My garlicky, savory mushroom sausage dressing is topped with crispy toasted garlic breadcrumbs and laced with tangy goat cheese and Parmesan. It’s an easy Thanksgiving stuffing recipe with fantastic flavor and texture!
Like my cornbread sausage dressing, this savory mushroom sausage dressing has always been a favorite Thanksgiving dressing recipe. Our family is a huge fan of sausage, so that makes it an automatic win. Plus, I love the depth of flavor that comes from roasting the mushrooms, onion, and a whole bulb of garlic in the oven before tossing them with the leftover bread. Add browned sausage, Parmesan, goat cheese, and fresh thyme to the mix, and, well, that’s one gorgeous flavor medley going on!
About This Easy Mushroom Stuffing Recipe
- Crispy garlic breadcrumb topping. The extra toasted garlic breadcrumbs are like a stuffing for this stuffing! It’s crisp and light, buttery and garlicky. Truly one of my favorite parts of this mushroom sausage dressing!
- Juicy sausage. Pork sausage adds so much flavor and richness to this homemade mushroom stuffing recipe. You could swap it out for spicy Italian sausage or another ground meat if you’d like.
- Easy to make. The steps to roast the mushrooms and garlic and toast the bread in the oven take a little time, but they’re super straightforward. Then it’s a matter of tossing everything together for a flavorful, festive side dish.
When you start planning your Thanksgiving menu, do you find it difficult to narrow down the dishes? I sure do. From the turkey and cranberry sauce, to the mashed potatoes, holiday salads, green bean casserole, and pumpkin desserts, it’s always a task that leaves me craving a little bit of EVERYTHING!
“This is the best dressing. Many steps, but so worth it! I’ve made this for the past several years, but lost the recipe. THANK YOU for posting it!! Delicious!!”
Margaret
What You’ll Need
This savory dressing features roasted garlic, pork sausage, parmesan, and goat cheese for a Thanksgiving stuffing that’s better than the rest!
- Garlic – You’ll need a whole bulb of fresh garlic. Don’t let that scare you, though. It gets roasted until it’s buttery soft, and gives the most wonderful flavor to this dish!
- Olive oil and butter – For roasting. You can also use another cooking oil of your choice, like avocado oil.
- Mushrooms – Whole button mushrooms are best, but just about any kind of mushroom will work. Quarter the mushrooms into smaller pieces.
- Yellow onion – Chop the onion into 1/2″ pieces. Shallot also works nicely in this stuffing.
- French bread – This soft bread will soak up all the juices and flavors. Slice into 1″cubes. Other good bread choices for dressing include leftover Italian bread (like ciabatta), sourdough, and cornbread.
- Chicken broth – Use low-sodium broth, so you can control the salt level.
- Pork sausage – Use your favorite bulk pork sausage. If you’re using sausage links, remove the casings.
- Parmesan – Freshly grated is best, but straight from the can works, too.
- Goat cheese – Crumbled goat cheese adds a decadent touch to this dressing. Try substituting feta if you don’t have goat cheese!
- Thyme – Fresh thyme leaves are added to the dressing before baking and also sprinkled over the top as a garnish.
- Panko bread crumbs – To season with garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper for the toasted breadcrumb topping.
How to Make Mushroom Sausage Dressing
This recipe involves a few easy steps to prepare the ingredients separately and then combine them into one delicious bowl of mushroom sausage stuffing!
- Prepare the garlic. Cut off the top of the garlic bulb, then place it in the center of a double layer of 12″ square aluminum foil. Drizzle olive oil over the exposed cloves, then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Loosely bring the foil around the bulb and twist shut.
- Prepare the mushrooms and onions. Combine melted butter and olive oil, then drizzle over mushrooms and onions on a rimmed baking sheet. Season with salt and pepper. Add the garlic to the pan.
- Dry out the bread. Spread the bread cubes on a separate baking sheet. Place both baking sheets in the oven, on separate racks. After 10 minutes, check the bread. If it’s dry with some crispy edges, remove it from the oven. Otherwise, bake it for a few extra minutes until crispy.
- Finish roasting the mushrooms. Roast the mushrooms and onions for a total of 20-25 minutes, until softened and caramelized. Remove from the oven and carefully open the garlic and allow it to cool.
- Brown the sausage. While the other ingredients are in the oven, cook the sausage in a large skillet until no longer pink.
- Make the toasted garlic breadcrumbs. Remove the sausage to a plate. Melt butter in the pork drippings, then add the panko bread crumbs and seasoning. Stir and cook until the bread crumbs are dried out, crisp, and slightly golden. Set aside.
- Assemble the dressing. Add the bread cubes to a bowl. Combine melted butter, garlic, and chicken broth with an immersion blender. Drizzle over the bread cubes. Add in the remaining dressing ingredients and incorporate.
- Bake. Transfer ingredients to a baking dish. Add the crumb topping over the center of the dressing and sprinkle with black pepper. Bake at 350° F for 30 minutes, until thoroughly warmed and top is golden. Sprinkle with remaining thyme and serve.
Tips for the Best Dressing
- Don’t peel the garlic. Cut off the top of the bulb to expose the cloves, but do not peel the cloves themselves. The garlic softens during roasting, and you’ll have a mess without the peels. Instead, just squeeze the garlic out when adding it to the other ingredients.
- Use fresh, firm mushrooms. Avoid canned mushrooms for this mushroom dressing and choose fresh mushrooms that are firm to the touch.
- Don’t burn the topping. If the crumb topping browns too rapidly before the rest of the dressing is finished, just lightly tent the baking dish with foil to stop the browning.
What to Serve With Mushroom Stuffing
This roasted garlic and mushroom stuffing is an absolute must-make for Thanksgiving dinner. Whether you roast, smoke (my fave!), grill, or fry your turkey, this dressing is the perfect accompaniment. Don’t forget more classic sides, like scalloped potatoes! You can also serve it with pork or chicken, like this beer can chicken, or your favorite mains to make any dinner feel extra special.
How to Store & Reheat Leftovers
- Refrigerate. Leftover mushroom sausage dressing can be stored in the fridge for about 4 days. Keep in an airtight container or tightly wrapped in the casserole dish.
- How to reheat dressing. For best results, reheat in the oven, covered with aluminum foil to prevent the topping from burning. If just reheating a small portion, the microwave works fine. Keep in mind the topping won’t be as crispy.
More Thanksgiving Side Dishes
Mushroom Sausage Dressing
Yield: 8 servings
This savory dressing with mushrooms and pork sausage is the best Thanksgiving side dish! Make this mushroom stuffing recipe with crispy garlic breadcrumbs, goat cheese, and Parmesan for even more flavor.
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Ingredients
for the dressing:
- 1 whole bulb fresh garlic
- 4 tablespoons olive oil divided
- 7 tablespoons unsalted butter divided
- kosher salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- 16 ounces whole button mushrooms quartered
- 1 large yellow onion cut into 1/2″ pieces
- 1 pound French bread cut into 1″ cubes
- 2 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 12 ounces pork sausage
- ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 4 ounces crumbled goat cheese
- 1 tablespoon fresh chopped thyme leaves plus 1 teaspoon for garnish
for the garlic toast crumb topping:
- ¾ cup panko bread crumbs
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° F.
- Cut off the top quarter of the garlic bulb to expose the pulp of the individual cloves (do not peel the cloves). Prepare a double layer of aluminum foil that is 12" square, and place the garlic bulb in the center of it. Drizzle 2 tablespoons of the olive oil over the exposed cloves and then sprinkle with a bit of salt and pepper. Bring the foil loosely up around the garlic bulb and gently twist the top shut. Set aside.
- Place mushrooms and onion on a large rimmed roasting pan. Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a small bowl in the microwave and then add the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the butter. Stir to combine and then drizzle over mushrooms and onion. Fold to incorporate, and then sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Add foil-wrapped garlic bulb to pan, twisted side up. Set aside.
- In a separate large rimmed roasting pan, spread the bread cubes into an even layer. Place both pans in the oven at the same time, on separate racks. Set the timer for 10 minutes and then check the bread. If it is dried out, with some crispy edges, remove the pan of bread from the oven. If it needs to bake longer, return pan to the oven for a bit and then remove from oven when the bread has dried.
- Once the pan of garlic, mushrooms, and onion has been in the oven for a total of 20 minutes, give the mushrooms and onion a stir. Bake for an additional 20 to 25 minutes, or until veggies are softened and nicely caramelized, and the garlic cloves are very soft. Remove pan from oven and carefully open up the hot foil wrap on the garlic bulb to let cool.
- While the two roasting pans are in the oven, brown the pork sausage in a large skillet over medium to medium-high heat on the stovetop, breaking up sausage into 1" pieces. When sausage is no longer pink, remove it to a plate.
- Return skillet to stovetop and turn heat down to medium. Create the garlic toast crumb topping by first adding 1 tablespoon of butter to the pork drippings in the pan. Once melted, add panko bread crumbs, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine. Cook for 5 to 10 minutes, stirring regularly, until bread crumbs are dried and crisp and just slightly golden. Remove pan from heat and set aside.
- Add dried bread cubes to a very large bowl. In a medium microwave-safe bowl, melt 4 tablespoons of the butter. Squeeze the garlic cloves out of their little bulb papers, into the melted butter. Add the chicken broth. Combine ingredients with an immersion blender until smooth. Then drizzle mixture over the bread cubes, tossing to incorporate. Add sausage, mushrooms, onion, Parmesan cheese, goat cheese, and 1 tablespoon of the thyme to the bread cubes. Toss to incorporate and then transfer mixture to a large baking dish.
- Sprinkle the garlic toast crumb topping over the center of the dressing, leaving the dressing exposed around the perimeter of the pan. Sprinkle with a bit of black pepper. Bake at 350° F for about 30 minutes, or until thoroughly warmed and the top is golden. If the topping starts to get too dark, lightly tent baking dish with foil. Before serving, sprinkle the remaining teaspoon of fresh thyme over the top of the dressing.
Nutrition Information:
Serving: 1 Calories: 579kcal Carbohydrates: 44g Protein: 23g Fat: 36g Saturated Fat: 15g Polyunsaturated Fat: 19g Cholesterol: 75mg Sodium: 1040mg Fiber: 3g Sugar: 6g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated by Spoonacular. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee accuracy. If your health depends on nutrition information, please calculate again with your own favorite calculator.
Did you make this recipe?Please leave a comment below. And share a photo on Instagram with the hashtag #afarmgirlsdabbles or tag @farmgirlsdabble!
This post was previously published in 2014. Photographs and some of the text were updated in 2021.
This IS the best dressing. Many steps, but so worth it! I’ve made this for the past several years, but lost the recipe. THANK YOU for posting it!! Delicious!!
So awesome to hear. Thanks Margaret – enjoy!