stuffing in a white baking dish with a wooden spoon and a bowl of sweet potatoes

The best ever gluten free Thanksgiving stuffing! Super simple, full of flavor, and you would never know it’s gluten free!

I am SO exciting to share this recipe with you guys! I have always wanted to perfect a gluten free Thanksgiving stuffing, but I was always intimidated! After some trial and error, 3 rounds of testing (and eating lots of leftovers), I am happy to say this stuffing is exactly how I wanted it to be.

It has a subtle maple flavor while still being perfectly savory, and chopped pecans for some added texture and crunch. The blend of herbs and seasonings brings out the most amazing flavor, and everything ties to together so perfectly.

The top gets a little browned and a bit crunchy/toasty, while the inside stays perfectly moist (but not too wet).

stuffing in a white baking dish with a wooden spoon and a bowl of sweet potatoes

Can I make this with regular bread?

Yes! Although I haven’t tried it myself, I think this would work perfectly fine with regular bread if you don’t need it to be gluten free. I actually think this would be delicious with sourdough bread!

Can I leave the pecans out?

Yes- they add a delicious texture and crunch, and go well with the subtle maple flavor, but you can skip them if you need this to be nut free!

Can I make this dairy free?

If you have a vegan butter than you use and love, go for it! I would just make sure it’s not one that has a strong coconut flavor or anything, but instead use one that tastes as similar as possible to regular butter.

Can I make this vegan?

Unfortunately no. You will need the eggs for this recipe to act as a binder for the stuffing! However, if you need this to be vegetarian and eggs are ok, you can use veggie broth in place of chicken broth!

stuffing in a white baking dish with a wooden spoon and a bowl of sweet potatoes

I’ve included instructions for making ahead, as well as reheating leftovers, so be sure to check those out if you need some tips for planning ahead!

I truly cannot wait to hear what you guys think of this one. Please let me know if you bring this to your Thanksgiving tables- it makes me so happy to hear when you make my recipes for holidays :). Be sure to leave a comment and rating below if you give this stuffing a try! Love you all! xo

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The Best Gluten Free Thanksgiving Stuffing

  • Author: Mia Zarlengo
  • Prep Time: 20 minutes
  • Cook Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
  • Total Time: 1 hour 50 minutes
  • Yield: 810 servings 1x
  • Category: Sides

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

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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. 
  4. 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.
  5. To reheat leftovers: Add a splash of broth and reheat in a 350°F oven until warmed through, adding more broth as needed. 
  6. 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. 

Appetizers + Sides, Gluten Free, Recipes, Vegetarian

Category:

Nov 16, 2020

The Best Gluten Free Thanksgiving Stuffing

Did you make this recipe? Be sure to tag @gatherednutrition on INstagram so I can see what you made! Leaving a rating and review on the site is a huge help too!

  1. Rebecca says:

    This dish is amazing!! I added mushrooms but otherwise followed the recipe exactly. SO good.

    • Erin says:

      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!

      • Mia Zarlengo says:

        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!

  2. Emily says:

    I’d love to make this! For the “make ahead” instructions – is it okay to make ahead up to 3 days in advance?

    • Mia Zarlengo says:

      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!

  3. Sarah says:

    This was the HIT of the small Friendsgiving I attended. I didn’t have sage and used extra rosemary. So delicious!

  4. Cheryl says:

    Can I use olive oil to sauté the onion & celery instead of butter?

    • Mia Zarlengo says:

      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!

  5. Kari says:

    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!!!

  6. Ashley Friedman says:

    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 🙂

  7. Paige says:

    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.

  8. dana says:

    could i use dairy free butter if i am dairy free? also could i leave out the parsley?

  9. Emma says:

    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!

  10. jasmine bigham says:

    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 🙂

  11. Terri Duganne says:

    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?

    • Mia Swinehart says:

      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!

  12. Mo says:

    May I ask what GF bread did you use? Thanks so much! – Mo

  13. Terri Duganne says:

    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.

    • Mia Swinehart says:

      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!

  14. Kayla McGuinness says:

    Love this recipe! Where does the garlic go? With spices or with onion and celery?

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