Thanksgiving is just days away (!!) and that means it’s time for my absolute FAVORITE food: stuffing. Yes, I am a carb lover who always goes for seconds of the bread goodness over potatoes every single time. As much as I love stuffing I set out years ago to perfect a recipe that was so incredible that family & friends would look forward to it year after year. Sure, Stovetop is good, so is the boxed stuff from Trader Joe’s that you add carrots, celery and onion to but I wanted my stuffing to be decadent. I wanted it to be full of flavor, super moist, and even better on day 2 or 3. The base of this recipe is buttery Brioche bread, it starts with so much of its own flavor and is the ideal bread to pair with the rich Fall flavors. There are also mushrooms, onion, plenty of herbs, and sausage…I am drooling thinking about it!

I have made this recipe for the past 5 years and it gets the highest praise each Friendsgiving and Thanksgiving which always puts a huge smile on my face. Read on if you want to impress your family this year with the best stuffing ever!

• Replace vegan butter for regular butter if you are not dairy free
• Replace gluten free brioche with regular brioche or Challah if you are not gluten free
• If you are vegan omit the sausage and swap the turkey stock for vegetable stock

Ingredients:

• 1 large loaf of gluten free brioche bread cubed and dried for 1-2 days
• 8 tablespoons of dairy free butter, divided, plus more for greasing
• 2 cups finely chopped yellow onion
• 2 cups finely chopped celery
• 2 cups sliced cremini mushrooms
• 10 sprigs of Thyme, chopped
• 3 sprigs of Rosemary, chopped
• 1/4 cup of parsley, chopped
• 8 Sage leaves, chopped
• 1 package Farmer John all natural breakfast sausage
• 3 cups Turkey Stock
• Salt & Pepper

Directions:

• 1-2 days ahead cube the bread and arrange on a parchment lined baking sheet. Leave on the counter to dry.
• Heat the oven to 350.
• In a large skillet over medium heat, cook off the sausage until almost no pink remains. Add the sage and continue cooking until no pink remains. Set aside.
• In a large stockpot or ceramic dutch oven melt 4 tablespoons of butter over medium heat. Cook the onions, stirring, for 5 minutes, until wilted. Add the celery, mushrooms, thyme, rosemary, and parsley and cook stirring until fragrant. Add the sausage & sage mixture and combine.
• In a small skillet over medium heat melt the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter.
• Slowly start adding the bread melted butter, and stock to the vegetable mixture mixing completely. Add salt & pepper to taste.
• If you are using a dutch over press the stuffing firmly into the bottom. If you are using a stock pot, transfer the stuffing to a greased casserole dish. Cover with buttered parchment paper and foil. At this point the stuffing can be held for up to 4 hours at room temperature.
• Bake, for 40 minutes, uncover and continue baking for 15 minutes until the surface is a bit crisp and the bread is golden brown.

Enjoy and if you make this stuffing don’t forget to post a photo and tag me on Instagram, @thedarlingniki!

XO, Niki