Stuffed Sausage Bread Recipe (3 Ingredients)

There’s nothing quite like waking up cozy and warm on a cold winter morning at my grandma’s house to the aroma of her freshly baked sausage bread. As a child, I remember watching her in adoration as she’d spread sausage and cheese onto bread dough, then gently stretch the dough around the filling to form beautiful loaves.

Even now, in my thirties, when I go for a visit, I’ll catch my grandma in the kitchen at night prepping the delicious breakfast for the next day. She’s always known how to make a recipe stretch to feed all of us, and with 12 grandkids and lots of great-grandkids, there are a lot of mouths to feed. 

My grandma’s stuffed sausage bread recipe only requires three ingredients: store-bought frozen bread dough, breakfast sausage, and shredded mozzarella cheese. She could make a pound of sausage and an 8-ounce bag of shredded cheese spread out enough to fill three loaves of Ready-Dough for three huge loaves of sausage bread that fed us all.

I will often follow her recipe to have extra loaves to give away to friends and family, but if I’m just making it for my partner and me, one loaf is plenty.

When it comes to recipes, I’m willing to make for breakfast during the holidays, there are really only two requirements: they need to be easy and packed with flavor. With just three steps and outstanding texture and taste, this sausage bread hits the mark every time. I hope it will become a tradition for you and your family as well. 

Key Ingredients

When it comes to the bread I use for this classic Southern recipe, I always go with Bridgford Ready-Dough. It comes in a three-pack, and if you thaw the dough overnight in the fridge, it will be ready to bake in the morning. The texture and flavor are honestly better than any of my personal homemade bread efforts, so I always opt for the store-bought variety. If you can’t find Bridgford, Rhodes Bake-N-Serv 1-pound loaves is another option to look for.

I’ve tried a variety of ground breakfast sausage for this stuffed sausage bread recipe, but classic Jimmy Dean always ends up being my favorite because it crumbles really nicely and has a rich, wonderfully spiced flavor. This recipe is also great with flavored sausage, like hot or sweet, or even vegetarian sausage crumbles, so don’t be afraid to add your favorite type of sausage. 

Mozzarella is my favorite cheese for this sausage bread because it melts so well, but I’ve also used sliced provolone and shredded Italian blend cheese, and they both work well, too. I do think it’s best to stick with a melty cheese, but otherwise feel free to experiment and find which cheese you like best. 

Tips for Making My Grandma’s Stuffed Sausage Bread

• Stretch instead of rolling: Ready-Dough tends to be very elastic in nature and springs back when rolled, so I always use my fingers to gently pull and stretch it to shape it instead of rolling it with a rolling pin. 
• Don’t underbake: Your bread will start to brown around the 30-minute mark, but resist the urge to pull it out too soon. In my experience, it needs at least a full 45 minutes of baking time to cook all the way through. I always wait until it has a rich golden brown color before pulling it out of the oven.
• Don’t overfill: This recipe is stuffed with sausage and cheese, but when you cut into the bread, it may look like mostly bread and not enough filling. That just means you’ve done it right! After years of testing, this is my preferred ratio of filling to bread. If you really want to stuff it, you can opt for an entire pound of sausage per loaf, but it will be a bit more challenging to wrap the dough around the filling, and the bread will have a little more trouble rising, so it won’t be quite as fluffy. 

Can You Make Stuffed Sausage Bread Ahead of Time?

I don’t recommend making this bread ahead of time because it’s just so good fresh out of the oven. However, it is a good idea to cook the sausage the night before and thaw the bread dough overnight so you only need to assemble it in the morning. 

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