This easy stuffing casserole with ground turkey and bacon is a delicious side dish, perfect for the holiday season. It is full of festive flavours, simple to make and ready in under an hour.
This simple stuffing casserole with turkey and bacon contains the classic festive season ingredients including cranberries and chestnuts. There are only a few simple steps involved and you'll have a delicious stuffing casserole ready in about an hour.
I don't use a lot of fat in everyday cooking but I've made an exception with this baked stuffing recipe. The holiday season is not about everyday cooking after all! A certain amount of fat is necessary to keep the stuffing moist as well as to add more flavour. Though I do recommend using lean bacon slices.
I used parsley in this stuffing casserole in addition to traditional sage and rosemary for more flavour.
How to make Christmas stuffing casserole: step-by-step
1.Start by frying the onion, celery and cranberries in 2 tablespoons of oil. Add the wine and continue cooking for another minute or so. Add the sage and rosemary and stir to combine.
2. Add the bread pieces, season lightly and stir thoroughly to combine. Set aside. Preheat the oven to 190 C/ 375 F/ gas mark 5.
3. In a pan heat up 2 tablespoons of oil and fry the bacon until it starts changing colour, stirring often.
4. Combine the bacon with the meat, parsley, chestnuts, spices, seasoning and onion mixture, stir thoroughly and transfer into your casserole dish.
5. Drizzle over a little oil and bake for 35-40 minutes until nicely browned and crispy on top.
6. Remove from the oven and serve!
Serving suggestions for baked stuffing casserole
This easy stuffing casserole makes a fantastic Christmas or Thanksgiving dinner dish. It tastes delicious served with this spiced healthy cranberry sauce as well as cranberry beetroot chutney. Try it also with festive roasted brussels sprouts or sweet and moreish honey glazed carrots. This stuffing casserole can also be enjoyed throughout the festive season as a main dish served with potatoes.
Top tips
- Meat: I recommend using dark turkey meat (thigh meat) rather than turkey breast which is too dry for a stuffing recipe. You could also use ground pork instead if you prefer. I chose lean streaky smoked bacon as it adds a bit of nice smoky flavour as well as moisture into the stuffing. You can discard the fat after frying the bacon or add it into the casserole along with the bacon if you prefer. Alternatively use the fat to drizzle over the casserole instead of oil.
- Herbs: You can use your own combination of herbs rather than my recommendations.
- Best served immediately.
- Refrigerate the leftovers, covered, for up to 3 days.
- Freeze the casserole, unbaked, covered, for up to 3 months. Bake from frozen.
More stuffing recipes
Your Christmas/Thanksgiving main dishes
Looking for easy, healthy and delicious festive mains?
Check out this easy to make, delicious turkey wellington with mushrooms and chestnuts as an alternative to traditional roast turkey. If you are looking for an easy festive vegetarian main dish try stuffed butternut squash with quinoa and mushrooms.
Keep in touch!
Have you made this stuffing casserole? I'd love to know how it turned out for you. Do you have a favourite stuffing recipe you make every year? Let me know in the comments below, thanks!
Follow me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for regular recipe updates! Or you could subscribe to this blog and receive all my latest recipes right into your mailbox!
Stuffing Casserole with Turkey and Bacon
Ingredients
- 500 g ground turkey at least 7% fat
- 200 g smoked streaky bacon chopped
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 1/2 celery stalk finely chopped
- 4 tbsp white wine
- 90 g chestnuts ready to use, roughly chopped
- 40 g dried sweetened cranberries (0.33 cups)
- 4 tbsp parsley finely chopped
- 4 tbsp fresh sage leaves, finely chopped or 2 teaspoons dried
- 1.5 tsp rosemary leaves finely chopped
- 2/3 tsp each: nutmeg and onion granules
- 1/2 tsp allspice
- 1 tsp fine sea salt plus lots of pepper
- 2 slices of stale bread broken up into chunks
- 4 tbsp olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 F/ 190 C/ gas mark 5.
- Heat up 2 tablespoons of the oil, add the onion and celery and fry over a low/medium heat for 3 minutes stirring occasionally. Add the cranberries, wine and continue frying for another minute stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat, stir in the sage, rosemary and bread pieces and leave to cool.
- In a frying pan heat up 2 tablespoons of oil and fry the bacon pieces until they start changing colour. Combine with the meat, chestnuts, spices and seasoning, parsley and the onion mixture.
- Transfer the mixture to a medium casserole dish, drizzle with a little oil and bake for 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve.
Notes
- Meat: I recommend using dark turkey meat (thigh meat) rather than turkey breast which is too dry for a stuffing recipe. You could also use ground pork instead if you prefer. I chose lean streaky smoked bacon as it adds a bit of nice smoky flavour as well as moisture into the stuffing. You can discard the fat after frying the bacon or add it into the casserole along with the bacon if you prefer. Alternatively use the fat to drizzle over the casserole instead of oil.
- Herbs: You can use your own combination of herbs rather than my recommendations.
- Best served immediately.
- Refrigerate the leftovers, covered, for up to 3 days.
- Freeze the casserole, unbaked, covered, for up to 3 months. Bake from frozen
Nutrition
*Nutritional information is automatically generated and should be considered as an estimate.
Hi, I am Monika, welcome to Everyday Healthy Recipes! This blog is all about creatively simple recipes with a healthy twist, old classics with a modern take, and an occasional Polish dish thrown into the mix - all easy to make, healthy and delicious, perfect for everyday cooking. 
What a lovely sounding stuffing recipe. I especially love how you've added spices into the mix - very Christmassy!! Eb x
Thank you! Glad you like it ☺️
Something new, something to try.
Thanks - Friday Fiesta rocks.
Thanks for stopping by and happy FF!
Love your version of stuffing Monika. I have made a sausage/cranberry stuffing but never added chestnuts. Sage is a perfect herb to use. Thanks for sharing with Fiesta Friday, Jangie and the J Crew 🙂
Thank you Judith! Chestnuts are really nice in a stuffing recipe.
I love stuffing and I love the look of this dish. I will be making this for sure.
Thanks Jacqui! Let me know how it turned out if you do decide to make it:)
I love the idea of the chestnuts and cranberries in the stuffing Monika, like you say they sing out Christmas loud and clear,
Angela x
Thanks Angela! Glad you like it. I've been putting cranberries into everything lately:)
Oh wow, this looks and sounds perfect for Christmas day! Thank you for sharing with #CookBlogShare x
Thanks Kirsty! It is such a quick and easy recipe I am definitely making it again next week ready for Christmas day:)
Ooh yum!! this sounds gorgeous. I am very traditional and make a sage and onion stuffing every year - I really must try something new one day, but the problem with Christmas is it's all about traditions and I've been having the same stuffing at Christmas since I was a child - I'm not sure I can bring myself to change it!! Eb x
Thanks! Traditions are great and we shouldn't discard them, but there is nothing wrong with adding more dishes to the table and keeping the traditional ones too, I think. I've also got a few dishes I make every year, but I add new stuff too. Makes it more interesting:)
Looks like a lovely festive recipe Monika X
Thanks Mandy, I hope I can replicate it well on Christmas day:)