So, it’s nearly Turkey Time again, and shoppers everywhere are scouring the stores — or on-line — for ingredients and supplies. If you or guests need a gluten free Thanksgiving, your to-do list is a bit more extensive. But nothing that can’t be handled deliciously!
This comprehensive gluten free Thanksgiving post will give you the tools to make, bake, take and enjoy a delicious gluten free Thanksgiving for 1, 2 or a flock.
Scroll down for tons of gluten free recipes, or start here with how to do it without losing your mind first!
Gluten Free Thanksgiving Is Different, but It Doesn’t Have to Be Difficult
But … Thanksgiving may still look different for many of us, for any number of reasons, not the least of which is dietary.
I know that automatically sounds like a bad thing, but let’s look at this half full glass together and find some ways to enjoy gluten-free Thanksgiving in a different light.
Thanksgiving Shouldn’t Be About Pressure.
Admit it, sometimes Thanksgiving can be stressful. No matter how hard we try, there can be some moments when we’re sweating it out towards the end:
What if this recipe doesn’t work? What if I don’t have enough oven space? What if I didn’t buy a big enough turkey? Why didn’t I try baking a gluten free pie crust in advance (and watch the video?)? Why didn’t I watch Jules’ video showing how to make the gluten free pull apart dinner rolls before Thanksgiving Day?? 😉
So without as many family and friends gathering in one place, there’s no need for stress, right?
You can try lots of new gluten free recipes without fear of failure and without worry that you won’t make the time crunch. Eat when it’s ready, I say! And … perhaps the best part … you don’t have to share all your successful recipe leftovers with as many people!
Why Bother When It’s Just Me Eating Gluten Free?
Why bother? Because it’s YOU, and you’re important! Whether it’s only you eating gluten free or it’s only you eating, you’re worth it!
There are lots of ways to bake smaller amounts or to freeze or re-purpose leftovers. Just don’t use “it’s only me” as an excuse not to bake or miss out on Thanksgiving because that’s just depressing, and if there’s one thing we don’t need, it’s more depressing news.
If there aren’t any other friends or family who need gluten free, I say what I always say: our gluten free food is so good that they’ll want to eat it with you, and everyone at the table should be eating the same meal for so many reasons anyway.
If there aren’t so many others around to cook for, that’s ok too, because lots of Thanksgiving recipes are easily halved or quartered or are great to make as whole recipes and then repurposed as leftovers or even frozen for meals to come.
Here are some ideas:
- Baguettes – Use ½ of gfJules Gluten Free Bread Mix to make only 1 baguette or freeze the second one.
- gfJules Gluten Free Cornbread Mix makes great waffles AND cornbread stuffing (mix a can and only bake out half as cornbread for stuffing; bake the rest as waffles for the next day’s breakfast!)
- Bake a batch of gluten-free Pull Apart Dinner Rolls a day ahead of time and use some for gluten free stuffing, some for dinner rolls for Thanksgiving and some the day after as French Toast!
- Bake half of a gluten free pumpkin pie (use a mini 5- or 6- inch pie plate or tart pan) and use the other half of the can of pumpkin purée to bake a gluten free Maple Pumpkin Cobbler as a side dish and the rest of the gluten free pie crust for Gluten Free Pie Crust Cinnamon Rolls!
- You can also bake full recipes of just about anything and freeze them for delicious leftover meals, breads, sides and desserts to save time later. Even unbaked gluten free pie crusts can be frozen for quick pie cravings on other days. Smart thinking!
Bake Together on Zoom or Facetime.
Even if you can’t be with your friends and family in person, schedule some time to bake together, virtually! Learn from each other or just visit while you’re baking at the same time and make it a social occasion!
Share Your Goodies and Make New Friends Nearby!
Contact your church, synagogue, mosque, school, community center, neighborhood organization or even on-line through apps like NextDoor to connect with others who might want to share gluten free meals like Thanksgiving – you make part of the meal and they make other parts, or maybe someone needs your leftovers more than you do. There are still plenty of opportunities to connect through food and to help others.
Bake and Mail Treats to Friends and Family.
Care packages are always a welcome treat, but especially for those of us living gluten free. There’s just nothing like opening a box of homemade gluten free goodies!
There are all kinds of treats that ship well, like Gluten Free Pumpkin Cookies. You can even mail Gluten Free Pull Apart Rolls – see my directions for reheating them at the end of the recipe.
Recipes made with my gfJules Flour stay fresh longer than typical gluten free recipes, so mailing becomes an option, but this time of year shipping is a little more uncertain, so opt for overnight or two day shipping if you can, as shippers aren’t even guaranteeing those right now.
Wishing you a happy and healthy Gluten Free Thanksgiving!
gfJules Gluten Free Thanksgiving eBook
There are so many more reasons to embrace this year’s gluten free Thanksgiving and be thankful … I cover lots of reasons why and ways how in my updated 2024 Gluten Free Thanksgiving ebook.
There are 95+ pages of recipes (49 recipes!), planning checklists, and much more.
It’s a resource everyone should have and frankly share with friends and family, whether you’ll be able to be together this year or not. Get creative, think of things a little differently, and just enjoy the day!
I love this cookbook! It helped me so much in cooking my Thanksgiving Dinner! There’s alternatives to “Old Standby’s” and so many new recipe ideas. Thank you Jules for all you do and your wonderful products!
Crash Course for a Gluten Free Thanksgiving
Even if you don’t already have a menu planned and haven’t had time to practice recipes yet, don’t worry!
This Crash Course for a Gluten Free Thanksgiving will get you ready for T-day!
The first thing to remember is that Thanksgiving is a time to enjoy family and friends — in person or virtually — and to reflect on all that we have to be thankful for … not for stressing out about whether your pie crust will be perfect (but it will be, with my famous gluten free recipe, videos and gfJules Flour!!).
With that in mind, review my cheat sheets for last minute to-dos and check out some of these recipes to get ready for a very happy gluten free Thanksgiving!
Consult my Thanksgiving Checklists reprinted below, at the end of this article (excerpted from my HUGE updated gfJules Thanksgiving e-book).
You’ll find that there are plenty of things to do in order to be prepared — many of them unique to living gluten free.
Don’t let the lists overwhelm you; it’s designed to break things into manageable chunks so that by the time Thanksgiving rolls around, you’ll be stress-free!
Here are some of the things you’ll want to be sure to do in planning for your gluten free Thanksgiving feast.
If you are dining at another’s house for Thanksgiving:
- call the host and check the menu now
- if there are any dishes that might already be gluten-free, confirm that they will not be adding or contaminating the dish with any gluten ingredients
- ask if they are stuffing the turkey or if the stuffing is on the side (encourage the latter!)
- check whether their turkey brand is gluten-free so you know in advance
- if they haven’t bought their turkey yet, suggest some gluten-free brands (see list below)
- coordinate with the host about what dishes you should bring (suggest that you bring the menu items you most want to be able to enjoy so you are sure to have a gluten-free option)
- bring your own serving ware — gluten free serving spoons are so helpful! — and gluten free food markers are tasteful, eye-catching and a great way to alert others that they need to keep their spoons to themselves!
If you are hosting Thanksgiving:
- check with your guests to see if there are any other dietary restrictions to take into account
- arrange for guests to bring dishes that will complement your menu and are already gluten-free, if possible (e.g. cranberry sauce; salad; fruit; green beans; ice cream or whipped topping for pies; wine or sparkling apple cider ….)
- order or buy your turkey early so you are sure to get a gluten-free bird (see list below for gluten-free brands)
- make your shopping list and shop ASAP (try not to shop the day before Thanksgiving for anything but fresh fruit or vegetables)
- bake casseroles and pumpkin pies 1-2 days before Thanksgiving
- bake gluten-free bread now if you don’t have bread already made for stuffing – dry the bread in cubes in the oven the day before Thanksgiving
Some brands which offer Gluten Free Turkeys:
(but always check the labels!)
- Aaron’s Gourmet
- Butterball
- Empire Kosher
- Honeysuckle White
- Jennie-O
- KellyBronze
- Norbest
- Organic Prairie
- Perdue
- Pilgrim’s Pride
- Shady Brook Farms
- Shelton’s
- US Wellness Meats (free range)
39 Essential Gluten Free Thanksgiving Recipes (click the recipe names to go to recipes):
(note … even more recipes are included in my gfJules Gluten Free Thanksgiving ebook)
Gluten Free Thanksgiving Sweets
Fresh Pumpkin Purée (vegan)
Pie Crust & Video How-To (vegan)
Apple Pie (vegan)
Upside-Down Apple Pie (vegan)
Pumpkin Cheesecake (vegan)
Maple-Pumpkin Cobbler (vegan)
Pecan Pie (vegan)
Gluten-Free Breads (most are or can be made vegan)
Parker House Pull Apart Dinner Rolls
Bread Mix (for bread or rolls)
Baguettes made from gfJules Bread Mix
Crusty Italian Loaves made from gfJules Pizza Mix
Pumpkin Cornbread or Cornmuffins
Gluten Free Casseroles and Sides
Green Bean Casserole with “Fried” Onions
Apple Butter, Butternut Squash Casserole
Many more recipes for casseroles, side dishes, gravy and desserts, as well as recommendations for planning the meal can be found in my updated 46-recipe Thanksgiving e-book and in my newest cookbook, Free for All Cooking: 150 Easy Gluten-Free, Allergy-Friendly Recipes the Whole Family Can Enjoy!
The Thanksgiving e-book really is a lifesaver. Here’s what a couple readers have said about it:
What A Difference A Gluten Free Thanksgiving Makes!
From GF cornbread dressing, to GF pull apart rolls, to GF pecan pie and apple pie, this Thanksgiving was one I could truly enjoy! Thanks, Jules, for all the recipes and ability to adapt some traditional recipes because of your amazing flour! Nice to be able to re-experience all those old traditions!
Love This Cookbook!
Thank you so much for compiling this cookbook! So easy to plan my thanksgiving. I have to do both glutenous and gluten/dairy/soy free and this made it so easy!
Great Info On GF Cooking For A Holiday!
This was packed full of recipes along with tips and tricks for cooking for one of the USA’s major holidays. Thanks Jules for taking the time to make this for us and also for having it at such a terrific price!
After Thanksgiving – Gluten Free Leftovers Ideas
And once the big day is over, don’t forget the LEFTOVERS!!!
Food safety is a huge concern, so consult this handy guide to be sure yours are safe:
(click for food thermometer info)
And … keep this handy gluten free Leftover Stuffing Quiche Recipe in mind! It’s such a useful recipe for gathering up all those Thanksgiving leftovers and re-purposing them into one delicious NEW dish!
Wishing you and yours a wonderful, thankful holiday!
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Cranberry Curd Tart from Cooks illustrated. Crust is made of almond flour.
Anything cranberry has my vote! Happy Thanksgiving!
~jules
My son-in-law & granddaughter have celiac disease. Whenever I want to fix them a special dish, I use yours recipes. I’ve also taken some of my recipes & used you flour (huge GameChanger). My son-in-law has told me many times that he enjoys how I can make GF food taste like real food. I tell him it’s due to your flour! Thank you so much for all you do for those who need GF!!!
Am planning to fix him GF oyster dressing. Any hints you could give me? I tried last year, but it turned to soup.
Fixed your pull apart rolls & they were a huge hit! Thank you!!!
Oh Debbie that makes me so happy to hear, you have no idea!!! Thank you so much for taking a moment to write me a note and share this story with me. You’ve really totally made my day.
As for oyster dressing, believe it or not, I actually toyed with the idea of adding that recipe into my ebook! I didn’t think many people would want it so I didn’t bother. Maybe I’ll put it on the blog though — just for you and me! 😉 My family has it every year because my grandmother always made it — I think it was just for my dad. LOL! Now that he lives with me, I make it for him every year, which means I had to figure it out for myself, because of course, grandma never wrote her recipes down!!! So basically all I’ve done is take my cornbread stuffing recipe and add oysters that I’d DRAINED WELL, but I’ve found that the key was to take the liquid from the jar of oysters (I’ve bought oysters and steamed them and added them and it was useless — no flavor — you have to buy a can/jar of oysters in liquid) and use the liquid from the oysters to make the cornbread! So offset the liquid in the cornbread with that oyster “juice” (reduce the sour cream ingredient by the liquid you use). It adds all the flavor. So you have to think ahead a bit, but it’s worth it! I hope that helps! Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours, Debbie! Let me know if you make the oyster dressing!!
~jules
I love your gluten free flour and have been making the biscuits. Do you have a recipe for gluten free white gravy for biscuits and sausage gravy mornings? It would make my grandchildren very happy.
Thank you
Hi Valorie – so glad to hear you’re loving my gfJules Flour and my gluten free biscuits recipe!! As for gravy, I don’t have a special recipe because I (and other readers have also told me they do it) just follow a regular recipe and sub in my gfJules Flour. Watch to make sure you don’t overcook it though, as gluten free flour doesn’t brown like wheat flour does, so go on thickness, not color. Enjoy!
~jules
Hi Jules,
Ordered a 25# bag of your flour and a couple mixes and now I see there is a free cookbook available for orders of $20
or more…
Any way I could get the cookbook since my order was over $100!
Was using another GF flour but found yours to be the game changer!
Thanks, Sharon
Hi Sharon – I’d love for you to have my Gluten Free Thanksgiving ebook! It’ll definitely come in handy for the holiday – you have the flour so now you can make anything! I’ll send you an email about it now!
~jules
Amazing. So well thought out and organized. I’m sure this will help a lot of people. GFers are lucky to have you. It is obvious why you were voted the gluten free person of the decade!
Aw, thank you! I’m so happy this information will be useful to you! Happy Thanksgiving!!!
~jules
Hi Jules,
I was going to ask about the Thanksgiving cookbook as well…I’m a newly diagnosed celiac and recently placed an order with you for over $90…I’m loving exploring your website and am excited to have so many options! Thank you so much and have a blessed evening…
So happy you found my site so new on your journey, Sammy! I hope you’ve investigated my New to Gluten Free e-book, as well. Start with this article on going gluten free and go from there (there’s a link in that article to get my ebook free). Peruse my website for information, products, reviews and of course recipes, anytime you need them! Wishing you a happy and healthy new gluten free life!
~jules
This is so helpful Jules. Holidays can be so difficult with a special diet and Thanksgiving is a gluten bomb! Love these tips and you always have such great recipes.
Aw, thanks Alisa! I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
~jules
Wow! So many great tips! The timeline is super helpful for me since this is the first year we’re hosting Thanksgiving. I’ll definitely take your advice and make the pies and cranberry sauce in advance. Thanks!
Great, Jereann! So glad it’s helpful. Best of luck with hosting and happy Thanksgiving!
~jules
I am in desperate need of gluten free recipes.
Well you’ve come to the right place, Frances! Be sure to sign up at the top of the page for my free gluten free recipe e-newsletter, too! But enjoy the recipe links throughout this post for a wonderful gluten free Thanksgiving!
~jules
what an incredible resource this is! THANK YOU. my mom is celiac, and my husband and I are gluten free as well. mom and I definitely plan our menu ahead – part of the fun is planning! sending this link to her now…
Thanks for sharing, Kristina, and I’m so happy to know that the information is going to be helpful for your family! Wishing you a wonderful Thanksgiving!
~jules
Absolutely love this guide. You’ve thought of everything! Now I really need to try those rolls!
So glad it’s useful to you, Margaret! Happy Thanksgiving!!!!
~jules
So many great GF Thanksgiving ideas here! Thanks!
These are such amazing tips! How thoughtful of you to share in such an organized way. Definitely sharing
Thank you, Jenna! Glad it’s useful and you’re excited to share. I hope you have an amazing Thanksgiving!
~jules
I can’t wait to tryout these GF recipes on Thanksgiving. It’s great to have so many options. Thanks so much for publishing these.
You bet, Ida! Happy to help in any way. Hope you have a great Thanksgiving!
~jules
Thank you so much for putting together this resource! LOVE the lost of gf turkeys…and your pies look amazing!
Thanks so much, Celeste! Glad it’s helpful – hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
~jules
My niece found this site for me. I plan on using it frequently. Thank you.
My son Carson is 2 1/2 years old and we discovered his Celiac Disease at about 14 mos. of age. We were able to prepare a gluten free Thanksgiving meal for him.
Jules, your flour is great! The cookies we make with the flour turn out much better than what you can buy in the store.
Neil- thank you so much for sharing that with me! That makes me so happy to hear and to know that he has a happy and healthy start to his life!
I had such fail this year trying to make stuffing, as it is my first gluten free year and I’ve never had anything but Pepperidge Farm Herb Stuffing bags. I tried to make stuffing cubes by seasoning and toasting a loaf of Ener-G white rice loaf, but it just didn’t come out well at all. Do you have any recipes to help come close to Pepperidge Farm type stuffing?
J. Rose – sorry to hear that the Ener-G loaf didn’t work out well for you, but many frozen GF breads are actually too dense to absorb the broth that is added for flavoring and moisture in stuffing. The best bet is to start with a great loaf of GF bread, toast it lightly, then add the broth. I use my Sandwich Bread Mix for this purpose, eat some of the fresh bread then freeze the rest of the loaf as cubes ready for stuffing when I need it. Check out my Stuffing Recipe and video – they should help you get to where you want to be! You could also use cornbread to make stuffing – I know Pepperidge Farm has a cornbread mix as well, and cornbread is so super easy to make, that might be a good starting place for you!
argh!! Your cornbread link says not found?
Hi Gayle – I think it’s fixed now — so sorry! You can always use the search function at the top of the page and type the recipe you’re looking for, so you can find it right away! Happy Thanksgiving!
I just received your 5lb. flour to try for Thanksgiving recipes. Can you tell me the best way to store it. I know it says it doesn’t have to be refrigerated but there are only two of us at home and so it may take me awhile to use it all.
Thanks, Laura
Great question Laura! It does have a 15 month shelf life and need not be refrigerated. I keep mine in a clear lucite container (OXO brand) with a rubber seal to keep it fresh and moisture-free. You can certainly put it in the refrigerator or freezer, but as with any flour, bring it to room temperature before measuring for accuracy.
Laura, This will be my first Thanksgiving cooking gluten free due to my husband was diagnosed in March of this year. Do you recommend any good stuffing recipes I could use since my original recipe called for milk toast crackers which are not gluten free.
Thanks
Judy, have you downloaded my Thanksgiving Ebook??? If not, DO IT! It’s free right now, so there are no excuses!! Stuffing, pie, appetizers, sides, plus all the info you need to handle Thanksgiving at your house or someone elses! It will be delicious, you just need the information and tools to pull it all together! Download it here: http://www.julesglutenfree.com/product-p/book-hdy.htm
Hi I was just diagnosed with gluten intolerance. Is the gluten free thanksgiving still available for free? I downloaded the ebooks when I bought flour and non of them saved in my version of word. Is there any way you can send them again and i will just have to print the whole thing:(( I am already feeling so much better.
I’m baking the turkey and making the giblet gravy to take to Mama’s for the family Thanksgiving dinner. I’m also making my own gluten free cornbread dressing. I’ve already made my gluten free breadcrumbs with herbs from a loaf of bread that didn’t rise. Really looking forward to it! Thanks for all the help.