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