This traditional Greek turkey stuffing with sausage, chestnuts, dates, prunes, and pine nuts has a wholesome, delicious flavor you can’t have enough of.
Pair it with this sweet and savory sweet potato gratin for an amazing holiday menu!
This Greek turkey stuffing is probably the only reason for me to make a turkey for Thanksgiving. When I was growing up and the holidays were around the corner, I would make sure we would roast a turkey for Christmas, and it would be stuffed with this heavenly recipe. (Greeks don’t celebrate Thanksgiving.)
It is the first leftover to quickly run out in our house, probably by noon the day after. 🙂
Here is what you need
- Ground sausage and beef. This traditional Greek turkey stuffing has a filling of 2 different kinds of ground meat. Usually, an equal amount of ground beef and pork are used. I chose to substitute the pork with ground sausage for its robust flavor.
- Butter. I always use salted butter. Feel free to use unsalted if you prefer.
- Onion. Red or white onions are fine.
- Rice. Just a small amount of rice is used. I prefer white rice than brown.
- Chestnuts
- Pine nuts, Raisins, dates and prunes. Choose your favorite varieties. I go for whatever I have in the pantry.
- Broth. Chicken or vegetable are both fine. A palm oil free boullion cube with half a cup of water will do as well.
- Fresh sage leaves. You can also use rosemary or and thyme.
- Cloves. They give such a delicate aroma in any food and sauce.
- Sea salt & freshly ground pepper.
Make a turkey baste
There is a turkey baste that I like to use on the turkey with this stuffing. It is made with orange and lemon juice, butter, and broth. It is infused with fresh herbs such as rosemary, sage, and thyme.
Turkey baste ingredients
- Broth (chicken or vegetable)
- Melted butter
- Orange juice
- Lemon juice
- Fresh herb sprigs like rosemary thyme & sage
- Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
Mix orange and lemon juice with the chicken broth. Add the melted butter. Season with a pinch of salt and fresh ground pepper. Stick the rosemary, thyme, and sage sprigs in the baste to infuse it while you cook the turkey. Keep it on a warm surface, I usually have it in my microwave above the stove. The light under it keeps it warm.
- Stuff the turkey just after you’ve cooked the stuffing, and it’s still hot. It will take less time for the stuffing to reach a high temperature. Please don’t make the stuffing ahead of time and refrigerate it.
- Don’t overstuff. A loosely stuffed bird will heat more quickly. Cook the leftover stuffing and mix the two in the serving dish. Add a couple of tablespoons of the turkey baste as well as some extra broth as it cooks.
- Baste the turkey often. It is labor-intensive, but this way, you will make sure that there is enough moisture to cook the rice in the stuffing fully. I have had instances where the rice comes out uncooked, although everything else is perfect. My conclusion was that there was not enough moisture while cooking. Now I baste with plenty of liquid every 15 minutes.
- I prefer using white rice for this stuffing. I don’t recommend using brown rice, wild rice, or any similar kind that has a long cooking time. But if you are making your stuffing on the stovetop, feel free to use the rice you like the most. Cooking on the stovetop gives you control over when the rice is fully cooked.
Helpful Q&A
Stuffing cooked inside the turkey is really delicious, but it does slow down the cooking time. It can also be a potential health hazard if done incorrectly. If you are worried you won’t get it right, cook your stuffing on the stovetop. Instead of stuffing the turkey, sauté everything, then cover and let it simmer. Add a little stock every once in a while; you need to have enough liquid for the rice to cook.
Yes, absolutely, you should. This recipe is only for the stuffing. Prepare your turkey as you prefer with a dry rub or brine and cook it according to your favorite settings and method. Use the suggested turkey baste while the bird is in the oven or the baste recipe of your preference.
No. All ground meat should be browned before being placed inside the turkey.
No! Leaving the stuffing inside the turkey overnight can make bacteria grow. You definitely don’t want that! Place your stuffing inside the turkey right before roasting.
You can also like:
Check out my Greek pantry staples
Cooked this? Rate this recipe! You can also leave a comment below. I love hearing from you!
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Greek Turkey Stuffing
Equipment
- A large saute pan.
Ingredients
This stuffing is good for a 15-20 lbs turkey.
- 1 lb ground sausage
- 1 lb ground beef
- 6 tbsp butter
- 1 red onion diced
- 1/2 cup rice
- 1 cup boiled chestnuts halved
- 1/2 cup raisins
- 5-6 dates diced
- 5-6 prunes diced
- 1/2 cup pine nuts
- 2-3 cloves
- 1/2 cup broth chicken or veg
- fresh sage leaves roughly chopped
- salt
- pepper
for the turkey baste
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 6 tablespoons butter melted
- 3 oranges juiced
- 3 lemons juiced
- 1 rosemary sprig
- 1 thyme sprig
- 1 sage sprig
- sea salt
- freshly ground pepper
Instructions
- In a large pot, add the butter. In medium heat, add the onion and chopped sage leaves sauté until the onion is soft and fragrant. Add the ground beef and sausage. Break with a spoon any large pieces. Brown ground meat all over, 3-4 min.
- Add the rice. Stir well. Sauté mixture for 1-2 min. Add 1/2 cup broth, the raisins, chestnuts, dates, prunes, cloves and the pine nuts. Stir mixture well gently. Season with salt and fresh ground pepper. Remove from heat.
Prepare the turkey baste.
- Mix orange and lemon juice with the chicken broth. Add the melted butter. Season with a pinch of salt and fresh ground pepper. Stick the rosemary, thyme and sage sprigs in the baste to infuse it while you cook the turkey. Keep it in a warm surface.
Stuff the turkey and roast
- Spoon your stuffing into the neck cavity, very loosely. Fold neck skin over opening.
- Stuff the large cavity of the turkey loosely, stuffing will expand as it cooks.
- Lightly baste the turkey every 15 minutes after the first hour of cooking. Apply the baste warm to the turkey. Stop basting during the last 30 minutes of cook time.
- When turkey is ready, empty the stuffing in a serving bowl and serve. Enjoy!
Notes
- Please don’t make the stuffing the day before and refrigerate it. It is better to stuff the turkey just after you’ve cooked the stuffing, and it’s still hot. Then, it will take less time for the stuffing to reach a high temperature.
- Don’t overstuff the bird. If it is loosely stuffed it will heat more quickly. Finish cooking the leftover stuffing and mix the two in the serving dish. Add a couple of tablespoons of the turkey baste and some extra broth as it cooks.
- Please baste the turkey often. Make sure that there is enough moisture to cook the rice. I baste with plenty of liquid every 15 minutes.
- I don’t recommend using brown rice, wild rice, or any kind that has a long cooking time.
- You can also cook your stuffing on the stovetop. Instead of stuffing the turkey, sauté everything, then cover and let it simmer for a while; I usually allow it to cook on very low heat while the turkey roasts. Add a little stock every once in a while; you need to have enough liquid for the rice to cook. Don’t over stir, especially at the end. It will get mushy and won’t keep the different textures of the ingredients.
- You can also use your own recipe for cooking your turkey. This recipe is only for the stuffing. Prepare the turkey as your preferred brine and cook it according to your method. Use the suggested turkey baste while the bird is in the oven or the baste recipe of your preference.
Nutrition
Ekplitikos!
Hi there. I was wondering if you can just make the stuffing without cooking it in the turkey? We always cook our turkey on the bbq and can’t cook it stuffed. This stuffing sounds amazing and I definitely want to try it out.
Vicki
Hi Vicky!
You can cook the stuffing on the stovetop, I do it all the time.
I am mentioning it in the post. Instead of stuffing the turkey, sauté everything, then cover and let it simmer. Add a little stock every once in a while; you need to have enough liquid for the rice to cook. Let it cook slowly on low heat and don’t stir too much at the end so it keeps its texture. I had a relative overmixing it one year and it turned out mashed 🙂 It still tasted good but I love the different textures of the chestnuts, dates, pinenuts, etc.
Let me know how it came out.
Happy Thanksgiving!
x Jenny
My wife absolutely loved this Greek Turkey Stuffing. It’s really yummy and scrumptious. We will have this again.
Oh, Jenny, this looks absolutely FANTASTIC! And great tips and hints all along the way, as well. Thanks bunches – and Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!
I love your version of stuffing! So much flavor in one recipe! Definitely need to try it!
I cannot wait to try your Greek Turkey Stuffing with Sausage, my mouth is watering just reading your post!
I love the ground sausage add, and the turkey baste sounds amazing. Thanks for the tip on using white rice, cause I would’ve definitely gone done the wrong path of using brown rice.
This stuffing sounds amazing from the ground beef to the chestnuts, prunes, dates. Incredible flavors all stuffed into the turkey. I don’t think we would have leftovers. Thanks for sharing!
Oh the sausage, chestnuts, and dried fruit add so much flavor to this! All of my favorite ingredients in one stuffing. So delicious!
That stuffing looks really scrumptious and delicious! What a perfect turkey stuffing. Love the flavors going on here.
This stuffing sounds fantastic. With chestnuts and pine nuts, it’s so delicious. I think I never tried anything like this. I will definitely save this and give it a go this Christmas. Thanks for the recipe!
The chestnuts in this were such an amazing touch. We all loved it!! Can’t wait to make it again, soon.
We never stuffed the turkey but serve it as side dish casserole and it’s a big hit. I make extra to freeze and omit the dried fruit but add pecans as well as the usual ingredients. The extra broth is good if you freeze and don’t cook the rice as it freezes well Enjoy!
That’s great to hear Mia! I think it works great cooked on the stovetop. My American mother in law makes it that way too, and it is great as a casserole. Thans so much Mia! x Jenny
I’ve never made a turkey in my life — my dad or my brother do that — and we’ve don’t stuff it, but I’m a HUGE fan of dressing and I’m totally going to make this. I don’t even want to wait for Thanksgiving — maybe just for a random Tuesday night supper with horiatiki?
Hi Angela!
I hear you! I am the same; I can eat this any day of the week. I have also made it a filling for pie, with a puff pastry on top and bottom. It was so good!
It will also go well with the greek lettuce salad. Check it out https://thegreekfoodie.com/traditional-greek-lettuce-salad-maroulosalata/
Thanks so much! Enjoy your dressing!
x Jenny
Just wondering why rice and not bread stuffing? If you use bread is the process different
Hi Georgia,
Rice is what we always use at home; greek stuffing does not have bread usually. I have never tried it. I think you could skip the rice, cook the stuffing halfway on the stovetop, mix with bread and then pour everything in a large buttered baking pan, cover with buttered foil, and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake until you like the consistency of the top.
Let me know what you decide!
Happy Thanksgiving!
x Jenny
Can I make this stuffing on stovetop , refrigerate and serve4 days later on Thanksgiving?
Hi Cindy!
You can certainly make it on the stove top. I am not sure it will keep in the fridge for four days, we eat our leftover stuffing in a couple of days tops. I suggest you freeze it and take it out the morning of. Let it thaw and warm up in low heat without stirring too much (it will get mushy). You want to keep the texture intact as much as possible.
Let me know what you did and how it came out!
Happy Thanksgiving! x Jenny
I love this stuffing, but I’m not a fan of dates or prunes, so I added dried cranberries instead and it was wonderful. I also added a dash of cinnamon & nutmeg because Greeks add that to almost all their ground beef dishes. Haha! 🙂
That’s great Anna!
Yes, nutmeg suits this, and its true we Greeks do use it almost everywhere!
So glad you liked the stuffing!
Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family!
x Jenny