Recipe: Baked Apples with a Turkey Sausage Stuffing

Sweet and Savoury Stuffed Apples

If you're like me, you look for any excuse to extend the festive season and that includes Thanksgiving. A traditional turkey dinner is my absolute favourite meal of the year and there's no way I'd be satisfied unless the combination of sweet and savoury flavours ended up on my dining table multiple times during the year.

That's why I'm always looking for ways to bring that festive feeling to my table with recipes that are quick, healthy and simple enough for a weeknight. 

I have to say, I'm pretty proud of my latest experiment - a stuffed, baked apple with Lilydale's Turkey Breakfast Sausage. It was delicious and made for an amazing side dish at my Dad's birthday dinner. The combination of sausage and apples is perfection if you ask me - and these are easy enough for anyone to prepare on any day of the week!

So get ready to wow your dinner guests - this dish will definitely bring all the special occasion vibes to your table. 

The Star of the Dish: Turkey Breakfast Sausage

I was so excited to partner with Lilydale on this post and found their turkey breakfast sausage to be the perfect star for my dish!

Lilydale is a brand I trust in my kitchen - with 75 years under their belt, they are well-known in the culinary world for their premium products. (They use only responsibly farmed, nitrite-free, 100% Canadian turkey and chicken.)

Bonus- in addition to their variety of breakfast sausages, they also have seasoned, oven-roasted turkey breast available - perfect for those days you're craving a special meal but don't want to slave away in the kitchen for six hours roasting a turkey. 

The ready to eat oven-roasted turkey breast would also be perfect for weekday lunches or dinners and I'm planning to use it in wraps, on salads and in pasta dishes too!

But first thing's first - you have to make these amazing stuffed, baked apples for your next big get-together. I'm willing to bet you'll have some very happy guests.

Baked Apples with a Turkey Sausage Stuffing 

Makes 10 individual servings

Preparation Time: 40 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

1 package Lilydale Turkey Breakfast Sausage
1 small onion, chopped
1/4 tsp poultry seasoning
10 small apples (I used gala)
2 pieces of bread, toasted and buttered
1 Tbsp canola oil
3-4 sprigs of fresh thyme, stripped
1 lemon wedge
salt and pepper
pomegranate seeds or cranberry sauce to garnish (optional)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Farenheit

Instructions

Step 1) Using a sharp knife, cut the casings of the Lilydale Turkey Breakfast Sausages and discard. Place the turkey sausage in a bowl and then mash it with a fork.

Step 2) Add salt, pepper and poultry seasoning. Mix to combine.

Step 3) Prepare the apples by making a cut at the top (about a centimetre from the top)  and a smaller cut at the bottom to create a flat surface for the apple to sit on as it bakes.

Step 4) Using a melon baller or a spoon, scoop out the core and middle portion of the apple. 

Step 5) Squeeze lemon juice on the cut portions of the apples to prevent browning. After a few minutes, remove the excess juice from the apples and season the insides with light salt and pepper. 

Step 6) In a pan, heat the oil on medium. Add the chopped onions and brown. Add the Lilydale Turkey Breakfast sausage to the pan and mix to combine it with the onions. 

Step 7) Prepare the toast and cut it into small cubes.

Step 8) Add the cubed bread to the pan and mix to combine. Add a splash or two of water to help the bread combine with the meat. Let it cook for a few minutes but you don't want the turkey sausage to be more than halfway cooked. 

Step 9) Using a spoon, stuff each apple with the turkey sausage and bread mixture. Add some thyme to the top of each apple. Place the apples on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.

Step 10) Bake the apples for about 20 minutes or until the apples are tender. 

Step 11) Remove them from the oven and transfer to a serving platter. Garnish with fresh thyme and pomegranate seeds or cranberry sauce. 

Let's Dig in!

These baked, stuffed apples are guaranteed to make your house smell amazing and they make a delicious side dish or even an entree if you serve two to each person. 

These are such a pretty little showstopper and the taste is worth the little bit of extra effort that it takes to make them. I served these with Lilydale's Seasoned Oven-Roasted Turkey Breast, some mashed potatoes, gravy and green beans. It was the perfect way to make a holiday meal a little more accessible for the everyday. 

And trust me, now that this recipe is under my belt, you'd better believe it's going to be getting festive a lot more often around here.

Hope you try this recipe for yourself and let me know how it turns out! Leave me a comment below or on Instagram @angeliesood

A special thank you to my friends at Lilydale for partnering on this blog post. As always - all views and opinions are my own.