This Sweet Potato Cranberry Stuffing combines sweet potato croutons, browned Italian sausage, garlic-infused butter, onions and celery, and cranberries to brighten each bite. It is so good you won’t even miss the traditional version!
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This recipe is…
Stuffing is everything. Everything! It’s the one dish that makes this particular turkey dinner in November a Thanksgiving dinner. Even though the crumbly bready side plays just a supporting role, it’s still the first dish we sample and the one we dream about. Right? I know you’re with me.
It’s hard to beat traditional stuffing. It’s simple to make, feeds a lot of people, and tastes like childhood. All that being said, this new paleo sweet potato cranberry stuffing recipe won’t disappoint. It’s uber flavorful, easy to make, and allergen-friendly. It’s a stuffing that everyone will enjoy!
Looking for more stuffing recipes? We’ve got a few! Try our Semi-Homemade Thanksgiving Stuffing, our Wild Rice Stuffing, our Bacon Cranberry Cornbread Stuffing, and our Gluten Free Stuffing.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- It’s flavorful – this stuffing recipe is full of fall staples (think: sweet potatoes, sausage, celery, and fresh cranberries) with the perfect balance of savory and sweet!
- It’s easy to make – because we’re replacing the bread in traditional stuffing with sweet potato croutons, this recipe doesn’t require making grain-free bread.
- It’s allergen-friendly – another bonus? This stuffing is totally gluten-free, grain-free, egg-free, and nut-free, making it a great dish to be enjoyed by all.
Recipe Ingredients
We’re going to use oven-crisped sweet potato croutons, browned Italian sausage, lots of garlic-infused grass-fed butter, onions and celery, and then some super fresh and super delicious cranberries! The cranberries in this stuffing really brighten each bite. Find ingredient notes (including substitutions and swaps) below.
- Butter – feel free to use extra virgin coconut oil or ghee instead, if you’d like!
- Italian Sausage – if you prefer your stuffing with breakfast sausage, use that instead. Either works great!
A full ingredient list with exact amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
Recipe Variations and Modifications
- Sub squash for the sweet potatoes – use cubed butternut squash in place of the sweet potatoes! Know that the squash won’t get quite as crispy as the sweet potatoes, but it’ll still be completely delicious.
- Use hot Italian sausage – if you’re looking for a little bit of spice in your stuffing, sub hot Italian sausage in for the mild!
- Use dried cranberries in place of raw – if tart raw cranberries aren’t your thing, use a cup of sweet dried cranberries instead!
- Add mushrooms – if you like mushrooms in your stuffing, feel free to add those into the mix too!
- Add more vegetables – feel free to add diced carrots or bell pepper to your stuffing! You’ll do this at the same time that you add the yellow onion and diced celery to the saute pan.
How to Make Sweet Potato Cranberry Stuffing
Though this stuffing has several steps, it’s actually very easy, and really comes down to a little bit of chopping, baking, sautéing, and then a little bit more baking – see, not hard at all! Follow along below.
Step 1: preheat the oven to 350°F and line baking sheets with parchment paper. Then, cube your sweet potatoes if you haven’t already.
Step 2: Melt half of the butter and pour it over the cubed sweet potatoes. Lay the sweet potato cubes on the baking sheets in a single layer. Dust with half of the salt, and bake for 30 minutes, stir, then bake for an additional 25 minutes.
Step 3: In a large frying pan over medium-high heat, break up and brown the Italian sausage. When it’s brown and crispy, drain, and set aside.
Step 4: Add the other half of the butter to a large skillet over low/medium heat. Add the cloves of garlic and let it simmer and infuse for about 5 minutes. When the garlic starts to brown, remove and discard.
Step 5: Add the diced onions and stir. Add the diced celery, a ½ teaspoon of the salt, and the Italian seasoning, stir, and let simmer for about 5 minutes, or until the onions are translucent.
Step 6: Pour the finished sweet potato croutons, Italian sausage, and cooked onion, celery, and garlic mixture into a large bowl, then add the raw cranberries and fold until evenly combined.
Step 7: Pour the mixture into a large baking dish, cover with aluminum foil, and bake at 350°F for 20 minutes. Remove the foil then bake for an additional 10 minutes uncovered. Let cool slightly, then serve and enjoy!
Recipe Tip
Be sure to watch your sweet potatoes as they bake, so that you can either add or reduce the cooking time if needed. You want slightly crisped, but not burnt, sweet potato croutons.
How to Serve
Serve your stuffing alongside all of the Thanksgiving regulars. Here’s my recommended menu:
- Main: Oven Roasted Turkey
- Starchy Side: Creamy Mashed Potatoes (topped with traditional gravy, of course)
- Stuffing: this YUMMY sweet potato and cranberry stuffing!
- Veggie Side: Balsamic Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Bacon
- Dessert: Easy Gluten-Free Pumpkin Pie
How to Store and Reheat
Store any leftover stuffing in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
To reheat, simply microwave a serving for 1-2 minutes or bake the stuffing in a 350°F oven for 10-12 minutes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, sweet potato cranberry stuffing can be prepared in advance. You can assemble the dish and refrigerate it overnight, then bake it the next day. Just be sure to add any liquid ingredients just before baking to prevent it from becoming too soggy.
Store leftover sweet potato cranberry stuffing in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. Reheat it in the oven or microwave before serving.
More Favorite Thanksgiving Recipes
If you tried this Sweet Potato Cranberry Stuffing or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below!
Delicious Cranberry Stuffing with Sweet Potato
Ingredients
- 6 pound sweet potatoes cut into 1/2 inch cubes
- 8 ounces grass-fed butter or extra virgin coconut oil 2 sticks
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 pound mild Italian sausage
- 5 cloves garlic peeled and smashed
- 1 large onion diced
- 1 head celery diced
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 12 ounces fresh cranberries
- curly parsley for garnish optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line baking sheets with parchment paper. Melt half the butter and pour over the cubed sweet potatoes. Lay the sweet potato cubes on the baking sheets in a single layer. Dust with half of the salt. Bake at 350°F for 30 minutes, stir, then bake for an additional 25 minutes. Add or subtract baking time in order to get slightly crisped, but not burnt sweet potato croutons.
- In a large frying pan, break up and brown the Italian sausage. When it’s brown and crispy, drain in a colander and then set aside.
- Add the other half of the butter (4 ounces) to a large sauce pan over low/medium heat. Add the cloves of garlic and let it simmer and infuse for about 5 minutes. When the garlic starts to brown, remove and discard. Add the diced onions and stir. Add the diced celery, ½ teaspoon of the salt, and the Italian seasoning. Stir and let simmer for about 5 minutes, or until the onions are translucent.
- Pour the finished sweet potato croutons, Italian sausage, and cooked onion, celery, and garlic mixture into a large mixing bowl. Add the raw cranberries and fold until evenly combined.
- Pour the mixture into a large baking dish, cover with aluminum foil, and bake at 350°F for 20 minutes. Remove the foil then bake for an additional 10 minutes uncovered.
- Remove from oven, serve, and enjoy!
Recipe Notes
- Sub squash for the sweet potatoes – use cubed butternut squash in place of the sweet potatoes! Know that the squash won’t get quite as crispy as the sweet potatoes, but it’ll still be completely delicious.
- Use hot Italian sausage – if you’re looking for a little bit of spice in your stuffing, sub hot Italian sausage in for the mild!
- Use dried cranberries in place of raw – if tart raw cranberries aren’t your thing, use a cup of sweet dried cranberries instead!
- Add mushrooms – if you like mushrooms in your stuffing, feel free to add those into the mix too!
- Add more vegetables – feel free to add diced carrots or bell pepper to your stuffing! You’ll do this at the same time that you add the yellow onion and diced celery to the saute pan.
Nutrition
making this for the third time. I forgot to buy mild Italian sausage so I used hot. Hope it works! Last time I set some aside w/o the sausage for an AIP friend. It’s even fabulous meat free! Love this recipe!
Thank you for this awesome recipe! This was a big hit with my immediate family and so I’m making for Thanksgiving with friends. My picky kids even had seconds! They did pick out the cranberries and I suppose if you want to accommodate pickiness you could substitute dried sweetened cranberries or even raisins. I’m not changing anything thought b/c I loved the tart berries and I think most adults would too. This dish alone is making my Thanksgiving!
I’m so glad you liked it so much, Megan!
My wife loves sweet potato, me, not so much. That gosh awful mashed with marshmallow casserole ruined me. But I have tried, and liked, roasted wedges. This is something I’ll have to try for T-Day this year. Have you tried any other seasonings than Italian? Herbs de Provence, or fresh thyme or marjoram? Also wonder if a little heat, say a fresh jalapeno or some red pepper flakes might me nice. Oh it’s so much fun to experiment. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Fresh thyme may be a great substitute! I also think that some red pepper flakes might be an awesome addition. Hope you enjoy!
I guess my question is has anyone tried it with the extra virgin cocunut oil, and how did it taste.
Can I substitute coconut butter for the butter used in recipe? Thank you.
Hi Maria! You mean, can you substitute butter for the coconut oil? If that’s your question, then yes. Absolutely.
I made this for Thanksgiving dinner and yes, it was a hit! Loved the flavor combinations. And thank you for including pictures of how to properly chop the sweet potatoes and the onion (still cried, though).
This is a new family favorite! Love your step by step directions-thanks for sharing
Oh I’m so thrilled that you liked it, Dollie! It’s my pleasure.
Oh my, I am making this right now for tomorrow’s dinner and snap! It is delicious. Turning out perfectly. Thank you soooo much for sharing.
My pleasure, Teresa!
Could you use this inside the bird ?
Hi Jeremy! I haven’t tried cooking it in the bird, so I can’t speak to how well it would turn out. It’s worth an experiment if you’re wanting to give it a try! I’d love to know how it comes out. Happy Thanksgiving!
I found this recipe via Just Eat real food. I made this as a side dish for our Sunday dinner last evening. I halved the recipe as there was just my husband & I. It is every bit as delicious as Promised. I will be making this again in our future. I can with confidence recommend this recipe. I only had frozen whole organic cranberry’s. they worked well in the recipe. I can say that the cranberries do get sweeter as they bake in this dish and are a lovely addition. Along with the chopped fresh parsley just before serving. I actually used a combination of butter and coconut oil for roasting & sautéing the vegetables.
Thank you very much for sharing this!
Thank you for your feedback, Cori! I’m so thrilled that you and your husband liked it. Wishing you a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Presentation is beautiful but I would love to be able to print just the recipe and instructions. Do you have this recipe somewhere else that I can print from?
Great question! At the bottom of the post {just above the very last picture}, I’ve provided a summarized list of ingredients and instructions. For the time being, the only option is to copy and paste that text into a Word document for printing. I’m working on a website redesign right now {will go live late December} and will have a printer-friendly recipe button available on all future posts.
Looks and smells wonderful (just projecting about the aroma). I am planning to make all the ingredients on Wednesday, putting in fridge, then Thursday take out til room temp and assembling them and putting in oven for baking.
Question: Any suggestion on how to handle the sourness of the cranberries. I only use fresh cranberries once a year, but they are always he most sour produce ever. Do they get sweeter when they are baked? I usually use sugar and/or applesauce to sweeten fresh cranberry sauce, but since they are whole, I’m wondering how to tame them down.
Thanks.
Sounds like a great plan! The mild sweetness of the cranberries absolutely comes out while baking – but it doesn’t change that they’re still a tart fruit. They’re easy to avoid while you’re eating the stuffing because they’re still whole. I recommend giving them a go and then just pick ’em out if you find them too tart. You might surprise yourself and love the taste too! Wishing you a happy Thanksgiving.
Oh and I forgot to add, love your pan!
Thank you! It actually belonged to my Grandmother – really puts me in the Thanksgiving mood 🙂
This is a beauty to behold! The colors are amazing! I WILL be making this but not being a fan of Italian sausage I’ll just stick with regular ole sausage and also using my handy dandy Vidalia Onion Chopper, it makes the most perfect little squares in no time at all, either large or small and no, I am not an onion chopper saleswoman, just really like mine as it cuts time and everything is just the same as long as I cut the slabs the same thickness. Thanks so much for this post, done so well and I like your humor!
Thanks, Vickie! It sounds like I need an onion chopper 🙂
This looks fantastic! I might just have to give this a try!
That’s great! I’d love to know how you like it 🙂