Smoked Sausage Stuffing
On November 22, 2022
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
This Smoked Sausage Stuffing is the perfect stuffing for your Thanksgiving meal. It’s savory with just a touch of sweetness from the dried cranberries; the perfect companion to the main course at your holiday feast.
Smoked Stuffing
This holiday season, just say no to boxed stuffing! Your family and friends deserve better. This homemade stuffing is packed with flavor and texture, and it’s everything you could want in a holiday side dish. The savory sage sausage is balanced to perfection by tender baked apples and sweet dried cherries. The kids will go so crazy for this stuff; they won’t even miss the old stuffing from the stove.
This stuffing is cooking in a 12″ cast iron skillet on your pellet grill. The best part? It’s meant to cook right next to your turkey. That’s right! No need to have a separate smoker going or need to cook these at different times. Thanksgiving should be as easy as possible, and this smoked stuffing can be placed on the smoker an hour before go-time so it’s ready right when the bird is.
One quick note: When selecting the wood to use with this stuffing, I suggest using whatever you are also using for your turkey; however, avoid using anything too strong or mesquite-y. Yes, you want to taste the smoke flavor, but you still want the flavors in the stuffing to take center stage.
Best Stuffing for Smoked Turkey
When smoking a turkey, you’re gonna want to make the stuffing on the side (don’t make your stuffing in the bird, trust me!), and this stuffing is the perfect match for your smoked turkey. In fact, what better stuffing to go with smoked turkey than smoked stuffing? By using the same wood and smoking on the same smoker at the same time, this stuffing will PERFECTLY complement the turkey. We’re talking about a major marriage made in Thanksgiving heaven.
This smoked stuffing is also the ideal stuffing when you have folks on opposite sides of the stuffing debate. You know what I’m talking about – the dry stuffing vs. wet stuffing battle. Whether this occurs at your house or not, this stuffing is rather dry with the right amount of moisture to bring happiness to each and every guest at Thanksgiving dinner.
Ingredients for Smoked Stuffing
Here’s what you’ll need to make this amazing stuffing.
- 16-ounce bag of stuffing cubes
- 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 pound fresh sage sausage
- 1 medium onion
- 2 ribs celery with leaves
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries
- 1/4 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 2 eggs
Recipe Variations for Smoked Stuffing
Here at Hey Grill Hey, my goal is to help you cook the perfect dinner each time, every time. While I personally believe this stuffing hits the mark, I understand that there are many different stuffing preferences out there. If you have a united group coming over for dinner who like their stuffing prepared a certain way, you can make these adjustments to ensure you and your guests are perfectly satisfied.
Whether you like dry, wet, sweet, or cornbread stuffing, these variations can easily be made to adjust this recipe to get it exactly to your specifications.
- Drier. If you like drier stuffing, skip the eggs.
- Wetter. For those of you who like wetter stuffing, add 1 more cup of stock and 1 extra egg to the mixture.
- Cornbread. If you prefer cornbread stuffing, this recipe will work well, but make sure you use cornbread without sugar.
- Sweeter. Like your stuffing a tad sweeter? Dice and cook one apple (Honeycrisp, Gala, or Jonagold would be ideal) with the celery and onions before stirring in the bread cubes.
Smoked Recipes for Thanksgiving
When planning your entire Thanksgiving meal, look no further than Hey Grill Hey. Not only do we have a plethora of turkey recipes, we also have all the sides you could ever want as well. Check out all the recipes below to start building your perfect Thanksgiving feast.
Oh, and what would Thanksgiving be without the most amazing, delicious side dishes? Try these ones out below:
Smoked Stuffing Recipe
Making a delicious meal for your family should be easy, and Hey Grill Hey is here to help! I’m all about helping you make better BBQ, feed the people you love, and become a backyard BBQ hero. If you want to see more of my recipes, tips, and behind-the-scenes action, follow along on my social channels. You can find me on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube!
This post was originally published in November 2019. We recently updated it with more information and helpful tips. The recipe remains the same.
Smoked Sausage Stuffing
Video
Ingredients
- 1 16-oz bag stuffing cubes
- 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- 1 pound fresh sage sausage casing removed
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 2 ribs celery with leaves chopped
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup dried cranberries
- ¼ cup fresh flat-leaf parsley
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 2 eggs
Instructions
- Preheat. Turn on your smoker and allow it to fully preheat to 225 degrees F.
- Cook the sausage and vegetables. Melt 2 Tablespoons of butter in a 12" cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and break it up with a wooden spoon. Cook for about 5 minutes. Add the onion, celery, and salt. Cook until the vegetables get soft, about 5 minutes.
- Add remaining ingredients. Turn off the heat and stir in the bread, dried cranberries, and parsley, stirring gently to evenly distribute.
- Add the broth. In a large bowl, combine the broth and eggs, and pour it over the bread cube mixture in the skillet. Top with 2 Tablespoons of melted butter.
- Smoke. Place the skillet full of stuffing on the smoker and cook for 60 minutes until the top is crisp and golden.
- Enjoy. Remove the cast iron skillet from the smoker and serve immediately or keep warm until ready to serve.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I used chorizo sausage instead of sage and didn’t have room on my smoker with the turkey so I just cooked in the oven. Delicious!
If you make this a day ahead of time, what is the best way to reheat?
In the oven or smoker at 275 until it’s heated through.
I know this is a “smoked stuffing recipe” but I wondered if I could do it in the oven and if so what temp and how long? My husband just told me there wont be any room on the grill with the two turkeys but I already bought all the ingredients.
Follow the recipe as written for the oven! A smoker is just an outdoor, wood-fired oven!
at what temp do you smoke it
225. I run about 90 minutes for max smoke.