Mom’s Sausage & Sage Dressing (Pork Sausage Stuffing Recipe)

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My Mom’s Sausage & Sage Dressing is the only one we have ever had on Thanksgiving.  It’s my Grandma’s stuffing recipe and our family’s favorite Thanksgiving recipe!
 
 
My Grandma Czaplewski always had Thanksgiving dinner.  When she passed away, a month after I gave birth to my first son, Spencer, we moved it to my Mom’s, but the dinner stayed EXACTLY the same.
 
Every year, my Mom says “should I make something different? It’s like the same ‘ol same ‘ol.”  I always reply “NO!!”
I am a creature of habit. It is a dinner that I look forward to every year, and I want it EXACTLY the same!!
 
 
Mom's Sausage & Sage Dressing
 
 
 
 
My husband, Brian, (then fiance) my Grandma and me, in 1991 at Easter
 
 
Speaking of pictures, in this day and age, we take pictures of EVERYTHING! I guess it’s because at the very least all (or almost all) of us have a camera phone at our ready disposal.  I had to search to find a picture to share with you of my grandma and me to post on this entry!
 
 
 
My favorite thing (next to the way it tastes!) about this recipe,  is that it’s one of the few recipes that I have that is in my Grandma’s handwriting.  As a scrapbooker, a person realizes the importance of handwriting.  It can’t be duplicated, just like the person doing the writing cannot.
 
 
Mom's Sausage & Sage Dressing
 

^LOVE IT? PIN IT!^

 
 
I spoke with my Mom last night and shared the recipe that my Grandma wrote down for me some 25 years ago.  She has made some variations to the recipe, but strangely, it tastes the same to me?  My mom makes extra stuffing, because we would all cry if there were no leftovers!!  So, these days, she buys a turkey that is somewhere between 20-22 pounds.  She prepares the dressing and stuffs as much of it inside the turkey as it can hold.  The remaining goes into a heavy-duty foil pouch and bakes along with the turkey.  Yay for extra dressing!

 

I wrote this post the first time in November of 2012.  It’s getting an update today in 2019 with the details of how to make it.  My Mom recently spent the day with me, and we made her entire Thanksgiving meal together.  I was able to photograph it, and then update the pictures for you.  

 
Ingredients in Mom's Sausage & Sage Dressing
 

 

 

What do I need to make Mom’s Sausage & Sage Dressing?

  • pork sausage
  • bread crumbs
  • onion, celery
  • chicken broth
  • butter

 

Preparing Mom's Sausage & Sage Dressing

Add your cooked celery and onion, bread crumbs and pork sausage to a big bowl.  

 

Mom's Sausage & Sage Dressing

Using your hands mix it all together.  Begin adding chicken stock a little at a time, and working with your hands until it becomes the right consistency.  The amount of bread crumbs you use will determine how much liquid you need, so working slowly is key. 

 

Preparing Mom's Sausage & Sage Dressing

My mom is showing here how the dressing will stick together and form a ball when it’s got enough moisture.  

 

Mom's Sausage & Sage Dressing

The day we made the stuffing to show you the step by step instructions, we prepared it in a bowl.  As I mentioned before, my mom typically stuffs the bird, and wraps the extra in tin foil to bake.  She does this mostly for lack of oven space.  The attached recipe card will tell you how to bake the stuffing in the bird, in foil or in a casserole as I have here.  

 
I know.  I keep switching the name.  “Dressing” and “Stuffing” – everyone uses them differently.  Typically “Stuffing” goes in the bird, and “dressing” is cooked outside of the bird.  In our family, there was no rhyme or reason to that, as we always called it dressing, because that’s what my Grandma called it.  Call it whatever you want, just make it! I promise you will LOVE it!
 

 

Dressing vs Stuffing

You can call it whatever you want, but if you are going to cook your stuffing inside the bird, then make sure to remove it from the cavity quickly! You don’t want to burn yourself of course, but the quicker you get it out of the bird, the better. Why?
 
Well, you just don’t want any sort of bacteria to turn a great meal into a trip to the hospital to deal with food poisoning! 
 
Making the stuffing in the bird does have advantages though. It will help to keep your turkey moist. It also benefits from the turkey flavor from being cooked inside the bird. However, you can still put veggies like onions and carrots and celery inside the turkey to keep it moist. (Remove those quickly too).
 
If you have any concerns about the health risks, do it as dressing outside the bird. 
 
 
Mom's Sausage & Sage Dressing
 

What Other Thanksgiving Traditional Dishes Can You Share?

I love these recipes that have been passed on for so many generations. I consider it a great honor and privilege to share them and pass them on. If you like this sausage and sage dressing, then you might like some of these other dishes we hold near and dear in our family traditions. 
 
 
 
 
From left to right, My Mom, My Grandma and Me in the late 1980’s
 
 
Happy Thanksgiving, from my Mom, My Grandma and Me, 
M.
 
Grandma's Sausage & Sage Stuffing
 
Yield: Enough to stuff a 20 pound turkey

Mom's Sausage & Sage Dressing

My Mom's Sausage & Sage Dressing is the only one we have ever had on Thanksgiving.  It's my Grandma's recipe, and this stuffing is the main reason our family loves the Thanksgiving meal.  

Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 4 hours
Total Time 4 hours 30 minutes

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds sage flavored pork sausage
  • 2 (12 ounce) packages Pepperidge Farm bread crumbs,1 Herb Seasoned, 1 Country Style
  • 3 cups celery, chopped
  • 1 cup onion minced, divided
  • 1 quart chicken broth
  • 2 sticks of butter, melted (1 cup)

Instructions

  1. In a skillet over medium heat, brown sausage until cooked. Remove from pan and set aside.
  2. In that same skillet, melt butter. Add celery and onion and cook until tender. About 10 minutes. Cool slightly so you are able to touch it for the next step.
  3. In a big bowl, combine sausage, celery, and onion with your bread crumbs. Working with your hands, add small amounts of broth until dressing is moist, and forms into a ball.
  4. Stuff your turkey full. (we typically make a 20 pound bird) Wrap remaining stuffing in heavy duty foil. * see notes to prepare in a casserole dish
  5. Bake turkey according to size and package instructions for a stuffed bird.
  6. To bake the foil package, place in oven with turkey about 45 minutes before turkey is done.
  7. When turkey is cooked, remove stuffing immediately.

Notes

To prepare the dressing in a casserole dish: Spray a large casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray, pack dressing into the dish tightly. Bake at 325 degrees F for one hour.

This recipe is easily cut in half for smaller turkeys.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

20

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 249Total Fat: 16gSaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 27mgSodium: 312mgCarbohydrates: 31gFiber: 19gSugar: 2gProtein: 6g

nutrition isn't guaranteed accurate.

© Michaela Kenkel
Cuisine: American / Category: Thanksgiving
 
 
 

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34 Comments

  1. So much like my maternal grandmother and mother’s recipe. So many recipes call for eggs and they never added eggs; so therefore I don’t either. I’ll be 84 in December so this “recipe” goes back a long time. We never had a written recipe, just the same ingredients. Thanks for all the photos and directions for the younger generation. Such fond memories of all our holiday dinners.

    Reply

    1. Yes – 12 ounce packages. This recipe is so old I didn’t have the ounces. I actually just made it last weekend and you reminded me that I needed to update with the package size, thank you!

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