This is a stuffing from one of my favourite blogs, Hapa Nom Nom which I’ve transformed into individual Pork Sausage Apple Stuffing in Pancetta Cups. It’s an absolute ripper. I knew if I made one big dish of the stuffing for a Christmas Party with my friends, then 20 years of friendship would be destroyed as we fought over who served themselves more than their fair share. So individual cups was a sensible solution!
*** This recipe is part of a Christmas Special where I show you how to make 3 mains and 4 side dishes that take 1.5 hrs to prepare and can be largely made ahead. So this Christmas, you can spend less time in the kitchen and more time with your family! 🙂 ***
Stuffing is not huge in Australia. We know what it is, but it isn’t at the forefront of our minds. However, in the US, stuffing is an art. It’s almost a food group of its own. When you start searching, it’s amazing how many variations there are. And you know what? Most stuffings aren’t actually even in the bird. They’re baked in a separate dish and served on the side. Which makes perfect sense because you get more crunchy brown bits!
“I made these stuffing cups for a Christmas Party recently. Of all the dishes I slaved over, this was the outright winner for the blokes, ladies AND the kids!”
When I saw this Pork Sausage Dressing (PS “Dressing” is technically what stuffing that is not stuffed inside poultry is called!) from Kathleen at Hapa Nom Nom, I pounced on it instantly. Well, to be honest, that is my reaction for most recipes she posts. She continually manages to surprise with unique but totally doable recipes, and always flavours that I know I will love. Every time I see a new recipe from her in my inbox, I instantly think “I want to make that!”.
I can’t talk this stuffing up enough. It is absolutely incredible. It’s salty with a hint of sweetness and tartness from the apple (I think that’s the secret ingredient!), it’s not soggy, just moist enough on the inside and it crisps up beautifully on the outside.
I made some minor variations to Kathleen’s recipe to make it more suitable for pancetta cups – namely cutting the bread slightly smaller and increasing the amount of bread a touch because I didn’t want to risk the bottom of the cups becoming soggy and also to balance out the salt in the pancetta (i.e.. I was concerned the mixture might be slightly too salty so by increasing the bread it decreased the overall saltiness a touch).
These are fabulous made ahead! Kathleen is right – the flavour melds together even more if you make them the day before. The pancetta cups crisp up wonderfully when you reheat them, as does the top.
Honestly, my idea of a perfect Christmas spread would just be a table covered with these. They were that good. 🙂
STUFF yourself with these stuffing cups! – Nagi
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Easy, Stress Free Seven Course Christmas Menu (1.5 hr prep)
You can read about this menu here, including a step by step of the order in which I prepared, baked, reheated and plated up each dish. I made all these dishes (with the exception of the cabbage salad) for a Christmas Party with my friends and these are photos of the actual dishes that I took to the party. I’m sharing this in the hope that it might inspire your Christmas menu!
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Easy Maple Sticky Glazed Ham (15 min prep, 1 – 1 1/2 hrs inactive baking, can be made ahead)
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Juicy Slow Cooker Turkey Breast (5 min prep, then set and forget, reheats well but best slow cooked overnight on the night before serving)
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Festive Duck with Apple Cider Drizzle (5 min prep, 1 1/2 hr inactive baking, reheats very well)
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This Pork Apple Stuffing in Pancetta Cups (20 min prep and worth every second. Reheats extremely well)
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Julia Child’s Potato Dauphinoise Gratin (15 min prep, 45 min baking, reheats very well)
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Red, Green and White Christmas Salad (10 minutes prep)
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Warm Red Cabbage and Spinach with Garlic Herb Butter (10 minutes prep)
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Pork Sausage Apple Stuffing in Pancetta Cups (Muffin Tin)
Ingredients
- 16 slices of pancetta , around 12cm/5" in diameter (so it fits the muffin tin nicely)
- 1 lb / 500g Italian pork sausage , casings removed (Note 1)
- 3 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 small onion , finely chopped
- 1 celery stalk , thinly sliced
- 1 granny smith apple , skin on, finely chopped
- 1/3 cup almonds , roughly chopped (note: original recipe called for pecans which I didn't have)
- 5 cups slightly stale white bread , cut into 1/3" / 1cm cubes (Notes 2 & 3)
- 1 1/2 cups chicken stock/broth (or turkey)
- 1/2 cup heavy cream (not whipped)
- 1 tsp fresh sage , finely chopped (or 1/2 tsp dried sage)
- 1 tsp fresh thyme , finely chopped (or 1/2 tsp dried thyme)
- Salt and pepper
- 1 large egg , lightly beaten
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F/180C with the oven rack in the middle.
- Get 2 muffin trays and partially stack them so you have 16 muffin holes and the "joined" muffin tins will fit on one shelf (Note 4).
- Line the holes with pancetta.
- Heat a large fry pan over high heat. Add the pork sausage and cook it, breaking up the meat as you go. Cook until the sausage changes from pink to light brown and some of the bits starts to brown - about 5 minutes.
- Remove the sausage into a bowl and drain the excess fat.
- Return the pan to the stove and reduce the heat to medium high. Add the butter, and once melted, add the onion and celery. Sauté for around 3 minutes until the onion is translucent.
- Add the apple and almonds, and cook, stirring occasionally, for another 3 minutes.
- Remove the fry pan from the stove. Add the bread and gently stir to combine.
- Add the chicken stock/broth, cream, sage and thyme and sit to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Add the egg and stir until mixed through.
- Divide the mixture between the 16 pancetta cups.
- Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until the top is golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and let them rest for 10 minutes before serving.
- To make ahead, transfer to a cooling rack. Cover and refrigerate until required. Then reheat in a 180C/350C preheated oven for 5 to 10 minutes until the pancetta and top is crispy.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Hi Nagi. I’m planning to make these on Christmas Eve. Would the bread quantity be equivalent to a loaf of bread? Don’t want to be short. I always get confused with cup measurements for ingredients that take up space. Are the 5 cups of bread loosely packed?
Hi Nagi! Big fan of your website! Is it possible to sub the pancetta with prosciutto? I wasn’t able to find sliced pancetta. Thanks!
Sure thing Kristi! Anything that will line the muffin tin and will go crispy (eg ham won’t work but prosciutto will!) N x
Sounds delicious especially as I can make them in advance (less stress)! disappointed that there is no video with this recipe.
I always feel more confident after I have watched your videos.
Nagi,
These look amazing and I can not wait to try them for our family Thanksgiving dinner this year (fingers crossed)! I was just wondering if the muffin tin that you are using for this is the standard size or the jumbo ones? Thanks for everything!
Belinda
Hi Nagi, Can’t wait to try this for Thanksgiving. Do you think I can I use chestnuts instead of the almonds? Also, I am going to cook it in a pan instead of the muffin tins. Do I still bake it for 15-20 minutes? Thanks
Hi Françoise, you can sub with Chestnuts, however you may need to cook longer if using a large pan – N x
I have made this recipe several times and love it!!! This year I want to change it up a bit and was wondering if you think mushrooms instead of sausage would be okay?
Sounds amazing Rebecca!!
I will be making these stuffed pancetta cups. I have followed your site for a couple years now and am delighted to say how much we enjoy the meals and your writing.
Hi Nagi,
Could you use bread crumbs, rather than cubes of bread? If so, would it be 5 cups?
Our town has an awesome Italian bakery that only sells bread and fresh made pasta, so needless to say we never have any stale bread. They do sell breadcrumbs which is the only thing that doesn’t disappear as soon as I walk in the door 😂
Thanks as always,
Irene
Hi Irene, you need chunks of bread for this recipe sorry, breadcrumbs wouldn’t be suitable.
Thanks Nagi, hope you’re feeling better and on the road to recovery from your “man flu”. 💚
BEST THANKSGIVING MEAL EVER!
I made your Juicy Slow Cooker Turkey Breast last year for Thanksgiving (wonderful and juicy!) and this year we decided to bake a ham, so I quickly searched your site and found your Maple Glazed Ham and this wonderful stuffing recipe. According to my wife, this was the BEST Thanksgiving MEAL she has EVER HAD!
The only issue I ran into was the pancetta I bought turned out to be so fatty that the fat/oil bubbled out of the muffin tin on to the bottom of my oven, but you know what they say….fat = flavor. And yes, the stuffing muffins are even better tasting the next day. Next year I’ll make them a day in advance.
Thanks again for making our Thanksgiving such a success 🙂
Can’t tell you how happy it makes me to read this message Bradd! Thanks for sharing your feedback! N x
I’m looking forward to making this recipe for Thanksgiving this year. I couldn’t find pancetta in any of the grocery stores around here, the one that had only stocked pancetta cubes. Will salami work? Will cook/reheating times change? Thank you!
HI April! I’m sorry to say I don’t think salami will work because I don’t think they will bake crisp like these cups do. Sorry to disappoint! If you make the stuffing you can just put it all in one big casserole dish 🙂 N x
Thank you so much for your reply Nagi! My friend was able to find it at a store!!! However, we just baked it and the pancetta did not cook……Was I supposed to bake them first before stuffing them? I also did used heavy whipping cream, could that have made such a big difference?
Hi April! Was the pancetta really thin like mine is?? What you can do is pop the pancetta cups on a tray out of the muffin tin, that will crisp them up! N x
I tried the tray idea, and it did crisp them up but couldn’t get it as crispy as in your pictures since the stuffing started burning. All the other recipes of yours we tried were great – Cajun turkey breast with dressing & gravy, mac & cheese, roasted Parmesan potatoes w/ dip, cornbread muffins and strawberry spinach salad. The spread was beautiful, thank you! <3
Hi, Can these be frozen and then reheated?
Hmm, I hadn’t thought of that! Actually I think that will be fine 🙂 Thaw then reheat per recipe!
Hi Nagi – can you substitute the pancetta with another ingredient e.g. streaky bacon?
Hi Carolyn! I tried that once but found that bacon was too thick. Sorry to disappoint! N x
Hi Nagi, can you serve these cold or at room temp or do they need to be hot?
Hi Suzie! Warm is definitely best 🙂 I like reheating int he oven – they only take 5 minutes or so, but even the microwave will do!
These were amazing – I made these Christmas Eve and popped them into the oven to reheat for our lunch.
Everyone was so imoressed with the flavour, and they looked (almost) as good as yours do!
Hoping you had a lovely day too x
Ooooohhhh, I am SO GLAD you enjoyed these Vanessa! I am officially obsessed with them! 🙂
Hi Nagi,
I am planning on making this in a dish .What do you suggest..line the dish with pancetta or leave that out altogether ?
Thanks ,G
Hi Gurpreet! I would leave it out 🙂 Or you could bake the pancetta until crisp then crumble it on top!!!
Thanks Nagi !
Also making your turkey and ham recipes..just sent them to my sister also ! 🙂
Happy Thanksgiving !
G
What are the instructions to reheat these? I would love to try to make them the day before
Hi Colleen! Just pop them in the oven for around 10 minutes at 180C/350f. They are so juicy they don’t dry out!
Well hello there little Pancetta Cups! This is a winner for me, definitely. Thanks Nagi
I can’t take credit for these! It is my friend Kathleen’s recipe. And it is AMAZING!
Such cute appetizers! 🙂 The look delicious ~ I can see why everyone liked this one!
Thanks so much Sarah!!
Hi Nagi! Wow, what a great idea!!! to show your readers how to make 3 mains and 4 side dishes, all in 1.5 hours. . wow!!! I love these pork sausage apple stuffing pancetta cups. . pancetta cups . . this is brilliant!!! looks so delicious! I’ll have to check out Hapa Nom Nom!
Thanks Alice!! Hope you do check out Hapa Nom Nom….her blog is simply brilliant. She inspires me with every post!
Oh for cuteness sakes, these pancetta cups are too darn cute! Love it. It’s on my NYE menu now!
Everything is cuter in mini form, don’t you think??!! 🙂