Easy apricot stuffing is a delicious side dish to serve with Christmas turkey, honey roast gammon, or roast chicken!
Made with dried apricots, pork sausage meat, and dried breadcrumbs, the stuffing is also flavoured with grated apple, buttery onions, and nutmeg, which gives it a real flavour boost. Perfect for Christmas dinner or your regular Sunday roast dinner.
This simple apricot and sausage meat stuffing recipe is beautifully moist and tender thanks to the grated apple and buttery sautéed onions, and is delicious with roast meats (particularly roast pork), or in a turkey sandwich on Boxing Day!
👩🍳 Love stuffing? You might also like my air fryer stuffing balls recipe!
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✔️ Why you'll love this recipe!
- Made with simple store cupboard ingredients.
- The perfect balance of sweet and savoury flavours.
- Egg-free stuffing recipe.
- Serve with turkey at Christmas or other roast meats.
- Make ahead recipe & freezer friendly.
🛒 Ingredient notes
Apricots - ready-to-eat dried apricots chopped finely.
Sausage Meat - use good quality pork sausage meat (containing more than 75% pork), or squeeze the meat out of 6 thick pork sausages.
Butter - unsalted butter for cooking the onion.
Onion - a small onion or shallot, finely chopped.
Breadcrumbs - I've used store-bought dried breadcrumbs (panko breadcrumbs) but you can make your own breadcrumbs with stale white bread in your food processor.
Apple - a tart eating apple (Granny Smith) or cooking apple is best. There's no need to peel the apple, just coarsely grate it using a box grater.
Nutmeg - freshly grated nutmeg gives the stuffing a lovely earthy flavour.
Salt - for seasoning.
🔪 Instructions
The recipe card with ingredient quantities and detailed instructions can be found at the bottom of the post
One: Melt the butter in a small frying pan and gently cook the chopped onion for 5 minutes until soft.
Two: Place all of the ingredients for the stuffing in a large bowl and mix together with a wooden spoon. You may want to get your hands in there too!
Three: Press the stuffing into a buttered baking dish.
Four: Bake for 35 - 40 minutes until golden brown in colour.
💭 Expert tips
- Grate the apple last, to prevent it from browning.
- Make apricot stuffing balls instead of cooking the stuffing in a baking dish. The recipe will make 12 stuffing balls. Cooking time will need to be reduced by 5 -8 minutes.
🍴 What to serve with apricot stuffing?
I love stuffing with any roast dinner, but especially chicken, and also turkey at Christmas! We also have it with slow cooker roast beef.
At Christmas, I serve the stuffing alongside roast turkey, polenta roast potatoes, slow cooker red cabbage, honey roasted carrots and parsnips, pan-fried Brussels sprouts, bread sauce, air fryer pigs in blankets, and devils on horseback.
One of my very favourite things is to serve slices of cold stuffing in sandwiches with leftover turkey and cranberry sauce!
📖 Variations
- Give the stuffing a festive flavour boost with the addition of dried cranberries, crumbled chestnuts, and clementine zest (or lemon zest). You could also add chopped fresh herbs such as sage or parsley, and chopped nuts such as hazelnuts.
- Finely chop two cloves of garlic and cook them with the onions.
- Instead of baking the stuffing in one big dish, you could roll it into stuffing balls. Did you know you can also cook stuffing balls in your air fryer?
- The apricot stuffing also makes a fantastic filling for air fryer sausage rolls!
🥡 Storage
Make Ahead: The stuffing can be made up to the point of baking and stored in the fridge for up to 3 days. It's a great make-ahead recipe for Christmas!
Store: Leftover stuffing can be stored in the fridge for 3-4 days in an airtight container. It's delicious in sandwiches with cold meats and cranberry sauce. You can also reheat it in the microwave.
Freeze: The stuffing is freezer friendly. You can freeze the stuffing raw or after it has been baked. If freezing it raw, defrost it in the fridge overnight, and then cook as directed in the recipe.
❓ Frequently asked questions
Yes it can! The stuffing can be made up to the point of baking and stored in the fridge for up to 3 days. It's a great make-ahead recipe for Christmas!
You can use store-bought dried breadcrumbs which give the stuffing a finer texture, or make your own chunkier breadcrumbs with stale sourdough or white bread in your food processor.
Yes, you can! It can be frozen before or after baking.
No, this apricot stuffing recipe contains breadcrumbs and therefore is not suitable for people on a gluten-free diet.
Bake uncovered but if the top is beginning to brown too much, lightly cover with a layer of foil.
😋 Delicious sides for a roast dinner
- Air fryer roast potatoes
- Boulangere potatoes
- Roasted swede
- Cauliflower cheese
- Air fryer asparagus
- Air fryer parsnips
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Recipe
Easy Apricot Stuffing Recipe
Ingredients
- 25 g Butter unsalted
- 1 Onion small onion or shallot, finely chopped
- 400 g Sausage Meat
- 150 g Dried Apricots finely chopped
- 1 Apple grated
- 50 g Breadcrumbs
- ¼ teaspoon Nutmeg freshly grated
- ½ teaspoon Salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (160 fan/ 350 F/ Gas 4) and butter a 1 litre baking dish.
- Melt the butter in a small frying pan and gently cook the chopped onion for 5 minutes until soft. Allow to cool for 5 minutes and then spoon into a large mixing bowl.25 g Butter, 1 Onion
- Place all of the other ingredients into the bowl and mix together with a wooden spoon. You may want to get your hands in there too!400 g Sausage Meat, 150 g Dried Apricots, 1 Apple, 50 g Breadcrumbs, ¼ teaspoon Nutmeg, ½ teaspoon Salt
- Press the stuffing into the buttered baking dish.
- Bake for 35 - 40 minutes until golden brown in colour.
Notes
- Grate the apple last, to prevent it from browning.
- Make apricot stuffing balls instead of cooking the stuffing in a baking dish. The recipe will make 12 stuffing balls. Cooking time will need to be reduced by 5 -8 minutes.
- Give the stuffing a festive flavour boost with the addition of dried cranberries, crumbled chestnuts, and clementine zest (or lemon zest). You could also add chopped fresh herbs such as sage or parsley, and chopped nuts such as hazelnuts.
- Finely chop two cloves of garlic and cook them with the onions.
- Instead of baking the stuffing in one big dish, you could roll it into stuffing balls. Did you know you can also cook stuffing balls in your air fryer?
- The apricot stuffing also makes a fantastic filling for air fryer sausage rolls!
Laura
Such a tasty stuffing recipe for Christmas! Everyone loved it.