Croissant Stuffing: Savory, Sweet & Crunchy
Croissant Stuffing
Croissant Stuffing
Ingredients
Instructions
Step 1
Slide a rack into the middle of your oven and preheat it to 350°F. Spread your croissant pieces in a single, even layer across one or two baking sheets, leaving a little space between them so they crisp up instead of steaming. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, tossing the pieces every few minutes, until they look deeply golden and feel dry and crisp to the touch.
Step 2
Start by buttering your 13-by-9-inch baking dish so the stuffing releases easily later. Then grab a large Dutch oven and warm a splash of oil over medium heat. Add the sausage and break it up with a wooden spoon as it cooks, letting it brown and cook through completely—about 7 minutes. Once it's nicely browned, scoop the sausage into a medium bowl with a slotted spoon, leaving behind all but about 1 tablespoon of the grease in the pot; if your sausage didn't render much fat, just drizzle in a little extra oil.
Step 3
Grab that same pot and set it back over medium heat, melting the reserved grease with 3 tablespoons of butter. Toss in the onions and celery with salt and pepper, cooking until softened and translucent, about 7 minutes. Add the apples and cook until they just begin to soften, 4 to 5 minutes, then stir in the garlic, rosemary, sage, and thyme until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Pour in the wine, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the pot, and simmer until mostly evaporated, 2 to 3 minutes.
Step 4
Take the pot off the heat and let it sit for a minute so the hot broth can settle around the base. Stir in the toasted pecans, dried cranberries, and crumbled sausage until they're evenly distributed throughout the liquid. Now add your croissant pieces and use a gentle folding motion to toss everything together—you want each cube coated in that savory broth without breaking them into mush.
Step 5
Grab a large glass measuring cup and microwave the 3 tablespoons of butter for about 30 to 45 seconds, just until it's completely melted and glossy. Whisk in the eggs and broth until the mixture looks smooth and uniform, then pour it evenly over your croissant pieces. Give everything a gentle toss with a spatula so each cube gets coated, adding up to ½ cup more broth a splash at a time until the croissants look moist and plump but still hold their shape—you want them hydrated, not swimming in liquid. Once you hit that sweet spot where the bread soaks up the custard without turning mushy, scrape the mixture into your prepared baking dish.
Step 6
Slide the baking dish into your preheated oven and bake uncovered for 40 to 45 minutes, until the top turns deep golden brown and the center feels hot to the touch. You'll know it's fully heated through when an instant-read thermometer registers 165°F in the middle. Once it comes out of the oven, let the stuffing rest for 10 to 15 minutes—this brief pause lets the croissants set so your serving squares hold together instead of falling apart.
Nutrition Information
My Tip
Toast those croissant pieces until they're deeply golden and completely dry—fresh croissants are too tender and will turn your stuffing into a soggy mess when they soak up the broth.
Make It Your Own
Swap the ground pork for crumbled firm tofu sautéed with smoked paprika and fennel—it soaks up the herbs and broth just like sausage while keeping the stuffing vegetarian.