Name: Cranberry and Sausage Stuffing Recipe
Cook time: 1 h 25 min
Yield: 6 to 8 servings
Ingredients: 1 (1-pound) loaf day-old crusty French or Italian bread , cut into 3/4-inch cubes; 3/4 cup dried cranberries; 3/4 cup pecans , toasted and coarsely chopped; 4 tablespoons unsalted butter (1/2 stick), plus more as needed; 12 ounces cooked smoked sausage , such as kielbasa or andouille, medium dice; 1 medium yellow onion , medium dice; 1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt; 1/2 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning; 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper; 2 1/2 cups stock or low-sodium chicken broth; 2 large eggs , lightly beaten; 1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves

Why it works: Pepper and parsley match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 34,122 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

Pepper + parsleytop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together34,122 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Bread + buttertop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together27,232 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
Onion + chickentop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together17,814 recipes

Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, sweet).
Onion + parsleytop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together25,843 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Onion + peppertop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together68,474 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

Swap the pecans

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (bread, butter, onion, pepper, chicken, egg, parsley):

Beansfits better
Chickpeafits better
Sesamefits better
Pecansthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against bread, butter, onion, pepper, chicken, egg, parsley. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Flour	1 cup (125g) all-purpose	455
Smoked Sausage	100g cooked	301
Chicken	100g cooked	165
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Grape	1/2 cup (76g)	62
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Pecan	1 half (4g)	20
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Parsley	1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g)	1
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0

Cranberry and Sausage Stuffing Recipe