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If you are gluten intolerant, then you know that Thanksgiving turkey with traditional bread or cornbread stuffing is usually off limits. So I'm bringing back a favorite family recipe, and making it gluten free so everyone can enjoy it. And they really do - everyone loves this savory, buttery, aromatic side dish - gluten free and non-gluten free eaters alike!
It has been nearly 20 years since we found out that my son and I are gluten intolerant, and since that time I have worked very hard to take our cherished family recipes and make them gluten free. This time I am going to share one of my personal favorite Thanksgiving recipes - Gluten Free Cornbread and Sausage Stuffing.
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6 Reasons to Love this 5 Star Stuffing!
Here are 6 reasons why our family loves this Thanksgiving recipe:
- It’s moist, but not mushy
- It has a perfect blend of seasonings
- The combo of cornbread and sandwich bread gives this both a fluffy and chewy texture with a wonderful depth of flavor.
- It can be made a day in advance
- You can use it to stuff a turkey (or chicken), and/or also bake it in a casserole dish. I do a little of both on Thanksgiving day to make sure everyone gets a nice, big portion.
- I never used to like stuffing - until I made it with sausage! The sausage, I think, helps it stay moist as it bakes. We love having leftover stuffing the day after Thanksgiving - with the vegetables, sausage, and breads it’s like a meal-in-one casserole.
Keep scrolling for the recipe ⤵️
Here's What You Need
- Gluten free cornbread- In the cornbread I use cornmeal, My brown rice flour blend, sugar, baking powder, xanthan gum ( which you can learn more about here), salt, egg, oil, and milk.
- Gluten free sandwich bread
- Bulk Italian sausage - the bold flavor of this sausage is the perfect compliment to the flavors in the dressing
- Mushrooms
- Celery
- Garlic and shallots - equal parts of each
- Butter - doesn’t every good Thanksgiving recipe have butter?
- Eggs - to hold it together and keep it moist but not wet
- Chicken broth - canned or homemade. If you have the time and can plan in advance, you can make my homemade chicken stock to make this extra special
- Spices - ground sage, savory, and thyme - try to find fresh thyme leaves and chop them up if at all possible!
- Salt and pepper
I regularly make homemade chicken stock or bone broth. It adds so much richness and flavor to recipes. For Thanksgiving, I like to make turkey stock with those weird odds and ends that come inside a turkey so nothing goes to waste. We use the stock for the stuffing, gravy, and to baste the turkey.
You can make turkey stock the same way you make chicken stock 👉 I wrote all about how to make chicken stock right here.
Do I Have to Use ___?
- If you need to swap the butter for something non-dairy, try Earth Balance Buttery Spread. It has the same fat grams as butter, so it won’t water down your recipes.
- If you don't like celery or mushrooms, there are other ingredients that you can substitute. Some possibilities are: canned (and drained) water chestnuts, nuts such as pecans or walnuts, red or green bell pepper, or another crunchy vegetable of your choice. You do need something with some crunch/firmness to add stability so you don't end up with a mushy stuffing.
- If you don't need to make your stuffing gluten free, you can use regular cornbread and regular bread slices and proceed with the recipe as written.
You can totally make this your own by adding what you love or subtracting what you don’t – we would love to hear about your personal touches in the comments!
Your gluten free Thanksgiving menu wouldn’t be complete without pecan pie (and ours is chocolate!)
Start by Making a Batch of Gluten Free Cornbread
Here's the recipe for my gluten free cornbread.
After you bake a batch of cornbread, you're ready to create the stuffing.
Caution: the heavenly smells that will issue forth from your kitchen as you brown the sausage, sauté those mushrooms in the drippings, and toss it all together with the toasted bread, cornbread, and chicken stock may draw every person in your house to come and start sneaking bites. Remember - you have been warned!
It’s actually good if the cornbread dries out a little, so go ahead and leave it out on the counter or table while you get everything ready. * Note: at this point you better start keeping an eye out for those sneaky tasters in your house 🙂
How to Make Gluten Free Cornbread and Sausage Stuffing
Remember, if you have questions about any of the steps below, read the full recipe.
Step 1. Dry the bread on a cookie sheet.
Step 2. Cut the cornbread into cubes
Step 3. Brown the sausage
Step 4. Sauté the vegetables
Step 5. Combine breads, sausage, and veggies
Step 6. Combine eggs, butter, and broth
Step 7. Pour egg mixture over bread mixture
Step 8. Stuff turkey loosely. Leave some room for the stuffing to expand while baking.
Step 9. Place extra stuffing in casserole dish
Step 10. Dot with butter before baking
What's the Best Gluten Free Bread?
You might be here looking for a gluten free stuffing recipe because you have some gluten free guests coming for Thanksgiving dinner, and you’re new to gluten free food.
There are quite a few options for gluten free bread these days, and it might be a bit of a shock when you see how much it costs! 😱 I hate wasting money too, so here are a few of our family’s favorite store bought gluten free breads that will work well in the stuffing. Open this post while you're at the grocery store and see if your store carries any of these brands:
- Udi's sandwich bread
- Canyon Bakehouse
- Franz gluten free
- Trader Joe's
- Sharr
- Mrs. Hewitt's
I also make really delicious gluten free bread ( which is delicious in this stuffing), and I can teach you how, too! Come check out my Gluten Free Sandwich Bread workshop over at Teachable.
PrintGluten Free Cornbread and Sausage Stuffing
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 6 -8 servings
- Category: side dish recipe
- Method: bake
- Diet: Gluten Free
Ingredients
- 1 recipe Gluten Free cornbread (see notes below)
- 6 slices gluten free bread, cut into medium sized cubes
- 3 cups celery, chopped (or about 4-5 stalks)
- 8 oz . sliced mushrooms
- 1 lb . mild italian sausage
- ¾ cup fresh italian parsley, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons shallots, finely minced
- 2 tablespoon garlic, finely minced
- ¼ cup butter
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon ground savory
- ½ teaspoon ground sage
- 1 teaspoon ground thyme
- 1 tablespoon salt
- pepper (to taste)
Instructions
- The night before, spread the bread cubes on a cookie sheet and let it sit out overnight to dry out the bread. Cover with a towel if desired. If you don’t have time for this, you can dry out the bread in an oven on very low heat, like 180-200 degrees F. for about 10-20 minutes.
- Cut the cornbread into fairly large cubes and set aside. They will break into smaller bits when all the ingredients are tossed together, so starting out with larger cubes is the best way to go for this recipe.
- Brown the sausage in a large skillet over medium heat. Remove the meat, leaving the drippings in the pan.
- Saute the mushrooms, shallot, and garlic in the pan drippings until softened. Add the celery and parsley to the pan, along with extra butter if necessary to coat and cook the vegetables.
- Place the breads, sausage, and vegetables in a large bowl and toss very gently.
- In a medium bowl, combine the eggs, ¼ cup butter, chicken broth and spices.
- Pour the egg mixture over the bread mixture in the large bowl and toss very gently until moistened. The cornbread will be the most fragile when it’s wet. Don’t overmix this - some bits will get wet, and some will not. That’s what you want.
- Stuff the turkey cavity lightly with the stuffing - there will be plenty left over, so don't try to put it all in the turkey.
- Place the extra stuffing mixture in a buttered casserole dish and cover with foil. Chill in the fridge until it's time to bake it.
- Dot with butter if desired, before baking. Bake covered with foil at 325 - 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes or until heated through. A good time to bake this is right after you take the turkey out of the oven. It can bake while you carve the turkey and make gravy.
Common Gluten Free Stuffing Questions
Yes in a covered dish, or a casserole dish covered with foil. Be sure to keep it refrigerated until just before stuffing the turkey.
I have kept stuffing in the refrigerator for 3 days before baking it in a casserole dish. But ideally, I like to prepare this stuffing recipe the day before Thanksgiving, keep it in the fridge, and stuff the turkey the following morning.
Yes, that’s my favorite way to do it. This cornbread and sausage stuffing can be assembled ahead of time, kept covered in the fridge, and then baked when needed. Often I add a little extra melted butter or chicken broth to the casserole if it seems too dry, cover it with foil and bake. Then remove the foil near the end of baking so it can get a crispy top.
The quickest way to do it is to use the microwave. Place the leftover stuffing in a microwave safe dish, add a little butter or broth if it’s dry, cover and heat it on high for 1 minute. Stir, and heat for 30 seconds more or until it’s heated through.
If your stuffing is still crumbly after baking, add a little melted butter and toss lightly before serving it to add some moistness. If it still needs some help after doing that, add chicken broth a spoonful at a time and toss it until the moisture level is just right and it holds together better.
If your dressing turns out to be more wet than you’d like, it can usually be fixed. Spread it out on a baking sheet and bake it in the oven on a low temperature like 200- 300 degrees. You can even use the residual heat once you’ve taken the turkey out and turned off the oven. Just let it dry out until the texture has improved. If it seems too dry after that, brush with just a little melted butter and toss it very gently.
Eggs help hold the stuffing together as it bakes, while still maintaining a fluffy, chewy texture. It is especially helpful when working with gluten free bread, which tends to crumble or fall apart in recipes.
Kitchen Hack Alert!
If you haven’t guessed this by now, the secret ingredient to the success of my cornbread and sausage stuffing is this - melted butter.
It can fix this dressing if it’s too crumbly, or too dry, or even if it’s gummy. You can brush it lightly with butter after baking it if you want the top to be crispy ( and who doesn’t love that!)
Thanksgiving is the one time of the year when I use the most butter - it can cover all kinds of little mistakes and adds a great flavor to nearly everything on the Thanksgiving menu.
If you’re allergic to butter, I would definitely use Earth Balance Buttery Spread.
Stuffy McStuffenheimer says
I just may have died and gone to Gluten Free heaven. Back in the old country me mum made stuffing with gluten filled bread so dry that you could gag on it. I often did, and once I nearly passed on to the other side. But this, THIS stuffing is beautiful, Moist, scrumptious and to literally die for. Thank you for the post! I will immediately make my servants prepare this beautiful food for the American Holiday, that is thanking the good Lord above for helping the pilgrims escape Canada.
beneficialbento says
Stuffy,
I'm so glad you like my stuffing! I really hope you don't die from eating it, though. I would miss all your hilarious comments 😀