Thanksgiving is here this week so I wanted to share my Gluten Free Stuffing recipe early. If you like crunchy stuffing, this recipe is for you! This year, I baked my gluten free stuffing in a cast iron skillet which made it toasty.
This gluten free stuffing is double toasted so it holds up to the gravy and other fixings on your thanksgiving plate. I personally don’t like a soggy, mushed together stuffing! I’ve yet to meet someone who does.
Recipe Ingredients and Tips
Gluten Free Bread
This recipe is straightforward and easy because I’m using a store bought loaf of gluten free bread. My favorite bread to use in this recipe is Canyon Bakehouse Country White Bread which is now in a lot of grocery stores. I find mine at Harris Teeter.
This recipe calls for double baking the bread. The first step is tearing the bread into pieces. Tearing the bread instead of cutting it into symmetrical chunks gives the gluten free stuffing more texture and it toasts better.
Once the bread has been torn into pieces, you’ll then toss the bread in olive oil, salt, and pepper. Arrange the bread pieces on a silicone lined baking sheet and allow them to toast and dry out in the oven on 400° for about 10-15 minutes.
The second toasting of the bread will happen during baking.
Leeks
I really like the taste of leeks in my gluten free stuffing! Leeks are in the onion family and taste like an onion, but they are milder and sweeter. You can certainly replace the leeks in the recipe for chopped onions. Just make sure you cook them with the chopped celery before adding it to the stuffing.
Celery
You can’t have stuffing without adding celery! I don’t like biting into a big chunk of this in my stuffing so I used a mandoline to chop the celery evenly. I also sauté this along with the leeks before adding it to the gluten free stuffing to bake. Sautéing the celery and leeks before adding them to the stuffing makes all the difference in the flavor and texture of the stuffing.
Butter
I think butter is the star ingredient in this recipe. It gives the stuffing such a rich flavor and helps the bread to toast when it’s baking. Kerrygold butter is by far my favorite! This butter is so creamy and delicious. It will elevate all your recipes.
Fresh Herbs
Infusing fresh herbs into the butter is the secret to this recipe! Allowing the herbs to sauté and brown with the butter is key. A lot of people add fresh herbs to their stuffing which is totally fine but taking this extra step is worth it.
I place my cast iron on the stove set to medium/low heat and allow the butter to slowly melt. Don’t turn up the heat because you don’t want the butter to burn. Once the butter is melted, I then add fresh sprigs of sage, rosemary, and thyme. I allow this to cook for about 15 minutes until the herbs are fragrant. Once the herbs are fragrant, I then remove the herbs from the butter and proceed on with the recipe.
Poultry Seasoning
Every fall I go through all of my dried spices to see what has expired and needs replaced. Every fall I do replace the poultry seasoning just because I want it really fresh and ready for the holiday season. I also do this with my baking spices such as cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg ect. The fresher your spices are the better your recipes will be.
When making this gluten free stuffing, I add the poultry season to the hot cast iron skillet after the butter has had time to infuse with the fresh herbs. Adding dried spices to heat blooms the seasonings so they wake up before adding them to a recipe. You know they have “bloomed” when you smell them. This simply intensifies the poultry seasoning flavor in the stuffing.
Dairy and Egg Free Replacements
To make this gluten free stuffing, dairy and egg free, replace the bread with a loaf of Schar White Bread and replace the stick of butter for vegan butter such as Earth Balance.
Final Thoughts
Most of the prep of this gluten free stuffing can be done ahead of time like: washing and chopping the celery and leeks, tearing the bread, and pre measuring the herbs, butter, and broth. I like to make little recipe packages in ziplock bags so when I’m ready to cook it, I just pull the packet out of the refrigerator and then I’m able to quickly throw it together. This saves time and allows you to visit with your guests while you’re finishing up cooking.
I hope you have wonderful Thanksgiving with good food and good times with friends and family! If you still need a turkey recipe, then please check out my Instant Pot Turkey Breast recipe.
Gluten Free Thanksgiving Stuffing
Equipment
- 1 Cast Iron Skillet
Ingredients
Bread Prep
- 1 loaf gluten free bread
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- pinch of salt and pepper
Dressing
- 1 stick butter
- 1 sprig rosemary fresh
- 6 sprigs thyme fresh
- 2 sage leaves fresh
- 1.5 tablespoons poultry seasoning
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 cup celery, chopped
- 1 cup leeks, chopped
- 1 cup chicken or turkey broth
Instructions
Bread Prep
- Preheat oven to 400°.
- Tear loaf of bread into bite size pieces.
- Add bread pieces to a large bowl and toss with olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper.
- Lay bread pieces on a silicone or parchment lined baking sheet.
- Place in oven and bake for 12-15 minutes until bread pieces are toasty brown.
- Remove from oven and place them back into the large bowl.
Dressing
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- Using a cast iron skillet, add butter to skillet and allow it melt on medium low heat.
- Once butter has melted, add the fresh herbs of rosemary, thyme, and sage to the skillet and allow the herbs to cook for 15 minutes until they're fragrant.
- Remove the herbs from the skillet and discard them.
- Add the poultry seasoning, salt, and pepper to the skillet and cook for 1 minute.
- Increase the heat to medium and add the chopped celery and leeks to the skillet and cook for 7 minutes until they are soft.
- Add the chicken or turkey stock to the butter and vegetables and stir together.
- Pour the mixture over the bread pieces in the large bowl and toss all ingredients together until the mixture has been soaked up by the bread.
- Place the bread mixture back into the cast iron skillet and bake the stuffing for 20-25 minutes until it's golden brown.
