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Before my daughter was born I would make us a roast dinner every single weekend, including this sage and onion stuffing.
Over time I learned to make everything from scratch. Stuffing, gravy, Yorkshire puddings etc. My dinners just got better and better but also more and more time-consuming. Then my daughter Daisy came along.
Life got busier. I started to go back to using Paxo and Bisto. Nothing wrong with that but it just isn’t the same for us! Anyway, life is getting back on track for us now and I’ve been able to start cooking from scratch regularly again.
This is my sage and onion stuffing recipe. It takes around 5 – 10 minutes to prepare and then it cooks for around the same time as packet stuffing. Best of all this sage and onion stuffing recipe will set you back about 30p!
If you add sausagemeat then this will bump up the price – depending on the quality. Scroll down near the end if you want to see my recipe card for this sage and onion stuffing recipe. This recipe is a great alternative to buying Paxo stuffing. It’s cheap, simple and you can use up the end pieces of bread.

Ingredients for sage and onion stuffing recipe (makes 8 stuffing balls)
How to make Paxo stuffing (similar anyway!)
1 onion
1 piece of bread
30ml olive oil
30g butter
A small handful of fresh sage or 1 tablespoon of dried
Method for sage and onion stuffing recipe
Start by mixing together the olive oil and butter. Then add the chopped onions.
Cook until slightly golden. Do not let brown, even slightly, as they’ll just end up burning in the oven.

Add the chopped bread. Cook for 1-2 minutes.
Add the sage. Cook for a further 1-2 minutes.

That is it! Take the mixture and put it into your food processor if you want to. This particular day, when I took these photos, I couldn’t use the food processor. My daughter was sleeping and I didn’t want to wake her.
The stuffing was still absolutely delicious despite this so I won’t be bothering to process it anymore. However, if you want neater stuffing balls then whizz it up!

Personally, I cooked my stuffing for around 40 minutes on Gas mark 6 (200C). You could cook it low and slow if you were making a turkey crown or larger meat joint.
Here is a look at the final result of my sage and onion stuffing recipe:

Now to be honest… I stopped cooking just over 5 minutes before I should have. This is because I was getting prepared in advance. I knew that these would be going back in the oven while I cooked my airfryer roast potatoes and Yorkshire puddings.
Can you freeze this sage and onion stuffing?
Yes! I’ve frozen it both before it goes in the oven, and afterwards. If cooking directly from frozen add an extra 10 minutes to the cooking time and then keep an eye on the browning near the end, as you may need to cover with foil for the final 10-15 minutes.
Do you need egg for homemade stuffing?
Definitely not! As you can see there is no egg in this recipe. Ensure that you mix it really well, and you should have no problem with the balls staying together.
Try to avoid poking them while cooking, just turn once, and make sure you’ve greased up your oven tray before cooking.
Want to make this stuffing recipe gluten free?
Use your own gluten free bread. I’ve used several types in the past, as my daughter has FPIES and multiple allergies. I’ve had no problems with binding but if you do experiencing them then you can use a few pinches of Xanthan gum to help thicken it up.
Want to make this vegan stuffing?
Just make sure to use a dairy free bread and butter and you should be able to make vegan stuffing no problem.
Can you eat sage and onion stuffing in pregnancy?
There are no ingredients in this that are unsafe for pregnancy. If you’re going to add sausage meat then ensure that you cook it thoroughly, and check it is piping hot before serving.
Don’t want to make stuffing balls?
I’ve made this into a stuffing loaf in the past, and also cooked it in a shallow pie dish by pressing it flat into the dish too. Cooking time is similar, maybe just 5-10 more minutes needed, and it is super simple to slice too.
I recommend leaving it to cool slightly before you serve it, to avoid the slices breaking up.
Can you make this stuffing with dried sage?
Yes, absolutely! I use 1 tablespoon of dried sage when I don’t have fresh sage available. I also love to freeze fresh herbs for this recipe.
How to make my sage and onion stuffing recipe:

sage and onion stuffing recipe
Ingredients
- 1 onion
- 1 piece of bread
- 30 ml olive oil
- 30 g butter
- Small handful fresh sage or 1 tablespoon of dried
Instructions
-
Start by mixing together the olive oil and butter. Then add the chopped onions.
-
Cook until slightly golden. Do not let brown, even slightly, as it’ll end up burning in the oven.
-
Add the chopped bread. Cook for 1-2 minutes.
-
Add the sage. Cook for a further 1-2 minutes.
-
Take the mixture and put it into your food processor if you want to. This is optional.
-
Cook for 40 minutes at gas mark 6 (200C). Alternatively, use to stuff a joint of meat and cook for the duration of meat cooking time.
Products I use when making my sage and onion stuffing recipe:
The links below are affiliate links.
*Joseph Joseph Chopping Boards / *Joseph Joseph 9 Nest Bowls / *Prepstar / *Le Creuset Stoneware
The Reverend
Wednesday 23rd of September 2020
This looks ace. I will have to try it out as I didn't realise it was so simple :)
katykicker
Wednesday 23rd of September 2020
It makes such a nice different to a roast dinner too!