This easy gluten-free stuffing recipe is hearty, flavorful and easy to make with simple ingredients: toasted gluten-free bread (homemade or store-bought!), sautéd onions & celery, sausage, herbs, apple & a splash of wine. You can even make it egg-free and/or dairy-free with a few simple swaps.
This gluten-free sausage stuffing is full of all the classic flavors & textures you’d expect from a traditional stuffing. It’s the perfect dish to share this holiday season – one the gluten-free folks and gluten eaters can both enjoy!
How to Make this Gluten Free Sausage Stuffing
Broken down into bite-sized steps:
- toast the bread
- sauté veggies then brown the sausage
- add wine & apples & reduce liquid
- toss bread & sausage mixture together then add stock
- transfer to baking dish
- bake
Toast bread cubes: Bake about 30-40 minutes or until the bread is crisp, dry and lightly golden.
Sauté onion & celery: Stir and cook in a large skillet with some salt & pepper about 5 minutes to soften the veggies.
Tip! Stale Bread is Ideal 🍞
When it comes to making stuffing, you need very dry/stale bread to soak up with flavor/liquids without going mushy. This is why you ideally want to use stale or day-old bread that’s been left out in the open.
Brown sausage: Add sausage meat (removed from the casing) & herbs to pan. Cook about 5 minutes or until almost no pink remains.
Add apples & wine (or juice): Raise the temp to simmer the wine. Stir & cook until the liquid has mostly evaporated.
Combine: Gently toss toasted bread & the sausage mixture together in a large bowl to combine.
Slowly add stock: Add 1/2 cup stock at a time – don’t add all at once or it will make your bread soggy.
Baking Dish: Spoon the mixture into a greased, large baking dish in an even layer.
Bake: Bake 40-45 minute or until golden brown & crisp on top. Cover with foil if it browns too fast.
A Few Quick Notes & Things to Keep in Mind
Additions➕
- Nuts: Add some crunch with chopped almonds, walnuts, pecans, pistachios or pine nuts. Toasted nuts taste better, but you can use un toasted too.
- More Veggies: Add about 1 cup sliced mushrooms and/or carrot. Sauté along with the onion & celery.
- Dried Fruit: Add up to 1 cup dried raisins, cranberries or diced figs for a little extra sweetness & color.
Substitutions ↔
- Poultry Seasoning >> If you don’t have a pre-blended poultry seasoning on hand you can use a simplified version of the unmixed spices:
- 1½ tsp dried sage + 1 tsp dried thyme + ½ tsp dried rosemary + pinch of nutmeg
- Or use any combination of sage, thyme and rosemary that adds up to 1 tbsp dried herbs.
- Wine >> Use hard apple cider (alcoholic) instead of wine or 100% apple juice for an alcohol-free option.
What Type of bread?
- You’ve got options: sourdough, French bread, tiger bread, ciabatta and even focaccia work.
- Start out with an unsliced load if possible so you can cut the bread up into your preferred bread cube size.
- Dry, stale gluten-free bread is best. If working with a new/fresh loaf – leave it uncovered in the open over night or a few hours if time permits.
Make it Dairy Free and/or Egg Free
- Swap dairy butter for vegan butter or olive oil
- Consider your bread. Choose a dairy free and/or egg free bread. Options will vary depending on where you live.
- Store Bought Options:
- Genius: Tiger Bloomer, White Bread Loaf & Five-Seed Loaf
- The ingredient list egg-free & the product page specifically states that this bread is vegan, but does warn if may not be suitable to those with an egg allergy. My guess is it’s a cross contamination issue so keep that in mind and check it’s alright with you.
- Katz Gluten-Free Egg-Free Bread
- Check out the list of vegan products from Schar.
- Genius: Tiger Bloomer, White Bread Loaf & Five-Seed Loaf
- Homemade Options:
- Easy Gluten Free Bread Recipe (dairy free)
- Gluten Free Focaccia Recipe (vegan)
- Gluten Free Vegan French Bread
- Store Bought Options:
Make Ahead
You can partially cook & prep the stuffing 2-3 days ahead of time or freeze the cooked stuffing for up to 3 months.
- Partial Prep & refrigerate: Toast the bread & cook the sausage mixture, but do not combine until just before baking. Store the toasted bread at room temperature & keep the sausage mixture in an airtight container in the fridge until you’re ready to mix and bake.
- Freeze the finished stuffing: Cool to room temperature then store in a freezer-safe container. Label and enjoy within 3 months.
- Reheat: Thaw in the fridge overnight then reheat in the oven at 350°F (180°C) for about 20-25 minutes or until cooked through (internal temp: 165°C/74°C).
More Gluten-Free Recipes to Serve on your Holiday Table
- Bacon and Brussels Sprout Salad
- Apple Cranberry Sauce
- Scalloped Sweet Potatoes with Bacon & Herb Sauce
- Honey Mustard Bacon Wrapped Green Beans
- Gluten Free Dinner Rolls
- Roasted Sweet Potatoes Recipe
- Mashed Potatoes with Cauliflower
- Vegan Mashed Potatoes without Milk
- Gluten-Free Pumpkin Pie
- Gluten-Free Pecan Pie (Paleo!)
Enjoy!
Let me know if you try this homemade Gluten-Free Sausage Stuffing! Leave a comment and review with your thoughts. I always appreciate the feedback and serving suggestions that you come up with!
Gluten Free Stuffing with Sausage & Apple Recipe
This gluten-free stuffing recipe is made with toasted bread, savory sausage & sweet apple - perfect to share at your Thanksgiving table or holiday dinner!
Ingredients
- 1 lb gluten free bread cut into ½-1-inch cubes (450g)
- 3 tbsp salted or unsalted butter (42g)
- 1 white onion, diced
- 3 celery stalks, diced (150g)
- ½ tsp salt & pepper, each
- 1 tbsp poultry seasoning*
- 2 tsp dried parsley or 2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
- 1 lb uncooked sausage, casing removed (450g)
- ¼ cup dry white wine, hard apple cider or unsweetened apple juice (60ml)
- 1 medium green apple, cored & diced
- 2 cups low sodium chicken broth or vegetable broth (420ml)
- optional - 1 cup chopped nuts and/or dried cranberries, etc
Instructions
Toast Bread
- Dry bread: Preheat oven to 300°F (150°C). Spread the bread cubes across 2 large, rimmed baking sheets. Bake for about 30 minutes or until the bread is lightly browned & crisp. The bigger and fresher your bread pieces are the longer the cook time. Transfer to a large mixing bowl & set aside.
- Oven Prep: Raise the oven temperature to 350°F (180°C).
Sausage Mixture
- Sauté veggies: Melt butter in a large sauté pan over a medium-high heat. Add onion, celery, salt & pepper. Sauté about 5 minutes until the veggies soften.
- Cook sausage: Add the sausage meat, poultry seasoning and parsley to the veggie mixture. Break the sausage up with a spoon. Cook about 5 minutes until the sausage is browned.
- Wine & apples: Add wine and apples to the sausage and veggie mixture. Raise the temperature to simmer and cook until most of the liquid has evaporated.
Combine & Bake
- Add to bread: Tip the sausage mixture int the bowl with the toasted bread. Toss to combine.
- Add stock: Slowly pour the stock all over the top of bread & sausage 1/2 cup at a time. Mix in between each addition of stock.
- Bake: Spoon the stuffing mixture into a greased 9x13-inch or any 3-4 quart baking dish. If baking inside a turkey, let the mixture cool fully before stuffing. Bake in the middle of the oven for for 40-45 minutes or until lightly browned & crisp on top. If the top starts to go brown & crisp too early, with aluminum foil to finish baking.
- Garnish & Serve: Remove from oven and let cool a few minutes. Garnish with fresh herbs if desired and serve warm.
- Leftovers: Store in an airtight container in the fridge up to 5 days or in the freezer up to 3 months.
Notes
- Poultry Seasoning Substitute: 1½ tsp dried sage + 1 tsp dried thyme + ½ tsp dried rosemary + pinch of nutmeg.
- Make it Dairy Free and/or Egg Free: Swap dairy butter for vegan butter. Use a gluten free + vegan bread (make sure it's egg & dairy free).
- Make Ahead: Toast the bread & cook the sausage mixture. Do not add the bread + sausage together. Cool the sausage mixture and store in an airtight container in the fridge up to 3 days. When you're ready to bake, toss with the toasted bread and proceed with the recipe as usual.
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