Paleo Holiday stuffing, without the bread!
Have you noticed my no-bread theme? Whether it’s no-bread sandwiches or no-bread pizza crusts, I’m determined to find simple and tasty ways to renovate old favorites with a grain-free twist.
I desperately wanted a stuffing recipe I could prepare for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners, so I went to the drawing board to come up with a solution for bread-free stuffing. I settled on a few special ingredients to provide a dense, satisfying texture with a deeply savory flavor.
I’ve been working on this recipe since last year, which meant I’ve been eating this stuffing since September for recipe testing. And I certainly don’t plan on relegating this dish to the holidays in the future… it is one of my favorite vegetable recipes ever.
I used chanterelle mushrooms in the recipe pictures here, but feel free to substitute your favorite mushrooms.
This recipe is inspired by Mickey’s recipe for an autoimmune-paleo-friendly cranberry stuffing (I adore Mickey’, her site, and her book, The Autoimmune Paleo Cookbook. I did a book review here). She uses chopped mushroom, riced cauliflower, some chopped sweet potato and some chopped apple. I’ve tweaked this version to be lower carb, using squash instead of the sweet potato and upping the veggies.
A couple of years ago I share my Make-Ahead Thanksgiving Menu, and I will be inspired by that same menu this year – with the addition of this stuffing, of course.
- 4 Tbs. ghee, bacon grease, coconut oil, or olive oil
- 1 head cauliflower, cut into florets
- 2 - 3 cups diced butternut squash
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 cloves minced garlic
- 8 oz chopped mushrooms of choice (I've used chanterelles, baby bellas, or shitakes)
- 1 granny smith apple, diced
- ½ tsp. chopped fresh thyme
- ½ tsp. chopped fresh rosemary
- Sea salt and pepper
- Preheat the oven to 400 and line two baking sheets/glass baking dishes with unbleached parchment paper. Put the cauliflower on one sheet, and the squash on the other. Toss the cauliflower and squash each with 1 Tbs. of melted cooking fat.
- Roast until the cauliflower is tender and has golden brown edges, about 30 minutes. Stir halfway through. Roast the squash until golden and tender, stirring halfway through, about 40 minutes.
- Meanwhile, melt the last 2 Tbs. cooking fat in a heavy skillet. Add the onion and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently, over medium head until soft and almost caramelized.
- Add the garlic, cook for a minute. Add the mushrooms and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Finally, add the diced apple and sauté for about 5 minutes, until softened but still firm. If necessary, add another tablespoon of fat.
- Finely chop the herbs. In a large serving dish, toss together all the components: the squash, cauliflower, and mushrooms. Season with the herbs, salt and pepper.
We had this for dinner tonight after many nights of Thanksgiving and its leftovers. It was wonderful. Thank you so much.
Had this for Thanksgiving dinner today and it was soooo delicious. Thank you so much for sharing the recipe, Lauren. Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving celebration with family and friends.
We remains required cooking recipes for daibaties .
I made this for Thanksgiving and stuffed the turkey with it. My friend is a professional chef & brought a traditional bread stuffing. Guess which one got absolutely rave reviews? Yep, I was thrilled and it tasted even better the next day. I used organic mushroom broth to moisten it and it was soooo good. Thank you Lauren.
Do you stuff the turkey with this mixture, then cook the turkey as usual??
Can this be made one day before?
How crucial are the mushrooms in this recipe? I have picky eaters who do not like them.
Made this with our Thanksgiving dinner, and it was amazing!
My friend is a professional chef & brought a traditional bread stuffing. Had this for Thanksgiving dinner today and it was so delicious. Thank you so much for sharing the recipe, Lauren. I was thrilled and it tasted even better the next day. I used the organic mushroom broth to moisten it and it was so good.
That’s awesome to hear, so glad you enjoyed the recipe!
I tried this last night after finding it on Pinterest and we loved it! It’s definitely on my list to make again!
How do you reheat it?