Stuffing is such a part of Thanksgiving for so many people (me included), but I’ve never loved the boxed, processed stuffing mixes that just seem bland and mushy. Sure, there are some decent store-bought options, but they tend to be more pricey and I love creating new takes on classic recipes using seasonal and local ingredients.
Grain-Free Stuffing
A few years ago, I had the idea to use seasonal root vegetables like turnips and sweet potatoes as a base for a “stuffing” and experimented with different mixtures and ratios until I found this one. It is hearty, nourishing, and a beautiful addition to a Thanksgiving table!
This grain free stuffing is better when cooked outside the bird, and can easily be prepared a day or two ahead of time and reheated in a 9×13 baking dish to save time on Thanksgiving Day. The leftovers can actually be breaded in coconut flour and pan-fried to make a “bread” for leftover turkey sandwiches.
If you are hosting Thanksgiving this year, why not serve a meal with as much nutrition as it has taste?
Savory Grain-Free Stuffing
Prep
Cook
Total
Yield 12 servings
A grain-free, nutrient packed stuffing made with root vegetables, fragrant apples, and herbs and spices.
Ingredients
- 4 lbs turnips
- 3 large sweet potatoes
- 1 TBSP garlic powder
- 1 TBSP dried sage
- 1 tsp dried rosemary
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 lb sage pork sausage (optional)
- 3 large onions
- 5 large ribs of celery
- 8 oz fresh button mushrooms
- 1 apple
- ½ cup oil for cooking such as tallow, lard, ghee, or coconut oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- Peel turnips and sweet potatoes and cut into ½ inch cubes.
- Grease 2 large baking sheets with oil and evenly spread the turnips and sweet potatoes in them.
- Sprinkle with some of the garlic powder, sage, rosemary, thyme, oregano, turmeric, pepper and salt and toss with your hands.
- Put into oven and bake for about an hour until they are soft and starting to brown, tossing a few times to brown evenly.
- While the turnips and sweet potatoes are cooking brown the sausage if you are using it.
- When sausage is cooked, remove from pan, leaving drippings.
- While the sausage is cooking, finely dice the onions and celery.
- Add the onion and celery to the pan once the sausage has cooked. You might need to add more oil.
- Dice the mushrooms and peel and dice the apple
- Add the mushrooms and apple to the pan once the onions and celery have started to soften.
- Continue cooking until all are cooked.
- Return sausage to the pan and add more of the above spices to your taste.
- Remove from heat.
- Once turnips and sweet potatoes are done, mix with the sausage/onion/celery/apple/mushroom mixture and continue mixing until well incorporated and starting to clump together.
- Transfer to a greased 9x13 baking dish and warm in oven if serving immediately or put in refrigerator, covered, if using later.
Notes
For reheating heat covered at 350° for 30 minutes.
Courses Side
Cuisine Thanksgiving
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 1 cup
Amount Per Serving | ||
|---|---|---|
Calories 271 | ||
% Daily Value | ||
Total Fat 16.3 g | 25% | |
Saturated Fat 6.7 g | 34% | |
Cholesterol 31 mg | 10% | |
Sodium 638 mg | 27% | |
Total Carbohydrates 24.5 g | 8% | |
Dietary Fiber 4.8 g | 19% | |
Sugars 5.8 g | ||
Protein 7.6 g | 15% | |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
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What dish makes it seem like Thanksgiving for you? How do you make it healthy?
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