IReady to elevate your holiday meal with a surprisingly simple side? Our sausage and fennel stuffing recipe is a perfect blend of savory sausage, sweet pears, and aromatic fennel, all soaked up by sourdough bread. You’re in for a delicious sourdough stuffing that can be made ahead, requiring about 40 minutes of prep time, and is ideal for baking in a dish or stuffing your turkey for tremendous flavor.
My family and I are big sourdough stuffing recipe fans and the combination of the fennel, pears, and sausage is just delicious! This recipe is for an 8 x 8 baking dish. I usually make more and stuff our turkey with it which adds tremendous flavor! I’m sure it will be one of your Thanksgiving stuffing recipes!
What You Will Need:
- 8 oz of sourdough bread
- 12 oz of Italian sausage
- 3 pears
- 1 fennel bulb
- 1/2 large onion
- 1 tablespoon of butter
- 1 tablespoon of dried thyme
- 1 tablespoon of dried sage
- 1 tablespoon of dried marjoram
- 1 1/2 cups of chicken broth
- sea salt and pepper
Make it ahead of time!
The stuffing recipe components can be made a day ahead of time. The first task is to cube and toast the sourdough loaf. Toast the cubes for about 10 minutes at 375 degrees F. You can use any bread you like, however, the sourdough adds a wonderful flavor to the stuffing. The toasted bread cubes can be put into an airtight container or a plastic bag after they have cooled. The pear and sausage mixture is the second part of the stuffing that can be made ahead.
Cook the sausage and then set it aside. Keep all the dippings in the pan. Then add the fennel and onion and cook until golden brown. After that, add the pears and the herbs (marjoram, sage, and thyme). When the herbs are fragrant, remove the pan from the stove and let the mixture cool. Place the cooled mixture in an airtight container or cover well and place in the fridge.
When you are ready to make your stuffing, just heat up the sausage and fennel mixture and add the broth. Pour the mixture over the toasted sourdough cubes and mix well. Cover the stuffing until the cubes have soaked up the broth.
Baking the sausage and fennel stuffing
The recipe is meant for an 8 x 8 baking dish. Bake the stuffing for 30 minutes at 350 degrees F. If you plan on putting the stuffing in your turkey, just follow the instructions that come with the turkey.
Don’t forget to include my apple pear crumble pie for dessert! Or my Easy One Pan Pumpkin Dessert!
New years is around the corner so try my New Year’s Appetizers!
Please visit my sides and salads page for more ideas!
FAQ’s:
Yes, absolutely! This is a great make-ahead recipe. You can prepare the toasted bread cubes and the cooked pear and sausage mixture a day ahead and store them separately until you are ready to assemble and bake the stuffing.
Yes, you can! This recipe is ideal for stuffing a turkey. If you plan to do so, simply follow the specific cooking instructions provided with your turkey for stuffing.
Place the cubes on a baking sheet and toast them in the oven for about 10 minutes (refer to the recipe card for the specific temperature) until they are golden brown and dry.
Cook the sausage, fennel, onion, and pears, then cool the mixture. Store it in an airtight container in the fridge until you are ready to combine it with the toasted bread cubes and broth.
Pear, Sausage, and Fennel Stuffing Recipe for Your Holiday Table.
Ingredients
- 8 ounces of sourdough bread cut into one inch cubes
- 12 ounces of bulk italian sausage
- 3 pears peeled and diced
- 1 fennel bulb diced about two cups
- ½ large onion diced
- 1 tablespoon of butter or olive oil
- 1 tablespoons of dried thyme
- 1 tablespoons of dried sage
- 1 tablespoons of dried marjoram
- 1 ½ cups of turkey or chicken broth
- ½ teaspoon each of sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Instructions
- Place cubed sourdough bread on a baking sheet and toast for about 10 minutes at 375 degrees F. Place toasted cubes in a large bowl when done.
- In a large skillet, heat oil or butter and brown sausage. After browned, place in a separate bowl and set aside.
- In the same pan that the sausage was browned, add diced onion, diced fennel, 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt, and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper. Cook on medium heat until golden brown.
- When golden brown, add browned sausage, diced pears, thyme, marjoram, and sage and cook until fragrant (about 5 minutes) then add stock and cook for an additional 10 minutes.
- After 10 minutes place in a large bowl containing toasted bread cubes and stir gently.
- Cover bowl with foil or tight lid and let set for about 10 minutes allowing the fennel mixture to soak into bread cubes.
- Gently stir again after 10 minutes and place in a buttered 8×8 pan.
- Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees F