Bring the flavors you remember most to the table in this moist and fluffy Gluten-Free Stuffing with Apples and Sausage. Flavorful meat, fresh herbs, toasted bread cubes, and sweet apples come together in this unforgettable Thanksgiving dish, creating that special punch that makes it a traditional favorite. Because the steps are simple, you may have just found a new family recipe that can be made and on the table in under and hour!
This recipe takes stale bread or toasted bread cubes to the next level by combining them with fresh herbs to create the most delicious gluten-free stuffing ever your Thanksgiving table has ever seen. It's the kind of stuffing you will want to make again and again and believe me, we have!
Since no holiday meal or Thanksgiving dinner is complete without an easy stuffing recipe, I wanted to share my family's original recipe with you. While I love to serve it with a large bowl of cranberry sauce it's also fantastic with gluten-free turkey. My gluten-free green bean casserole with homemade fried onions (they are the secret ingredient) is another hit when served up with this delicious stuffing! This recipe is my go to stuffing and the only one I have made for the last 10 years now.
Other helpful information: Here is what I recommend for how early can you make Thanksgiving sides. You can also use our Thanksgiving non perishable foods list to help you with shelf stable cooking. And don't forget the gluten free Thanksgiving desserts.
Other reasons we love it...
It's a meal or a side - You can make this stuffing a whole meal rather than just a side dish thanks to the filling bread and sausage. You can enjoy it on its own or drizzled with homemade gluten-free gravy.
Easy to adjust for other allergies - This recipe is simple to make dairy-free and or vegan. Simply remove the sausage, use vegetable broth instead of chicken stock and swap out the butter for a dairy-free or vegan butter or olive oil. It is how I make it now and nobody can tell the difference.
Grab these key ingredients
Gluten free bread of course - For classic stuffing, regular bread is used, but to make it gluten-free, you have to swap that out for a different type of bread. While any gluten-free bread works, I feel like my gluten-free sourdough bread is superior to others both in taste and texture.
For a store bought variety, Canyon Bakehouse brand is the best gluten-free bread. If you can't find it, there is a Trader Joes brand that also works great. Just make sure you don't use fresh bread to make our favorite stuffing recipe. You really need it to be stale or day old and dry.
You can even use gluten-free cornbread if you want a cornbread stuffing.
Good butter - The same goes for butter. I only use Kerrygold if I am making it with dairy or another high quality dairy free option. They make this gluten-free stuffing taste like the real thing.
High quality sausage - While pork is my favorite for the fat content, you can certainly do a chicken or turkey sausage as well. If you like a kick, chorizo works as well.
Other Stuffing Mix-Ins:
I have chosen my favorite things already to add to this sausage apple stuffing. However, there are a variety of other things you could include.
- Shallots
- Celery
- Fresh sage
- Chestnuts
- Toasted pecans
- Roasted beets
- Fresh or dried cranberries
- Currents
- Peppers
- Diced potatoes
Ok let's make some stuffing!
First, I preheat the oven to 350 degrees and then start by chopping up the apple chips and veggies.
Next, in a large skillet or frying pan brown the sausage over medium heat with salt, onion and garlic powder and black pepper, making sure to crumble the sausage. Then melt butter into the vegetables and apple chips.
Cook everything together until the vegetables are softened and sausage is cooked through.
Pro Tip: Cooking the vegetable mixture together brings out a fantastic flavor that will come through so well in this sausage apple stuffing.
Serve your golden brown, easy gluten-free stuffing up in a large bowl with some fresh parsley on top. I personally think it is even better the next day when heated up in a skillet.
We hope you love this sausage apple stuffing as much as we did. I can't wait to hear what other ingredients you chose to add to yours! Please let us know in the comments.
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Fluffy Gluten Free Stuffing with Apples and Sausage
Ingredients
- 1 pound breakfast sausage
- 7 slices gluten-free bread I love Canyon Bakehouse
- 1 cup chicken broth
- ⅔ cup apple chips chopped
- ¼ cup onion diced
- ½ cup carrots diced
- ⅓ cup shaved or diced Brussels sprouts
- 3 tablespoon butter
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary chopped
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- dash of cracked black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Fry sausage in a pan with salt, onion and garlic powder and black pepper, making sure to crumble the sausage
- Add butter then saute carrots, onion, apple, Brussels sprouts and chopped rosemary until vegetables are softened and sausage cooked through
- Meanwhile, dice the bread into cubes and spread out onto a baking sheet
- Bake for 12 minutes at 350 degrees
- Place bread cubes, sausage mixture and apples into a baking dish
- Pour 1 C chicken brother everything evenly
- Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes
Notes
Nutrition
This recipe was originally posted on December 10, 2018. We have updated it in October 2019 then again June 2022 with more information and helpful instructions.
Aly says
Can I skip the Brussels
Sprouts? Or substitute another vegg?
Chandice says
Most definitely, you can leave it out or substitute.
Trina flores says
Is this good to stuff the turkey with? Or best cooked outside the bird?
Chandice says
Hi Trina, it is best cooked outside of the bird but you can certainly cook it in as well. You would need to cook it longer.
Lyn says
What a great flavor combination! Definitely making this for Thanksgiving!
Chandice says
Thanks, you are going to love it!
Kayla Klontz says
I like the dried cranberries, I might liven it up with some grapes.