This Gluten Free Stuffing with Sausage, Apple, & Cranberry tastes just like the real thing – no one will know the difference! Made with gluten free bread, it’s the best recipe for your holiday dinner.
Stuffing is the thing I look forward to most around the holidays. But it can be a bummer when you go gluten free if your favorite thing to eat is stuffing.
Little did I realize how easy it was to use gluten free bread to make an amazing stuffing recipe – and that’s how this gluten free stuffing came to be. I took my traditional recipe and tweaked it until it became a thing of gluten free beauty.
Truly this stuffing is delicious and no one will be able to tell it’s gluten free.
How To Make Gluten Free Stuffing
Step 1: Toast the bread
Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Grease a 9×13 casserole dish with some butter, until bottom and all sides are lightly covered. Set dish aside.
Once the oven has come to temperature, place the cubed bread on a sheet pan and bake in the oven for 25 minutes, flipping or stirring as needed, until bread is no longer soft and is starting to brown slightly.
The cooking time here will depend on how stale your bread is; if you start with fresh bread, you may need up to 50 minutes.
Once bread is done toasting, place into a large mixing bowl. Set aside.
Step 2: Prep the stuffing
Change the temperature of the oven to 350 degrees F.
Place sausage and onion in a pan on the stove and cook with a wooden spoon or spatula until sausage is no longer pink and onions are cooked through.
Once sausage and onion are done cooking, toss in the sage, rosemary, thyme, and celery, cooking for 2 to 3 minutes until herbs are fragrant.
Pour sausage mixture over the bread in the mixing bowl. Toss in cranberries, apple, water chestnuts, and parsley, then mix with a wooden spoon until well combined.
Step 3: Bake the Stuffing
Pour the stuffing mixture into a greased casserole dish, and pour butter then stock evenly over the mixture.
Cover the dish with aluminum foil and place it in the oven, setting the timer for 25 minutes.
Once timer goes off take the dish out, stir with a spoon to mix the stuffing up a bit, then recover with foil and place back in the oven for 15 minutes.
After the timer goes off a second time, take dish out of the oven, stir again, then place back in the oven for 15 more minutes, this time uncovered.
Serve immediately – it will cool off quickly so should be one of the last items cooked before Thanksgiving dinner.
You may have a couple of questions about gluten free stuffing – let’s get to those now.
Which bread is best for gluten free stuffing?
The gluten free bread I typically use is Franz Gluten Free 7 Grain bread as I think it has a good texture and taste, but I've also used Canyon Bakehouse bread and it turned out great too.
Can I use fresh cranberries instead of dried ones?
No, definitely don't use fresh cranberries! I made that mistake, and it did not work out well. Dried cranberries are the way to go, preferably ones that are not sweetened with sugar as that can make the dish slightly too sweet (in my opinion).
Can I use dried herbs instead of fresh ones?
You can, but your stuffing isn't going to taste quite as good. One of the best parts of this recipe is the fresh herbs. You'll be able to tell the difference when you're mixing the herbs and celery in with the sausage - it smells absolutely amazing.
Can I make this stuffing ahead of time?
Yes! The day before you want to finish cooking it, make the recipe as instructed up until Step 3. Heat a tablespoon of butter and drizzle it over the stuffing, then let it cool and cover it with plastic wrap and place it in the fridge overnight. Take it out about 30 minutes prior to when you want to bake it. Pour the broth and remaining melted butter over the stuffing and bake as written.
Recipe Tips
- For this recipe, it’s best to use stale bread. I usually set it out for a couple hours before I toast it in the oven, but setting it out longer is fine too.
- The best sausage to use is a mild pork breakfast sausage, as that doesn’t overwhelm the other flavors in this dish, however you can use another mild sausage if desired.
- The best apple to use is one that is not too sweet. Granny Smith, Braeburn, or Pink Lady work well.
- The texture of the stuffing ends up being on the drier side of stuffing. If you like a wet, thicker stuffing, use 1/2 cup more stock. If you like a very dry stuffing, use 1/2 cup less stock.
And that’s it! It really is the only gluten free stuffing recipe you’ll ever need. Winner, winner, stuffing dinner.
Pin this Gluten Free Stuffing Recipe for Later!
IF YOU NEED HELP WITH A TURKEY, TAKE A LOOK AT THESE POSTS:
- How to Make Turkey Stock (Whole30, Paleo, GF)
- How to Dry Brine a Turkey
- Smoked Turkey Recipe (Whole30, Paleo, GF)
- Turkey Stock Recipe (Whole30, Paleo, GF)
- Internal Temperature for Meats
- How to Use a Meat Thermometer
OR IF YOU’RE LOOKING FOR OTHER GREAT THANKSGIVING RECIPES, CHECK THESE OUT:
- Sautéed Green Beans with Shallots (Whole30, Paleo, GF)
- Honey Butter Roasted Carrots (GF)
- Maple Roasted Brussels Sprouts (Paleo, GF)
- Cornbread Muffins (GF, DF)
- Sweet Potato Casserole (GF)
- Pomegranate Cocktail (GF)
- Holiday Trail Mix (GF)
And be sure to check out this massive list of 70 Gluten Free Holiday Side Dishes!
If you try this Gluten Free Stuffing recipe (or any other recipe) then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how it went in the comments below. It totally makes my day to hear how a recipe worked out for you.
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Recipe for Gluten Free Stuffing
Gluten Free Sausage, Apple, and Cranberry Stuffing
Ingredients
- 5.5 cups cubed gluten free bread
- 1 pound mild pork breakfast sausage
- 1.5 cups onion diced
- 3/4 cup chopped celery 2-3 stalks
- 1.5 tsp fresh thyme leaves
- 12 fresh sage leaves medium sized, chopped into small pieces
- 4.5 tsp fresh rosemary leaves finely chopped
- 3/4 cup dried cranberries coarsely chopped
- 1 apple cored and diced
- 1/2 cup water chestnuts diced
- 1/3 cup fresh parsley minced
- 4 tablespoons butter melted (plus more to grease dish)
- 1 cup chicken or turkey stock
Instructions
Items Needed:
- One large sheet pan
- One large pan for cooking on the stove
- One wooden spoon or spatula
- One large mixing bowl
- One 9x13 casserole dish
- Aluminum foil
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
- Grease a 9x13 casserole dish with some butter, until bottom and all sides are lightly covered. Set dish aside.
- Once oven has come to temperature, place the cubed bread on the sheet pan and bake in oven for 25 minutes, flipping or stirring as needed, until bread is no longer soft and is starting to brown slightly.
- Once bread is done toasting, place into a large mixing bowl. Set aside.
- Change the temperature of the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Place sausage and onion in pan on the stove and cook with a wooden spoon or spatula until sausage is no longer pink and onions are cooked through.
- Once sausage and onion are done cooking, toss in the sage, rosemary, thyme, and celery, cooking for 2 to 3 minutes until herbs are fragrant.
- Pour sausage mixture over the bread in the mixing bowl. Toss in cranberries, apple, water chestnuts, and parsley, then mix with wooden spoon until well combined.
- Pour mixture into greased casserole dish, and pour butter then stock even over the mixture.
- Cover the dish with aluminum foil and place in the oven, setting the timer for 25 minutes.
- Once timer goes off, take the dish out, stir, then recover with foil and place back in the oven for 15 minutes.
- After the timer goes off a second time, take dish out of the oven, stir, then place back in the oven for 15 more minutes, this time uncovered.
- Remove dish from oven once timer goes off, letting sit 5-10 minutes to cool slightly before eating.
- ***If you wish to make this dish ahead of time, cook all the way through step 8. Then place the sausage mixture into the greased casserole dish and pour 1 tablespoon of butter over it evenly. Wait for it to cool, then cover with plastic wrap and place in fridge overnight. Once ready to cook, take the dish out of the fridge and bring to room temperature. Pour the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter and the stock over and cook as directed above.
Notes
- It is best to use day old bread for this recipe, or bread that has been sitting out for a couple hours. If you use fresh bread, you may need to toast it longer in the oven.
- This recipe calls for fresh herbs because they taste so much better in the dish than dried herbs. In a pinch you can used dried, just cut the amount by 1/3.
- This is a slightly dry stuffing. If you like a wet, thicker stuffing, use 1/2 cup more stock. If you like a very dry stuffing, use 1/2 cup less stock.
- The best sausage to use is a mild pork breakfast sausage, as that doesn’t overwhelm the other flavors in this dish, however you can use another mild sausage if desired.
- The best apple to use is one that is not too sweet. Granny Smith, Braeburn, or Fuji work well.
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