Hi everyone!
Jeff has been making his World’s Best Stuffing for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners for as long as I can remember. The base recipe comes from his dad who made stuffing for holiday dinners when Jeff was growing up. Somewhere along the way Jeff added his own twist of hot sausage and Granny Smith apples and the rest is history.
I hope you enjoy the recipe and tips Jeff gives below, let us know what you think.
Wishing you all the best for the coming holiday season!
Cheers!
Update: To help make following the recipe easier, Jeff added a recipe card below. Simply scroll to the bottom to find it!
World’s Best Stuffing Recipe
Serves 8 people
Ingredients:
2 packages – Pepperidge Farm Herb Seasoned cubed stuffing
1 pound Jimmy Dean Hot sausage
2 medium onions
8 celery stalks
1 clove garlic
3 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 sticks salted butter (12 tbs)
4 Granny Smith apples
Salt and pepper to taste
1 large baking pan – I suggest using an aluminum one time use pan for easy clean up
Click here for Jeff’s favorite kitchen items
Preparation:
Pre-heat oven to 350°.
Note: Oven temperatures vary, please adjust temperature and cooking time as needed
Veggies and Sausage ~
Dice onions and celery into small cubes
Melt 2 tbs butter over medium heat, add garlic and let cook a few minutes until fragrant. Add onions and celery, season with salt and pepper, then Sauté until tender – about 10 mins
Place sausage in hot skillet over medium heat and tear apart forming bite size pieces and cook until well done.
Dice apples into 1/2 – 1 inch pieces.
Mix it all together ~
Tip: Mixing together all ingredients at once can be difficult, so I suggest splitting it into 2 batches
Melt 10 tbs butter in a bowl
In a large mixing bowl combine 1 package of the Pepperidge Farm stuffing mix and 1/2 of each of the other ingredients. Mix gently until the liquid is absorbed.
Add the first half to your large baking pan, repeat the above steps and add to the baking pan.
Now that you have all of the mixture together, give it a final mix to help even out across the pan
Oven time ~
Place in a 350 degree pre-heated oven and bake for 90 minutes or longer if you like it with a brown crusty coating. If it starts to get too brown for your liking, simply cover it with aluminum foil or a baking sheet.
Our Kitchen Sources
- 2 Packages Pepperidge Farm Herb Seasoned Cubed Stuffing
- 1 Pound Jimmy Dean Hot Sausage
- 2 Medium Onions
- 8 Celery Stalks
- 1 Clove Garlic Minced
- 3 1/2 Cups Chicken Both
- 1 1/2 Sticks Butter (12 Tbs)
- 4 Large Granny Smith Apples
- Salt and Pepper to taste
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
You will need one large and deep baking pan roughly 20″ x 12″ x 3″. I suggest using an aluminum disposable baking dish, you can find these at most grocery stores or online. As an alternative, you can use 2 – 13″ x 9″ baking dishes and reduce the cooking time by about 15 mins.
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Dice onions and celery into small pieces.
Melt 2 tbs butter in a medium skillet, add the minced garlic and saute for about 2 mins. Add the onions and celery, salt and pepper to taste. Cook until tender, about 10 minutes, then remove from heat.
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Place sausage in a hot skillet over medium heat, break into bite size chunks, cook until well done, then remove from heat.
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Core and dice apples into 1/2 inch pieces.
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In a very large bowl (I use my largest boiling pot), add the cubed stuffing, chicken both and 10 tbs melted butter. Mix to incorporate the liquid into the stuffing cubes.
Add the apples, cooked onions, celery and sausage then mix to get all ingredients well distributed. Pour combined mixture into a greased baking dish.
Mixing all of this together can be a workout, feel free to break this into a few smaller batches and then combine the batches in the baking pan.
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Place on center rack of the preheated oven and bake for about 90 mins. After about 60 mins the top should begin to get golden brown. If you like a crunchy top, continue uncovered just check every 10 mins to ensure it’s not getting too dark. If you are not a fan of the crunchy top, simply cover with aluminum foil and return to oven for the remaining time.
Serve covered with gravy or alone.
I hope this becomes a favorite for your family holiday meals like it has for ours!
During busy holidays, this stuffing can be cooked a day in advance. Simply reheat in the microwave just before serving!
Enjoy!
Jeff and Kristy
This looks amazing! Thank you for sharing a yummy recipe that seems easy to make. I am hosting 28! Wish me luck!
Good Luck! Wow, 28 is so many… :) You rock!!
Yummy! I’m going to try this as a side dish — usually make it in the bird to keep the turkey from drying out but since I’m not hosting I’m not making the turkey . This sounds and looks amazing !
You will love it Liz! So good… Hugs! xx
Liz, To keep your bird from drying out, stuff your bird with apples, oranges, celery, carrots and onions. Also plenty of butter under the skin. I have been making my turkey like this for over 30 years and it is always moist❤️
Happy Thanksgiving to you, Kristy and Jeff 🦃
Love it! I will be making it vegan but I really like the looks of this recipe. Especially the apples ?
You’ll have to let me know how it works for you vegan wise… I have so many vegetarian friends. :) xx
Of course it’s the best recipe. It’s identical to my moms! Hilarious
I love it Karen! Great minds and upbringings!! :) Hugs xx
Great Recipe !!!! Jeff stuffing looks delish !!!! Happy Friendsgiving !!!!
Thanks Pati! It really is so yummy… Hugs and Happy Thanksgiving to you too! xx
Can you put this stuffing in the turkey? Looks yummy.
We don’t recommend putting stuffing inside the turkey for safety reasons… It tastes yummy on it’s own and the turkey actually cooks a little faster without the stuffing inside also. :)
This looks delish…a variation on what I usually make which does not have apples or sausage. Hmmm…might be making two kinds this year :) Jeff is a keeper!
He really is Susan.. ;) You are so sweet. Hugs!
Hi Kristy and Jeff!
Looks so delicious!
When do you add the garlic?
Notice Jeff has minced garlic there. Does he prefer that to a garlic clove?
Let m know!
Thanks for sharing!
Hi Becky,
Jeff adds the garlic when he sautés the onions and celery. I’ll include that in the recipe. Thanks for catching that. ;) He loves the already minced garlic from Christopher Ranch because it’s easier and it saves time. xx
Hi Becky,
You can add the cook the garlic with the celery and onions! He likes both.. whichever you prefer. xx
I would like to make this early so need to know if there is a point where I can stop and freeze the recipe before baking on Thanksgiving or can I freeze it after baking. Help !!
Hi Geena,
We have never frozen it specifically, so I don’t see why you can’t. We really love the fresh toasty though, even if you just do it the night before and re-heat it up on Thanksgiving day. But I think you can freeze after baking if you must. xx
Is the garlic supposed to be cooked with the onions and celery or melted with the butter? I don’t remember what Jeff did in the insta story and I think I keep missing it in the directions. Sorry!
Thanks in advance!
Hi Daniella,
Sorry about the delay.. yes the garlic is supposed to be cooked with the onions and celery!
Enjoy. xx
Hi Kristy
I just maxed Jeef World’s best stuffing. For our thanksgiving dinner? I ll let you know what my family said about ?
Happy thanksgiving ???
Can’t wait to hear!!! We love it… xx
Okay….I really enjoy watching you & Jeff. I know he loves William & Sonoma—Jeff, you have to buy their Focaccia Stuffing. The breadcrumbs are amazing!! As is their Turkey Gravy Base.
Happy Thanksgiving ?????
Thanks, Kristi and Jeff. ill be making this tomorrow to be ready for the oven on Thurs im going to use cornbread cubes – Do you think there will be issues with that (making my cornbread now!).
Happy Thanksgiving and many hugs to you both, and Emma and her boyfriend as well!
Hi Christina! It sounds amazing with the cornbread cubes! Share a picture with me when it’s all done. :) xo
This Sounds anD looks delicious, i guess i’ll be changing my Stuff this Year,😊
Awesome Mark!! :) Let us know how you like it.. xx
Thanks for sharing this! I will make this for my Thanks giving dinner. Everything you and Kristy post is just great! ❤❤ I always look forward to what is happening with you 2 everyday. Thank you so much!
Aww Yay Vicki! I’m so glad to hear that.. thanks for always being there and showing up. We appreciate you! Let us know how you like the stuffing. :) xx
Do you add the stock over top of everything?
I make a similar recipe to this, but I love all Jeff’s recipes, so I will try adding sausage next time. So good
My husband and i made this yesterday…substituted cornbread Instead of stUffing. Amazing! We will make every year. Thank you Jeff and Kristy
i MADE THIS for Thanksgiving dinner! I modified it by using Trader Joes gluten free stuffing mix and it came out amazing!! Thank you for this recipe!
Easy to make and everyone loved it! it was even better the next day with all the yummy leftovers!
Wow, this looks so good! I’ve never tried adding sausage.. that sounds tasty!! I always add chopped walnuts in addition to celery, onions and apples! The best side on Thanksgiving 🙌🏻🤍
Looks so yummy! I’m going to try it! Thank you so much for sharing ♥️
The stuffing looks delicious! Happy Thanksgiving!
Oh Kristy! I can’t wait to make this! Thank you for sharing and thanks to Jeff, too. Love you both!
Do you think it will be fine if I bake today to serve tomorrow or do you suggest I not bake it today, just mix it up to be baked tomorrow?
Can’t wait to make this… can we make it and then refrigerate it and bake it the next day?
I’ve been making it for a couple of years , n I misplaced the recipe. I was going crazy lol I’m glad you were making it again this year. I just love it n all my guest . Thank you so much . You guys are great Come up
I make this recipe every year and we just love it. Thank you so much Jeff and Kristy.
I made this last year, its so good. Thanks Jeff and Kristy
Hi Kristy, I love all of Jeff’s recipe. On this stuffing, how many ounces is the Pepperidge farms stuffing? I feel like the bags I bought are small.
Going to try this! Looks amazing 🤩
This looks amazing. Love the hot sausage and apple. May try this year.
I’m so happy I found you all through others post! You both come across as great people! I’m enjoying your posts! I will make Jeff’s stuffing for Thanksgiving as no Christmas this year!
Thanks Tammy!!
Looks Amazing 😍 I have to make it … 😋 Thanks for Sharing 🥰
That looks delish! I’m not seeing anywhere in the recipe how much chicken broth he uses and when he adds it 🤔
can you send the dressing recipe in a printable way?
Thanks!
Done! :)
How do I print recipe?
Jeff added the recipe card at the bottom so you should be able to print it now. :)
Thank you for sharing. Will be making tomorrow for my husband and I.
I’m a southern lady that does dressing , but I’m going to try this also .. it looks delicious!!