Before baking turkey dressing, be sure to scroll up and read all the tips in the post and also the tips in the NOTES section below this recipe.
Prep Time20 minutesmins
Cook Time1 hourhr30 minutesmins
Total Time1 hourhr50 minutesmins
Course: Side Dishes
Cuisine: American
Servings: 12
Calories: 242kcal
Author: LittleCooksReadingBooks.com
Ingredients
12ouncepackage cubed stuffing*
3Tablespoonsunsalted butter
1medium yellow onionchopped
1celery stalkchopped
1 16-ounceroll bulk pork sausageplain or sage
3cupsof low sodium chicken brothwarmed
1cupof whole milkroom temperature
2cupsshelled and cooked chestnutschopped**
1/4cupfresh flat-leaf parsleychopped
1Tablespoonfresh thymechopped
1Tablespoonfresh rosemarychopped
Salt and pepperto taste
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375°F. Butter a 13x9-inch casserole dish. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, toss together stuffing bread cubes, room temperature milk, and warmed chicken broth. Gently stir. You want all of the cubes moistened, but you don't want them mushy. Set aside to absorb liquid.
In a large pan, brown the sausage, crumbling it as it cooks. Cook through, around 10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a paper towel lined bowl to drain completely. Set aside.
In the same pan you cooked sausage, add the onion and celery to the sausage grease left in the pan. If you don't have grease left for cooking, melt butter in pan. Sautee onion and celery over medium heat until both are tender and translucent (around 3 minutes). Using a slotted spoon transfer to the cubed stuffing bowl.
Add drained sausage to the stuffing bowl mixture.
To the bread cubes, onion, celery, and sausage mixture, add the chestnuts, parsley, thyme, and rosemary. Season with salt and pepper. Gently stir all ingredients until mixed well. Don't over mix or the cubes will become mushy!
Transfer dressing mixture to the prepared casserole baking dish. Cover with aluminum foil. Bake for 1 hour. Remove aluminum foil and bake another 20 to 30 minutes until browned and crispy on top.
Serve immediately. Refrigerate or freeze leftovers.
Notes
*I usually use Pepperidge Farm cubed stuffing and I play around with which one I buy. Sometimes I buy seasoned, sometimes I buy plain, and sometimes I buy wheat (or a mix). It's good with any of those!**You can roast your own chestnuts and shell them, but I usually buy pre-packaged cooked and shelled chestnuts now. You can get them in vacuum sealed packages or jars. TO USE AS STUFFING IN THE TURKEY:Pack the dressing loosely into the neck and body cavity of the turkey. Add 30 minutes to the turkey roasting time for turkeys 16 pounds or less and 1 hour to the roasting time for turkeys over 16 pounds. Once removed from cooking, use a food thermometer to test that the center of the stuffing has reached 165°F.