Sage Sausage Stuffing

I love stuffing... but I guess technically it's really dressing. Well, whatever you call it, the savory bread pudding of sorts is something I look forward to on Thanksgiving. Thankfully if you are gluten free, you can still enjoy this dish, simply by using gluten free bread in place of regular bread. I particularly like mine with sauge and lots of vegetables. This Sage Sausage Stuffing is chockful of savory sage sausage and vegetables including carrots, celery, mushrooms, and kale to incorporate more vegetables in your holiday menu...

So first off, feel free to use your preference of bread. For mine, I opted to use gluten free bagels because it's heartier and they can really stand up to baking with all the other savory ingredients used. I cubed my bagels and toasted them to dry it out a bit in order for them to absorb all the flavor. You'll want to do the same for whatever bread you choose. And if you're looking for a non-GF option, try brioche since it's buttery and bakes up nicely for stuffing/dressing.

Sage Sausage Stuffing

recipe adapted from Serious Eats

• 2 loaves of bread, cubed {or gluten free bread/bagels}
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter
• 1 1/2 pounds sage sausage, removed from casing
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 4 large stalks celery, finely chopped
• 1 cup finely diced carrots
• 1 cup sliced mushrooms
• 1/2 cup finely diced kale
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup minced fresh sage leaves 
• 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 3 whole eggs
• 1/4 cup minced parsley leaves
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place cubed bread on 2 baking sheets and place in oven to toast and dry out for about 5-10 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside. Keep oven oven at 350 degrees.

In large Dutch oven set over medium high heat, crumble in sausage and brown until no longer pink. Add butter and allow to melt.

Once butter has melted, add onions, garlic, celery, carrot, mushrooms, kale, and sage and cook until vegetables are softened. Remove from heat and add half of chicken stock and toasted bread cubes.

In a large bowl, whisk together the remaining half the chicken stock, eggs and half of parsley until well incorporated. Slowly pour egg mixture into Dutch oven to combine with sausage and bread mixture. Fold gently until evenly mixed.

Transfer stuffing/dressing mixture into buttered 9 by 13 rectangular baking dish, cover tightly with aluminum foil, and bake for 45 minutes. Remove foil and continue baking until golden brown and crisp on top, about 10 minutes longer. Remove from oven, let cool for 5 minutes, sprinkle with remaining parsley and serve.