This Thanksgiving Paleo Gluten Free Stuffing is a delicious healthy alternative made with a ton of veggies and packed with fall flavours!
Ingredients and substitutions
- Olive oil – or another neutral cooking oil such as avocado oil.
- Butternut squash – sweet potatoes would also be good here.
- Brussels sprouts – use another kind of greens, beets or potatoes instead.
- Garlic – freshly minced garlic is best but jarred minced garlic will work in a pinch.
- Yellow onion – white onion or shallots would be the best alternative here.
- Celery – carrots will also give the stuffing a bit of crunch.
- Red pepper – use any colour bell pepper of your choice.
- Apple – water chestnuts would also add some crunch to this stuffing recipe.
- Sage – I wouldn’t recommend dried sage since fresh sage will give it the best flavour.
- Rosemary – you can use dried rosemary but fresh rosemary is preferred.
- Salt & pepper – to taste.
Turkey sausage
- Ground turkey – you could also make this homemade sausage with ground chicken or pork.
- Fennel seeds – anise or dill seed will provide a similar flavour.
- Paprika – swap out for some chili powder or cayenne instead.
- Onion powder – garlic powder would also work well here.
- Salt & pepper – to taste.
How to make gluten free stuffing
- Make the turkey sausage.
- Sauté the squash and brussels sprouts.
- Add in the rest of the veggies.
- Season with rosemary, sage, salt and pepper.
- Add the sausage back in.
- Serve and enjoy!
Making the homemade turkey sausage
You can use store-bought turkey, chicken or pork sausages for this recipe, or you can make your own sausage using ground poultry or meat. It's actually super easy, and the key to spicing it right is fennel, paprika and onion powder. Here's what you need below:
- Ground chicken or turkey
- Fennel seeds
- Paprika
- Onion powder
- Salt & pepper
You'll just mix everything together in a large bowl and then sauté in a skillet, breaking up with a spoon much like you would with ground beef. You will remove the casings on whichever store-bought sausage you use so you can just go ahead and use ground meat for the sausage in this recipe.
Frequently Asked Questions
Stuffing is traditionally made with bread, but this stuffing is completely gluten-free! It’s still packed with amazing holiday flavours and is super yummy, so you won’t even miss the gluten.
This stuffing is made with lots of veggies including butternut squash, brussels sprouts, onion, garlic, celery and red pepper; some apple for crunch; fresh sage and rosemary for flavour; and homemade turkey sausage. You could use a store-bought sausage as well and remove the casings.
The only real difference between Thanksgiving dressing and stuffing is that stuffing is technically meant to be cooked inside of a turkey or chicken – so technically, this recipe is a dressing.
Storing and reheating
I highly recommend storing this recipe in individual servings in glass meal prep bowls so that you can just remove from the fridge and reheat for 2 minutes. You can sprinkle a tiny bit of water over top before microwaving to ensure that the sausage doesn't dry out. The leftovers will last in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Freezing this recipe
Unfortunately, the whole cooked dish will not freeze, but you can freeze the cooked turkey sausage for up to 3 months, so that is a component you can make ahead of time! Allow it to defrost in the fridge overnight then throw it in when you're sautéing the veggies.
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More Thanksgiving recipes
- 20 Healthy Thanksgiving Recipes
- Crispiest Garlic Parm Air Fryer Brussels Sprouts
- Sausage & Mushroom Stuffed Acorn Squash
Meal prep tools for this recipe
- Grab some glass meal prep bowls if you plan on turning this recipe into your weekly lunches.
- Order some fennel seeds here – they can be tricky to find at the grocery store!
Thanksgiving Paleo Gluten Free Stuffing
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil, divided
- 1 small butternut squash, diced
- 2 cups brussels sprouts, sliced in half
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 medium-sized yellow onion, diced
- 3 celery stalks, finely chopped
- 1 red pepper, diced
- 1 apple, sliced and diced into small pieces
- 2 tbsp finely chopped fresh sage (I would not recommend dried here – you need the fresh stuff!)
- 2 tbsp finely chopped fresh rosemary (or 2 tsp dried)
- Salt & pepper to taste
Turkey sausage
- 1 lb Ground chicken or turkey
- 1 tbsp fennel seeds
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp each salt and pepper
Instructions
- Mix ingredients together for turkey sausage under the turkey sausage heading.
- Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a very large skillet over med-high heat. Add turkey sausage (you can also use store bought and remove casings), then break up with a slotted spoon, cooking until just browned, about 5 minutes.
- Remove turkey from skillet, then add in a bit more olive oil, then butternut squash and brussels sprouts. Saute for 5 minutes until browned.
- Add in garlic, onions, celery, red pepper and apple. Saute for about 7-8 minutes until veggies soften, then season with salt and pepper and add rosemary and sage.
- Add turkey sausage back to skillet with other veggies. Saute another 1-2 minutes until everything is heated through then serve and enjoy!
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