Sausage Stuffing Muffins Recipe

These delectable sausage stuffing muffins are a savory twist on a classic holiday favorite. Packed with flavorful sausage, aromatic herbs, and tender bread cubes, these muffins offer a convenient and delicious way to enjoy the comforting flavors of traditional stuffing in individual portions. Perfect for a cozy brunch or as a delightful side dish for your Thanksgiving feast.

Why This Recipe Works:

Savory & Comforting: Zesty Italian sausage, comforting herbs, and earthy mushrooms all make this sausage stuffing muffin recipe super savory and comforting! I don’t know about you, but for me, the flavors of stuffing take me right into the holiday spirit!

Crispy Crust: Making traditional stuffing and turning it into muffin form means that you get a crispy crust on all sides of the muffin and a soft, moist center! I love that about sausage stuffing muffins. Everybody gets that extra crusty bit and no one is stuck with just the soft middle!

Supplies Needed:

• Muffin Tin
• Skillet

Ingredients:

• Corn Husks: Corn husks serve as natural muffin liners that elevate the look of these muffins, too! You can usually find these pretty easily at your local grocery store.
• Italian Sausage: Ground Italian sausage adds a lot of savory flavors!
• Sourdough Bread Cubes: I like the flavor that sourdough lends to these stuffing muffins, but you can use any stale bread cubes! Just make sure you use sturdy bread and not a loaf of wonder bread. That kind of white bread is too soft here!
• Olive Oil: To sauté the veggies!
• Vegetables: Onion, carrots, celery, garlic and mushrooms are added for lots of flavor and aroma!
• Dried Rosemary & Dried Thyme: A combination of dried rosemary and dried thyme adds cozy flavors here!
• Salt & Pepper: To taste.
• Butter: To add moisture and additional flavor.
• Eggs: Eggs help the mixture to stick together and become a muffin.
• Chicken Stock: For moisture!

How To Make Sausage Stuffing Muffins:

1. Preheat & Prep: Preheat the oven to 375 F and soak the corn husks (for the muffin liners) in hot water to soften them.
2. Prep Bread: Cut the sourdough bread into 1 inch cubes. If the bread isn’t stale, toast the cubes in the oven while it preheats about 10 minutes (check halfway through and toss if needed). The bread should be dried out before making the stuffing.
3. Cook Sausage: In a large skillet, cook the ground sausage mixture until cooked through and no longer pink. Drain the fat and set aside.
4. Cook Veggies: In the same skillet, add the olive oil and sauté the onions, carrots, and celery for 5 minutes. Then add the mushrooms, garlic, salt, pepper, rosemary, and thyme. Continue to cook until the mushrooms are tender and browned. Set aside.
5. Toss Ingredients Together: In a large bowl, add the toasted bread cubes, ground sausage, and cooked vegetables.
6. Add Liquid: Beat the two large eggs together and pour them over the stuffing mixture along with the melted butter and chicken stock. Coat and mix everything thoroughly together so it is evenly combined.
7. Fill Muffin Tin: To fill the muffin tins, take a corn husk and place it into the base of each space, and press it down so some of the husk sticks up along the sides. Fill each liner to the top and repeat until the whole muffin tin is filled.
8. Bake: Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until the mixture is heated through and the top is golden brown. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly and serve.

Variations:

• Vegetarian: Make these stuffing muffins vegetarian by omitting the sausage and using vegetable stock in place of chicken stock!
• Bake in a Baking Dish: If you don’t want these in muffin form, you can bake the mixture in a 9 x 13 inch baking dish instead! You will want to make it for longer, about 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes!
• Change up the Veggies: If you aren’t a fan of any of the vegetables here, you can omit them! The celery and onions are pretty key for flavor here, but you can omit mushrooms or carrots if you prefer.
• Skip the Corn Husks: You might prefer not to use the corn husks in this recipe, and that is okay! You should grease the muffin tin extremely well with butter or non-stick cooking spray and then bake the stuffing directly into the tin. To help release the stuffing muffins from the tin, use a rubber spatula!

Make Ahead And Storage Tips:

To make this sausage stuffing muffin recipe ahead of time, prep the bread cubes and sauté the veggies first. Then keep the bread in a container at room temperature until you are ready to mix it with the rest of the ingredients. Store the veggies in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days until you are ready to combine the rest of the ingredients and bake the stuffing muffins!

To make them just a few hours ahead of time, you can prep everything and place the stuffing into the tins with the corn husks. Then refrigerate the stuffing muffins for up to 4 hours until you are ready to pop them into the oven! Simply add a few minutes to the baking time since they will be going into the oven cold.

To store any leftover sausage stuffing muffins, store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.

More Holiday Recipes to Try:

• Cheesecloth Herb Butter Turkey
• Cranberry Sangria
• Mini Smoked Cheeseballs
• Smoked Stuffing Recipe
• Maple Bourbon Cranberry Sauce