Sausage Stuffing Bites With Cranberry Sauce

Baked stuffing, inside the turkey or out, is a Thanksgiving staple for many families, although the particulars of the go-to recipe can vary. Some people love a classic homemade turkey stuffing using sourdough bread, while others prefer a cornbread stuffing. Some families want a meatier stuffing like our sausage or oyster stuffing, and others will be very happy with our vegetarian cranberry stuffing. The only thing better than any of these stuffing recipes? MORE. STUFFING.

Enter a bite-sized, stuffing-centered appetizer with a tangy, three-ingredient dipping sauce. Not just for Thanksgiving, these savory bites are perfect for any fall or winter gathering. Paired with a crispy green salad, you could happily eat these for dinner too. Here’s how these delicious sausage and stuffing bites come together:

Start with a panade:
To make a stuffing-forward meatball, we start by softening packaged stuffing cubes with beaten eggs and milk, sort of an enriched panade. A panade, the beginning of many a tender meatball, is a paste of bread or bread crumbs and milk, and its starches help keep meatballs tender and juicy.

Add lots of classic stuffing flavors:
To the stuffing mixture, we had buttery onions and celery, poultry seasoning, fresh parsley, and sweet Italian sausage. If you want an herbier bite, you can add 1 tsp. chopped fresh thyme or 2 tsp. finely chopped fresh sage—or both! For a spicier app, use hot Italian sausage instead of sweet.

Make the most autumnal of dipping sauces:
Stirring equal parts Dijon mustard and honey into whole berry cranberry sauce makes for a pretty perfect dip for these stuffing and sausage bites. It’s a little sweet, a little tart, a little tangy, and entirely delicious. (Save any leftovers to spread on a turkey sandwich.) Want a more savory sauce? Serve these bites with warm turkey gravy.

Did you make these bites? Let us know in the comments!