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Close-up of sausage stuffed apples with browned, crispy stuffing tops and tender baked red apple skins.
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Sausage Stuffed Apples

This is about to be your new favorite holiday side dish: Crispy-edged Italian sausage stuffing baked inside tender, sweet-tart apples, then finished with warm honey and flaky salt. Every guest gets their own, and nobody has to fight over the corner piece.
Prep Time25 minutes
Cook Time55 minutes
Total Time1 hour 20 minutes
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Servings: 8 (1 stuffed apple each)
Calories: 1677kcal
Author: Dee Broughton

Equipment

  • Melon baller or teaspoon
  • large skillet
  • 9×13-inch baking dish
  • Paring knife

Ingredients

For the Stuffed Apples

  • 6 to 8 large Pink Lady or Honeycrisp apples
  • 12 ounces sweet Italian pork sausage
  • ½ cup yellow onion diced
  • ⅓ cup celery diced
  • 2 garlic cloves minced
  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 6-ounce box herb seasoned stuffing mix such as Kinder's or Stove Top
  • 1¾ cups chicken broth divided

For Garnish

  • honey for drizzling
  • flaky sea salt for sprinkling

Instructions

Prep the Apples

  • Preheat the oven to 375°F. Cut about ½ inch off the top of each apple. Use a melon baller or teaspoon to remove the core and scoop out a cavity, leaving walls and bottoms about ½ inch thick. Stand the apples upright in a 9x13-inch baking dish, using a second dish if needed.
    A cored apple sits on a wooden cutting board next to a melon baller and apple scraps.

Brown the Sausage

  • Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and break it into small crumbles. Cook 6 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until fully cooked with deeply browned edges. Transfer to a plate, leaving about 2 tablespoons of rendered fat in the skillet. Spoon off only the excess.
    Ground sausage browning in a skillet on a stovetop.

Cook the Vegetables

  • Reduce the heat to medium. Add the onion and celery and cook in the sausage fat 3 to 4 minutes, until softened. Stir in the garlic and pepper and cook 30 seconds, until fragrant.
    Softened onion and celery in the rendered sausage fat, with a mound of minced garlic and black pepper just added to the skillet.

Build the Stuffing

  • Return the sausage to the skillet. Add the whole box of stuffing mix and 1¼ cups of the broth. Stir until the stuffing absorbs the liquid and begins to soften, then remove from the heat. It should be moist throughout without turning mushy.
    Sausage stuffing in the skillet: herb stuffing cubes stirred into the browned Italian sausage, onion and celery.

Stuff the Apples

  • Spoon the stuffing into the apples, mounding it slightly above the openings. Press gently so it stays in place, without packing it tight. Pour the remaining ½ cup broth into the dish around the apples.
    Six hollowed red apples mounded with sausage stuffing on a parchment-lined sheet pan, broth poured around them, ready to bake.

Bake

  • Bake uncovered 35 to 40 minutes, checking at 30, until a paring knife slides into the apple flesh easily, the apples still hold their shape and the stuffing has golden brown edges.
    Six sausage stuffed apples fresh from the oven on a parchment-lined sheet pan, the stuffing tops browned and crisp.

Finish and Serve

  • Rest 5 minutes, then transfer to a platter. Drizzle with honey, sprinkle with flaky sea salt and serve warm.
    Six sausage stuffed apples on a scalloped cream platter, sprinkled with herbs and flaky sea salt.

Notes

  • Servings follow the apple count: one apple per person. Use 6 very large apples or 8 medium-large ones. Depending on apple size, you may have extra stuffing.
  • Broth: after the stuffing rests 5 minutes, add another 1 to 2 tablespoons only if dry, crunchy pieces remain. The stuffing keeps absorbing moisture and fat from the sausage and vegetables.
  • Fat: the 2 tablespoons of rendered sausage fat stand in for the butter that boxed stuffing mixes usually call for.
  • Bake time: thick walls or extra-large apples may need another 5 to 10 minutes. Test with a paring knife.
  • Leave the skins on. They help the apples hold their shape under the stuffing.
  • Swaps: Braeburn or Granny Smith apples for Pink Lady or Honeycrisp. Pork breakfast sausage or hot Italian sausage for sweet Italian.
  • Storage: cool, then refrigerate in an airtight container within 2 hours, up to 3 days. Reheat in a baking dish with a little chicken broth, covered loosely with foil, at 325°F for 10 to 15 minutes. Add honey and flaky salt after reheating.

Nutrition

Calories: 1677kcal | Carbohydrates: 164g | Protein: 58g | Fat: 93g | Saturated Fat: 30g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 13g | Monounsaturated Fat: 40g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 253mg | Sodium: 3746mg | Potassium: 2324mg | Fiber: 28g | Sugar: 119g | Vitamin A: 1009IU | Vitamin C: 61mg | Calcium: 159mg | Iron: 6mg