Root Vegetable Grain Free Stuffing

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?

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4.6 from 10 votes

Savory Grain-Free Stuffing

A grain-free, nutrient packed stuffing made with root vegetables, fragrant apples, and herbs and spices.

Course Side

Cuisine Thanksgiving

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour

Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes

Servings 12 servings

Calories 271kcal

Author Katie Wells

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.

Nutrition

Serving: 1cup | Calories: 271kcal | Carbohydrates: 24.5g | Protein: 7.6g | Fat: 16.3g | Saturated Fat: 6.7g | Cholesterol: 31mg | Sodium: 638mg | Fiber: 4.8g | Sugar: 5.8g

What dish makes it seem like Thanksgiving for you? How do you make it healthy?