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| Gluten-Free Stuffing with Dried Cranberries and Pecans makes a nice Thanksgiving side dish |
Have you ever tried to make your own homemade turkey stuffing before? It's not as difficult as you might think!
I grew up going to a huge Thanksgiving family gathering every year, so I honestly don't know how the stuffing was made, but when I was raising my kids, I always took the fast route and used Stove Top Stuffing Mix instead of making my own.
I really, really liked Stove Top because it was packed with flavor and had tons of spices and seasonings that made it the best stuffing I'd ever had.
But unfortunately, that stuffing mix contains gluten.
If you've recently been diagnosed, it might be hard for you to understand what contains gluten and what does not. If you have celiac disease or non-celiac gluten sensitivity, you cannot have any kind of bread, even white bread.
If you are a super sensitive celiac, it can be even harder to determine what is safe, or not.
Hubby doesn't care much for turkey stuffing, so I don't normally make it for Thanksgiving, but a few years ago, he wanted to try some homemade gluten-free stuffing.
It took a bit of work.
I'm not going to lie and say it didn't.
You have to toast and dry out the bread ahead of time, but the results were well worth the labor it took.
While that might sound a bit over-the-top, it's really not.
All it takes is one single stray breadcrumb to put you reacting to gluten for several weeks due to cross contamination.
Instead, I cut the bread into cubes when the bread was still soft, so the cubes would be uniform. I then dried it out in the oven a bit, and let it air dry some more for several days until those little cubes were crisp.
You can also make your own gluten-free bread if you like. You don't have to use a store-bought bread. This is actually the best option for me because I react to the whole grains and added fiber that's found in most store-bought gluten-free bread today.
For stuffing, there is no such thing as overcooked or bread that's too dense and dry because you want the bread to be very dry before mixing in the other ingredients.
Most people want stuffing that is quite moist, but if you don't, you can use less chicken broth than the recipe calls for. Just add enough to get the bread slightly less moist than you want it to be when its done.
As the turkey or chicken bakes, it will release juices into the stuffing mixture.
Beware of already prepared chicken broth that comes in a can or box.
If using already prepared broth, make sure that it is marked gluten free because most brands of broth are not safe. It won't be noticeable on the label or in the ingredient listing because the problem with broth is barley flavoring instead of wheat, but some brands do add wheat flour.
We used to use Knorr Swiss powdered bouillon for broth, but that brand is no longer gluten free. It contains yeast extract, which comes from the beer-making procedure (barley). So, today, we use Herb Ox, which I found at Albertson's.
The stuffing will be much better if the bread is made ahead and the spices have time to sit on the bread cubes for a couple of days.
Ingredients:
1 loaf of gluten-free bread
2 tablespoons dried parsley (or 1/3 cup fresh)
1 tablespoon dried sage
2 tablespoons poultry seasonings
1 teaspoon Mrs. Dash Herb & Garlic Seasoning Mix
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon seasoning salt
1 teaspoon seasoned pepper
1 medium purple onion, chopped
1 to 2 cups chopped celery
1/4 cup melted butter
1 to 2 cups homemade chicken broth or prepared bouillon
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
Directions:
Cut the loaf of bread into cubes.
You can toast them in the oven at 350 degrees for about 40 to 60 minutes, if you want, stirring occasionally. If so, remove from the oven and allow the bread cubes to air dry until they are good and crisp.
I allowed them to sit out for a couple of days before adding the spices, so I did ours way ahead of Thanksgiving.
Sprinkle the bread cubes with dried parsley. If using fresh parsley, you'll have to add it later on, when you're make the turkey dressing up. Add sage, poultry seasonings, Mrs. Dash, onion powder, seasoning salt, and seasoned pepper. Toss well to coat as evenly as possible.
Let sit until it's time to make the dressing. I let the spices sit on the bread for two or three days ahead.
Add onions and chopped celery.
Sprinkle with melted butter and 1 cup of chicken broth and toss well. Add more chicken broth until the mixture is as wet as you want it to be. Fold in the dried cranberries and chopped nuts.
This gluten-free stuffing mixture can be baked in a crock pot, in a casserole dish, or stuffed into a chicken, a few game hens, or a large turkey. Make sure that you don't allow the stuffing to stay in the bird once it's cooked. Remove it right away to a serving dish, or it will continue to cook.
Precautions
If this is your very first Thanksgiving gluten free, then you need to know that you cannot cook regular stuffing inside the turkey or you will contaminate the entire bird.While that might sound a bit over-the-top, it's really not.
All it takes is one single stray breadcrumb to put you reacting to gluten for several weeks due to cross contamination.
Just ONE!
So please, don't take chances with your health.
If you've been gluten free for awhile, and you're still reacting to tiny fragments of gluten, make sure that you aren't getting contaminated by those little gravy packets that come in the bird.
It's easy to cut into the packet and spill gravy all over the turkey.
That happened to us a few years ago. We gave the bird to our landlord, who lived upstairs, because you can't wash it off good enough. We went back to the store and picked up a new bird.
Washing it off isn't appropriate because it's too easy for gluten to cling to the skin.
It's impossible to wash off all of that gluten.
If you're gluten free, there are a variety of stuffing mixes on the market today that are comparable to Stove Top.
But, I honestly haven't tried any of them, so I don't know how savory they actually are. Nor do I know how safe they might be for those of us who are extra sensitive to gluten.
For gluten-free stuffing, you want the bread to be good and dry, so the cheapest brand of safe gluten-free bread that you can find is fine for this recipe. I started toasting the bread and then realized that I really didn't have to do it that way.
So please, don't take chances with your health.
If you've been gluten free for awhile, and you're still reacting to tiny fragments of gluten, make sure that you aren't getting contaminated by those little gravy packets that come in the bird.
It's easy to cut into the packet and spill gravy all over the turkey.
That happened to us a few years ago. We gave the bird to our landlord, who lived upstairs, because you can't wash it off good enough. We went back to the store and picked up a new bird.
Washing it off isn't appropriate because it's too easy for gluten to cling to the skin.
It's impossible to wash off all of that gluten.
Gluten-Free Stuffing Tips
If you're gluten free, there are a variety of stuffing mixes on the market today that are comparable to Stove Top.
But, I honestly haven't tried any of them, so I don't know how savory they actually are. Nor do I know how safe they might be for those of us who are extra sensitive to gluten.
For gluten-free stuffing, you want the bread to be good and dry, so the cheapest brand of safe gluten-free bread that you can find is fine for this recipe. I started toasting the bread and then realized that I really didn't have to do it that way.
Instead, I cut the bread into cubes when the bread was still soft, so the cubes would be uniform. I then dried it out in the oven a bit, and let it air dry some more for several days until those little cubes were crisp.
You can also make your own gluten-free bread if you like. You don't have to use a store-bought bread. This is actually the best option for me because I react to the whole grains and added fiber that's found in most store-bought gluten-free bread today.
For stuffing, there is no such thing as overcooked or bread that's too dense and dry because you want the bread to be very dry before mixing in the other ingredients.
Most people want stuffing that is quite moist, but if you don't, you can use less chicken broth than the recipe calls for. Just add enough to get the bread slightly less moist than you want it to be when its done.
As the turkey or chicken bakes, it will release juices into the stuffing mixture.
Beware of already prepared chicken broth that comes in a can or box.
If using already prepared broth, make sure that it is marked gluten free because most brands of broth are not safe. It won't be noticeable on the label or in the ingredient listing because the problem with broth is barley flavoring instead of wheat, but some brands do add wheat flour.
We used to use Knorr Swiss powdered bouillon for broth, but that brand is no longer gluten free. It contains yeast extract, which comes from the beer-making procedure (barley). So, today, we use Herb Ox, which I found at Albertson's.
If you don't like purple onions, or are on a stricter budget than we are, you can use white or the cheaper yellow onions if you prefer. Hubby likes the purple ones, so that is what we use, but you can use whatever you can afford instead.
The stuffing will be much better if the bread is made ahead and the spices have time to sit on the bread cubes for a couple of days.
Homemade Gluten-Free Stuffing
Ingredients:
1 loaf of gluten-free bread
2 tablespoons dried parsley (or 1/3 cup fresh)
1 tablespoon dried sage
2 tablespoons poultry seasonings
1 teaspoon Mrs. Dash Herb & Garlic Seasoning Mix
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon seasoning salt
1 teaspoon seasoned pepper
1 medium purple onion, chopped
1 to 2 cups chopped celery
1/4 cup melted butter
1 to 2 cups homemade chicken broth or prepared bouillon
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
Directions:
Cut the loaf of bread into cubes.
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| Place cut cubes on a large cookie sheet for easier handling. |
You can toast them in the oven at 350 degrees for about 40 to 60 minutes, if you want, stirring occasionally. If so, remove from the oven and allow the bread cubes to air dry until they are good and crisp.
I allowed them to sit out for a couple of days before adding the spices, so I did ours way ahead of Thanksgiving.
Sprinkle the bread cubes with dried parsley. If using fresh parsley, you'll have to add it later on, when you're make the turkey dressing up. Add sage, poultry seasonings, Mrs. Dash, onion powder, seasoning salt, and seasoned pepper. Toss well to coat as evenly as possible.
Let sit until it's time to make the dressing. I let the spices sit on the bread for two or three days ahead.
Add onions and chopped celery.
Sprinkle with melted butter and 1 cup of chicken broth and toss well. Add more chicken broth until the mixture is as wet as you want it to be. Fold in the dried cranberries and chopped nuts.
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| This is about as dry as we like our gluten-free stuffing mixture to be. Add more broth if you want it wetter. |
This gluten-free stuffing mixture can be baked in a crock pot, in a casserole dish, or stuffed into a chicken, a few game hens, or a large turkey. Make sure that you don't allow the stuffing to stay in the bird once it's cooked. Remove it right away to a serving dish, or it will continue to cook.
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