatures without overcooking either one.
- It is also safer because there is no chance of stuffing remaining inside the bird’s cavity, causing cross-contamination.
- Stuffing inside the bird increases cooking time. The temperature of the thighs may be cooked, but the interior stuffing is not. That increased cooking time can lead to a very dry bird.
What You Need to Make Apple Sausage Cornbread Stuffing
Start with Never Any! Sun-dried Tomato and Basil chicken sausage. We like it because it’s lower in fat and because the brand does not use artificial colors or preservatives. It’s fully cooked. Just slice it and add it to your pan. You can get Never Any! chicken sausage at your local Aldi store.
For the cornbread base, we use Mrs. Cubbison’s cornbread stuffing mix. This is a personal family favorite, passed down from my grandmother’s holiday recipes. Mrs. Cubbison’s mix offers that perfect cornbread texture, with just the right amount of seasoning to bring everything together.
You can use any variety of apples you want. Baking apples would be preferred, but regular sweet apples would be fine. Use whatever raisins you have on hand. I had golden raisins on hand when I made this.
Use the white wine that you would drink. Although there is not a strong wine flavor, it’s still best to use what you would drink at the table.
How to Make the Stuffing
Thankfully, for a busy holiday meal, a lot of this dressing can be made ahead of time. You can use frozen onion and celery. The vegetables can be cooked ahead and refrigerated. I like to use my stand mixer to mix the dressing, but if you want to use your hands, feel free.
Apple Sausage Cornbread Stuffing Recipe
Email Me the Recipe
Apple Sausage Cornbread Dressing
Equipment
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Ingredients
- 4 ounce Butter
- 1 cup Onion, chopped
- 1 cup Celery, chopped
- 1 cups Apple, peeled and cubed
- 4 ounce Never Any sun-dried tomato chicken sausage, sliced and diced
- 1 teaspoon Oregano
- 1 teaspoon Justice
- 4 ounce White wine
- ½ cup Raisins
- 12 ounce Mrs. Cubbison’s Cornbread Dressing, 1 package
- 2 teaspoons *Chicken base
- 2 cup Water, boiling
Instructions
- Mise en place
- 4 ounce ButterMelt the butter in a large sauté pan.
- 1 cup Onion, 1 cup Celery, 1 cups AppleAdd the onion and celery. Sauté until the onion has become translucent. Add the apple.
- 4 ounce Never Any sun-dried tomato chicken sausageCut the sausage by slicing then dicing the slices.
- Push the vegetables to one side of the pan and add the sausage. Sauté and let the sausage brown on the edges.
- 1 teaspoon Oregano, 1 teaspoon JusticeAdd the oregano and justice. Sauté.
- 4 ounce White wine, 1/2 cup RaisinsAdd the wine and scrape up any fond that has formed. Add the raisins.
- 12 ounce Mrs. Cubbison’s Cornbread DressingPut the dressing mix in a large bowl. Add the contents of the pan, including all the accumulated juices.
- 2 teaspoons Chicken base, 2 cup WaterMix the boiling water and chicken base then add that to the bowl.
- Mix the ingredients thoroughly making sure all the dressing mix has been moistened.
- Put the mixture in a casserole dish. At this point, you could cover and refrigerate until needed.
- Cover the casserole and put it in a 350 °F (177 °C) oven. Cook for 30 minutes then remove the cover and cook for another 10 minutes or until the top has slightly browned.
- Serve and enjoy.
