Easy Gluten-Free Stuffing Recipe

Heather Dessinger

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Gluten-free stuffing in casserole dish on table

Savory sage and sweet apples make this gluten-free stuffing recipe a delicious alternative to traditional bread-based side dishes. It’s a must-have at my family’s Thanksgiving table, along with roasted pastured turkeyjellied or whole berry cranberry sauce and healthy green bean casserole.

A lot of you seem to love it, too – it’s such a delight to read through the reviews you’ve left over the years! Here are a few in case you’re skeptical about giving it a try.

Reader Reviews

From Shannah:

My mom makes the best cornbread dressing in the South so I needed a grain-free alternative to keep me from being tempted to indulge on thanksgiving. This recipe was incredible! Perfect consistency and texture!

From Marisa:

I made this last Thanksgiving, and it was a big hit. It’s the best stuffing I have found! It has become a staple for our Thanksgiving feast.”

From Christine:

Just wanted to give you two thumbs up on this one!! Made it on Thanksgiving and it was so very delicious. I will be making this on a regular basis now. Thank you for solving one of my grain free challenges…stuffing!” 

Gluten-free stuffing ingredients cooking in large skillet

From Nancy:

I have made this recipe for Tgiving every year since we started GAPS in 2012. It is just our small, immediate family and my in-laws. But even though my in-laws eat nothing but processed food when they aren’t visiting us, they gobble up (Tgiving pun intended!!!!) this stuffing. Only change I make is substituting diced apple for the dates. Will be making your recipe again this year.

From Demi:

I know this recipe has been out for awhile, but just wanted you to know that I made it for the first time this past Thanksgiving and it was absolutely DELISH! Very easy to put together and tasted even better the next day. Thank you for such a terrific recipe. I will definitely be sharing with my friends and family!

So what does it taste like?

Basically, it’s seasoned with herbs used in classic stuffing recipes, but instead of traditional bread cubes we’re using a paleo, dairy-free “bread” base. I add a touch of natural sweetness in the form of apple and dates, but you can replace the dates for dried cranberries and raisins if you prefer.

One quick note: This recipe can be made from start to finish in an Xtrema pan or cast iron skillet since they can go from stovetop to oven. You can find more skillet recipes, here.

If you don’t have one, though, you can brown the veggies and herbs on the stove and then transfer them to a baking dish. Easy peasy.

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4.35 from 41 votes

Easy Gluten-Free Stuffing Recipe

This sage & apple gluten-free stuffing recipe makes a delicious holiday alternative to traditional bread-based dishes. Although this recipe serves 4-6, if you want to have some leftover stuffing you'll probably want to double (or triple) the recipe.
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Servings 6
Calories 349kcal
Author Mommypotamus

Equipment

  • 8×8 casserole dish
  • cast iron skillet or Xtrema pan

Ingredients

  • cups onion (diced)
  • cups celery (diced)
  • 1 cup apple (cored and diced)
  • ¼ cup dates (chopped into small pieces – or try raisins / dried cranberries)
  • 2 cups blanched almond flour
  • 2 tsp dried sage (ground)
  • 2 tsp dried thyme
  • ¼ tsp marjoram
  • ¼ tsp dried rosemary
  • ¼ tsp black pepper
  • 1 tsp sea salt
  • 2 tbsp butter (or ghee or coconut oil)
  • 3 eggs (whisked)

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350°F.
  • Grease a medium-sized baking dish (If you're using a cast iron skillet or Xtrema pan that can go from stovetop to oven, you can skip this step and bake the stuffing in the pan).
  • Crack three eggs into a small bowl and whisk together.
  • Add 2 tablespoons butter/ghee/coconut oil to a large skillet and warm over low/med heat.
  • Add onion, celery, apple and herbs and saute over medium heat for 5 minutes. Remove the pan from heat.
  • Add the almond flour and half of the chopped dates to the pan. Stir until the flour/dates are mixed in.
  • Add the eggs to the pan and mix again. 
  • Transfer the mixture to your greased casserole dish (skip this step if you are baking the stuffing directly in the pan). Sprinkle the remaining chopped dates over the top.
  • Bake at 35°0F for 45 minutes – 1 hour, or until the breading on top is light golden brown.  

Nutrition

Calories: 349kcal | Carbohydrates: 26g | Protein: 12g | Fat: 25g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 92mg | Sodium: 490mg | Potassium: 339mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 12g | Vitamin A: 448IU | Vitamin C: 9mg | Calcium: 138mg | Iron: 3mg

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use this recipe to stuff a turkey?

I’ve never tried it so I can’t say for sure, but my guess is probably not. When baked in a dish the top turns golden brown, which is important for the overall texture.

Can I make this stuffing in advance? 

I’ve heard from some people that they love it even more the day after making it, but I prefer to make mine on the same day because I think reheating it makes it too dry. I like to make extra and it it the next day cold, though.

More Gluten-Free Recipes for Thanksgiving

Gluten-Free Pumpkin Pie – This simple recipe delivers a moist pumpkin filling infused with vanilla and the warm flavors of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and more.

Cauliflower Mashed “Potatoes” – I started making these cauliflower mashed “potatoes” when my family was on a healing protocol. We’ve reintroduced potatoes now, but we still LOVE this recipe!

Gluten-Free Pecan Pie – The sweet filling and whole pecan topping in this recipe reminds me of the pies I grew up with, only without the corn syrup!​

French Green Bean Casserole With Crispy Shallots from The Urban Poser – If you love green bean casserole but can’t do store-bought crispy fried onions (which are made with wheat flour), Jenni’s recipe has got you covered.

Close up of gluten-free stuffing on Thanksgiving table

Related Posts

About HEATHER

Heather is a holistic health educator, herbalist, DIYer, Lyme and mold warrior. Since founding Mommypotamus.com in 2009, Heather has been taking complicated health research and making it easy to understand. She shares tested natural recipes and herbal remedies with millions of naturally minded mamas around the world. 

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Recipe Rating




149 thoughts on “Easy Gluten-Free Stuffing Recipe”

  1. Yay! I just picked up my Rehoboth Ranch turkey from the Coppell Farmer’s Market (and got the last dozen pastured eggs anywhere at the market…thankful for that!)

    Reply
  2. Yay! I just picked up my Rehoboth Ranch turkey from the Coppell Farmer’s Market (and got the last dozen pastured eggs anywhere at the market…thankful for that!)

    Reply
  3. This looks delicious! We’re picking up our turkeys tomorrow at the Ogan Family farm, I may have to do this stuffing with it. Thanks for the recipe!

    Reply
  4. This looks delicious! We’re picking up our turkeys tomorrow at the Ogan Family farm, I may have to do this stuffing with it. Thanks for the recipe!

    Reply
  5. We’ll have to plan better for the next market on the 10th. 🙂 The lady in front of me bought a 24.5 pounder. They said out of 320 turkeys processed, he was the biggest. She said they liked leftovers. 🙂

    Reply
  6. Ah, thank you for reminding me, Erica Graff! I’ve been meaning to put a note up that says this recipe serves a small family – it would be perfect for two if you want just a little left over 🙂

    Reply
  7. Wonderful, thank you! Do you think halving it would be a bad idea, too little? We’re making a lot of sides, so I’m thinking a half recipe would be okay for us!

    Reply
    • 5 stars
      I double this recipe for my large family, increase the spices a bit, add pork carnitas (chopped) and pork broth. It’s a family favorite even for for those not on restricted diets.

      Reply
  8. This recipe looks really good…and I also picked up my turkey on Saturday from Rehoboth Ranch at the Coppell Farmers Market! How funny!

    Reply
  9. I made this tonight and it was great! My family said it tasted like real stuffing. 🙂 I modified it slightly… I boiled the turkey giblets until they were cooked, chopped them up in the food processor and added them in. No one knew the difference! I normally would have pitched the giblets, but this worked so well.

    Reply
  10. I’m getting my Thanksgiving shopping list and menu put together….and this is on it! 🙂 Thanks for your awesome blog!! <3

    Reply
  11. How about if you want to actually stuff the turkey? Do you cook it first or put it in wet?
    Could it be made without eggs somehow?

    It looks yummy

    Reply
  12. I made this last Thanksgiving, and it was a big hit. It’s the best stuffing I have found! It has become a staple for our Thanksgiving feast. Thank you for all that you do, and especially for such a great resource! Happy Thanksgiving!

    Reply
    • Hi Steph! Coconut flour absorbs a lot more moisture than almond flour so it’s not a good idea to make an equal substitution. Honestly, I tried a stuffing made with coconut flour bread before coming up with this recipe and it was awful. I’d stick with the almond flour or – if you’re allergic to almonds – maybe try sunflower meal instead. Hope that helps!

      Reply
  13. HI,

    Do you know if I could make this up the day before and just save the actual baking of it for the day of Thanksgiving? I wasn’t sure if refrigerating it before baking it would do anything to the quality of it. Thanks!!

    Reply
  14. Hi!
    This recipe looks lovely! Do you need the almond flour though? I’m looking to at least double it for a largish family gathering, and that would be a little bit pricey.

    Reply
  15. Just wanted to give you two thumbs up on this one!! Made it on Thanksgiving and it was so very delicious. I will be making this on a regular basis now. Thank you for solving one of my grain free challenges…stuffing!

    Reply
  16. I have a question not really specific to this recipe, but it somewhat applies. Is it really any cheaper to grind your own almond flour than to buy it? I’ve been buying mine at Kroger for around $8 for 1 pound (It’s been on sale for about $6.50), and 1 pound of almonds is around that or more it seems. I’m willing to make my own if it saves enough money, but don’t want the extra work if it doesn’t.

    Reply
    • Look for a “Good Food” or “Whole Foods” type store by you that sell bulk flours. That’s how I get mine and you end up paying a fraction of packages flours. I would say that I save about 90% on my flours and spices/herbs. Makes a HUGE difference. Happy Thanksgiving.

      Reply
  17. Question about the dates. Are they thrown in there whole or do you chop them up first. I read it again thinking I missed it but didn’t see anything about it. Thanks for the recipe sounds great!

    Reply
  18. this looks amazing!! unfortunately I’m breastfeeding and my little lady can’t do onions… usually I just leave them out, but 3 1/2 cups is a lot! any suggestions for a yummy flavor/texture substitute?
    Thanks!!

    Reply
    • I made it without the onions and it turned out really good. (I am also breastfeeding and onions are too much for my baby girl. ) I also used chia seeds as an egg substitution, (1 tbsp chia seeds/3tbsp water per egg). Thanks for the recipe Heather, it was fantastic!!!

      Reply
  19. I have tried a few of your recipes and always very good–thanks for experimenting. I looked through the comments and I couldn’t find an answer too using this recipe too stuff turkey–cooking it first or just wet ingredients?

    Reply
  20. Would rice flour work? We are dealing with sensitivities to gluten, nuts, and coconut. :/ But I’d love to try this for thanksgiving!

    Reply
  21. I WANT this! But, we can’t have eggs right now. Or, hubby can’t have eggs right now. I’m wondering if some kind of egg substitute would work at all. :/

    Reply
  22. My mom makes the best cornbread dressing in the South so I needed a grain-free alternative to keep me from being tempted to indulge on thanksgiving. This recipe was incredible! Perfect consistency and texture!

    I tripled the batch, and had enough for a 13×9 pan plus a medium corningware dish. I could have gotten away with just doubling.

    Thank you!

    Reply
  23. Excellent recipe! I did everything almost to the letter, with the exception of slightly less celery and a bit more apple, because that was what I had. Everyone at our Thanksgiving dinner was surprised that it was not only bread free, but grain free. It tastes very much like my mom’s bread stuffing! I just ate the leftovers for breakfast with honey-sweetened cranberry sauce! I plan to make this a staple main in our house by adding sausage or ground meat, and adding a side salad. Thanks!

    Reply
    • Hi Alex, I wouldn’t recommend it for stuffing the turkey. Baking so that the top is just a little browned is important for the overall texture.

      Reply
  24. I have made this recipe for Tgiving every year since we started GAPS in 2012. It is just our small, immediate family and my in-laws. But even though my in-laws eat nothing but processed food when they aren’t visiting us, they gobble up (Tgiving pun intended!!!!) this stuffing. Only change I make is substituting diced apple for the dates. Will be making your recipe again this year.

    Reply
  25. Thanksgiving staple now…everyone last year thought it was delicious. I used mostly fresh herbs because I grow them and it seemed fine. This is a fantastic replacement for bread stuffing, though I still make a little of the unhealthy bread mixture to stuff the turkey. Thanks so much for sharing the recipe!

    Reply
  26. This stuffing is really delicious. The texture is very good and the flavor is phenomenal. No missing bread stuffing with this. One thing I tried was whipping up a couple of egg whites and folding them in before putting it in your baking pan. It made it a little lighter and a little less dense. Either way, it’s delicious. I am thinking about adding some mushrooms to it for another variation. Thanks for sharing the recipe!!!

    Reply
  27. Wondering if anyone has had luck freezing this? I doubled the recipe and it is WAY too much! It filled two 9×13 pans and I only need one. Hoping others have had luck freezing. Thanks!

    Reply
  28. I know this recipe has been out for awhile, but just wanted you to know that I made it for the first time this past Thanksgiving and it was absolutely DELISH! Very easy to put together and tasted even better the next day. Thank you for such a terrific receipe. I will definitely be sharing with my friends and family!

    Reply
  29. Just wanted to say that I have been making this recipe for a while now for Thanksgiving and Christmas! I have some in the oven now (the one without onions for my son). It is absolutely delicious! It tastes great reheated too so I always make extra so we have leftovers for a couple days! Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe! Merry Christmas!

    Reply
  30. Is the almond flour mixture a topping to sprinkle over the onion, celery and apple mixture? Or is everything mixed together at the end? What did you guys do?
    Thank you!!!

    Reply
  31. Heather, the recipe says it is enough for 2-3 people as written. But since people eat different amounts, I’m trying to visualize how large a pan it fills. You show it in a cast iron skillet — is the recipe a single batch to fill the skillet? If I doubled it would it overflow the skillet? Preparing my menu and gathering ingredients this weekend! Some comments say that the single batch filled a 8×11″ pan.

    Reply
    • 5 stars
      One person said she doubled the recipe, filling 2 9″x13″ pans. I made it last year, a single recipe, and I’m trying to remember what dish I baked it in. I think I used a Lodge cast iron chicken fryer that is 10″ in diameter at top, a bit less at bottom, and 3.25″ deep. Or a similar 2-1/2 quart oval baking dish by Corning that’s 1.5″ deep. Probably need to adjust baking time for something deeper than a skillet. We have 10 coming for dinner, so I’ve been trying to decide whether to double the recipe or not. Love this dish, and I’m sure we enjoyed leftovers last year. If I bake it a day ahead, I will not use the cast iron.

      This is a dressing, not a stuffing, for those who wondered about putting it in the turkey. Don’t. I have always loved the stuffing my mother made with just bread, onion, celery, butter, s&p. Giving that up since this dressing is just right as a substitute (I’ve never especially liked the moist sage dressings that are common). Heather is a genius!

      Reply
  32. 5 stars
    I made this recipe last year for Thanksgiving. The amount of celery and onion it called for really was not appealing so I decided to amend the recipe and keep the veggies the same but double the dry ingredients and eggs. It turned out this cakey, chewy sort of bomb. 🙁 I was really discouraged this year about making a GF stuffing. So I decided to follow the recipe exactly this year (except I added a plantain for extra filling). It turned out fantastic! I will now be making this every year! I’m so sorry I doubted you, Heather!

    Reply
  33. 5 stars
    I would say your expectation may be set differently. You really did not do anything wrong from what the recipe calls for. But if you are expecting bread cubes, then it sets you up for disappointment. I loved this recipe myself. However, I never expected bread. Just something that was good for me with a flavor reminiscent of cornbread stuffing. Don’t skimp on the veggies. I added mushrooms to mine too. Go in to it with an open mind and a little creativity.

    Reply
  34. Hi there – I’m planning ahead for Christmas. Does this recipe freeze well or is it better made fresh and cooked right away?
    Thanks!

    Reply
  35. I want to make this for Thanksgiving for two people. If I leave out the Apple and dates will it still turn out good? My daughter can’t have any fruit right now. Can I sub anything in place of those?

    Reply
  36. 4 stars
    Hi Heather

    Just a question here as I like the traditional turkey stuffing. Can this be stuffed in the turkey? This is what I’m looking for. If not do you have a recipe that can be?

    Thanks
    Tanya

    Reply
    • I don’t recommend stuffing this one into a turkey and unfortunately I don’t know of a recipe that would work well that way. Sorry I can’t be more helpful! 🙁

      Reply
  37. 5 stars
    I just made this stuffing last minute for my family. I halved the recipe just because that’s the ingredients I had on hand and used dried cranberries. It was perfect. Thank you so much. I was making turkey and craving stuffing so badly. I love that I don’t have to use a “bread” but can use the almond flour. Thank you so much for the recipe!

    Reply
  38. Do you basically just add everything to one bowl and throw it in the oven? After cooking all the mix-ins of course. I have made a paleo stuffing before and had to make “bread” and then cut it all up and add all the mix-ins and eggs and then cook it. Just want to make sure I’m understanding it correctly! Thanks!

    Reply
    • It can all be made in one dish if you have a cast iron pan, however not all the ingredients are added at the same time. First the veggies/herbs/apples need to be sauteed, then the other ingredients are added before baking.

      Reply
  39. 5 stars
    LOVED this recipe. Made it for Thanksgiving. I added a finely chopped potato. Next time, I will also add finely chopped kale to make it an all in one dish. (In the meantime, I’ve been warming up leftovers with chopped kale and a little squeezed lemon–YUM!!)

    Thanks so much! I’m GF and it was so nice to be able to have something so glorious for Thanksgiving.

    Reply
  40. 5 stars
    Made this to go with a smoked pork loin we shared with friends on Yuletide yesterday. The recipe doesn’t say to bake it covered, so I didn’t. As delicious as it was (everyone thought so) I think I would have preferred it to be a little more moist. I think next time I’ll cover it for the first 20 – 25 minutes and uncover it for the rest of the time. I baked it for 45 minutes total.

    Reply
    • Sunflower seed flour is the closest substitute to almond flour but I haven’t tested it in this recipe so I’m not sure how it would affect the flavor. Some people describe sunflour as mild and nutty but in my very limited experience I have found it to be more bitter than almond flour. Also just FYI, sunflour sometimes turns green due to chemical reactions when baked. It’s totally safe to eat but can be quite a surprise. 🙂

      Reply
  41. Curious, what type of apple do you use for this recipe? Initially I thought Granny Smith, but am now leaning towards a lady Alice apple. Thanks!

    Reply
  42. 5 stars
    Delicious, everyone enjoyed it. I also added a few cloves of Garlic and a few dashes of turmeric. The little bit of leftovers froze well.

    Reply