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Ditch the box stuffing this holiday season and enjoy a breadless option. This Gluten-Free Stuffing Recipe combines hearty vegetables, ground turkey, and savory flavors into an amazing holiday dish.
This healthy Thanksgiving stuffing is a simple combination of ingredients and flavors that will make sure you don’t even miss regular stovetop stuffing. It has a tender texture and is just as flavorful as traditional stuffing, without all of the bread. It only takes an hour to make from scratch, but it is also great for preparing in advance for the holidays.
If you like Paleo holiday recipes, you will love my Paleo Brussel Sprouts Casserole and Paleo Berry Cobbler!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Paleo and Low-Calorie: This gluten-free stuffing without bread is the perfect Thanksgiving side dish that is both Paleo-friendly and low-calorie. It’s one of my favorite healthy Thanksgiving dishes.
- Hearty and Flavorful: With its combination of ground turkey, hearty vegetables, fruits, and nuts, this is a hearty dish that’s full of savory flavor.
- Completely Breadless: Not only is this recipe gluten-free, it’s completely breadless. It uses ground meat and vegetables to capture a similar flavor.
Table of Contents
Ingredients
- Ground Turkey: This Paleo stuffing recipe uses ground turkey to make a hearty and delicious dish. You could also use ground chicken or lean pork instead of turkey.
- Sweet Potato: This stuffing uses fall vegetables to capture that distinct flavor.
- Apple: Use a red apple to add a little sweetness to your stuffing.
- Pecans: Add a little crunch to your stuffing with some chopped, raw pecans or other nuts.
- Cranberries: Dried cranberries or raisins add a little additional sweetness and a different texture to the stuffing.
- Eggs: The egg whites will help bind the stuffing together, add protein, and give it a great texture.
See the recipe card below for exact ingredient amounts, nutritional information, and detailed instructions.
Variations & Dietary Modifications
- Make It Vegan: You can easily make this a vegetable stuffing by omitting the ground turkey and using an egg white substitute.
- Add Gluten-Free Bread: If you find yourself missing a more traditional stuffing, you can use gluten-free bread in this recipe as well. Toast the bread to ensure it’s dry, almost like a crouton, and add it to the baking dish with the other ingredients.
- Use Other Vegetables: This gluten-free stuffing without bread is incredibly versatile. This recipe works well with butternut squash, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, or carrots. Acorn squash, like in my healthy stuffed acorn squash, is also an excellent option.
How to Make This Gluten-Free Stuffing Recipe
This stuffing without bread is the perfect gluten-free and dairy-free side dish for the holidays. It’s also hearty enough to be a main dish thanks to the ground turkey and mushrooms. All you need to make this stuffing is a shallow 11”x8” baking dish and an oven preheated to 375°F.
Step 1: Sauté the Sweet Potato. Peel and dice the sweet potato into 1” pieces. Add it to a skillet with olive oil and a pinch of salt, and cook over medium heat for about 7-8 minutes until it is slightly tender, but not fully cooked.
Step 2: Cook the Turkey and Other Vegetables. Add the ground turkey, celery, apple, mushrooms, dried parsley, and thyme to the skillet. Cook the turkey until it is browned; this should take another 5-7 minutes.
Step 3: Combine the Ingredients. Once the vegetables and turkey are cooked, transfer them to a large mixing bowl. Add the dried cranberries and pecans and stir to combine everything.
Step 4: Whisk the Egg Whites. In a separate ramekin, whisk together the egg whites and apple cider vinegar.
Step 5: Transfer to a Baking Dish. Add the cooked turkey and vegetables to your baking dish and then pour the egg and vinegar mixture over them. (If you are making the dish in advance, this is where you stop and store the stuffing.) Bake the stuffing at 375°F for 15-18 minutes until the top is slightly browned. Serve immediately with slices of Instant Pot turkey breast.
Expert Tips
- Don’t Skip Sauteing: You can’t skip sauteing the vegetables for this recipe. 15 minutes in the oven is not enough time for the vegetables to cook, and any longer will dry out the ground turkey.
- Bake in a Shallow Dish: Using a shallow dish ensures that all of the stuffing cooks evenly and develops a slight crust over the top.
- Drain Excess Liquid: The ground turkey and some of the vegetables release a lot of water when they cook. Be sure to drain off that excess liquid before you add them to your baking dish to avoid a soggy stuffing.
- Storing: Store leftover stuffing in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 days. I don’t recommend freezing these leftovers. Reheat leftovers in an oven-safe dish at 375°F for about 10 minutes.
Serving Suggestions
This delicious turkey stuffing without bread is an amazing alternative to traditional stuffing for your holiday festivities. It’s gluten-free, great for the Paleo diet, and full of delicious vegetables. It will be the star of the dinner table, and you won’t even miss the traditional box stuffing.
- This hearty stuffing makes for an excellent main dish for the holidays. You can serve it with traditional holiday side dishes like healthy green bean casserole, easy cornbread and sugar-free cranberry sauce.
- Make a healthier dessert option for the holidays. This raw vegan pumpkin pie is a great option for dessert.
- Serve a healthy spinach artichoke dip as an appetizer for your holiday dinner. It’s warm, creamy, cheesy, and your guests will love it!
Gluten-Free Stuffing Recipe FAQs
No, I don’t recommend baking these vegetables inside a turkey. They won’t crisp or brown and the texture will be unappealing.
The tops of the vegetables may brown too quickly in the oven. If that happens, tent the top of the baking dish with foil to stop it from browning.
If your oven runs hot, it may dry out the other ingredients. You can add a splash of chicken broth to the pan to add more moisture.
Absolutely! This gluten-free stuffing is an excellent dish to make in advance for the holidays. Follow the recipe up until it’s time to bake, then cover the stuffing and store it in the refrigerator until the day of your holiday dinner. Let it sit at room temperature for 30 minutes, and then cook in a preheated oven.
More Delicious Healthy Holiday Recipes
If you tried this Gluten-Free Stuffing Recipe recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how you go in the 📝 comments below.
Gluten-Free Stuffing Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 lb Ground Turkey, extra lean
- 1 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1 Sweet Potato, peeled & diced
- 1 cup Celery, diced
- 1 Apple, diced
- 1 cup Mushrooms, diced
- 1 cup Pecans
- ¾ cup Dried Cranberries
- 2 large Egg Whites
- 1 tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar, or white vinegar
- ½ teaspoon Thyme
- ½ teaspoon Parsley
- Salt & pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 F. Pull out an 11"x8" baking dish and set aside.
- Heat a skillet with the extra virgin olive oil and sweet potatoes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Cook the sweet potato 7-8 minutes on the stove until slightly tender (not fully cooked) then add the ground turkey, celery, apple, mushrooms, dried parsley and thyme. Stir to combine and cook until the meat is browned another 5-7 minutes.
- Once the turkey is cooked, transfer the contents of the pan to a large mixing bowl. Add the cranberries and pecans. Stir to combine.
- Transfer the contents of the mixing bowl into the baking dish. No greasing is necessary.
- In a small ramekin, whisk together the egg whites and vinegar then pour over the content in the baking dish evenly.
- Bake at 375 F 15-18 minutes until browned then remove from the oven and serve!
Notes
- Sauté the vegetables to help their flavors bloom and to soften them. They won’t cook down enough in the oven without sauteing first.
- Use a shallow baking dish to help the vegetables in the stuffing cook evenly and crisp across the top.
- If the turkey and vegetables release a lot of excess water while sauteing, you will need to drain them before adding them to the baking pan.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
