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Stuffing Muffins are a delicious and fun rendition of traditional Thanksgiving stuffing. This small batch version is filled with crumbled Italian sausage, toasted sourdough bread, autumnal herbs and chicken broth. Serve it with my classic cranberry sauce, homemade apple pie and caramelized shallot dip.
What Are Stuffing Muffins
Stuffing muffins are traditional Thanksgiving stuffing but in muffin form. It’s a cuter, more fun delivery of our way to eat stuffing. I personally LOVE stuffing and this is just a hand-held delivery of our favorite Thanksgiving side.
I like that they’re sort of crunchy on the outside and soft and moist on the interior. The smell and taste of Thanksgiving is the combination of chicken/poultry with fresh thyme. I love them so much!
Ingredients You’ll Need for Stuffing Muffins
- Bread – I love using a thinly sliced sourdough bread for these. You don’t want the bread cubes to be too big or else they won’t hold together. I also love the flavor of sourdough.
- Celery – We need our favorite duo of celery and onions for these.
- Fresh herbs – In this instance I love using fresh thyme and fresh sage. They are a dynamic duo that we need in our life for stuffing.
- Butter – We can’t have Thanksgiving without butter.
- Chicken broth – good quality chicken broth is going to add to moistness and a delicious flavor to them.
- Egg – We need this to bind the cubes of stuffing together.
For the rest of the ingredients, please see the recipe card at bottom of this post.
How to Make Stuffing Muffins
- Start by toasting the bread. I love buying sour dough that’s sliced because it ends up being the perfect small cube. Very ideal! And the sourdough adds a nice dimension of flavor.
- Cook the Italian sausage in the pan until it’s browned. Remove it and then add the onions and celery. We really want to slowly cook these so they melt into the olive oil. Add the sage and thyme. Then add the salt and pepper. I like to add a decent amount of pepper in these muffins because I think it adds a nice flavor.
- In a big bowl, add the cubed bread, the onion mixture, the crumbled and cooked sausage and then mix it all together. We are going to taste test it right now for salt BEFORE we add the egg. Important step! Add the appropriate amount of salt to taste.
- And then add in the beaten egg. This will help bind the muffins. Give it a good mix and then pack the muffin tins with the stuffing mixture.
- I ended up with 9 stuffing muffins.
- Transfer to the oven to bake. When they’re all done, run a butter knife along the inside edge of the muffin tin and remove them. Serve them warm!
How to Make Stuffing Muffins
- Start by toasting the bread. I love buying sour dough that’s sliced because it ends up being the perfect small cube. Very ideal! And the sourdough adds a nice dimension of flavor.
- Cook the Italian sausage in the pan until it’s browned. Remove it and then add the onions and celery. We really want to slowly cook these so they melt into the olive oil. Add the sage and thyme. Then add the salt and pepper. I like to add a decent amount of pepper in these muffins because I think it adds a nice flavor.
- In a big bowl, add the cubed bread, the onion mixture, the crumbled and cooked sausage and then mix it all together. We are going to taste test it right now for salt BEFORE we add the egg. Important step! Add the appropriate amount of salt to taste.
- And then add in the beaten egg. This will help bind the muffins. Give it a good mix and then pack the muffin tins with the stuffing mixture.
- I ended up with 9 stuffing muffins.
- Transfer to the oven to bake. When they’re all done, run a butter knife along the inside edge of the muffin tin and remove them. Serve them warm!
Recipe FAQs
Absolutely. Simply use veggie broth instead of chicken broth and leave out the Italian sausage. It’ll still taste delicious.
Thanksgiving is the holiday of reheating things. I understand. We’re all trying to time manage correctly. I like to make these and keep them covered in foil before serving. You can loosely wrap them in foil and pop them in a 300F oven to warm them up.
Recipe Tip
- Prep the bread the day before – If you want to divide the work between days, you absolutely can cube up the bread and bake it the day before. Simply leave it out on the counter and assemble the next day.
- Different fillings – I wouldn’t get too wild with the additions because you really do want them to hold together but feel free to add bacon or pancetta in place of the Italian sausage.
What To Serve with Stuffing Muffins
Holiday
Cranberry Margarita
Desserts
Basque Cheesecake
Appetizers
Caramelized Shallot Dip
Desserts
Chocolate Coconut Pecan Pie
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Stuffing Muffins
Ingredients
- 8 cups white bread, cubed (about 1 loaf)
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 8 ounces Italian sausage, removed from casing
- 1/2 yellow onion, finely diced
- 4 celery stalks, finely diced
- Kosher salt
- 6 large fresh sage leaves, minced
- 6 sprigs of fresh thyme, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- 1 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken stock
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Thoroughly butter or grease the muffin tin and set aside.
- In a single layer, place the bread cubes on a sheet pan and bake for 10 minutes, or until barely toasted. Remove and set aside.
- In a medium skillet, set over medium heat, add the olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the Italian sausage, breaking it up with a wooden spoon. Cook it until browned and thoroughly cooked, about 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from the pan and transfer to a small bowl.
- Turn the heat to medium-low and if needed, add a teaspoon or two more of olive oil. Add the diced onion and celery, adding a few pinches of salt and cook until softened, about 5 to 7 minutes. Add the sage and thyme and cook for 2 to 3 minutes more, along with a few more pinches of salt and about 10 rounds of freshly ground pepper.
- Add the toasted bread crumbs to a large bowl, along with the Italian sausage, cooked onion mixture and chicken broth; mix it until thoroughly combined. Do a taste test? Does it need a bit more salt? If it’s good, pour in the beaten eggs and mix one last time until combined.
- Using a tablespoon, transfer mounds of the stuffing mixture to each muffin tin. Be sure to tightly pack the stuffing in each of the muffin cups. This will make sure the mixture adheres to itself and the muffins don't fall apart. You’ll end up with 12 stuffing muffins.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes, until top is browned. To remove, take a butter knife and go around each of the stuffing muffins’ outer edge. Using your knife, gently lift it up out of the muffin tins. Serve warm.
Notes
- To Make Ahead – Thanksgiving is the holiday of reheating things. I understand. We’re all trying to time manage correctly. I like to make these and keep them covered in foil before serving. You can loosely wrap them in foil and pop them in a 300F oven to warm them up.
- Variations – If you want to make these vegetarian, simply skip the Italian sausage and use organic vegetable broth.
- Different fillings – I wouldn’t get too wild with the additions because you really do want them to hold together but feel free to add bacon or pancetta.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Thanks for this great recipe to try. I’m wondering if it would work for the stuffing to stay formed if put into paper/foil baking cups, then in a muffin tin, like cupcakes? The top would still get crispy and it would all look nice on a platter. Has that been tried?
I don’t think anyone has tried this but it’s a really good idea, but I bet it’d work beautifully.
I made these last night and they were delicious! Thanks for the idea. I was a bit skeptical at first to put eggs in stuffing but they turned out to be so good! I didnt have any pancetta on hand so I used bacon, and omitted the leak.
These look crazy delicious. My husband doesn’t like bread stuffing (he calls is soggy bread stuffing). But I totally see myself making these when he isn’t home and eating the entire pan by myself.
Just purchased all of the ingredients to make these for Thanksgiving. You’re the best!
Okay, so I am definitely making these for my husband this year. So cute! Keep up the great work!
These look amazing! I LOVE stuffing! Single serving style? Even better! I could just eat a mountain of them, I bet. My mom never thinks we need stuffing since she doesn’t like it…As if, mom. As if.
Great recipe ! I made it! It`s delicious!!!
Wow! This is such a good idea, because now I can bring stuffing as an at school snack <3
I love this! I’m also fairly certain that anything in its “mini” form is an excuse to eat extra. It’s totally appropriate for Thanksgiving 🙂
I love leeks…what a great element to add to the muffins. A nice portion control option for stuffing. I’d say the cute mission on this one was throughly accomplished.