Gluten Free Stuffing with Sausage and Apples made with homemade bread cubes that actually taste like a copycat Pepperidge Farm herbed mix! The perfect side dish for Thanksgiving or whenever you want to make delicious homemade stuffing! This post contains affiliate links for products I’m obsessed with.
Unpopular opinion: I don’t love stuffing.
Well, I actually really do love my Instant Pot Stuffing with Brown Rice and Sausage, but as far as regular stuffing that includes bread…I am just not the biggest fan.
Yet so many of you do love it…so much that a Gluten Free Stuffing was high on your list for a Healthy Thanksgiving Side for me to create.
And because I love you all so much, I dove into testing easy, homemade stuffing recipes and I think I came up with something delicious.
But first, another confession: in my 40+ years of Thanksgiving dinners, any time I do love a stuffing…it’s always the boxed or bagged kind.
Is this just me?
Is anyone at all with me here?
Gluten Free Stuffing Cubes
Anyway…
Before making a Gluten Free Stuffing, I set out to make Gluten Free Stuffing Cubes that taste, you guessed it, like the kind you get out of a bag. The Pepperidge Farm kind to be exact.
So I toasted up my favorite Canyon Gluten free bread in the oven with some butter, poultry seasoning, onion powder, garlic powder, and salt. And honestly, they really did taste like boxed stuffing cubes – full of flavor and perfectly crisp!
How to Make Gluten Free Stuffing
Once my stuffing cubes were finished, it was time to put together the stuffing
Along with the typical veggies like celery and onions, some added some spicy Italian Chicken Sausage and Apples to my mix. So yum!
Just mix up that deliciousness with your homemade stuffing cubes, add some broth, and bake for 30 minutes or until your stuffing cubes are crispy on top!
And you know what, I actually really enjoyed this stuffing! And I hope you really do, too!
Some quick Gluten Free Stuffing FAQs:
- You can make the stuffing cubes days ahead of time.
- You can also prep the whole stuffing dish the day before Thanksgiving and just bake it after your Turkey is done on Thanksgiving day.
- If you aren’t gluten free, you can sub your favorite bread in this recipe! 21 Day Fixers, you should use whole grain to stay on plan.
- If you are vegan, you can leave out the sausage and use veggie broth instead of chicken broth with your veggies.
- If you like your stuffing a little more…umm…moist…you can add more broth!
More Gluten Free Thanksgiving Recipes
Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes [Dairy Free]
Healthy Sweet Potato Casserole [21 Day Fix | Gluten-free | Dairy-free | Paleo]
Cauliflower Au Gratin [21 Day Fix | Keto Friendly | Gluten Free | WW ]
Crispy Brussels Sprouts with Bacon, Parmesan, and Balsamic
Maple Cider Holiday Salad [21 Day Fix | 2B Mindset]
Instant Pot Turkey Breast and Potatoes
40+ Gluten Free Thanksgiving Recipes
Gluten Free Stuffing with Sausage + Apple
Ingredients
- 8 slices gluten free bread I prefer Canyon Gluten Free
- 3 tablespoons butter or vegan butter divided
- 1 ½ teaspoons poultry seasoning
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ¾ teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ⅛ teaspoon Black pepper I just do a few shakes
- olive oil cooking spray
- 1 lb chicken or turkey sausage removed from casing
- 4 stalks celery sliced thin
- 1 sweet onion
- 2 cups diced apples I love Honeycrisp (~2 large apples)
- 1 ½ - 2 cups chicken broth
- Optional garnish - fresh thyme
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Slice up gluten free bread into cubes and place on a parchment lined baking sheet.
- Drizzle 2 Tbsp of the melted butter and sprinkle poultry seasoning, onion powder, salt and pepper over top. Stir bread cubes well, then place in the oven for 1½ hours to toast and dry them. Let cool and store in an airtight container until you are ready to use.
- When you are ready to cook your stuffing, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Spray a pan with olive oil cooking spray and brown sausage until cooked through. Add your celery, onions, apple and cook for 1-2 minutes, or until fragrant.
- Add ½ cup of broth and a sprinkle of salt, then continue cook until veggies are soft. Remove from heat. Spray a casserole dish (8x8 or 9x13) and place veggie and sausage mixture inside. Stir in stuffing cubes and then pour broth over the top of the stuffing until the bread is just barely soaked through (you may not need all of the broth!).
- Brush top of stuffing with the remaining 1 Tbsp of melted butter. Cook for 30 minutes or so or until the top starts to brown and get slightly crispy. Optional - broil on low for a few minutes at the end to really crisp up your cubes - be sure you watch VERY carefully...don’t walk away!
- Garnish with fresh thyme.
April Rigney says
First time making a dish for Thanksgiving. I’m so grateful to have Confessions of a fit foodie to help me make some delicious & healthy. You’re the best Nancylynn
Happy Thanksgiving
Michelle Battitori says
Thoughts on making this ahead of time?
Nancylynn says
Hi! This works great as a make ahead dish! I would prep everything a day or two before, assemble, and then place it in the fridge. Bake on the day of! Enjoy!