Sage Sausage Stuffing

Sage Sausage Stuffing

This is the one that gets requested every single Christmas and honestly, we'd be scared to show up without it. Sage sausage stuffing is one of those recipes where the smell alone has everyone hovering around the kitchen asking when it's ready. You get this incredible combination of herby, savoury vegan sausage meat, golden onions, crispy breadcrumbs and those fragrant hits of sage and rosemary that just scream proper British festive cooking. The texture is spot on too, crispy on top and soft and flavourful in the middle. Make this once and it'll earn a permanent spot on your Christmas table, trust us on this one.

Cook: 40 min
Serves 6

Before You Start

  • Food processor
  • Baking tin greased with plant-based butter

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp Henderson's Relish
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp plant-based butter - more for greasing
  • 2 medium red onion
  • 3 celery stick
  • 500g plant-based sausages
  • 4 garlic cloves
  • 2 tbsp cranberry sauce
  • 1 sprigs of sage
  • 1 sprig of rosemary
  • 500g sourdough
  • 100ml vegetable stock
  • Salt & pepper to taste

Method

1

Prepare the ingredients 

  • Peel and finely dice the red onion
  • Trim and finely dice the celery
  • Peel and grate the garlic
  • Remove the skins from vegan sausage
  • Pick the sage leaves and finely slice
  • Pick the rosemary needles and finely chop
  • Prepare the vegetable stock
  • Add the bread to the food processor and pulse into chunky breadcrumbs
2

Cook the mixture 

  • Warm the olive oil and butter in the pan over medium heat
  • Add the onion and celery to the pan with a little salt and fry for 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent catching
  • Add the garlic and stir for 1 minute
  • Crumble the sausage into the pan and stir for 3-4 minutes
  • Add the sage and rosemary and stir for 1 minute
  • Add the cranberry sauce and Henderson’s Relish to the pan and stir for 1 minute
  • Add the bread to the pan and stir for 1 minute
  • Add the stock to the pan, stir to combine and simmer for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally
  • Taste and season to perfection with a little salt and pepper
  • Turn the heat off and leave to cool to room temperature
3

Roast the Sage Sausage Stuffing and serve 

  • Grease the tin with a little vegan butter
  • Pour the mixture into the tin and press it into the tin
  • Put the tin in the oven and roast for 20-25 minutes until the top is golden brown and crispy
  • Bring the dish to the table along with all the other Christmas Dinner dishes and let your guests get stuck in!

Tips & Variations

  • Make it gluten free: Swap the regular bread for your favourite gluten free loaf and it works brilliantly. We find a slightly staler loaf gives you better crumbs either way.
  • Get ahead on prep: You can make the whole mixture the day before, pack it into your dish, cover it and keep it in the fridge. Just bake it when you need it. One less thing to think about on the day.
  • Boost the flavour: Henry always adds an extra pinch of smoked paprika into the sausage mix. It's not traditional but it adds this lovely warmth that people can never quite put their finger on.

Why This Works

The trick here is skinning the vegan sausages and crumbling them straight into the pan so you get those lovely golden, caramelised bits of sausage meat dotted all the way through. Fresh sage and rosemary are non-negotiable, dried just won't give you that same punchy, aromatic depth. And pulsing the bread into chunky breadcrumbs rather than fine ones means you get a stuffing with proper texture and bite, not a soggy brick.