A Delicious Recipe for Gluten Free Stuffing – with Fennel, Red Onion & Spicy Sausage
This delicious recipe for gluten free stuffing is a fun twist on a classic. In it, a loaf of gluten-free rustic bread is torn, rather than cubed to create wonderful, craggy bits of crunchy and tender. Then it’s combined with homemade fennel sausage, and large chunks of red onion and fresh fennel for outstanding flavors and textures.
Instructions, description and recipe card updated 11/3/21.
Jump to RecipeA Delicious and Easy Recipe for Gluten Free Stuffing for Thanksgiving
My mom is a traditionalist. Okay, I am too. Sometime in the 1980s my mom discovered the amazing stuffing recipe from the Silver Palate Cookbook with THREE types of bread. In the days leading up to Thanksgiving, our counters were topped with racks of air drying wheat and white bread slices. Then, once dry, we tossed the cubes with sautéed apples, pecans, celery, a pile of herbs and browned maple breakfast sausage. There was also the important addition of cornbread. And that was always homemade.
When Mom passed me the baton, and I started hosting the Thanksgiving, I didn’t stray from the traditional recipe. It was just too beloved. But 30 years with the same stuffing recipe is a long time, and I got a little bored (sorry Mom). So lately, I’ve started mixing it up a little, swapping the breakfast sausage with homemade fennel sausage, and the apples with sliced fresh fennel and red onions. And I also swapped out the three kinds of bread (hard to do gluten-free anyway), for a stale rustic loaf. What resulted is this recipe. I love that it maintains the general idea of our classic Thanksgiving stuffing, but I also appreciate the updated flavors. I think you will too!
Here’s what else you should serve for Thanksgiving:
- An Easy and Impressive Salad for Thanksgiving
- Buttermilk Sage Mashed Potatoes
- Gluten Free Boozy Mini Cranberry Cheesecake Tarts
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Gluten Free Stuffing Recipe with Fennel, Red Onion & Spicy Sausage
Equipment
- 9×13 inch baking dish
Ingredients
- 1 loaf rustic bread 1½ pounds (gluten-free)
- 1 pound ground turkey
- 1 tablespoon fennel seeds
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup or brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon red chili flakes
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 4 stalks celery sliced
- 1 large red onion sliced
- 1 large fennel bulb sliced (reserve the fronds for garnish)
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon dried sage
- ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
- 4 eggs
- 2 cups turkey broth or chicken broth
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- The night before you plan to bake the stuffing prepare the bread and the sausage.
- Tear the bread into large, bite sized chunks and set on a rack to dry out over night.
- To make the sausage lightly toast the fennel seeds in a dry skillet until fragrant and grind up with a mortar and pestle. Add to the ground turkey, along with the garlic, maple syrup, and chili flakes. Salt and pepper to taste, cover and refrigerate overnight so the flavors will meld.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and grease a 9 x 11 inch baking dish and set aside.
- Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat and add the celery, onion, and fennel and saute until slightly tender, but not mushy. Set aside to cool. Stir in the dried thyme, sage and parsley and place in a large bowl along with the dried bread.
- Grease a skillet and brown the sausage over medium heat, breaking it up into small chunks. Cool and add to the bowl.
- Beat the eggs with the turkey broth and pour over the stuffing mixture and fold well, making sure everything is thoroughly mixed. Season well with salt and pepper to taste.
- Turn stuffing into the prepared baking dish and cover with foil. Let sit at room temp for 45 minutes, allowing the broth mixture to soak into the bread.
- Bake, still covered for 45 minutes, remove the foil and bake for an additional 30 minutes or until the top is lightly golden brown.
- While baking, thinly slice the shallot. Heat the olive oil in a small skillet over medium high heat. When shimmering, add the shallot slices, and separate the rings with a fork. Stirring often, saute the shallot until it's golden brown and crisp. Remove from the pan and drain on paper towels. Use to garnish the stuffing, along with the reserved fennel fronds.
