This simple apricot stuffing recipe, made with dried apricots, pork sausage meat, and breadcrumbs, is packed with flavour. Seasoned with apples, onions, and nutmeg, it's perfect with Christmas turkey, honey roast gammon, or roast chicken!
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This sausage and apricot stuffing, with grated apple and buttery onions, is moist, tender, and full of flavour.
It's the perfect accompaniment to roast pork or turkey, and it's also a great addition to a turkey sandwich or turkey toastie 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!
- You don't need any fancy or hard-to-find ingredients to make this delicious stuffing.
- With the combination of sweet dried apricots and savoury pork sausage meat, this stuffing has the perfect balance of flavours.
- If you or any of your guests have an egg allergy, this stuffing recipe is perfect as it doesn't contain any eggs.
- It can be made ahead of time and even frozen, making it a great option for busy festive meals. Simply reheat and serve when you're ready to enjoy it!
🛒 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.
🔪 How to make apricot stuffing
The recipe card with ingredient quantities and detailed instructions can be found at the bottom of the post
Preheat the oven to 180°C (160 fan/ 350 F/ Gas 4) and butter a 1 litre baking dish.
Top Tips
- The quality of the sausage meat you use will have a big impact on the flavour of the stuffing. Look for sausage meat that contains more than 75% pork for the best results.
- Chopping the dried apricots finely will help to distribute the flavour evenly throughout the stuffing.
- If you don't have store-bought breadcrumbs, you can easily make your own by processing stale white bread in a food processor.
- To prevent the apple from browning, grate it last and stir it into the stuffing immediately.
- For a fun twist on traditional stuffing, try making 12 stuffing balls instead of cooking the stuffing in a baking dish. This will also reduce the cooking time by 5-8 minutes.
- To ensure that the stuffing is moist and tender, be careful not to overcook it. Keep an eye on it in the oven and remove it as soon as it's cooked through and golden brown on top.
🍴 What to serve with apricot stuffing?
I love stuffing with any roast dinner, but especially chicken, and 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.
- Add chopped walnuts to the stuffing mix for a crunchy texture and nutty flavour that complements the sweetness of the apricots.
- Add chopped roasted chestnuts to the stuffing mix for apricot and chestnut stuffing. This variation is perfect for a Christmas dinner.
- 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.
One spice that pairs well with apricots is nutmeg. Nutmeg has a warm, earthy flavour that complements the sweetness of the apricots. Other spices that can work well with apricots include cinnamon, ginger, and cardamom. These spices can add a hint of warmth and spice to the sweet flavour of the apricots, making them a great addition to many different dishes, including desserts, baked goods, and savoury dishes like stuffing or tagines.
Yes, stuffing can be a delicious side dish to serve with gammon. You could try serving this apricot stuffing recipe with a honey roast gammon or pork for a delicious flavour combination
😋 More delicious sides for a roast dinner
- Air fryer roast potatoes
- Boulangere potatoes
- Roasted swede
- Cauliflower cheese
- Air fryer asparagus
- Air fryer parsnips
Tried it? Let me know what you think and rate it ⭐️ below. Tag me @effortlessf00d-I'd love to see! Don't forget to subscribe for more recipes.
Recipe
Simple Apricot Stuffing Recipe
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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
- 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 says
Such a tasty stuffing recipe for Christmas! Everyone loved it.