Thanksgiving menus can be tedious and sometimes you want dishes that just jump off the table with flavor. This Chinese Sausage Stuffing is sure to become your new Thanksgiving staple.
Ingredients for Chinese Sausage Stuffing
Other than the Chinese sausage and the five-spice powder, you may find that this recipe doesn’t differ too much from a traditional stuffing recipe.
- Chinese Sausage – Chinese Sausage, also known as lap cheong, has an arresting red color and you can find it packaged two ways, fresh at the gourmet grocery store or dehydrated at the Asian market. It can also look something like jerky, but it is always a vibrant red color.
- White Bread– You can also buy a bag of dried bread cubes.
- Yellow Onion– White or red does the trick too!
- Celery– A staple in nearly any stuffing recipe, celery adds a little texture and flavor that complements the other ingredients.
- Garlic– If you want a strong garlicky flavor, opt for fresh. For a sweeter, mild garlic taste, use bottled chopped garlic.
- Flat Leaf Parsley– Sometimes known as Italian. It has the flavor while curly parsley is more for garnish.
- Chinese Five Spice Powder– A bit deceiving, five-spice powder is usually made with more than 5 spices which include cinnamon, cloves, fennel, star anise, pepper, ginger, and nutmeg.
- Fine Sea Salt– Sea salt brings out the flavors of all of the other ingredients.
- Black Pepper– Black pepper rounds out the dish with its gentle heat.
- Vegetable Stock or Chicken Stock– Aim for low sodium since sausage tends to be on the salty side.
Variations
You can absolutely add ingredients or make substitutions to make this stuffing your own.
- Spices – Shake in your own favorite spices to switch up the flavor profile.
- Sauce – For more Asian-inspired flavor stir in a bit of soy sauce, fish sauce, or oyster sauce.
- Mushrooms – Shiitake mushrooms are a great addition to this meaty stuffing.
- Crunchiness – For a little extra texture, fold in some water chestnuts.
- Herbs and Aromatics – Add other fresh herbs like thyme or rosemary. Or, sprinkle in some shallots or green onions.
- Bread – Swap out the white bread for sourdough bread or your own favorite variety.
How to Make Sausage Stuffing
Assembling this stuffing recipe is a breeze!
- Combine. Place all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl and toss until the bread is slightly softened by broth.
- Transfer. Spoon the stuffing mixture into a baking dish.
- Bake. Place it in the oven and bake until the top is crunchy and golden.
What to Serve with Chinese Sausage Stuffing
You can serve this stuffing any time of year with a variety of proteins like chicken or pork. But if you’re making it for Thanksgiving you can absolutely serve it with your turkey and other traditional sides like green bean casserole, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, and mashed potatoes.
Common Questions about Chinese Sausage Stuffing
Chinese sausage is the perfect blend sweet and salty with rich flavor and the perfect dense texture.
Regular sausage typically contains poultry, beef, or pork while Chinese sausage is a combination of multiple meat products like chicken, livers, pork, and pork fat.
Chinese sausage is not ready to eat like some other sausage products you may find at the store. Be sure to cook it before consuming it.
Storage
For storage and freezing- if storage and make-ahead are similar, they can be combined together rather than two sections with just one sentence.
Make Ahead
I don’t recommend making this dish too far in advance. You’ll never get the same crunch back that you did the first time you made it. You can, however, mix all of the ingredients except broth and then set aside until ready to bake.
Refrigerator
Leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container for 3-4 days.
Freezer
This dish can also be frozen. Leave in the fridge overnight to thaw and reheat for 10-15 minutes, uncovered, at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
More Standout Thanksgiving dishes
Chinese Sausage Stuffing
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 loaf white bread , cut into 1-inch cubes*
- 2 cups Chinese sausage , cooked and chopped, see notes
- 1 cup yellow onion , chopped
- 1 cup celery , thinly sliced
- 4 cloves garlic , finely chopped
- 1/4 cup flat leaf parsley , chopped
- 1 teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder*
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/2 ground black pepper
- 1 cup vegetable stock
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spread the bread cubes on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake the for 7 minutes, turn and bake until brown and crispy, approximately 3-4 more minutes. Remove and allow them to cool. Skip this step if you use stuffing mix.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the dried bread, sausage, onion, celery, garlic, parsley, Chinese five spice powder, salt and pepper, tossing well. Pour the vegetable stock over mixture. The bread should be slightly moist. If it isn't, add an additional 1/2 cup of vegetable stock.
- Spray a 9×13 baking dish with cooking spray, spread the stuffing mixture evenly into the dish.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes or until top is crispy.
- If you've tried this recipe, come back and let us know in the comments or ratings!
Notes
Nutrition
Looking forward to reading more. Great blog article. Thanks – Again.
Interesting, I’ve never tried Chinese sausage before, but I can’t wait to try. Can I use regular sausage?
Sure can, we just recommend that you cook and drain the sausage first.
Love the play on flavors! Looks amazing!
Jessica! Never made stuffing in my entire life (ate it for the first time last Saturday at Dean & Deluca!) and now you’ve just inspired me to make my own! Maybe I might try making it next week. 🙂
I can’t wait to see what you create!