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This simple Apple Stuffing recipe is sure to make this holiday season all the more delicious. Sweet apples add a new level to buttery savory stuffing. Simple to whip up and full of fresh herbs and flavor. It’s the perfect compliment to any turkey or Thanksgiving dinner!
Table of Contents
- Why You Will Love This Apple stuffing Recipe:
- Recipe Ingredients:
- How To Make This Apple Sage Stuffing:
- What kind of bread is best for stuffing?
- What are the best apples to use in this stuffing?
- Recipe Tips
- Storage:
- Possible Apple Stuffing Add-Ins:
- Other holiday recipes:
- Simple Apple Sage Stuffing Recipe
- Shop this Post:
This recipe was originally published in November 2018 and updated October 2021.
Thanksgiving is coming, and there is one food I can’t wait for the most: stuffing!!! I. LOVE. STUFFING! And I want homemade stuffing, none of the stovetop stuffing, no thanks!
Between this apple sage stuffing and my butternut squash stuffing, my plate at the table is all set. Just give it all to me. Nothing else!
Love all the holiday side dishes? Try these as well: Puff Pastry Brie Bites, Cheddar Gruyère Mac and Cheese, Cranberry Apple Chutney Recipe, or Instant Pot Garlic Parmesan Mashed Potatoes! And start your holiday off with the easiest Butter Herb Crock Pot Turkey Breast to pair with it all!
Why You Will Love This Apple stuffing Recipe:
- Savory, rich flavor with a touch of sweet from the apple. A little sweet tartness from the apples in this apple stuffing is just the right amount of vibrance the dish needs.
- It can be prepared ahead of time. You have a lot going on around the holiday dinner. Feel free to prepare this apple stuffing the night before and let it soak overnight. If doing so, pour the melted butter over top when ready to bake versus the night before.
- The perfect pairing for your holiday dinner. Whether you are serving up turkey, ham, a roast, lamb–you name it. The rich flavor of this stuffing recipe will balance a beautiful spread and enhance your meal perfectly.
- A great everyday recipe–you don’t need to have this just around the holiday season. Enjoy it year round, or anytime you want a touch of comfort food.
Recipe Ingredients:
- bread: I prefer a large French bread loaf or Italian bread is great too. Usually easy to get at the grocery bakery and nice and crusty. You could use any style you love, but a bakery style that is nice and dense is going to be the most successful. A gluten free bread should work just fine as well.
- apple: one large apple–your favorite. I opt for Gala apples or Fuji apples as they are our personal favorite, but you if you prefer a more tart apples, try Granny Smith. Leave the skin on but if you would rather not have it, you can peel it.
- celery: adds a perfect crunch!
- onion: yellow onion or white onion is preferred in this apple stuffing, I don’t suggest using red onion
- herbs: I prefer to use fresh in stuffing–sage and thyme. You can still use dried, but the flavor will be a bit less profound.
- chicken broth: if you need vegetarian, opt for vegetable broth. I like to use a low sodium chicken broth (chicken stock will work as well) when making this recipe, but it is not necessary if you don’t have it on hand.
- eggs: large eggs
- butter: I use unsalted butter. If you have salted, you can lessen the salt you add to the stuffing.
- nutmeg: a very small pinch. Optional, but it adds a level of flavor you will love!
How To Make This Apple Sage Stuffing:
- For the best apple sage stuffing, start with day old bread. Cube it and let it sit out overnight or cube it and dry it out in the oven. You can bake it for about 30 minutes at 325°F evenly spread out on a sheet pan.
- When bread is ready and you have apples chopped, sauté the celery and onion in 4 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet set to medium heat. Cook until softened and onion becomes translucent. Toss in the fresh herbs and then cook 1-2 more minutes.
- Toss the celery and onion mixture into a large bowl with the bread cubes. Add in the apples to the bowl as well.
- In a separate medium bowl, whisk the broth, eggs, nutmeg, salt and pepper together. Pour over the bread mixture and toss to fully coat all of the bread.
- Transfer this mixture to a greased 9×13 inch pan or large casserole dish. Melt remaining butter and spread over the top of the stuffing. I like to use a brush for this. If it looks like some of the bread is not covered or dry, add more melted butter to make sure it is all lightly soaked.
- Bake covered in foil for about 20-25 minutes. Remove the foil and bake another 10-15 minutes until the top of the bread is golden brown. You can add more butter at any time to spots that look too dry.
- When ready, remove and cool for about 10 minutes before serving. Sprinkle with chopped fresh parsley or your favorite fresh herbs.
What kind of bread is best for stuffing?
If you read enough on this topic, you will find white bread is one of the most popular bread suggestions when making any stuffing.
Ideally, you want a bread that will easily take on the flavors you are adding to it, versus overbearing it. You also want a bread that is smooth, dense texture and with very few holes.
White bread, challah and brioche are the most popular options. Make sure it is day old or on the stale side for the best apple stuffing!
What are the best apples to use in this stuffing?
When baking apples in stuffing, a sweet and slightly tart apple is ideal. You want the apple to have a firm texture that won’t get too mushy in the stuffing either. Pink Lady and Golden Delicious are two recommendation I have found. Some say honeycrisp is a great option as well. I personally always have Fuji or Gala apples in the house, so sometimes it’s a matter of what is around!
Recipe Tips
- Don’t have stale bread? No problem! You can dry it out on your own. Cut up the bread and layer evenly on a sheet pan, or two if needed. Heat at 325°F for about 30 minutes, tossing in the middle.
- Make sure the top of your apple stuffing has sufficient butter and moisture. You don’t want the top of your stuffing to dry out. Add sufficient butter over top and make sure the top layer has soaked in enough moisture. More butter can be used in this case. I sometimes add an extra 2-3 tablespoons of melted butter over top depending on how dry the bread was to start.
- If you love the crispy texture, use a large sheet pan instead of a baking dish. We fight over the top crispy layer. If you spread the apple sage stuffing on a sheet pan, you will have even more of that top layer to serve up.
- Add sausage if desired. I know there’s a school of people who love sausage in their stuffing. I am not one of those people. You can add browned sausage though if desired. Stir it in before baking. This Turkey Sausage Stuffing is a great option if you love sausage too!
Storage:
To store leftover stuffing, transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate for about 4-5 days. If the stuffing seems a bit dried out when reheating, drizzle some melted butter over top.
You can also freeze this recipe for up to 3 months. Allow it to cool completely first (I like to store it in the refrigerator for a few hours first), and then freeze. Allow to thaw overnight in the refrigerator overnight for best results when reheating.
Possible Apple Stuffing Add-Ins:
Feel free to fine tune and vary this apple stuffing recipe to make it even more delicious! It’s so simple to add some extra ingredients to this recipe and add another level of flavor!
- sausage or turkey sausage
- sliced almonds, pecans or walnuts
- fresh cranberries
- mushrooms–this is always in my mother in law’s recipe!
- fresh rosemary
- butternut squash (or you can make this recipe as well!)
- bacon
Other holiday recipes:
Thanksgiving Recipes
Butternut Squash Casserole
Thanksgiving Recipes
Cheesy Bacon Green Bean Casserole
Thanksgiving Recipes
Butternut Squash Stuffing
Appetizers
Puff Pastry Brie Bites
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Simple Apple Sage Stuffing
Ingredients
- 1 loaf thick sliced bread (approx. 20 oz), (day old, cubed)
- 1 large apple, small diced
- 4 celery stalks, chopped
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 1 T fresh chopped sage (or 1 tsp dried sage)
- 1 T freshly chopped thyme (or 1 tsp dried thyme)
- 2 c chicken broth
- 2 large eggs
- 6 T butter, 4 to sauté, 2 for topping
- Pinch of nutmeg
- cracked pepper
- sea salt
Instructions
- Begin with bread sliced into one inch pices that have set out overnght. If you do not have time for this, heat oven to 325°F and place cubed bread on baking sheet and bake for about 30 minutes or until dried out.
- Preheat oven after bread is removed to 375°F.
- Place bread into a large bowl.
- In a skillet, heat 4 T butter to melt. Add in celery and onion and cook until softened (about 5-7 minutes). Add in fresh herbs and cook for another 1-2 minutes.
- Transfer celery and onion mixture to the bread bowl and fold into bread. Add in diced apple as well.
- In a small bowl, whisk together eggs, chicken broth, nutmeg and salt and pepper to your liking. Pour mixture into bread and stir to coat evenly.
- Pour into a greased casserole dish and pour remaining butter (melted) over top.
- Cover with foil and bake for about 20-25 minutes. Remove foil and bake for about 10 minutes or until desired crispiness on top.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool for 5-10 minutes. Add freshly chopped herbs to garnish and serve!
Notes
- Make sure the top of your apple stuffing has sufficient butter and moisture. You don’t want the top of your stuffing to dry out. Add sufficient butter over top and make sure the top layer has soaked in enough moisture. More butter can be used in this case.
- If you love the crispy texture, use a large sheet pan instead of a baking dish. We fight over the top crispy layer. If you spread the apple sage stuffing on a sheet pan, you will have even more of that top layer to serve up.
- Add sausage if desired. I know there’s a school of people who love sausage in their stuffing. I am not one of those people. You can add browned sausage though if desired. Stir it in before baking.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Can this recipe be used to stuff a pork tenderloin?
Hi! I haven’t tried that but I’m sure it would be good!
Can you make this ahead and freeze?
Cooked? Or uncooked?
Hi! Yes, you can cook it and allow it to cool and then freeze for layer. I don’t suggest freezing it uncooked though.
Can you make the day before and reheat?
Absolutely! You could also prep everything the day before and wait to bake it until the next day.
So I am going to taste test this at the weekend.. but now I really want to know.. how is it different from grandmas? Are you going to share THAT recipe!!??
Welllll I believe the main difference is she uses twice the butter and no apple. Hers is extra moist. I also don’t know if she even has hers written down anymore at this point!!
These flavors all tasted so great together!
So good to hear, thanks!
The addition of apples must make this so yummy! Going to share with my family.
It changes things up a bit. Enjoy!
This stuffing was so moist and it truly was easy to make! The addition of apples made it so fresh and delicious!
Our new fam fave. Glad to hear it was tasty!
I loved the apples in this stuffing – sooo good! Thank you!!
The apples are key! Thanks T!