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This pumpkin cornbread stuffing with chicken sausage is packed full of homemade pumpkin sage cornbread croutons, chicken sausage, and dried cherries. It’s perfect for Thanksgiving!
After this week, I feel like I’m the queen of repurposing recipes. If you haven’t figured it out, all week’s posts are about my pumpkin sage cornbread. It went something like this –>pumpkin sage cornbread –>pumpkin cornbread croutons –> pumpkin cornbread chicken sausage stuffing.
This week was a winner in the themed recipe department. Plus (in my opinion) pretty much everything could work for Thanksgiving.
In our family, we almost always had cornbread stuffing on Thanksgiving. Except the cornbread came from a box, and it included zero meat.
I’m sorry, stuffing without meat is just sad stuffing. Why go meatless when you have meat? That’s my life motto.
I used little fully cooked chicken sausages, but you could easily substitute Italian sausage or even maple breakfast sausage. I also threw in a few dried tart cherries because they bring a nice bite of sweetness and look pretty.
I’m all about eating pretty.
Who doesn’t love pretty food? Am I right?
More stuffing recipes
Pumpkin Cornbread Stuffing
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 8 ounces fully cooked chicken sausage links, sliced
- 3 ribs celery, diced
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup dried tart cherries
- 8 cups pumpkin cornbread croutons
- 3-4 cups chicken stock
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a 12-inch oven safe skillet add olive oil and place ove
- Add in chicken sausage and lightly brown.
- Add in celery and onion and cook together until the sausage is fully browned and the vegetables are just starting to soften.
- Add garlic and stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Sprinkle in poultry seasoning and kosher salt. Stir to combine.
- Stir in tart cherries and croutons.
- Remove from heat and pour 2 cups chicken stock over the mixture in the pan and stir to combine. Let the stock soak into the bread.
- Add more chicken stock to soften mixture if needed. The amount of stock needed will depend on how you like your stuffing (dry or very moist) and how dry your croutons were before adding to the mixture. I find that 3 cups works best for me, remember you will be baking for 40 minutes so add a little more than you think necessary.
- Add skillet to the oven and and bake for 40 minutes until the top is crisp and the inside is moist but not soaking wet.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Pass the gravy and I’ll make a big bowl of this stuffing my meal! Thank you for saving us all from Sad Stuffing Syndrome.
I try to make a different take on cornbread stuffing every year. Last year it had chorizo, more often than not it has bacon…that’s the fave around here. I love this version…and I may have to add it to the turkey day table this year. 🙂
Wow! You’ve really put some life back into this pumpkin cornbread! If there is any leftover, you can make it into CROUTONS!
Just perfect for Thanksgiving! I have to try it this year!
Ermahgerd. There is nothing about this stuffing that I don’t love. I’m tempted to pretend I’m American for a weekend so that I have an excuse to celebrate Thanksgiving all over again and make a big bowl of this awesomeness.
You are truly the queen of repurposing! Should I curtsy? I should. Love this stuffing. And you’re right. Why go meatless when you can have meat. For real.
This is such a knockout combo of flavors. This is the first pumpkin stuffing I have ever seen, awesome!
Oh wow…this looks so yummy! That pumpkin cornbread is such a great idea! Pinning this right now!
That looks seriously amazing!
THIS looks amazing! I just saw this on Pinterest and had to come check it out! I think I need to add this to my menu!