Easy Sausage Stuffing
Skip the box mixes and try this savory Sausage Stuffing recipe. This dish is the perfect addition to your Thanksgiving table and happens to be low-carb and gluten-free!
First Published October 2020, Updated November 2023
Ladies and gentlemen, gather ’round the table, because we’re about to talk turkey – well, not the bird itself, but the unsung hero of Thanksgiving that nestles itself right next to the big bird: stuffing! If Thanksgiving were a blockbuster movie, the turkey might be the star, but the stuffing is the quirky, scene-stealing sidekick. It’s the unsung hero, the crispy-on-the-outside, fluffy-on-the-inside maverick that’s here to take your taste buds on a wild, flavorful ride. It’s like a Thanksgiving party in your mouth, and everyone’s invited – even the picky eater who usually only wants mac ‘n’ cheese. So, loosen those belts and prepare to embark on a culinary adventure as we dive into the world of Thanksgiving stuffing, where the carbs are plentiful, and the flavor is off the charts!
Ingredients
By combining these Red Lobster copycat biscuits (one of my favorite recipes) with all the classic stuffing staples and fresh herbs and spices, you can easily cook up a beautiful and creative Keto alternative to traditional stuffing. Trust me, it’s just as good! You will need:
- Bread: You will need five cups of cubed, stale bread. To make this recipe low carb and grain free, I use these Keto Cheddar Garlic Biscuits OR Keto Bacon Cheddar Chive Biscuits.
- Sausage: any pork sausage will do, including breakfast sausage, hot Italian sausage, or a variety of different flavors of leftover sausage works as well.
- Produce: including Garlic cloves, white or yellow onion, and celery stalks.
- Butter: unsalted butter can be used to help control the sodium level in this dish. If all you have is salted butter, don’t worry; that will work just fine.
- Spices and Herbs: Sage, Parsley, Salt, Black Pepper, Poultry Seasoning
- Chicken Broth: This helps keep the dish moist and delicious!
How to Make Sausage Stuffing
- Prepare the Keto Red Lobster Biscuits or Keto Bacon Cheddar Biscuits about three days ahead of time. Cut the bread into chunks. The advanced cooking time allows the bread to dry out and become stale, which creates the best texture for the stuffing.
- When ready to prepare the stuffing, brown the breakfast sausage in a large pan over medium heat. When browned, drain off the grease, add the onion, celery, and garlic, and cook for 4-5 minutes until softened.
- In a large bowl, combine the bread cubes, sausage mixture, fresh herbs, eggs, and broth. Stir well and transfer to a 9×13 baking dish and spread into a single layer.
- Bake at 350 degrees F for 45-55 minutes.
Can You Make Stuffing Ahead of Time?
The great thing about homemade stuffing is that it can be prepared well in advance. Although you can only add the liquid broth up to 3 hours ahead of time, all the ingredients can be prepped and stored for up to 48 hours in the refrigerator.
How to Reheat Thanksgiving Stuffing
Before reheating stuffing, it’s important to do a little prep to ensure it doesn’t dry out. Drizzle a few tablespoons of fresh broth onto the stuffing to add moisture and a dab of butter if you fancy. Stuffing can be reheated on the stove, in the microwave, or in the oven. For best results, heat the stuffing gently on the stove using a little butter.
If you’re looking to heat your stuffing up quickly, the microwave is a perfectly suitable option. Transfer the stuffing into a microwave-safe bowl and add a little extra broth to avoid dryness. Heat the stuffing in 30-second increments, until warmed.
Can You Freeze Stuffing?
Uncooked stuffing is perfectly suitable for freezing and can be kept for up to three months. Simply prepare the stuffing according to the directions in a freezer and oven safe dish. Wrap tightly with foil.
When ready to bake remove from the freezer about an hour before placing in the oven and bake 60 minutes. Check the stuffing every 10 minutes after that and remove from the oven when heated through.
Tips and Tricks
- Chop up your veggies into small, uniform chunks for a neater look and even cooking.
- Use stale bread when making stuffing to avoid sogginess – your bread should be able to cope with soaking up extra moisture from the vegetables.
- Use fresh herbs for an extra flavorsome and fragrant stuffing.
- Add a spicy sausage, such as spicy Italian sausage to add a unique twist to your stuffing.
- To make this dish sweet and savory you can add dried cranberries as it pairs nicely with the other flavors.
More Thanksgiving Side Dishes
You may think it is impossible to keep up with your keto lifestyle during the holidays, but with a little planning, you certainly can! Mix up your sides with a tasty Green Bean Almondine, it can be made low carb very easily, and everyone would enjoy it! Alternatively, this Keto Bacon Wrapped Cabbage has Thanksgiving written all over it! Some other low-carb Thanksgiving recipes include:
- Homemade Cranberry Sauce: two flavor options!
- Herb Crusted Turkey Breast: this can be made in the oven or air fryer.
- Loaded Cauliflower Casserole: a savory dish loaded with bacon and cheese.
- Cranberry Cheesecake Bars: absolutely delightful multilayer bars!
Recipe FAQ
I use a 9×13 casserole dish for this recipe. However, if your other 9×13 pans are being used a 3 quart oval baking dish will also work nicely.
I use a mixture of fresh sage and parsley, as well as dried poultry seasoning for convenience. However, if you prefer to use fresh herbs, you will need a 2 tablespoons mixture of fresh chopped rosemary and thyme.
You can find the complete breakdown just below the recipe, including the calories, protein, cholesterol, fiber, and carbohydrates.
Get the Recipe: Easy Keto Sausage Stuffing
Ingredients
- 1 batch of Keto Red Lobster Biscuits, link below, torn and dried out (5 cups)
- 1 pound mild sausage
- 1 cup chopped onion
- 2 cups chopped celery
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 2 tablespoons fresh sage, chopped
- 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
- 1/4 cup parsley, chopped
- 3 eggs, beaten
- 3/4 cup chicken broth
Equipment
Instructions
- Prepare the Keto Red Lobster Biscuits or Keto Bacon Cheddar Biscuits about three days ahead of time. Cut the bread into chunks. The advance cooking time allows the bread to dry out and become stale, which creates the best texture for the stuffing.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- When ready to prepare the stuffing brown the breakfast sausage. When browned, drain off and grease and add the onion, celery and garlic and cook 4-5 minutes until softened. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
- In a large bowl combine the stale bread cubes, sausage mixture, fresh herbs, eggs and broth.
- Stir well and transfer to a 9×13 baking dish.
- Bake at 350 degrees F for 45-55 minutes.
Sounds amazing. Can’t wait to try it. Have you ever used chicken instead of sausage? My father-in-law has gout so he can only eat chicken stuffing.
Hi April, I’ve only made this as written but I imagine chicken would be fine.