Gluten Free Stuffing

This gluten free stuffing tastes just like your mother used to make with one important difference – it’s gluten free! Feel free to customize it with your favorite herb combo or try it with multigrain bread.



Whether you’re preparing a big Thanksgiving dinner or simply serving roast chicken on a weekday night, there’s one side dish you absolutely must have: stuffing.

Stuffing or dressing is typically made with chunks of bread cooked with butter, onions, and celery, seasoned with herbs like thyme and sage. Traditionally stuffed into a turkey or chicken (hence the name), stuffing helps keep the meat moist during cooking while adding a hint of flavor.

If you follow the gluten free diet, you may find yourself mourning the loss of your favorite dishes, especially around the holidays. Fortunately, you no longer have to live without stuffing.

Gluten free stuffing is surprisingly easy to make. In fact, the recipe isn’t terribly different from any other with the major exception of using gluten free bread. With a few other simple tweaks, you can enjoy the unique texture and flavor of tender stuffing paired with your favorite roasted poultry. Schär Gluten Free Bread makes it simple, no matter your level of cooking skill.

With a good loaf of bread and some flavorful herbs, you can whip up a batch of homemade gluten free stuffing in no time. Read on to learn some simple tips and to see our favorite recipe!

Tips for Making Gluten Free Stuffing

Many traditional dishes can be made gluten free with a few simple alterations. When it comes to stuffing, the biggest change you’ll need to make is swapping out regular wheat bread for a Schär Gluten Free variety. Because gluten free bread is different from regular bread, however, you may need to make a few other alterations to the recipe to make sure your stuffing turns out well.

Here are some simple tips to ensure delicious gluten free stuffing:

1. Sauté your veggies. Though some people like a little crunch in their stuffing, you don’t want any surprises so sauté your veggies to make sure they’re soft and to release all that tasty flavor.
2. Toast the bread first. Most traditional stuffing recipes call for day-old bread to make sure it isn’t too moist when it goes into the bird. Gluten free bread tends to dry out more quickly than wheat bread, however, so if you want the right texture without it going completely stale you should try toasting it instead.
3. Try adding a dash of soy sauce. If you want to give your stuffing an added depth of savory flavor, try adding a dash of gluten free soy sauce to the chicken stock when mixing it together.
4. Add a few eggs to the recipe. Gluten free bread doesn’t have gluten to keep it together, so you may need the help of an egg or two to act as a binder. Eggs give it a consistency more like bread pudding than a gooey mess of wet bread.
5. Bake it properly. Starting the bake with your stuffing covered helps the flavors meld and the bread to set. Finishing it off uncovered helps you get that nice brown and crispy crust on top.

Everyone has their own preferences when it comes to stuffing, so don’t be afraid to do a little experimentation on your own. Try it with Schär Artisan Baker Multigrain Bread or use your own blend of herbs. You can also add things like dried cranberries, sautéed mushrooms, or even browned sausage!

Can You Use Gluten Free Stuffing in the Bird?

Many families still follow the tradition of stuffing the Thanksgiving turkey before roasting. Unfortunately, if you’re gluten free you may not only need to avoid traditional stuffing but the bird itself if it’s been stuffed with regular wheat bread. Even if you stick to the outermost meat of the bird, once the juices get flowing during cooking, they may carry the gluten protein throughout.

This begs the question; can you stuff a turkey with gluten free stuffing?

Unfortunately, there’s no simple “yes” or “no” answer to this question. It really depends on the recipe you’re using, the size of the bird, the bake time, and other factors. Generally speaking, gluten free bread doesn’t tend to hold up as well as wheat bread when it comes to moisture – it tends to break down and turn mushy (that’s why we recommend toasting the bread for gluten free stuffing).

You might be able to make gluten free stuffing work inside a roasted bird, but we haven’t found a recipe that works consistently. If you want to avoid mushy stuffing, it’s best to bake the stuffing separately.

Recipe: Gluten Free Stuffing

This gluten free stuffing tastes just like your mother used to make with one important difference – it’s gluten free! Feel free to customize it with your favorite herb combo or try it with multigrain bread.

Servings: 8 to 10

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 package Schär Artisan Baker White Bread
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 cup diced celery
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• ½ teaspoon ground sage
• 2 large eggs
• 1 ½ cups chicken stock

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 300°F.
2. Cut the Schär Artisan Baker White Bread into cubes and spread on a rimmed baking sheet.
3. Drizzle the bread cubes with oil and toss with a pinch of salt and pepper.
4. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes or so, until dry and lightly toasted.
5. Remove the toasted bread from the oven and set aside to cool.
6. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat.
7. Add the onion and celery then season with a pinch of salt – sauté for 15 minutes until soft.
8. Stir in the garlic, thyme, and sage then season with salt and pepper as desired.
9. Cook for another 2 minutes then remove from heat.
10. Increase the oven temperature to 375°F and warm the chicken stock in a saucepan until simmering.
11. Whisk the eggs in a medium bowl then, while whisking, drizzle in the stock a few tablespoons at a time.
12. Transfer the bread cubes to a large bowl then toss with the vegetables and stock mixture.
13. Pour the mixture into a lightly greased 9x13-inch baking dish and cover tightly with foil.
14. Bake, covered, for 30 minutes then uncover and bake for another 10 to 15 minutes until browned on top.

Notes:

1. If you want to prepare your stuffing in advance, you can toast the bread and make the onion/celery mixture the night before. Transfer the onion/celery mixture to sealed container and refrigerate overnight – let the bread sit at room temperature. When you’re ready to prepare it, simply toss with the eggs and stock then bake as instructed.