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Meet your must-have Christmas side dish! Homemade Stuffing with sausage meat, apricots and chestnuts. It’s SO GOOD, it’ll be the star of the show! Also perfect for a special roast dinner at any time of year.
What’s your favourite Christmas lunch side dish? After roast potatoes (OBVIOUSLY), Stuffing is mine.
For me, it should be super tasty, with the texture of good, meaty sausages, but added fruity bits and a crunchy top.
This recipe is so easy, makes enough for 12 people AND you can prep it ahead of time, leaving you precious time in the kitchen when it’s all going on!
It’s a lovely addition to have ready in your freezer too for special dinners throughout the year. Super simple but super special too – you can’t say fairer than that for a humble side dish!
Why you’ll love this Sausage Meat Stuffing recipe
⭐️ So quick and easy to whip up
⭐️ Fruity and full of flavour
⭐️ Easy to make in advance
How we came up with this recipe
For me, Christmas dinner (and every dinner) is all about getting the most out of the corners we can cut and easy wins we can take while making the best meal we can.
This Christmas Stuffing recipe ticks that box. I wanted to come up with a delicious and special side dish but an achievable one, which is why I’ve made sure this can be made ahead of time AND is freezer-friendly.
I hope you love it!
Stuffing recipe Ingredients
- Butter
- Onion
- Sausages – You favourite good quality ones with a high meat content
- Dried apricots
- Chestnuts – The peeled, vacuum-packed type
- Breadcrumbs – I like Panko
- Fresh sage
- Salt
How to make stuffing
- Pan fry the onions in the butter until slightly soft.
- Add the butter and onions to the rest of ingredients and mix well (you may need to use clean hands for this job!)
- Spoon the mixture into a shallow dish.
- Bake for 45 minutes in a preheated oven on 180C until cooked through.
Substitutions
- Dried fruit – You can swap the apricots and chestnuts for other dried fruit if you prefer. It is what gives this stuffing its gorgeous texture though!
- Dried sage – You can use this instead of fresh, but add it in with the onions and butter when you’re frying, so it softens
Leftovers
In the fridge You can keep this recipe in the fridge for 3 days. It’s fine to eat leftover stuffing cold, or you can reheat it, covered, fully before serving.
In the freezer Wait until it’s totally cold and then put into a freezer proof container and freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost thoroughly before reheating.
Top tipS
How to make stuffing in advance
Follow the recipe to step 4, cover it and put in the fridge (it will keep here for up to 2 days). When you’re ready to cook, continue the recipe process, but be aware it may take an extra 5 or 10 minutes in the oven if it’s come straight out of the fridge.
To freeze
You can also store the uncooked stuffing in the freezer for up to a month. Again, make the recipe up to step 4, then freeze covered. Allow it to fully defrost before baking as normal from step 5.
Sausages
Use any good quality sausages you and your family enjoy which have a high meat content. I tend to use a fairly plain one without too many other flavourings as we are adding lots in the recipe.
Chestnuts
You can buy them peeled and precooked in a vacuum pack in most supermarkets (particularly if you’re making this around Christmas time!)
Servings
This makes enough for 12 servings as a side dish. Feel free to halve or reduce the recipe quantities to suit you.
If you do make less, you will probably need to reduce the cooking time slightly so it doesn’t overcook. Just be sure to check it’s completely cooked inside before serving.
FAQ
While we don’t really use stuffing to actually ‘stuff’ a meat cavity to cook anymore, it is still a hugely popular side dish because it’s so delicious.
Traditionally we eat it on our main Christmas lunches alongside Roast Turkey, but we can also have it as part of any roast dinner the rest of the year – or even on its own! And leftovers are perfect in sandwiches.
Serve this next to some other festive (or non-festive) sides, such as sprouts, red cabbage, cauliflower cheese or carrots and parsnips.
Let me know how you got on and what you thought of these recipes. Please rate the recipe using the ⭐️ below.
Also I’d LOVE to see your cooking creations. If you’d like to share yours with me, you can tag me on Instagram (@tamingtwins).
The Best Stuffing Recipe {with Sausage & Apricots}
Ingredients
- 50 g Butter
- 1 Large onion
- 900 g Sausages
- 100 g Dried apricots
- 180 g Chestnuts, The peeled, vacuum packed type
- 100 g Breadcrumbs, I like Panko
- 15 g Fresh sage
- Salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180C.
- Pan fry the chopped onion in the butter for 5 minutes, until slightly softened.
- Mix all of the other ingredients together, along with the onions and butter that they were cooked in.
- Stir until everything is thoroughly mixed (you may need to use clean hands!) and spoon into a shallow dish. (Don't smooth the top, as the lumps and bumps give a good texture.)
- Bake for 45 minutes or until cooked all the way through.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Absolutely delicious, made this recipe this evening and it is so tasty. Definitely my new go to stuffing recipe going forward
It’s not over clear ? Presume you skin the sausages and chop finely the chestnuts and apricots