Want an easy stuffing recipe that can be made ahead of time and takes just a few minutes? Try my delicious Easy Sage and Onion Stuffing Balls recipe that has been in my family for decades!
A tried and tested recipe
This Easy Sage and Onion Stuffing Balls recipe has been in my family for years – decades in fact. Mum and Dad would often make it for our Sunday roast and especially at Christmas. The smell of sweet cooked onions mingled with sage has always been a quintessential part of Christmas for me since childhood.
The perfect accompaniment to roast meats
This Easy Sage and Onion Stuffing Balls recipe is the perfect accompaniment to roast chicken, roast turkey or roast duck. I love shaping this delicious stuffing mix into cute little balls and cooking them separately. Cooking them separately means they cook really quickly and go super crispy on the outside.
This is also perfect if you have vegetarian guests, as it means they can enjoy this gorgeous stuffing too.
If you prefer, however, you can of course use the Easy Sage and Onion Stuffing mixture to stuff the neck cavity of a turkey, or to stuff the main cavity of a chicken or duck. Do remember to weigh your bird once stuffed and calculate the cooking time based on the stuffed weight.
How to make the breadcrumbs for Sage and Onion Stuffing
The Easy Sage and Onion Stuffing Balls recipe calls for 200g (7oz) white breadcrumbs. When I make this stuffing, I just buy an ordinary loaf of white bread and grate it on the large holes of a cheese grater. It takes about 5 minutes to do this and is easy peasy! But you can also buy ready-made breadcrumbs from the supermarket, if you prefer.
To make this Sage and Onion Stuffing ahead of time…
If you want to get ahead, you can make these Easy Sage and Onion Stuffing Balls the night before. Place them in an airtight container in the fridge overnight and cook them as per the instructions below the following day.
Great as leftovers!
It would be remiss of me not to mention that these Easy Sage and Onion Stuffing Balls taste great the next day – I mean REALLY good!! Never more so than at Christmas. They are the sort of perfect Boxing Day food that can be grazed on all day, popping over to the fridge every now and again just to get ‘one more’! 😉
How to cook perfect roast turkey – the stress free way!
More stuffing recipes on EPF
If this Sage and Onion Stuffing recipe is not quite what you are looking for, then why not try one of my other stuffing recipes:
- Pork, Sage and Onion Stuffing Balls (GF, DF, EF)
- Chestnut and Cranberry Stuffing Balls (GF, DF, EF)
- Apricot and Pistachio Stuffing Balls (DF, EF)
Chestnut and Cranberry Stuffing Balls
Easy Sage and Onion Stuffing Balls
Ingredients
- 1 large red or white onion (or two smaller ones) finely diced
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 200 g white breadcrumbs (see note)
- 2 teaspoons dried sage
- 2 teaspoons dried mixed herbs
- Salt and pepper
- 1 egg beaten together with a fork
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 200C / 180C fan / gas mark 6 / 400F and grease a tin big enough to hold all the stuffing balls – I usually use a small roasting tin.
- Drizzle a tablespoon of olive oil into a saucepan. Add the diced onion and put the lid on. Cook over a low heat for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onion is soft but not brown.
- Meanwhile grate the bread for the breadcrumbs and place in a large bowl. (see note)
- When the onions are ready, tip into the bread crumbs. Add the herbs, salt and pepper and stir thoroughly.
- Allow the mixture to cool slightly and then add the beaten egg and stir together. Divide the mixture into 12 and shape into balls. Place in your greased tin and cook for 30 minutes or until they are golden brown and cooked through.
Notes
Pin Easy Sage and Onion Stuffing Balls for later
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Linkies
I am linking this up to Cook Blog Share and Cook Once Eat Twice.
Tim COATES says
Just made this again. Great recipe! And goes so well inside a duck!
Eb Gargano says
Thanks Tim – it is a great recipe, isn’t it? And now you always know where to find it 😉 Toying with the idea of adding sausage meat to the recipe next time… 🙂 Eb x
Tim says
I’ve contemplated an apple and sausage variant before…
Eb Gargano says
Oooh – that sounds nice too! 🙂
Corina Blum says
I love sage and onion stuffing and think these must be so tasty! I only have one stuffing recipe so I know I should branch out and try something a little different (for me!) one day. Thanks for sharing with #CookOnceEatTwice!
Eb Gargano says
Thanks Corina – this one’s a real favourite in our house. It’s the one I made for years and years, but since starting a food blog I’ve been branching out a bit. My aim is to create a new stuffing recipe every Christmas (I already know what it will be next year!!) Eb x
Susan says
ingredients mentions sage, but then dried mixed herbs, would this be poultry seasoning mix ? or could you list the dry mixed herbs ‘mix’. thank you
Eb Gargano says
Hi Susan, I am not sure where in the world you are, but I am guessing not in the UK? In the UK we have a product that is sold in every grocery store which is simply labelled ‘mixed herbs’ – I’ve just taken a quick look at my pot (From Tesco’s supermarket), and the ingredients are as follows >>> Thyme, Marjoram, Parsley, Oregano, Sage, Basil. You can see this for yourself here >>> https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/300456480 You need both mixed herbs and sage in the stuffing balls for the best flavour. Hope that helps! Eb 🙂
Janice says
What a great way to get ahead for Christmas, the stuffing sounds so delicous.
Eb Gargano says
Thanks Janice! Eb x
Linda Banner says
Can you use fresh sage instead – if so how much?
Eb Gargano says
Hi Linda, you can use fresh sage. And if so, I would recommend using approximately 10 leaves, finely chopped. However, in my experience dried sage actually gives a better result (I don’t normally say that about dried herbs, but in this case dried sage really does work much better). Hope that helps! Eb 🙂
Meeta says
Hi. If I wanted to make this ahead of time and freeze them as per the recipe. How would I cook them from frozen please? Thank you.
Eb Gargano says
I have never cooked them directly from frozen (though I suspect it is possible). However what a recommend is you defrost them overnight in your fridge and then place on a baking tray / sheetpan and reheat in the oven set to 200C / 180C fan / gas mark 6 / 400F for 10 minutes, or until piping hot all the way through.
If you want to try cooking them directly from frozen then you could use a little trick I often employ… put the stuffing balls in the cold oven THEN pre-heat it (to 200C / 180C fan / gas mark 6 / 400F), then cook for a further 10-15 minutes, or until piping hot all the way through. I can’t *promise* you it will work, but it’s what I would do!
Kerry says
Have you made meatloaf with the sage/onion and sausage mince? If so, what are the quantities?
Eb Gargano says
I’ve a similar recipe which also includes sausage mince, here >>> https://www.easypeasyfoodie.com/pork-sage-onion-stuffing-balls/ which you might find helpful to look at for quantities / proportions. I’ve included 3 different ways to cook it in the recipe card notes. Hope that helps! Eb 🙂
Rita Banks says
I always make the breadcrumbs in my Braun liquidator
Eb Gargano says
Thanks for the tip!
Lori says
Can you substitute cornbread for bread slices?
Eb Gargano says
In all honesty, I don’t know as I’ve never tried it. But I can’t see why it wouldn’t work. Certainly worth a try! Eb 🙂
Lisa Marriott-Smith says
This was a huge hit at Thanksgiving. I used my freshly made French boule to make the breadcrumbs, 2 Tbsp finely chopped fresh sage, and poultry seasoning for the “mixed herbs”.
Eb Gargano says
Aw, that’s so great to hear! Thank you for this lovely review 😀