Garlicky Sausage Stuffing

If you’ve ever thought that stuffing was the boring part of Thanksgiving dinner, this sausage stuffing recipe will change your mind instantly. Sweet Italian sausage and tons of Parmesan, mixed with plenty of butter, cream, and eggs, makes for a Thanksgiving stuffing that is so rich and flavorful that this side dish could practically be a meal all on its own. The whole thing gets prepared ahead of time: After toasting the bread cubes on a baking sheet, we brown the sausage and sauté the veggies in melted butter in a large skillet, then mix in the eggs and dairy and let everything cool. When you’re ready, you add it to your bird or bake it in a casserole dish.

Whether you call this dish a sausage stuffing or a sausage dressing probably depends on where you grew up (in the South, most people use the word dressing). Technically, a stuffing goes into the bird while a dressing cooks alongside it. In this recipe we do both—putting some into the turkey and cooking some with turkey stock (or store-bought chicken stock) separately. Because we’re using Italian pork sausage here, we also use an Italian loaf in this recipe, such as pane Toscano. But any good white bread will do. Some cooks swear by a denser bread instead of a rustic loaf because it absorbs more moisture, but you can use what you like (though we’d stay away from breads with strong flavors, like sourdough). If you want to add a kick to your stuffing, you can swap some or all of the regular Italian sausage for the spicy variety.