Using half butter & half chicken stock lightens this up a bit!
Stuffing or Dressing – whatever you call it, our family calls it “our favorite side!” We love it even more than mashed potatoes, so I always make extra. Like way extra.
This apple and sage dressing will get you into the holiday spirit the minute the amazing smell of onions and sage hit your nose! The whole house just smells like Thanksgiving! I’ve lightened up this recipe a little, by cutting the butter in half and adding more chicken stock to make it moist. Yup. I busted out the “M” word.
Note on the bread: You can make your own bread cubes by cutting a loaf of bread into ½” cubes, then drying overnight or in the oven. I have done that before and honestly – it didn’t taste any better. Plus it was a complete time-suck. Now, I just make sure everyones completely liquored up, buy a box of unseasoned stuffing and make the rest from scratch. No one notices.
APC Smart-Planning Tip:
- Buy unseasoned bread stuffing (or cornbread if you prefer) in a box. You’re making the rest from scratch and honestly, no one notices.
- Prep and dice all the veggies 1-2 days before, sealing in small zip-loc baggies. Measure and place all spices into a zip-loc baggie. Then – put all the baggies with your pre-measured ingredients into one large zip-loc, label it “Stuffing Ingredients” and keep in the fridge. Makes it way easier to simply throw into the saucepan and make the stuffing, the morning of.
Apple Sage Stuffing
Ingredients
- 24 ounces 24 ounces (about 1.5, 15-oz boxes) of unseasoned Bread Stuffing mix.
- ½ cup ½ c butter, unsalted
- ½ 1/2 c yellow onion, diced
- 2 2 carrots, peel and diced
- 2 stalks 2 stalks celery, diced
- 2 cloves 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp dried sage
- 1 tsp dried rosemary
- 2 Granny Smith apples, diced. The tartness of Granny Smith is a nice foil to the richness.
- 1 tbsp pure maple syrup
- 1½ cup chicken or vegetable stock
- 1 tbsp sage, chopped
Instructions
- Spray a 9×13” casserole dish with cooking spray. Set it aside.
- In a large skillet on medium-heat, melt the butter. Add in onions, carrot, celery and garlic. Stir and cook until veggies are tender and the onion is translucent. Next, stir in thyme, sage, rosemary, apples and maple syrup. Stir well to combine.
- In a large mixing bowl, place the bread cubes , fresh sage and apple mixture from the stove, tossing to combine.
- Finally, stir in the chicken or veggie stock, about 1/2 cup at a time. You want the stuffing to be moist, but not wet or soggy! Spoon the stuffing mixture into your casserole dish and bake for about 20 minutes, or until top is light brown and crunchy.
