Gluten Free Thanksgiving Stuffing Recipe

My savory gluten free Thanksgiving Stuffing (dressing) with carrots, cranberries, apple and sage is always a hit. It’s so full of autumnal flavor and color that it’s hard to resist. This recipe for gluten free Thanksgiving Stuffing made with delicious homemade gluten free bread is so easy, but it looks truly gourmet with all these yummy ingredients.

You can use my gfJules Bread Mix, make one of my gluten free loaf bread recipes from scratch, or consider this an opportunity to get rid of that rock hard gluten free store-bought loaf in your freezer! Another option: make this with my gfJules Gluten Free Cornbread Mix, if you’re more of a cornbread stuffing kindof family.

There’s no wrong answer, as long as you start with the best ingredients! You can see from the pictures below that I’ve even used some of my homemade gluten free pumpernickel bread. See what I mean? Lots of options — none of them wrong!

Note that I’m calling this deliciousness “STUFFING” but I’m really referring to what’s technically called “DRESSING” because the recipe doesn’t call for STUFFING it into a bird. This is a SIDE DISH. If you want to stuff it into a turkey, you’ll need to reduce the liquids because the turkey adds its own liquids to the bread, and be sure to cook it until both the bird and the stuffing reach 165F.

Follow the directions below to dry out the bread cubes before proceeding with the stuffing recipe.

Modify any ingredients or herbs that don’t suit your tastes and make this recipe your own. I like adding apples and cranberries, nuts and lots of fresh herbs, but feel free to leave any of those mix-ins out if your crowd won’t like them or you don’t have those ingredients on hand.

Remember: it’s important that you stuff your bird with GLUTEN-FREE dressing! If the turkey is dressed with gluten-full stuffing instead, the turkey will have had contact with gluten and you should not eat the turkey or that dressing.

Luckily, this gluten free stuffing recipe is delicious enough that everyone at the table will love it in the bird or as a side dish. For more tips on how to have both a safe and tasty gluten free Thanksgiving, hop to my comprehensive post here.

Blessings to you and yours, as we give thanks for good gluten free stuffing, and so many other things this Thanksgiving!

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Gluten Free Thanksgiving Stuffing Recipe

Yield: serves 8-10

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 2 hours

Total Time: 2 hours 20 minutes

Savory Gluten Free Thanksgiving Stuffing with carrots, sage, apples and cranberries has all the colors and flavors of fall in one iconic dish! | gfJules

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Ingredients

• 6 cups gluten-free bread cubes
• 2 cups chopped and peeled apples
• 1 cup chopped carrots
• 1/2 cup chopped celery
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
• 1/4 cup flaxseed meal
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries
• 1/2 tsp. rubbed (fresh) sage
• 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• 6 Tbs. butter or non-dairy alternative (e.g. Earth Balance® Buttery Sticks)
• 1 1/2 cups ± gluten-free vegetable broth (Imagine Foods® Organic Vegetable Broth, Massel 7 bouillon, Celifibr® Bouillon Cubes, and Savory Choice Concentrated Broths are currently gluten free)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 225-250º F.

Cube bread spread in a single layer onto one or two cookie sheets. Bake until crunchy, stirring every half hour or so, for a total of 90 minutes (depending on how dry your bread was before you put it in the oven, you may need less time in the oven to dry the cubes, so keep checking periodically).

Remove the dry bread cubes from the oven and turn up the temperature to 375°F.

In a large skillet, melt 4 tablespoons butter, then add the carrots, celery and onion, cooking until tender (about 10 minutes).  Add the herbs, salt and pepper and stir, cooking for another 2 minutes.  Remove from heat.

Combine the dried bread cubes, chopped apple, nuts, berries and flaxseed in a very large bowl.  Stir in the carrot-onion mixture until well-mixed. Add cooking stock of choice to the large bowl and stir, adding more stock as necessary to make a moist stuffing. Spread mixture into a lightly oiled 3-quart baking dish. Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons butter and drizzle over the top of the stuffing.

Cover with foil and bake at 375º F for 25 minutes; remove the foil and bake an additional 15 minutes or until the top is golden-brown and the stuffing is not soggy.

Make ahead options:

Bake the bread cubes and wait for the cubes to cool before packing them in zip-top bags to keep the moisture out. Prepare the stuffing the next day.

Or assemble the stuffing the night before, cover and refrigerate: when ready to bake, place a rack in the middle of the oven and bake covered for 25 minutes at 375°F. Remove foil and bake for 15 more minutes or until top is lightly browned. If you are baking straight from the refrigerator, add 10 extra minutes to total baking time.

Notes

If you want to use this "dressing" recipe as "stuffing" to go into the bird, reduce the liquids added by approximately 1/3-1/2, depending on how juicy your bird is and how dry your crumbs are. Use your best judgement. The turkey adds its own liquids to the bread, and be sure to cook it until both the bird and the stuffing reach 165F. If the turkey has reached 165F before the stuffing has, remove the stuffing and cook separately until it reaches 165F so you are not overcooking the bird.

Did you make this recipe?

Please leave a comment (and maybe even a picture!) below or share a photo on Instagram! Be sure to tag me! @gfJules

Delicious gluten free stuffing can be a year-round side dish; don’t save it for only special occasions!

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