Stuffed Italian Sausage

These super comforting and cheesy stuffed Italian sausages are filled with a creamy blend of ricotta, Parmesan, and mozzarella cheese, in a bed of rich tomato sauce. You can make this family-pleasing dinner recipe with only 6 basic ingredients!

Note: this post was originally published in 2021 and updated in 2023 with improved instructions.

Sausage is already such a perfect food, but...what if I told you it could be even better?! How about we bake these delicious sausages with cheese inside! If that sounds good to you, you have to try this easy stuffed sausage recipe.

This recipe for stuffed Italian sausage is a little different from the rest, because rather than just adding string cheese sticks to the center, we are stuffing these sausages with a creamy blend of ricotta, mozzarella and Parmesan! This gives such a robust flavor and indulgent texture to the filling that is so irresistible.

When you cut into one of these stuffed sausages, the soft blend of cheeses oozes out onto your fork, mixing together with the rich tomato sauce and juices from the sausage...I mean...what could be better than that?!

Best of all, you need only 6 ingredients to make this recipe, and with only 10 minutes prep time. So go ahead, level up your sausage game with this sensational quick and easy dinner recipe!

Jump to:

• Recipe ingredients
• Step by step photos
• Tips and tricks
• Recipe variations
• Storage and reheating
• Recipe FAQs
• Sides to serve with stuffed sausage:

Recipe ingredients

Ingredient notes

• Italian sausage: I used Johnsonville Italian sausage, which work well because they are larger (3.8 ounces each). You can use any type to make stuffed sausage, but, larger sausage will work better so you have space to add more filling. And, make sure to use fresh sausage in a casing. If it's pre-cooked, you won't be able to create the boat shape in the meat to stuff with cheese.
• Ricotta: I went with a whole milk ricotta because I like the extra creamy texture it adds, but feel free to substitute low fat. (And, if you have leftover ricotta, you can make this raspberry ricotta parfait for dessert!)
• Mozzarella: low moisture, part-skim mozzarella works best here. It shreds and melts well, and because there are other rich ingredients in the recipe, I didn't find I needed the extra heaviness from a whole milk mozzarella.

Step by step photos

Here's how to make this delicious stuffed Italian sausage recipe, step by step. For a brief slideshow of these steps, check out my stuffed sausage web story!

1. After pre-heating your oven to 425 degrees F/220 degrees C, start by making the cheese filling. All you need to do is mix together the Parmesan, ricotta, mozzarella (saving ½ cup for the top!), and Italian seasoning.

2. Then, turn your attentions to the Italian sausage. Start by cutting a slit down the length of the sausage, being sure not to cut all the way to the bottom, and leaving about about ½ inch on either end uncut. (Leaving the space on the edges will help the sausage hold its shape in the oven.)

3. Now, use your (clean) fingers to open up that gap, pressing the sausages into somewhat of a boat shape, so it can be stuffed with all that delicious cheese filling!

This is what the sausages should look like when finished with this step:

4. Next, stuff the sausage with the cheese filling, pressing it into the opening you just created.

5. Place each stuffed sausage into a 9 x 13 inch metal baking pan.

6. Spoon the tomato sauce all around the stuffed sausages. I like doing it this way, rather than placing the sausages on top of the sauce, because the sausage making contact with the metal pan helps the sausage casing crisp up a little bit more!

7. Now sprinkle the remaining mozzarella cheese on top of the stuffed sausages.

8. Add a dash more Italian seasoning over everything!

9. Bake the stuffed Italian sausage in the pre-heated oven until the internal temperature of the sausages reaches 160 degrees F/71.1 degrees C. The cheese should be all oozy and bubbling, and the sauce will have reduced into this thick and rich tomato-y goodness you see here:

Tips and tricks

• This recipe doesn't include any additional salt, because the cheese and sausage are already salty.

• As I mentioned in the Recipe ingredients section, it's better to use larger sausages (mine were around 3.8 ounces each), because there will be more room to add the cheese filling.

• However, if you want to use smaller sausages, that's ok too. Just make sure the total weight of the sausage you are using is around 19 - 20 ounces to ensure the proportions of cheese/sausage/tomato sauce are correct.

• Again, I recommend using a metal baking pan instead of glass or ceramic. In testing the recipe, I found that having the sausage make contact with the metal pan helps the sausage brown on the bottom more than the other pan materials.

Recipe variations

• If you want to add even more flavor to the stuffed sausage filling, some good options would be ground black pepper, garlic powder, crushed red pepper flakes, or, whatever your favorite seasoning is!

• You can also experiment with other types of cheese. I would keep the ricotta, since it adds the creamy element, and then mix in any other type of shredded or crumbled cheese you like!

• Finally, you can also dress up the jarred tomato sauce before adding it to the pan. For example, you can mix in sautéed onions and/or garlic, and/or fresh or dried herbs like parsley, oregano, or basil.

Storage and reheating

• Any leftover stuffed Italian sausage can be kept in a covered container in the fridge for 3 - 4 days.

• Since this sausage recipe uses ricotta, it wouldn't hold up well to freezing.

• The sausages are easy to reheat in the microwave. I recommend microwaving them at 50% power in 1 - 2 minute increments (depending on how many sausages) until heated through. Microwaving at 50% power helps to retain the texture of the cheese. And be sure to cover the bowl with a paper towel to catch any sauce spatter!

• Alternatively, you can reheat the cheese filled sausages in the oven. Just place one or more sausages in an oven-safe pan and heat in a preheated 350 degree F oven for 12 - 15 minutes, or until heated through.

Recipe FAQs

Sides to serve with stuffed sausage:

If you’ve tried this recipe, please leave a star rating and/or review in the comments section below, I would love to hear from you! You can also follow me on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest. And sign up for my weekly newsletter to get recipes delivered straight to you!

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