Most stuffing recipes use sausage or bacon for the meat component and stop there. This one uses both sausage meat and ground beef, and that combination is what makes it different from everything else on the Thanksgiving table.
This is a recipe my family has made for years. Like a lot of things that came out of my mother’s Italian side of the family, it was never written down anywhere. It was just made, every year, from memory, the same way it had always been made. Getting it onto this site was one of the original reasons I started the blog in the first place, and it’s one of the recipes I’m most glad to have finally put into writing.
It works with turkey, obviously, but it’s equally good alongside a roast chicken, a pork loin, or a beef roast. We make it at Thanksgiving and we make it at other times of year too because there’s no reason to save a stuffing this good for one day a year.
Why Ground Beef in Stuffing?
If you’ve never had stuffing made with ground beef, the idea might sound a little odd at first. Most stuffing recipes lean on sausage for richness and seasoning, and sausage does a lot of good work here too. But the ground beef adds something different: a heartier, more savory depth that balances out the sweetness of the sausage and gives the whole dish more substance.
The combination makes this stuffing genuinely filling in a way that a bread-only stuffing isn’t. It holds together well, it reheats beautifully, and it’s the kind of side dish that people go back for a second helping of before they’ve finished their first plate.
The 80/20 ground beef is important here. Leaner beef doesn’t have enough fat to contribute the richness you want, and you’ll end up with a drier stuffing. Stick with 80/20.
The Bread
The recipe uses Arnold’s stuffing bread, which is pre-cubed and seasoned stuffing bread available at most grocery stores. It’s a reliable base that takes on the flavors of everything around it without getting mushy.
If you can’t find Arnold’s, any plain stuffing cube works. Just avoid the heavily pre-seasoned varieties that come with their own spice packet, since you’re building your own seasoning here and you don’t want things going in two different directions.
Some people prefer to make their own stuffing bread by cubing and drying out a loaf of white sandwich bread or sourdough. That absolutely works and produces a great result. If you go that route, spread the cubes on a sheet pan and let them air dry overnight, or dry them out in a low oven at 250°F for about an hour. You want them genuinely dry before they go into the bowl, not just stale.
The Chicken Broth Trick
The amount of chicken broth you use determines whether your stuffing comes out moist and cohesive or dry and crumbly. This recipe calls for roughly 2 cups of broth in the mixing stage, but the actual amount you need will vary based on how dry your bread cubes are and how much liquid cooked out of the meat.
Start with the lower end of the range and add more gradually, tasting as you go. You want the stuffing to feel moist when you press it together but not wet or soggy. It should hold its shape in the pan without being packed hard.
The other trick is a little extra broth added during baking. Drizzling about half a cup of chicken broth over the top of the stuffing partway through the oven time keeps it moist underneath while the top still gets properly browned and crusty. A squirt bottle makes this easy and lets you distribute it evenly without disturbing the crust that’s forming.
Deglazing the Pan
Don’t skip the deglazing step after cooking the meat. The fond that builds up on the bottom of a cast iron or stainless pan while browning sausage and beef is concentrated flavor, and a splash of chicken broth loosens all of it right into your stuffing. It takes thirty seconds and makes a noticeable difference.
This is one of those small habits that separates stuffing that tastes like it came from a box from stuffing that tastes like someone who knows what they’re doing made it.
Tips for the Best Results
Cook the meat thoroughly but don’t overcook it. You want the sausage and beef fully cooked with some browning on the meat, not gray and steamed. Cook in batches if your pan is crowded. Crowded meat steams instead of browns and you lose all the flavor development that comes from a proper sear.
Season in layers. Season the onions and celery while they cook, season the meat while it cooks, and taste the full mixture before it goes in the oven. Adjusting seasoning at the end is harder than building it up throughout.
Don’t pack the pan too tight. Spread the stuffing in the pan with a light hand. You want some texture on top that can brown and get a little crispy. Packed-down stuffing bakes into a dense block.
Make it a day ahead. Stuffing is one of those dishes that genuinely benefits from sitting overnight. Mix everything together, put it in the baking dish, cover it and refrigerate it. The bread has time to absorb all the flavors from the meat and broth and the result is noticeably better than stuffing that goes straight from bowl to oven. Pull it out of the fridge an hour before baking to take the chill off.
Sausage and Ground Beef Stuffing
Ingredients
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 large onion diced
- 1 and 1/2 cups celery diced
- 1 tsp ground sage
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 2 to 2 and 1/2 cups chicken broth plus an extra 1/2 cup for baking
- 1 bag Arnold’s stuffing bread cubes
- 1 and 1/2 lbs sausage meat
- 1 and 1/2 lbs 80/20 ground beef
- Olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cook the onions and celery. Add the butter to a hot stainless steel or cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add the diced onion and celery, season with salt and pepper, and cook until soft and translucent, about 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a large mixing bowl.
- Brown the sausage. In the same pan, cook the sausage meat over medium-high heat, breaking it up as it cooks, until browned and cooked through. Transfer to the mixing bowl. Deglaze the pan with a splash of chicken broth, scraping up all the browned bits from the bottom, and add everything to the mixing bowl.
- Brown the ground beef. Add a little olive oil to the same pan if needed and cook the ground beef over medium-high heat, breaking it up as it cooks, until browned. Transfer to the mixing bowl. Deglaze the pan again with chicken broth and add the scrapings and liquid to the bowl.
- Combine. Add the bag of stuffing bread cubes to the mixing bowl. Distribute the sage and thyme around the bowl and stir everything together gently.
- Add the broth. Pour 1 and 3/4 to 2 cups of chicken broth around the bowl and stir gently until the bread has absorbed the liquid and everything is evenly combined. The stuffing should feel moist when pressed together but not wet. Add more broth a little at a time if it seems dry.
- Taste and season. Taste the mixture and add salt, pepper, and any additional seasoning you want. This is your last chance to adjust before it goes in the oven.
- Bake. Transfer the stuffing to a 9×13 inch baking dish or larger and spread it out evenly without packing it down hard. Bake at 350°F for 30 minutes, or until the top has browned and the stuffing is heated through. About halfway through baking, drizzle an additional half cup of chicken broth over the top using a squirt bottle or turkey baster to keep the inside moist while the top crisps up.
Video
Notes
What to Serve With This Stuffing
This stuffing is built for a big meal. It belongs on the table alongside:- Roast turkey with a good pan gravy
- Turkey brine if you’re doing a proper Thanksgiving bird
- Roast chicken or pork loin any other time of year
- Mashed potatoes and green beans to round out the plate
- Cranberry sauce, which cuts through the richness of the meat perfectly
Make Ahead and Storage
As mentioned above, this stuffing is better made the day before. Assemble everything in the baking dish, cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. Pull it out an hour before you want to bake it and proceed as directed. Leftovers keep well in the fridge for 3 to 4 days and reheat well in a low oven covered with foil. Add a splash of chicken broth before reheating to bring the moisture back.This is the stuffing that’s been on our table for as long as I can remember. It’s hearty, it’s flavorful, and it’s the kind of recipe that people ask about every time it shows up at a holiday meal. Now that it’s finally written down, maybe it’ll end up on your table too.
