This Keto Sausage and Bread Stuffing is going to be the star of your Thanksgiving table! Made with my famous low carb cheesy skillet bread and plenty of sausage, it’s full of traditional stuffing flavor without all the carbs.
It’s about time I finally gave this popular keto stuffing an update! Except I didn’t actually change anything. My Spicy Sausage Stuffing has always been one of my most popular low carb holiday recipes and you just don’t mess with that. So I simply made it again and took some pretty new pictures.
This is by far my family’s favorite stuffing recipe. I’ve made a few others and they were pretty great too. But this is the one my family requests year after year. This is the keto stuffing we serve to guests and everyone raves about it. I would even go so far as to say that this may just be the best keto stuffing recipe out there.
Yeah, I am bold like that. And pretty darn confident that you will love it as much as we do.
Traditional Sausage Stuffing
When you ask someone what Thanksgiving dish they miss most on their low carb or keto diet, the overwhelming majority say stuffing. And can you blame them? That delectably moist, savory bread pudding that soaks up the turkey juices and gravy so well. I totally get that. My first few years on low carb, I simply skipped the stuffing altogether and its absence was sorely felt.
But last year, I came up with a truly low carb, gluten-free stuffing that instantly became a family favourite. It was such a hit with my kids, they seem to like eating it more than the turkey. And it’s been our standard recipe for 5 years running now.
While it might seem like an oxymoron to call this a traditional sausage stuffing, that’s what the end result is like. Yes, you have to use keto bread but that’s really the only difference. Beyond that, it uses almost all of the same ingredients you would find in conventional sausage stuffing, and you make it much the same way.
The end result is virtually indistinguishable from the high carb stuff. It’s everything you want in a stuffing recipe: the bread is soft and soaks up all the other flavours, but the top has crispy bits from baking in the oven.
How To Make Keto Stuffing
- Start with some really good keto bread. The whole recipe is based on my Cheesy Skillet Bread, which is perhaps one of my best savoury creations of all time. Not exaggerating – that stuff is heavenly. Soft and tender in the middle, crispy around the edges, and it dries out well, allowing it to soak in all the other flavors.
- Cut the bread into small cubes and dry it out in a warm oven. This is an important step for any sausage stuffing recipe, as you want the bread to absorb the eggs and cream.
- Brown your sausage. We like spicy Italian and we buy bulk sausage so we can easily cook it in a pan without having to remove the casings. Try to find sausage that doesn’t have a lot of additives or any sugars.
- Saute the celery, onions, garlic, and herbs in the fat left behind from browning the sausage. All the flavors combine so well that way and the fats make the stuffing all the more luscious.
- Add some chicken broth, eggs, and cream to help bind the stuffing ingredients together.
- Bake uncovered so that the top gets a bit crispy while the middle stays soft and tender. Like any good Thanksgiving stuffing.
- Serve with turkey and all the trimmings, and enjoy all the goodness the holiday has to offer!
Make Ahead Keto Stuffing
Are you one of those planner types who likes to get half of your holiday feast cooked in advance? Good news! This low carb stuffing recipe freezes really well. I’ve made it several weeks in advance and just thawed it on Thanksgiving day and it’s just as good.
Simply prep and bake the stuffing in whatever dish you plan to serve it in. Then let it cool and wrap it up tightly with foil or plastic wrap. It’s good in the freezer for several weeks. Thaw it at room temperature and then place it in a low temp oven until warmed through.
You can also freeze any leftovers wrapped up tightly as well.
So that’s it, my friends! It’s really not hard to make and this keto stuffing recipe has all the traditional flavor and texture of classic sausage stuffing. I daresay that your guests will have no idea they are enjoying a healthy version of their favorite Thanksgiving side dish.
Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you have a wonderful keto feast.
More keto thanksgiving recipes you might like:
Keto Spicy Sausage and Cheddar Stuffing
Ingredients
- 1 recipe Cheesy Skillet Bread
- 12 ounces spicy Italian sausage
- 1 cup diced celery
- ½ cup diced onion
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 teaspoon dried sage
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ cup low sodium chicken broth
- 2 large eggs
- ¼ cup heavy cream
Instructions
- A day or two in advance, make the skillet bread and cube into ½ inch pieces. Preheat oven to 200F.
- Spread bread cubes on a large baking sheet and bake 2 to 3 hours, until well dried and crisp. Let sit out overnight to continue to dry.
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add sausage; sauté until just cooked through, about 6 minutes, breaking up large chunks with a wooden spoon.
- Using a slotted spoon, transfer sausage to a large bowl. Add celery, onion, garlic, sage, salt and pepper to skillet and sauté until tender, about 5 minutes. Add to sausage.
- Preheat oven to 350F and butter a large 13x9 inch glass baking dish. Add cubed bread to sausage mixture. Add chicken broth and toss to combine.
- In a medium bowl, whisk eggs with cream and pour over mixture in bowl. Toss until well combined and transfer to prepared baking dish. Bake 35 minutes, uncovered, until top is crusty and browned.
patti says
WE love this recipe!!1 About how much is a serving in terms of cup measurement?
Tera says
I just realized I didn’t make the bread ahead and dry out. Do you think it will still be ok? Maybe if I bake the cut up portions an hour more or so?
Thank you so much!!!
Carolyn says
I think it will be fine. They may not soak up as much of the other liquids.
arianne says
Hi,
This has to be better than any stuffing I’ve ever had. I added mushrooms, walnuts and cauliflower. Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe.
Kristin says
Hello!
Can I make this the day before and back on Thanksgiving? Should I adjust any ratios?
Thank you, my daughter is SO excited to have stuffing for the first time in years!
Carolyn says
Yup, that’s totally fine, just store in the fridge overnight. Bring to room temperature before baking.
Angela says
Would you bake it at 350 after its room temp? And for how long? I tried this recipe tonight and it was amazing! I’m thinking of freezing the left overs.
Carolyn says
Do you mean if you prep it ahead? Yes, you should just bake as normal.
Claudia says
When you say as normal you mean at 350? I’m sorry it will be my first time making it and i don’t want to mess it up, so 350 for how long if you don’t mind me asking, I’m planning on freezing it and taking it out the day before so it thaws in the fridge, thanks
Carolyn says
So my question back to you is: are you freezing it cooked or uncooked? The comment you are responding to was someone who planned to store the uncooked stuffing in the fridge for a day. Freezing it is a different matter.
patti says
This was wonderful. The whole family enjoyed it. We have tried low carb stuffing recipe we didn’t like and this was a good one to find.
Carolyn says
So happy you enjoyed it!
Amy says
When you make the cheesy skillet bread for stuffing, do you add the cheese in it?
Carolyn says
You bet!
Monica says
Hello, we tried the stuffing/dressing recipe and it is terrific and we dont like stuffing/dressing. Of course due to supplies on had we did have a few adjustments. We ground our own almond flour so it was not a superfine texture and we used a flax chia blend but we really liked it so hey it works.
Thanks for sharing your recipes.
Monica
Carolyn says
Glad you liked it!
Rhonda Chase says
I was going to wait to write until Thanksgiving (tomorrow), but I just tasted the stuffing before baking and it’s unbelievably good! I’m sure it will be even better after 35 minutes in the oven! I’m making this recipe and a traditional bread stuffing and I’m sure this will be the winning dish. Thanks so much for sharing it!
PS I used soy milk in the bread since that’s what I had and it was fine.
Carolyn says
Wonderful!
Jodi says
I’m smiling reading the comments from the past years! Keto on and make stuffing!
This looks delicious. Wondering if you’ve every used coconut flour in your skillet bread? Any thoughts on how much additional liquid to add?
Carolyn says
No, I’ve never made it with coconut flour. It would be a very different bread. You may want to look at my Skillet Cornbread recipe and use that instead.
Jodi says
I actually meant to ask if you’d made your skillet cornbread recipe with coconut flour – sorry! I should have posted on that page.
Carolyn says
Yup, that’s mostly coconut flour. The almond meal in that recipe is for texture. You could add in 2 tbsp extra coconut flour instead.
Veronica says
In the process of toasting the bread and just read that it takes overnight to properly dry out. Is there any way to skip the overnight? Want to have it done by the end of tonight so it’s one less thing for Thanksgiving I have to worry about. Advice?! But btw the bread is deliciously yummy!!!
Carolyn says
Sure, you can skip it. Just give it as much time as possible… it soaks up the eggs and cream better that way.
Manya says
Thank you so much for sharing your recipe! I have been looking for low carb recipes for the holiday. This turned out great. We usually have Creole cornbread stuffing so I ended up crumbling the bread instead of cubing it. My husband said he doesn’t know if he can wait till Thanksgiving to have it! I can’t wait to make the bread with jalapenos!
Angie says
I’m going to make your recipe this Thanksgiving but instead of the almond flour-based bread, I’m making a cheese-based recipe. Do the macros you’ve listed include the Cheddar Skillet Bread? I’m assuming they do, but want to make sure before I recalculate. Thanks! And thanks for giving us back dressing. Boy, did we miss it last year!
Carolyn says
They definitely do include the bread.
Angie says
Thank you for the quick reply! I’ll recalculate the macros based on my tweaks. I’m looking forward to making the Cheddar Skillet Bread in a few months, when I’m at or near goal weight and can handle the higher carb almond flour without a setback.
Alison says
Loved the stuffing. LOVED IT. But really don’t like sausage. Went with a pound of bacon instead. Cooked per the recipe instructions – cooking the veggies in the bacon fat. Drained off all the extra fat before continuing to mix the bread in and going further. Was fantastic! My husband is type II diabetic and just loved it. 16 servings? Well, he ate four. 🙂 I might add in more veggies next time to stretch it out a bit and make it even lower carb. Thank you so much. This was my first foray into anything like this and it turned out fantastic!
Carolyn says
You can’t go wrong with bacon!
Rebecca says
This is the most delicious stuffing! I made it with more chicken broth and it was just perfect. I can’t wait to make it again this year!
Carolyn says
So glad you liked it!
Maria says
Carolyn! You’re a goddess! I love your cheesy skillet bread! My fav part of the Thanksgiving meal is the stuffing! I’ll be making this at least once before Thanksgiving, maybe more than once, and hope that the one meant for the Thanksgiving meal will make the 3 hour drive to my destination, intact. Oooooo, an idea. Someone mentioned doing it in muffin tins. If I did that, no one would know that some went missing during the road trip 🙂 Question: does it need to be baked in glass? Will silicone work? Or the disposable aluminum baking trays? Thank you!
Carolyn says
I think silicone would work or a disposable aluminum tray, just make sure to grease it well.
Maria says
Thank you for the quick reply. Have a perfect day 🙂
Roger says
I am looking to make this ahead and bring to my brother’s house.
I will be traveling on train on Wednesday.
Should I prepare this dish Tuesday evening or I start at my house and finish after I get there?
Roger
Carolyn says
I think it gets better with age so I would bake it prior and rewarm it once there.
Roger says
Sounds good, Thank You
Denise says
Ok, Oh my gosh. This is the absolute best stuffing I have EVER made. It did NOT matter that I didn’t prep the bread ahead of time, although that would have made it even better. Thank you for a perfect stuffing recipe!!!!!!! P.S. I used both fresh and dried sage and thyme in mine because that’s what my mother used. I also added leeks to the onion and celery since I had some in my fridge that I need to do something with. And I only used about 1 cup of sausage because i preferred it to be mostly about the bread cubes and vegetables.
Jenny D. says
Carolyn,
We made note of many things for which we’re thankful yesterday…and your recipes were on our list! I’m trying to run the numbers in my mind, and recipes directly from your site made up about 50% of our Thanksgiving dinner this year. And this stuffing was the cherry on top! I’ve been burned by some low-carb recipes that look good in the photos, yet fall far short of the taste of their high-carb counterparts (none from your site!)…this stuffing is actually BETTER than the high-carb version! It is fantastic, and will be a Thanksgiving & Christmas dinner staple for years to come.
BTW, welcome to the West Coast! We’re glad to have you!
Carolyn says
So glad it lived up to the promise!
Barbara says
I am new to low carb, & when I told my husband I found a recipe for LC stuffing, he put on his best stiff-upper-lip, trying to be supportive face. When I told him the name of this stuffing, he broke out in a wide grin. I made the bread a day ahead, and we both had to force ourselves out of the kitchen so we would have some bread left for the actual stuffing. When it was in the oven today, he kept saying his mouth was just watering for that stuffing (not the turkey!). It was sensational. Thank you so much. I can’t wait to bring the bread to this year’s Christmas party for the relative with Celiac’s who can hardly tolerate giving up bread. She’ll be in heaven. Your site is just great.
Carolyn says
I love comments like this, Barbara. So glad you liked it!
Craig says
One of my biggest challenges over the years has been to avoid stuffing at Thanksgiving. Some years go better than others, but this year I found this recipe. I just finished cooking it, tried some, and am so happy to have something so good to bring to my family’s Thanksgiving. I always hope to convert a few of my diabetic relatives to a lower carb diet, and I think this stuffing may help me do it this year. Thanks Carolyn!
Carolyn says
So glad you like it. It’s our favourite too!
Kelly says
Hi Carolyn- I am planning on making this for tomorrow (can’t wait to try it!). My question is do you think it can be made in advance? I’d like to make it tonight if possible and then reheat once I get to my grandmothers. We’ll be travelling in the morning and I won’t have a lot of time once we get there. Do you think this would be ok? Also, I was wondering what was the purpose of the cream? and would it be ok to just use addtional chicken broth? It’s got so many rich ingredients already was confused about the cream. Thank you!!
Carolyn says
You can definitely make it ahead. Sure, go ahead and use additional chicken broth.
Diane Huber says
At what temperature should oven be when drying the bread crumbs?