I take my Thanksgiving side dishes very seriously and make the same ones every year for our family. Cornbread sausage dressing, twice-baked mashed potatoes, orange cinnamon cranberry sauce, and balsamic roasted Brussels sprouts with bacon all grace our table. Since Thanksgiving dressing is hands down my favorite side dish, I try to come up with a new one every year. This sausage and mushroom pretzel bread dressing is packed with flavor and fall ingredients. You’ll see the usual Thanksgiving dressing ingredients like celery, onion, thyme, and sage, but you’ll also see roasted butternut squash, mushrooms, sausage, and pomegranate arils. The carbohydrate base of this dressing is pretzel bread, which adds a great texture and flavor!
If I’m going to get seconds of anything for Thanksgiving dinner, it’s definitely going to be the dressing with extra gravy on top. This version of Thanksgiving dressing has the right balance of flavors. It’s salty and savory and just a little sweet, and the pomegranate adds the perfect crunch on top too. Making this recipe is fairly simple but it does require a few steps. The first thing you’ll do is roast the butternut squash, which is a step that you can do the day before Thanksgiving if you need to free up oven space. While the squash is roasting, start browning your sausage. For this recipe, I like to use sausage that has sage in it but you can use any type of sausage you like. Then add your onions, celery, and mushrooms and let them cook for a few minutes. Add salt, pepper, and herbs and enjoy all the fall flavors in your kitchen.
Next, tear up your pretzel bread and add it to a large bowl. Pour the sausage and vegetable mixture over the bread and stir in the butternut squash. If you need more liquid in your dressing, add some chicken stock or chicken broth. Transfer the dressing mixture into a baking dish and bake for 25-30 minutes until golden brown adn crispy on top. Once it’s done baking, sprinkle your pomegranate arils on top and serve immediately. I recommend 350 for your baking temperature, but I know how Thanksgiving goes! Maybe your oven needs to be at a different temperature for something else you’re making, and that’s just fine for this recipe. Keep an eye on it and remove it from the oven when it’s golden brown.
I hope that this Thanksgiving dressing or another one of my recipes makes it on your table this holiday season!
- 3 cups cubed butternut squash
- 2 tbsp. olive oil
- 1 tsp. salt
- ¼ tsp. ground black pepper
- 1 tsp. garlic powder
- 1 lb. sausage (I like sage sausage for this recipe but anything will work)
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 3 stalks celery, chopped
- 16 oz. mushrooms, chopped
- 1 tsp. salt
- ½ tsp. black pepper
- 2 tsp. garlic powder
- 2 tsp. ground dried thyme
- 2 tsp. ground dried sage
- 4 pretzel bread rolls, about 6 cups of bread once shredded
- 1 cup chicken broth or stock, optional
- ¾ cup pomegranate arils
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spread your butternut squash on a rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil then sprinkle with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Use your hands to toss to combine. Bake for 20-25 degrees until golden brown. Decrease oven temperature to 350 degrees.
- In a large skillet, brown the sausage, breaking into pieces as it cooks. Add onion, celery, and mushrooms and cook until tender. Add salt, pepper, garlic powder, thyme, and sage. Stir to combine.
- Rip the pretzel bread into bite-sized pieces and place in a large bowl. Add the sausage and vegetable mixture and stir to combine. Add the butternut squash and gently mix to combine. If the dressing needs more moisture, add the chicken stock.
- Spread the mixture into a large baking dish (9 x 13 or similar size). Bake for 25-30 minutes until golden brown.
- Sprinkle with pomegranate arils and serve immediately. Enjoy!
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[…] recipe this year because I know it’s the one recipe that my kids are guaranteed to eat on Thanksgiving. I have no issue using store-bought crescent rolls because they are easy and delicious, but there […]