Cranberry and Sausage Stuffing Recipe (With Fresh Cranberries)

Everyone has a specialty when it comes to Thanksgiving side dishes. For me, this cranberry sausage stuffing is one of them. I’ve been making this for years and it wasn’t until my daughter asked me for the recipe for this Thanksgiving dressing that I decided to put pen to paper and share it.

What sets it apart is the fresh cranberries. I simmer them with a little sugar until they pop, so you get sweet and tart bites all the way through. Breakfast sausage, fresh sage, and a small hit of cayenne do the rest.

This cranberry sausage stuffing is a side you can make year-round; it doesn’t just have to be a Thanksgiving recipe. It goes well with turkey, of course. But, I also love it with this easy oven roasted chicken or with glazed pork chops & cinnamon apples. It’s super easy to make and is always a huge hit.

Can You Make Stuffing Ahead of Time?

Yes. And on Thanksgiving I highly recommend it. It cuts down on the chaos and allows more time to deal with the drunk uncle that always shows up.

Assemble the whole thing the day before, cover the dish, and keep it in the fridge. When it’s time to cook, let it sit on the counter for 20 minutes while the oven heats. Bake it covered for about 40 minutes, then uncovered for 10 to crisp the top.

How To Keep Stuffing From Drying Out

Dry stuffing usually comes down to two things: not enough liquid, or baking it uncovered for too long. Keep the stuffing covered for the first 30 minutes so the steam stays in. Only pull the foil for the last 10 minutes to crisp the top.

Before it goes in the oven, the bread should be moist all the way through but not sitting in a puddle. If you still see dry cubes, splash in a little more stock. If it looks soupy, you went too far, so add a handful of extra bread cubes.

If you assembled it the day before, the bread will soak up a lot of that stock overnight. Drizzle in another 1/4 to 1/2 cup of stock before it goes in the oven.

Can I Freeze Thanksgiving Dressing?

One of the great things about this Thanksgiving dressing recipe is that you can divide it into portion-sized servings and individually freeze them for those busy nights when you need something quick.

I generally use the smaller vacuum seal bags and the food saver and toss them in the freezer. Reheating them for other meals is simple too.

How to Reheat Stuffing

Of course, you can use the microwave, but I don’t recommend it. I feel like the stuffing becomes sort of gooey that way. Keep the microwave for popcorn on this one.

Instead, I recommend reheating the cranberry sausage stuffing by putting it in a greased pan. Add a pat of butter to the top and reheat it in the oven, covered. Usually, 20 minutes at about 350°F works perfectly, depending on the portion size.

Tips For Making Cranberry Sausage Stuffing

Cranberries: I recommend using fresh cranberries if you can find them, but if not, the frozen or dried ones will do. Cranberries, by the way, freeze very well so if you like them don’t be afraid to stock up after Thanksgiving when they’re on sale and freeze them for later.
Unfortunately, not everyone at my table is on team cranberry. One of my daughters loves them, and the other two ask me to leave them out. I thought I raised them better than that, but here we are, so I keep the peace by splitting the batch.

Make everything through step 5, then divide the mixture between two smaller baking dishes. Stir the cranberries into one and add about 1/4 cup extra stock to the other to make up for the missing moisture.

Sage: As much as I use the dried sage, fresh sage is best for this Thanksgiving dressing recipe.

Sausage: The sausage is the X factor in this recipe. Any pork sausage will work, but I like to use a mild breakfast sausage. If you like things a little on the spicy side, by all means, use a spicy sausage.

Fresh Cranberry Stuffing FAQs

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Cranberry and Sausage Stuffing Recipe

Serves: 6-8 | Prep Time: 10 min | Cook time: 1 hour

Ingredients:
2 cups fresh cranberries
1 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
1 stick butter
3 celery stalks, chopped
1 medium Vidalia onion, diced
2 tsp coarse sea salt
1 tsp fresh cracked pepper
1 lb breakfast sausage
2 tbsp fresh sage, finely chopped
1 lb dried bread cubes (you can buy this prepackaged or make your own)
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
3 cups chicken stock

Directions for Making Cranberry and Sausage Stuffing

Step 1: Add cranberries, water, and sugar to a medium-sized saucepan and cook over medium heat till water reduces by half and berries are soft and starting to split.

Step 2: While cranberries are cooking, add one stick of butter to a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and celery to the melted butter and season with salt and pepper. Cook for five minutes, you want the celery and onions to still be a bit crunchy.

If you’re already using your grill, it’s easy to add the onions, celery, and berries to the grill and save room on the stove.

Step 3: Pour celery and onions into large bowl and set aside.

Step 4: Cook sausage in same skillet over medium heat. Ensure sausage is in fine crumbles.

Step 5: Add cooked sausage and all drippings to bowl with celery and onions. Immediately add the sage on top of the sausage. This allows the sage to soak in the sausage drippings and smells amazing.

Step 6: Add bread, cranberries, garlic powder, cayenne, and chicken stock to the mixing bowl and lightly fold together. Don’t get carried away with the mixing here, you don’t want the bread to turn to mush.

Step 7: Add mixture into a casserole dish, or cast iron pan, cover with lid or aluminum foil, and place in a 350-degree oven for 30 minutes. Remove cover and continue baking another 10 minutes for a total of 40 minutes.

Step 8: Serve hot.