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My recipe for Sourdough Stuffing promises you an unbelievably crisp top and a deeply moist, never-soggy interior, making it a perfect addition to your Thanksgiving and Christmas tables.
It’s a simple truth that stuffing is the backbone of the holiday plate. If you’re still using plain white bread, you’re missing out. Sourdough Stuffing is fluffy and moist with lots of crispy edges. Made with sourdough bread, sausage, vegetables and aromatics, it’s herbaceous, richly flavorful and an essential part of a great holiday meal.
The tangy complexity and sturdy crust of sourdough bread holds up beautifully to the moisture of the broth and the richness of the sausage fat. It’s the magic combination that guarantees that perfect crunch-to-soft texture ratio in every bite. Forget the fear of a soupy disaster; this method is the one you need.
Baked separately from the bird, this sourdough stuffing recipe is similar to a traditional dressing. But if you prefer a more traditional stuffing, you can bake it inside the bird instead. Either way it’s a dish that’s sure to keep your dinner guests coming back for more.
Table of Contents
Why This Recipe Works
I’ve perfected this recipe over many years of testing and adjusting. Here are the exact three steps that make it always work.
- Drying Out the Bread: The key to excellent texture is avoiding that dreaded sogginess. By toasting the torn bread pieces in a 300°F oven until very dry and lightly toasted, you create a stable, crunchy base that’s ready to absorb flavor without collapsing into mush.
- Leaving the Fat: I don’t drain all the fat after browning the sausage. Instead I use the accumulated juices and pork fat to sauté the vegetables. This gives the whole dish a rich, savory flavor that you can’t get from a simple olive oil sauté.
- Broth is Drizzled, Not Poured: You’ll add the chicken broth slowly and gently toss to combine. Because the vegetables will release some of their moisture as the stuffing bakes, you need just enough liquid to moisten the bread, never drench it. This is the simple secret to the crispy edges we all crave.
Ingredients for Sourdough Stuffing
- Sourdough Bread: white sourdough or whole wheat sourdough
- Olive Oil: good quality, extra-virgin olive oil
- Pork Breakfast Sausage: or Italian sausage (hot or mild)
- Button Mushrooms: feel free to use your favorite type of mushroom or a combination
- Leeks: substitute green onions if leeks aren’t available
- Celery: use the tender, crunchy inner ribs from the celery heart
- Fresh Sage: or rubbed sage
- Fresh Thyme: or dried thyme
- Chicken Broth: or turkey stock
- Butter: salted or unsalted butter
- Kosher Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper
Sourdough Bread vs. Regular Bread
Sourdough bread is an excellent choice for stuffing because of its signature tangy flavor and pleasantly chewy texture. It differs from regular bread because of how it’s leavened. Regular bread is leavened with packaged yeast / commercial yeast.
Sourdough bread, on the other hand, is leavened with wild yeasts and Lactobacillus bacteria, which is a type of probiotic (“good” bacteria) found naturally in flour. Together with water, several days at room temperature, and several “feedings” these ingredients form a sourdough starter that, when combined with the final dough mix, results in a more complex, flavorful dough.
Day Old Bread or Fresh Bread
Making this holiday stuffing is a great way to use up stale sourdough bread (store bought or homemade sourdough bread) that has started to lose some of its moisture. However, a fresh batch of sourdough also works well. Either way you’ll need to dry it out before incorporating it into the recipe.
How to Make Sourdough Stuffing
Toast the Bread: Toast torn bread pieces in an oven preheated to 300˚F until dry and lightly toasted.
Brown the Sausage and Sauté Aromatics: Brown sausage in a skillet over medium heat; remove from pan. In the remaining fat, cook mushrooms, leeks and celery, seasoned with salt and pepper. Stir in sage and thyme. Season to taste with more salt and pepper and remove from heat.
Assemble and Bake: In a large bowl, gently combine dried bread with sausage juice, mushroom mixture and broth. Spread into a buttered baking dish, drizzle with melted butter and bake until hot and golden brown.
pro Tips
- Always Tear the Bread: Do not cut the bread; tear the sourdough into bite-size pieces instead of cubing it. Tearing creates jagged, uneven edges that leave a lot more surface area for crisping up and absorbing the broth.
- Taste the Broth Before You Add It: Before adding the broth, taste it. If it’s bland, season it to taste with salt and pepper. The seasoning in the broth will distribute evenly throughout the stuffing so the final dish is not under-seasoned.
- Crank the Heat for the Finish: You want a golden, crunchy top. If your stuffing is heated through but the top isn’t as crispy as you’d like, increase the oven temperature to 400°F (200°C) for the final 5 minutes of baking. Watch it closely to avoid scorching!
Recipe Variations
- Vegetarian: Omit the sausage and add another 8 ounces of mushrooms for volume, along with another tablespoon or more of olive oil or butter to the pan so you have enough fat to properly sauté your vegetables. Use vegetable stock instead of chicken broth.
- Add Dried Fruit and Nuts: Add 1/2 cup dried cranberries and 1/2 cup chopped toasted pecans or walnuts to the stuffing mix along with the broth for a festive, sweet-and-savory crunch.
- Make it Spicy: Substitute the breakfast sausage with hot Italian sausage a to the vegetable mixture for kick.
FAQ
The best way to dry your sourdough bread is in the oven. Cut the crust from your loaf, then tear the bread into bite-size pieces. Spread onto a rimmed baking sheet and bake in an oven preheated to 300˚F until very dry and lightly toasted, 20 to 25 minutes. Allow dried bread to cool before assembling stuffing.
Stuffing should be moist, but not wet or soupy before baking. Keep in mind that the vegetables will release some of their moisture as the stuffing bakes, and you can always add more liquid if needed.
As the name suggests, stuffing refers to a mixture that is used to fill the cavity of another food before cooking, often referring to poultry like turkey or chicken. This method helps to retain moisture of both the bird and the stuffing while enhancing the flavors of both.
Dressing recipes use similar ingredients to stuffing, but are prepared outside of the poultry, in a separate baking dish. With this method, you can achieve crispy edges and a fluffier, less dense dish which some prefer.
Note: When using this recipe to stuff poultry, the internal temperature of the stuffing must reach 165°F on an instant-read thermometer before it is ready to serve.
Make Ahead Option
You can prepare this homemade stuffing recipe, up to the point of baking, up to 2 days in advance. Plan to bake it the same day you’ll serve it to avoid any dryness that can come with reheating. However, if you’ve already baked your stuffing, it can still be delicious when reheated properly.
How to Reheat Stuffing
Remove stuffing from the refrigerator and let stand at room temperature for about 30 minutes, to help it reheat evenly. Preheat your oven to 350°F. Cover stuffing with aluminum foil and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until just heated through. Remove the foil and bake 10-15 minutes more to recreate that crispy top that comes with freshly baked stuffing.
More Holiday Sides
Plan Your Holiday Menu
Sourdough Stuffing
Video
Ingredients
- 1 pound loaf sourdough bread crust removed, torn into 1-inch pieces
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1/2 pound pork breakfast sausage
- 8 ounces button mushrooms coarsely chopped
- 2 large leeks trimmed, halved and thinly sliced (~3 cups)
- 3 ribs celery diced small
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt plus more to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh sage or 1 1/2 teaspoons rubbed sage
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 cups chicken broth or turkey stock, or more
- 4 tablespoons melted butter
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300 °F (149 °C).
- Butter a 13x9x2-inch baking dish (3-quart) and set aside.
- Spread torn bread pieces in an even layer on a rimmed baking sheet; toast in oven, tossing occasionally, until very dry and beginning to brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer to large bowl and let cool. Increase oven temperature to 375 °F (191 °C).
- Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add sausage; cook and stir, breaking up with a wooden spoon, until browned and just cooked through, 7 to 8 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer sausage to a clean bowl, leaving the fat in the pan. Add mushrooms, salt and pepper to pan; cook and stir until mushrooms are tender and their juices have mostly evaporated, 7 to 8 minutes. Add leeks and celery; cook and stir until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in sage and thyme; check for seasoning and add more salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat.
- Add sausage with accumulated juices and mushroom mixture to toasted sourdough in bowl; drizzle chicken broth over and gently toss to combine. (recipe note #2)
- Transfer bread mixture to prepared baking dish and spread into an even layer; drizzle evenly with melted butter. (recipe note #2) Bake uncovered until golden brown, 35 to 40 minutes. Serve.
Notes
- If you prefer very moist stuffing, add 1 to 1 1/2 cups more broth, but not so much that the mixture looks soupy.
- At this point you can tightly cover and freeze if desired for up to 1 month and bake from frozen, making sure it reaches an internal temperature of 165˚F before serving. You can also refrigerate after cooking for 3 to 4 days and reheat or freeze for up to 1 month. To reheat refrigerated stuffing, remove from refrigerator and let stand 30 minutes at room temperature. Reheat in a 350˚F oven, covered with foil for the first 25 to 30 minutes, and then uncovered until hot all the way through with crispy edges, 10 to 15 minutes more.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Question – If I prepare this dressing the day before serving it, do you recommend baking it on the day it is prepared and reheating the next day or should I prepare, cover & refrigerate then bake it the next day when it will be served? Thank you for your assistance Marissa!
Hi Jill! I’d bake it the day you plan to serve it if you have the option.
I traditionally use cornbread and biscuits in my stuffing, but I can absolutely see how sourdough would be delicious. It would add such a great holiday flavor! Definitely want to try this one out soon!
I bet your stuffing is so good, David! Fun idea to use biscuits. I hope you will give this sourdough version a try some time.
We’ve actually never had a stuffing separately from a bird, but this version makes me reconsider our policy. It looks seriously delicious and packed with flavours!
Thanks so much, Ben!
Marissa, I love this. I make my stuffing with cornbread or onion bagels (really good), and haven’t deviated too much. Now I must! The added flavor of the sourdough must be so delicious with the other flavors. 🙂 ~Valentina
Thank you, Valentina! I bet the onion bagels do add a nice flavor and texture to cornbread stuffing.
Oh, this looks wonderful! I love making stuffings! The only time I think I’ve used sourdough is for a stuffing with ham and pears. They are just so much fun to create.
Thank you, Mimi! That sounds like a great sweet and savory flavor combination.
The stuff must have tasted great with sourdough bread. Do you use it to stuff the turkey or simply enjoy it as it is?
Hi there, Angie. It works either way!