Best Italian Stuffing Recipes

ITALIAN SAUSAGE AND BREAD STUFFING

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle. Generously butter baking dish.
• Put bread in 2 shallow baking pans and bake, switching position of pans halfway through baking, until just dried out, about 10 minutes.
• Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers, then cook half of sausage, stirring and breaking it into small pieces, until golden brown, about 6 minutes. Transfer with a slotted spoon to a large bowl. Brown remaining sausage in remaining tablespoon oil, transferring to bowl.
• Pour off fat from skillet and wipe clean. Heat butter over medium heat until foam subsides, then cook onions, celery, garlic, and ½ teaspoon each of salt and pepper, stirring occasionally, until golden, 12 to 15 minutes. Add vegetables and bread to sausage.
• Whisk together eggs, ½ cup cream, turkey stock, cheese, and parsley, then stir into stuffing and cool completely, about 30 minutes. Reserve 5 cups stuffing to stuff turkey and spoon remainder into baking dish, then drizzle with remaining ¼ cup cream. Cover stuffing and chill.
• About 1 hour before stuffed turkey is finished roasting, bring dish of stuffing to room temperature. When turkey is done, increase oven temperature to 425°F and bake stuffing, covered tightly with foil, until hot throughout, about 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake until top is golden and crisp, about 15 minutes more.
• Cooks' Note: Bread can be toasted 3 days ahead and kept (once cool) in a sealed bag at room temperature. Stuffing can be prepared (but not baked) 4 hours before roasting turkey. If baking stuffing at the same time as potatoes, put stuffing in upper third of oven and potatoes in bottom third (allow extra time).

SHELLS WITH ITALIAN SAUSAGE AND RICOTTA STUFFING

Steps:

• 1. In a skillet, cook sausage over medium heat, until pork is no longer pink; drain.
• 2. In a Dutch oven, cook pasta shells according to package directions; drain and rinse with cold water.
• 3. Using a pastry brush, coat sides and bottom of a 3-quart baking dish with oil.
• 4. Pour half of the marinara sauce into baking dish.
• 5. In a large bowl, combine eggs, ricotta cheese, 2-½ cups of mozzarella, ½ cup Parmesan cheese, Romano cheese, basil, pepper and prepared sausage.
• 6. Stuff shells with meat mixture; arrange in baking dish.
• 7. Pour remaining marinara sauce over shells.
• 8. Cover and bake at 350°F for 30 minutes.
• 9. Uncover; sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.
• 10. Bake 5 minutes longer or until cheese is melted.
• 11. Sprinkle with parsley.
• 12. Serve.

ITALIAN SAUSAGE STUFFING CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325ºF.
• Butter a 2 quart baking dish.
• In a large skillet, cook sausage over medium heat until no longer pink; drain & remove from skillet. Set aside.
• Pour any grease from skillet & melt butter.
• Add celery & onion and saute until slightly tender, 2-3 minutes. Stir in the green pepper & garlic and continue to saute until all veggies are tender.
• In a large bowl, combine the stuffing, sausage, celery mixture, cheese & pepper. Add broth and egg and toss to combine.
• Spoon into prepared dish, cover and bake for 35 minutes.
• Uncover and bake an additional 10-15 minutes or until lightly browned.

THANKSGIVING TURKEY WITH ITALIAN MEAT STUFFING

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Place the ground beef into a skillet, and cook and stir the meat until browned and crumbly, breaking it up into chunks as it cooks, about 10 minutes. Drain grease. Place the ground beef into a large mixing bowl.
• Tear the bread into rough chunks, and place into a bowl; soak bread in water until moistened, and squeeze the water out of the bread. Crumble the wet bread into the bowl with the ground beef. Mix in the onion, celery, mushrooms, 4 cloves of garlic, flat-leaf parsley, Parmesan cheese, and egg until thoroughly combined. Season with salt and black pepper.
• Rinse the turkey, and pat dry with paper towels. Lightly stuff the turkey with the ground beef mixture, and place into a roasting pan with a lid. Rub the turkey with olive oil, squeeze lemons over the turkey, and sprinkle 2 more cloves of garlic, the garlic powder, and more salt and black pepper over the bird.
• Roast the turkey uncovered in the preheated oven until the skin is browned, about 45 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees C (175 degrees C), and cover the turkey with the lid. Continue roasting until the juices run clear and an instant-read meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of a thigh reads 180 degrees F (80 degrees C), about 5 more hours. Baste occasionally. If the bottom of the roasting pan looks dry, pour in water.

SOUTHERN ITALIAN THANKSGIVING STUFFING

Steps:

• Preheat an oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a deep 9x13 inch baking dish or roasting pan.
• Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and stir in the sausage. Cook and stir until the sausage is crumbly, evenly browned, and no longer pink. Drain and discard any excess grease. Place the browned sausage into a large mixing bowl.
• Meanwhile, heat the olive oil and pancetta in a large skillet over medium heat. Once the pancetta begins to brown, stir in the onions and celery, and cook until the onion softens and turns translucent, about 8 minutes. Stir in the garlic, and cook another 3 minutes until the aroma of the garlic mellows.
• Scrape the onion mixture into the bowl with the crumbled sausage. Add the French bread, cornbread, dried sage, poultry seasoning, salt, and pine nuts; stir well. Pour in the chicken broth and mozzarella cheese; stir until the chicken stock has been absorbed by the bread and the stuffing is evenly mixed. Pack the stuffing into the prepared baking dish, and dot the butter overtop. Cover with aluminum foil.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes, then remove the foil, and continue baking until the top has turned golden brown, about 15 minutes more. Sprinkle with the fresh sage and shaved Parmesan cheese to serve.

ITALIAN SPINACH STUFFING

Steps:

• Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add onions and sauté, stirring, until translucent, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and add garlic, spinach and mushrooms and cook, stirring often, until well mixed and heated through, about 5 minutes. Season mixture to taste with salt and pepper; set aside.
• Finely mince chicken gizzards. (You can do this by hand or in a food processor, but be careful not to overprocess.) Season gizzards all over with salt. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add gizzards and sauté, stirring often, until cooked through, 5 to 7 minutes. Drain off any drippings, then stir gizzards into spinach mixture. Let cool to room temperature.
• Heat oven to 350 degrees. When spinach mixture is cool, add eggs, cheese, bread crumbs and parsley and stir until well combined. Transfer stuffing to a 3-quart casserole dish and bake, covered, 1 hour.

SKILLET STUFFING WITH ITALIAN SAUSAGE AND WILD MUSHROOMS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425°F. Toast bread on a rimmed baking sheet until dry, about 10 minutes. Let cool. Reduce oven temperature to 375°F.
• Meanwhile, heat 1 Tbsp. oil in a 12" cast-iron skillet over medium-high. Add sausage and cook, breaking into pieces with a spatula, until browned, about 7 minutes. Add onion, mushrooms, and sage and cook, stirring occasionally, until well browned, 8-10 minutes. Add wine and cook, stirring occasionally, until reduced by half. Let cool slightly.
• Whisk eggs, broth, cheese, mustard, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Add sausage mixture, reserving skillet, and bread and toss to combine. Let sit 5 minutes, toss again, then pack back into skillet.
• Bake stuffing until lightly browned on top and cooked through, about 20 minutes.

ITALIAN SAUSAGE STUFFING

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
• In large skillet, cook sausage over medium heat until no longer pink; drain.
• Remove sausage from skillet; set aside. In the same skillet, melt butter.
• Add the celery, onion, green pepper, and garlic; saute until tender, about 5 minutes
• In a very large bowl, combine the sausage, celery mixture, cubed stuffing, cheese, olives, and seasonings.
• Add chicken broth and eggs; toss to combine.
• Spoon into a buttered 3-qt baking dish. Cover and bake for 1 hour.
• Uncover; bake 10 minutes longer or until lightly browned and a meat thermometer inserted into the center reads 160 degrees F.

ITALIAN SAUSAGE AND PARMESAN CHEESE STUFFING

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Spread bread cubes on large rimmed baking sheet. Bake until bread is dry, about 15 minutes. Transfer to large bowl and cool. Maintain oven temperature.
• Generously butter 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add sausages and sauté 5 minutes, breaking up with back of fork. Add chicken livers; sauté just until sausages and livers are cooked through, about 7 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer sausage mixture to bowl with bread cubes. Add 1 tablespoon oil to same skillet. Add onions and next 4 ingredients; sauté until onions and celery are tender but not brown, about 10 minutes. Add onion mixture to bread cubes. Stir in 3/4 cup Parmesan, currants, parsley, salt, and pepper. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)
• Mix eggs and broth into stuffing; transfer to baking dish. Cover dish with foil. Bake 40 minutes. Uncover; sprinkle with 1/4 cup Parmesan and bake until top begins to brown, about 20 minutes.

JOHNSONVILLE® ITALIAN SAUSAGE STUFFING

Steps:

• In large skillet, crumble and cook sausage over medium heat until no longer pink and lightly browned; drain and set aside. In the same skillet, melt butter and saute celery, onion, green pepper and garlic until tender.
• In a large bowl, combine bread stuffing, sausage, vegetables, Parmesan cheese, olives and seasonings. Combine broth and eggs; add to bread mixture, stirring gently to mix.
• Transfer to a buttered 3-quart baking dish. Cover and bake at 325F for 60 minutes. Uncover and bake 10 minutes longer or until lightly browned. Serve.

SOURDOUGH, ITALIAN SAUSAGE, AND CHESTNUT STUFFING

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. Butter a shallow 3-quart baking dish and a sheet of foil. Place bread in a very large bowl.
• Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add chestnuts, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring often, until chestnuts are golden and crisp, about 5 minutes. Transfer to bowl with bread with a slotted spoon.
• Heat remaining 1/4 cup oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Add sausage and cook, stirring occasionally and breaking into small pieces with a wooden spoon, until browned and cooked through, 8-10 minutes. Transfer to bowl with slotted spoon.
• Add onions, celery, and chiles to skillet, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring often, until onions are translucent and soft, 5-7 minutes. Add apple, garlic, and sage and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are golden brown and apple is soft, about 5 minutes. Discard chiles. Add onion mixture to bowl.
• Add onions, celery, and chiles to skillet, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring often, until onions are translucent and soft, 5-7 minutes. Add apple, garlic, and sage and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are golden brown and apple is soft, about 5 minutes. Discard chiles. Add onion mixture to bowl.
• Reduce heat to medium and cook Sherry in skillet, scraping up any browned bits, until almost all evaporated, about 1 minute. Add 1/2 cup butter; cook, stirring, until melted. Drizzle over bread mixture.
• Whisk eggs and 2 cups stock in a medium bowl; pour over bread mixture. Season with salt and pepper and toss, adding more stock 1/4-cupful at a time as needed (you may not use it all), until combined and bread is hydrated. Transfer to prepared dish and dot with remaining 1/4 cup butter.
• Cover with buttered foil; bake until a paring knife inserted into the center comes out hot, 30-35 minutes. Increase oven temperature to 450°. Uncover and bake until top is golden brown and crisp, 20-25 minutes. Let sit 10 minutes before serving.
• Do ahead: Stuffing can be assembled 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.

ITALIAN SAUSAGE AND KALE STUFFING

Steps:

• Brown sausage in large skillet sprayed with cooking spray, stirring occasionally; drain. Return sausage to skillet.
• Add kale; cook and stir 3 min. or until softened. Remove sausage mixture from skillet; cover to keep warm.
• Use same skillet to prepare stuffing mixes as directed on package.
• Add sausage mixture and nuts; mix lightly.

ITALIAN SAUSAGE AND BREAD STUFFING

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle. Generously butter baking dish.
• Put bread in 2 shallow baking pans and bake, switching position of pans halfway through baking, until just dried out, about 10 minutes.
• Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers, then cook half of sausage, stirring and breaking it into small pieces, until golden brown, about 6 minutes. Transfer with a slotted spoon to a large bowl. Brown remaining sausage in remaining tablespoon oil, transferring to bowl.
• Pour off fat from skillet and wipe clean. Heat butter over medium heat until foam subsides, then cook onions, celery, garlic, and ½ teaspoon each of salt and pepper, stirring occasionally, until golden, 12 to 15 minutes. Add vegetables and bread to sausage.
• Whisk together eggs, ½ cup cream, turkey stock, cheese, and parsley, then stir into stuffing and cool completely, about 30 minutes. Reserve 5 cups stuffing to stuff turkey and spoon remainder into baking dish, then drizzle with remaining ¼ cup cream. Cover stuffing and chill.
• About 1 hour before stuffed turkey is finished roasting, bring dish of stuffing to room temperature. When turkey is done, increase oven temperature to 425°F and bake stuffing, covered tightly with foil, until hot throughout, about 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake until top is golden and crisp, about 15 minutes more.
• Cooks' Note: Bread can be toasted 3 days ahead and kept (once cool) in a sealed bag at room temperature. Stuffing can be prepared (but not baked) 4 hours before roasting turkey. If baking stuffing at the same time as potatoes, put stuffing in upper third of oven and potatoes in bottom third (allow extra time).

MY DAD'S ITALIAN-AMERICAN TURKEY STUFFING

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
• Cook the vegetables: In a large skillet, melt 2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) of the butter. Add the onions and celery. Season with salt and pepper. Cook the vegetables, over medium heat, until translucent, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat and transfer the contents to a bowl. Set aside.
• Toast and season the bread: Arrange the bread slices in a single layer on a baking sheet and toast until light brown. Alternatively, brown them in a toaster. While the bread is still hot, lightly butter both sides of each piece with 1 tablespoon of the butter. Cut into 1-inch squares and transfer them to a large bowl. Toss with salt, pepper, the thyme, sage and rosemary. Mix to blend. Set aside.
• Cook the turkey innards and pepperoni: Heat a tablespoon of the butter and, in a large skillet, quickly saute the heart and gizzard pieces, 30 seconds. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from the heat and add it to the bowl of celery and onions. Stir to blend. In the same large skillet, add the remaining 1 tablespoon of the butter and saute the pepperoni pieces over high heat until crispy, 2 to 3 minutes. Drain on a paper towel.
• Make the mix: Combine the celery and onion mixture, the cooked breakfast sausage, the mozzarella and the pepperoni in the bowl containing the toasted bread. Mix to blend and add the cup of chicken stock to moisten all of the ingredients.
• Pour the mixture into a large baking dish and cover with foil. Bake 30 minutes, then remove the foil and continue baking until golden brown, about 20 more minutes.

ITALIAN STUFFING WITH SAUSAGE AND PARMESAN

Steps:

• In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add onion, celery, bell peppers and garlic. Cook, stirring often, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add sausage and cook, breaking up meat with a spoon, until it loses its pink color, about 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in the basil, oregano, salt and crushed red pepper. Transfer to a large bowl.
• Stir in bread cubes and Parmesan. Stir in butter, wine and enough of the stock to moisten the stuffing, about 1 cup. If not being used to stuff the turkey, place in a buttered baking dish, cover and bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Remove cover and bake an additional 10 minutes to form a crust.
• Note: If bread is very fresh, cut it into cubes, spread out on a baking sheet and let stand for several hours to air-dry.

SUNNY'S ITALIAN SAUSAGE HOLIDAY STUFFING

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Saute the sausage. In a large pan on medium-high heat, add olive oil and sausage. Cook until heated through and browned. Remove to a large bowl along with any remaining fat from the pan. Saute the vegetables and fruit. In the same pan add butter and melt on medium heat. Add scallions, celery, onion, cranberries and Hidden Valley® Homestyle Italian Dressing & Seasoning Mix. Cook while stirring until the vegetables are tender and cranberries become a bit plump, about 6-8 minutes. Remove all to the bowl with the sausage. Mix stuffing. Add stuffing cubes to the bowl and toss. Pour over the chicken stock adding 1/4 cup or so more if cubes are not moist enough, this should feel like thick mashed potatoes. Bake stuffing. Coat the bottom and sides of an 8" x 8" baking dish with cooking spray. Pour in stuffing and press down, leveling off the top with a rubber spatula or back of a spoon. Bake until top is golden, about 35-40 minutes.

JOHNSONVILLE TRADITIONAL ITALIAN SAUSAGE STUFFING

Steps:

• In a skillet, cook and crumble sausage in 1 tbsp. olive oil until no longer pink (160 degrees F); set aside. In a large bowl, combine bread cubes and the remaining oil. Sprinkle with pepper; toss to coat. Transfer to a greased 15-in. x 10-in. baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees F for 10 minutes or until crisp and a lightly browned, stirring once. Remove pan to a wire rack to cool slightly. In a very large bowl, combine the bread cubes, reserved sausage, Parmesan cheese, green pepper, sun-dried tomatoes, basil and garlic. Combine eggs and water; pour over bread mixture and toss to coat. Transfer to a buttered 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish. Dot with butter. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees F for 35-40 minutes or until hot.
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DRIED CHERRY AND ITALIAN SAUSAGE STUFFING

Steps:

• Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat.
• Cook the celery and onions until translucent; about 5-7 minutes.
• In a large bowl combine the celery and onions with the bread, cherries, sausage, parsley, salt and pepper.
• Add the broth and stir well until combined.
• Loosely stuff the mixture into your turkey just before roasting.
• Cover and bake any unused stuffing in a 325 oven for 1 hour; uncover and bake another 15 minutes.
• NOTE: I baked the whole pan separately and also made it the day before- it still turned out great!

ITALIAN FIG AND PROSCIUTTO STUFFING

Steps:

• In a nonreactive saucepan, simmer the figs in the Madeira for 15 minutes. Drain, pat dry and roughly chop. Place the figs, prosciutto and pecans in a medium bowl. Set aside.
• Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and saute until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the parsley, celery, salt, pepper and herbs and cook for 5 minutes more. Place the mixture in a large bowl, add the cubed bread and chicken broth and toss to combine. Add the fig mixture and toss to combine.
• Fill the bird loosely with stuffing; place any remaining stuffing in a casserole and moisten with chicken broth. Roast the bird. Bake the extra stuffing, covered, for about 30 minutes, before serving.

ITALIAN SAUSAGE AND PARMESAN CHEESE STUFFING

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F Spread bread cubes on large rimmed baking sheet. Bake until bread is dry, about 15 minutes. Transfer to large bowl and cool. Maintain oven temperature.
• Generously butter 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish.
• Heat 1 tablespoon oil in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add sausages and sauté 5 minutes, breaking up with back of fork. Add chicken livers; sauté just until sausages and livers are cooked through, about 7 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer sausage mixture to bowl with bread cubes.
• Add 1 tablespoon oil to same skillet.
• Add onions and next 4 ingredients; sauté until onions and celery are tender but not brown, about 10 minutes.
• Add onion mixture to bread cubes. Stir in 3/4 cup Parmesan, currants, parsley, salt, and pepper. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.).
• Mix eggs and broth into stuffing; transfer to baking dish.
• Cover dish with foil. Bake 40 minutes. Uncover; sprinkle with 1/4 cup Parmesan and bake until top begins to brown, about 20 minutes.