Description
The best super simple gluten free Thanksgiving stuffing with a subtle maple flavor and chopped pecans! See blog post above for any questions about substitutions!
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 lb gluten free bread*, torn into 1” cubes
- 1 stick of unsalted butter (1/2 cup), plus more for baking dish
- 2 + 1/2 cups diced onions
- 1 + 1/2 cups celery (cut into 1/4″ pieces)
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 cup chopped pecans
- 1/2 cup fresh Italian parsley, roughly chopped
- 2 tbsp fresh sage, finely diced
- 1 tbsp fresh thyme, stems removed and finely diced
- 1 tbsp fresh rosemary sprigs, stems removed and finely diced
- 2 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
- 2 + 1/4 cups low sodium chicken broth, divided
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
- 2 eggs
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 250°F. Tear your bread into 1″ cubes and line on a baking sheet. Bake for 45-55 minutes, until mostly dried out. Set aside.
- In a large pan over medium heat, melt the stick of butter then stir in the onions and celery. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes. Set aside to slightly cool.
- Preheat oven to 350°F and generously grease a 9×13″ baking dish with butter. In a large bowl, mix together the bread cubes, pecans, fresh herbs, and all of the seasonings. Pour over 1 + 1/4 cup of the broth, the maple syrup, and the onion and celery mixture, and toss gently to combine. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs with the remaining 1 cup of broth. Gently fold into the stuffing mixture until everything is well combined.
- Pour stuffing mixture into your greased baking dish. Cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes, then uncover and bake for 40-50 minutes, until top is slightly browned and crispy and stuffing is set. Allow to cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.
- To reheat leftovers: Add a splash of broth and reheat in a 350°F oven until warmed through, adding more broth as needed.
- To make ahead: Do the first round of baking where the stuffing is covered in foil, then allow to completely cool before covering and placing in the fridge. When ready to bake, uncover and bake for 50-60 minutes, until top is slightly browned and crispy and stuffing is set.
Notes
*My loaf of bread was 18 oz; it’s ok to go a little over 1 lb.
This dish is amazing!! I added mushrooms but otherwise followed the recipe exactly. SO good.
Rebecca, did you find it sweet with the maple syrup or not too much? I want to make this recipe but don’t love sweet flavors in savory dishes. Also, how do you think a bit of sausage might taste in this dish? Thanks in advance, I’m about to make this tomorrow!
It’s not too sweet! You could leave out the maple and replace with broth, but it’s a super subtle maple flavor! I think this would be amazing with some sausage!! I haven’t made it that way but you should be able to keep things as is!
I’d love to make this! For the “make ahead” instructions – is it okay to make ahead up to 3 days in advance?
Hi Emily! I haven’t tried that- it may be ok but I don’t want to say for sure- I don’t see it being a huge issue! You may need to add more broth if it dries out a bit!
This was the HIT of the small Friendsgiving I attended. I didn’t have sage and used extra rosemary. So delicious!
★★★★★
Can I use olive oil to sauté the onion & celery instead of butter?
i would recommend vegan butter before olive oil! you can try it, but i’m not sure if it will effect the taste and texture of the final result with olive oil!
This is the best stuffing! I made it with a good sourdough loaf and everyone loved it. Such a hit— already thinking about how I can make it outside of the holidays. Thank you, Mia!!!
This recipe was so easy to make and is so delicious!!! My non-gluten free family loved it too!! I will definitely be making this again in the future 🙂
★★★★★
This stuffing was the star of my thanksgiving and I am soo happy I have leftovers still 🙂 I left out the maple syrup and pecans because I’m a bit of a purist but everything else was so spot on flavor-wise and cooking down the veg with butter before mixing took it to another level!! So good.
★★★★★
Wow what a sweet compliment!! Thank you soo much Paige! 🙂
could i use dairy free butter if i am dairy free? also could i leave out the parsley?
Dairy free butter will work! Leaving out the parsley is fine but will lose a bit of the herb flavor
I made this for my first stuffing ever (normally make cornbread dressing) and it turned out great! I substituted veggie stock to make it vegetarian and I used sourdough bread (did not need gluten free). I highly recommend for the holidays!
★★★★★
Made this weekend for Thanksgiving (Canada!!). I am gluten free but none of my friends are, I was nervous to make it and have everyone say it tasted bad cause it was gluten free. But it was soooo good!!!! Tastes better than regular stuffing in my opinion. Will definitely be making every year. I made ahead – dried the bread out and did the covered baking in the early afternoon, and then transported it and baked it for about 30 more minutes right before dinner 🙂
★★★★★
Had a gf stuffing recipe similar using Van’s gf waffles (2 boxes), non-gf folks loved it too. That recipe has long been lost! 🙁 I wonder how substituting the waffles for the bread would hold up… Also, why the eggs? I don’t recall seeing eggs in a stuffing recipe before. Concerned it will look like an egg bake. What do you think?
Hi Terri,
Eggs are used in many stuffing recipes as a binder- it’s pretty common and it’s a small amount so it definitely doesn’t end up like an egg bake! As for the waffles, it’s hard for me to say! I’ve never made a stuffing with waffles I’m sorry I can’t help there!
Thanks for replying! I’ll let you know how it turns out!
May I ask what GF bread did you use? Thanks so much! – Mo
★★★★★
Canyon Bakehouse! So sorry for the delay!
Garlic – is this considered part of the ‘herb’ group? I don’t see it mentioned in the recipe steps. If not, when is it added, sautéed, or other?
I decided against the Van’s waffles in my previous post, 😝. Why ruin a good thing, right?! I’m using Canyon & Udi’s.
Hi Terri! I’m so sorry i am just seeing this! The garlic gets sautéed- so sorry about that I will look into where the directions need some editing!
Love this recipe! Where does the garlic go? With spices or with onion and celery?