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
Yield 8 -10
A grain free nutrient packed stuffing made with root vegetables, fragrant apples and herbs and spices.
Ingredients
- 2 large turnips (not sure how big they normally are, but mine weighed about 2 lbs each, so 4 lbs total)
- 3 large or 4 medium sweet potatoes
- 3 large onions
- 5 large ribs of celery (or about 1 medium sized head)
- 1 package of fresh button mushrooms
- 1 apple
- 1 pound of sage pork sausage (optional)
- 2-3 teaspoons or more garlic powder (to taste)
- 2-3 teaspoons sage powder or more (to taste)
- About 1 teaspoon each of Rosemary, Thyme and Oregano
- 1 teaspoon Turmeric
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 teaspoons of salt or more (to taste)
- 1/2 cup of oil for cooking: tallow, lard, ghee, coconut oil, etc. (just no vegetable oils)- I prefer tallow
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Peel turnips and sweet potatoes and cut into small (1/2 inch) cubes
- Grease 2 large baking sheets with oil and evenly spread the turnips and sweet potatoes on them (Depending on the size of your baking sheets, it may take another baking sheet or a couple rounds to fit them all)
- Sprinkle with some of the garlic, 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... toss a few times to brown evenly.
- While those are cooking ... in a large skillet (or Wok) brown the sausage if you are using it.
- Finely dice the onions, and celery and add to the pan once the sausage has cooked. You might need to add more oil.
- Dice the mushrooms and peel and dice the apple and add once the onions/celery have started to soften.
- Continue cooking until all are cooked and add more of the above spices to your taste.
- Once turnips and sweet potatoes are done, mix with the sausage/onion/celery/apple/mushroom combination and continue mixing until well incorporated and starting to clump together.
- Transfer to a greased 9x19 baking dish and warm in oven if serving immediately or put in fridge, covered.
- For reheating: 30 minutes, covered @350 degrees.
Courses Side
Cuisine Thanksgiving
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What dish makes it seem like Thanksgiving for you? How do you make it healthy?
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