Gluten Free Thanksgiving Stuffing
It may be a bit early for some of you to be thinking about Thanksgiving, but not me.
With tons of family and friends up north, as in Canada, it’s time to talk turkey.
Or to discuss Gluten Free Thanksgiving Stuffing. Since Canadian Thanksgiving is this coming Monday October 14th.
Some of you might be feeling a bit stressed over the thought of preparing stuffing gluten free, don’t be, it’s really easy.
It is made exactly the same as your old stand-by recipe, with the caveat that, you must, without question, make sure you have really toasted the bread first.
That’s it. Easy huh?
My version is gluten free and vegetarian, we like it with mushrooms and swiss chard. But you can add chesnuts, raisins, apple, sausage or whatever your secret family recipe calls for.
Its super easy, can be made way in advance and even frozen for later, if there is any left.
I used Schar baguette and multi-grain rolls, readily available at most large grocery chains, and shelf stable
I like to use a few different types of bread in stuffing to create different tastes and textures.
I am sure most of you Americans had no idea that Canada celebrates their Thanksgiving more than 7 weeks before us.
Well, they sort of started the tradition. They celebrated their first Thanksgiving in 1578, that’s 43 years before the Pilgrims even landed at Plymouth Rock.
Other than that, same Holiday, same turkey and stuffing, mashed potatoes, pumpkin pie, and same gathering of Family and Friends.
Ingredients
- 2 GF baguette and 1 package of 4 GF multi grain rolls, or 2 loaves of GF bread
- 3 Tbs olive oil
- 1 large sweet onion, chopped
- 6 stalks celery, chopped
- 1 bunch of swiss chard, mine had 6-8 large leaves
- 2 cups mushrooms, chopped
- 2 Tbs of poultry seasoning
- 4-5 Tbs fresh thyme, stripped from stems and chopped a bit
- 6 Tbs fresh sage, chopped fine
- 2 Tbs fresh rosemary, chopped fine
- 1/2 cup to 1 cup GF chicken stock
- 1 tsp salt, and 1 tsp pepper
- 4-6 Tbs butter
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Dice bread into small bite size pieces drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt, pepper, 1 tbsp thyme and 2 tbsp finely chopped sage.
Spread out in an even layer on sheet pan and bake for 10-15 minutes.
Checking every few minutes and turning over to ensure each piece is browned on all sides.
In the meantime heat up a large skillet add oil, then onion and celery and cook over med-high heat until soft but not browned approx. 3-4 min.
Remove from pan and place in a very large bowl.
Add more olive to the same pan and cook mushrooms 5-7 mins until cooked through and browned, add to bowl.
If adding sausage, add to pan and cook then add to bowl as well.
Wash swiss chard and cut into bite size pieces, add to bowl (you don't need to cook it first).
When bread is throughly browned remove from oven and add to bowl.
Toss in the rest of the fresh herbs and salt and pepper, toss well.
Add chicken stock a bit at a time, until slightly moistened but not soggy. You may need more or less depending on the type and quantity of bread you used.
Each cube should feel a bit soggy on the outside but still a bit firm in the middle.
Pour into a buttered casserole dish, nestle the butter down in the stuffing and cover with foil, bake 30 mins, uncover and bake another 15 mins or until nicely crisp and browned on top.
Notes
This recipe makes quite a bit of stuffing. I filled a large casserole dish for Thanksgiving dinner. For the rest lay out two large pieces of foil, lightly butter then pour remaining stuffing in the center. Making a long cylinder shape, bring outer edges of foil together and fold tightly then fold in the edges. Pop into freezer for the next roast chicken dinner you have. My mom always cooked her stuffing this way since it could nestle beside the turkey in the oven, saving space for other dishes.