Name: sage and onion stuffing recipe
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 45 min
Ingredients: 1 onion; 1 piece of bread; 30 ml olive oil; 30 g butter; Small handful fresh sage (or 1 tablespoon of dried)

Affiliate links in this post will be clearly marked with a *. Clicking one of these links means I earn a discount or receive payment.

Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

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 daughters Daisy and Aurora came along!

Life got busier. I started to go back to using Paxo stuffing and using Bisto gravy granules. Nothing wrong with that but it just isn’t the same for us! Sometimes we mix it up and have air fryer stuffing balls too.

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.

Cooked sage and onion stuffing balls in a dish

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.

Sage and onion stuffing recipe - White onions cooked in olive oil and butter

Add the chopped bread. Cook for 1-2 minutes.

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

Sage and onion stuffing recipe - A look at the stuffing once bread and sage is added

That is it! Take the mixture and put it into your food processor.

Roll into little balls, or squish down about 1 inch thick in a baking dish.

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.

Onion gravy on top of mash potato with text overlay that says ultimate onion gravy

Here is a look at the final result of my sage and onion stuffing recipe:

Slow cooker roast beef on a bed of carrots and parsnips in a Pyrex glass baking dish. In the background is an enamel tray of Ninja Foodi roast potatoes and a Pyrex glass jug of beef gravy

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.

How to make stuffing balls?

I make the mix in my food processor and then I mould into little balls in my hand. If your mix is a little too moist you’ll want to add a little more bread. If it is too dry you’ll want a little more oil/butter. Don’t overdo it though as you can always add to it!

Do you need egg for homemade Paxo style 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.

A slow cooker whole chicken once cooked with two bay leaves

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.

A cooked roast chicken with sage and garlic and bay leaves and text overlay that says how to stretch a roast chicken further than ever!

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.

Want to make Paxo stuffing better?

If you are using packet stuffing this time, and want to know how to make your box mix stuffing better, then be sure to add some sausage meat to it. You’ll need to cook for longer but it’ll make it extra tasty and moist!

What to use instead of sage?

If you don’t have sage to hand then you could consider rosemary instead. This also goes great with roast dinners, especially chicken, and brings a lovely flavour.

How to make my sage and onion stuffing recipe:

A look at the sage and onion stuffing balls once they are almost cooked

sage and onion stuffing recipe

Course Side Dish

Cuisine British

Keyword Roast dinner

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 35 minutes

Total Time 45 minutes

Servings 8 stuffing balls

Calories 89 kcal

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.

Note: All calorie information is for demonstration purposes only and is based on the specific uncooked ingredients that I used when creating the recipe.