This Sausage and Wild Rice Stuffing is hearty enough for a meal but also makes a delicious side dish for Thanksgiving or Christmas.
**This post was originally published Oct 14, 2014. Photos and some of the text was updated before republishing**
Hi Friends-
Would you believe me if I told you that stuffing used to be my least favorite part of Thanksgiving? I’m not really sure why. I just know I avoided it as a kid and it wasn’t until just a few years ago that I discovered how delicious my mom’s Sausage & Wild Rice Stuffing actually is. Hubby loves it as well so I’ve started making it regularly around this time of year. A few years ago I posted a vegetarian version of it since we weren’t eating meat at the time…. but this year I thought I should share the original version since here we are only in October and I’ve already made it twice just because we love it so much.
So now you can make it yourselves. Save it for the holidays or just make it randomly to enjoy like I do. I love this recipe because it has a few ingredients that I don’t use nearly often enough while cooking. It’s made with leeks, which I use in my Curried Sweet Potato Soup recipe, but other than that I rarely buy them. It also uses wild rice, which I kinda love, but I feel like is very often overlooked and under-appreciated in the food world. Plus it has apples, which I always have on hand this time of year and bread…which i just love no matter what!
So here’s how you make it:
Sausage and Wild Rice Stuffing
A delicious stuffing that makes the perfect holiday side dish but is also hearty enough to enjoy as a meal on its own.
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp butter
- 1/2 cup leeks, thinly sliced
- 1 medium apple apple, chopped
- 3 chicken sausages, halved & sliced
- 1 tsp McCormickâs grill seasoning
- salt & pepper to taste
- 1/2 cup Craisins
- 1/2 cup uncooked wild rice
- 2 Tbsp fresh parsley, minced
- 3-4 cup stale bread, cubed
- 1/2 - 2/3 cup chicken broth
Instructions
- Cook rice according to package directions.
- Saute the leeks in the butter until soft.
- Add the apple, sausage, Craisins and seasonings and saute 5 minutes more
- Stir in the cooked rice, parsley and bread cubes until well combined.
- Slowly add broth until all of the bread is moistened.
- Cook until heated through and serve warm.
Pretty easy and super delicious! Feel free to customize with your favorite kind of sausage. And don’t leave out the leeks! They add a mellow yet unique flavor that pairs well with the rest of the ingredients.
Let’s chat:
Are you a stuffing lover? What’s your favorite version?
Enjoy!
–Lindsay–
I’ve never heard of a stuffing with sausage- this looks delicious! I think stuffing is the best part of any roasted bird 😉
what? really? we grew up on sausage and stuffing and eggs and well anything that involved meat and carbs. Dang linz, looks good!
I used to hate stuffing too! Until I went GF and started making my own gf vegan stuffing! Now I van get enough and make it every year!
I grew up on apple and sausage stuffing. Love it! A guggestion for leeks: One of my go-tos is to quickly sautee them in butter or oil, then coat them in mustard. Very French and good hot or cold.
oooh i’ll have to try that!
yum!! I was the opposite. All I used to eat was the stuffing! 🙂
Isn’t it weird when you finally ‘mature’ and realize how awesome your mom’s cooking was? Haha. I don’t love stuffing, like you once, so I should give this a shot.
This looks soooo good!
Looking at that dressing and the FINALLY having a cooler morning in Austin this morning officially has me in the mood for fall and thanksgiving!
It’s definitely getting to be that time of year for comfort food. I’ve never used wild rice in stuffing but love the idea!
Thanks Jeanette! It’s a fun twist for something different!
This stuff sounds amazing and I love the added sweetness from the apple! Delish!
This sounds so good!
I used to avoid stuffing as a kid too and now I can’t believe how many years of deliciousness I missed out on – haha! This recipe sounds great. I enjoy reading about other variations of stuffing and people’s holiday meal traditions. Don’t know about you, but our family pretty much eats the same dishes every year!
This would be DELISH with some vegan “sausage.” Thanks to you I am now EXTRA excited for the holidays coming up and all of the good food 🙂
yesss. love thanksgiving food 🙂
Definitely checking out the vegegarian version! I’ve never heard of sausage in stuffing either!
hope you enjoy!
This looks awesome! Thanks for sharing!
I’m with you on the “late to the stuffing party.” I really didn’t give it a chance until I hosted my own Thanksgiving and made it myself. Maybe I just needed to see (and smell, and taste test) the process.
This recipe looks amazing! I’m filing it away just in case I end up hosting this year again!
woohoo! happy eating!
I’ve heard of stuffing with sausage, but I’ve never tried it. I can seriously go ape on some stuffing though. Leftovers aren’t safe around me when Thanksgiving comes!
i’ve never liked stuffing but this looks great and has all ingredients that i love so i pinned it and am going to try it! thanks for sharing 🙂
hope you love it!
I’ve never liked (traditional) stuffing either, especially since I saw the process to make it as a kid haha
This recipe I could totally get behind though – it looks delicious!
yay! let me know if you try it!
Stuffing is my absolute favorite part of Thanksgiving dinner! Thanks for sharing!
~Bre
Yum! Can’t wait to try this. It is totally different than my family’s traditional stuffing, but it looks amazing!
this looks delicious! (:
Looks delicious!
I ate way too much stuffing one thanksgiving in high school and it took me a long time to jump aboard the train again-but I have. This looks delicious. A must make this thanksgiving for sure.
woohoo! enjoy!
Oh man I love stuffing! So funny you used to avoid it! I’ve never had stuffing with another meat inside of it though…usually it’s stuffing that’s been inside a large bird! 🙂
yeah i still can’t get on board with the stuffing cooked inside the turkey….but this is a good replacement for me 🙂
stuffing is my absolute favorite part of the thanksgiving meal! and this looks like a great one
I’m sooooo pinning and probably making this to share for Thanksgiving! Will likely use gluten-free bread. Such a good recipe!
I love adding leeks in stuffing. Looks so good! 🙂
Love this healthier stuffing recipe for Turkey Day!