Paleo Cranberry Flax Stuffing with a Grain-free Bread Recipe

December 18, 2012 By Leanne Vogel December 12, 2018

Christmas is a week away (as if you need a reminder) and you need a new stuffing recipe. Yes, you do. If you’re like most of the folks out there, including myself, you’ve done the same thing year after year, relied on the same recipes for the holidays… it’s time to spice things up!

Sure, you could go with a yummy gluten-free rice stuffing, but if you’re grain-free that doesn’t really help the situation.

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I'm ready!

No, what you need is a recipe for a healthy grain-free bread to make a classic stuffing that also happens to be paleo.

Yes, that is what you need.

And, if you’re sensitive to eggs, I have a solution for that.

If you’re vegan, there’s an option for you.

Heck, even if you have allergies to nuts there are options.

No matter your allergies, you will get to enjoy your Christmas stuffing! Unless of course you are one of those people that don’t like stuffing.

You’re not one of those people that doesn’t like stuffing… are you?

Inspired by About.com Vegetarian Sweet Cranberry Stuffing Recipe

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5.0 from 1 reviews

Paleo Cranberry Flax Stuffing

Author: Leanne Vogel

Recipe type: Vegan (option), Gluten-free, Dairy-free, Refined sugar-free, Yeast-free, Corn-free, Nut-free (option), Grain-free

Prep time: 30 mins

Cook time: 35 mins

Total time: 1 hour 5 mins

Serves: 12

A gluten-free, dairy-free, paleo stuffing recipe that's perfect for the holidays. Made up of homemade flax bread, cranberries, apple juice and a hint of ginger, it'll surprise you in all the right ways!

Ingredients

1 loaf of grain-free bread (recipe below and also here)
½ cup dried unsweetened cranberries
1 cup apple juice - I used homemade
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 red onion, diced - yield 1 cup
2 stalks celery, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
¼ cup fresh parsley
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
½ teaspoon dried ground sage
¼ teaspoon black pepper
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Instructions

Roughly chop fresh-baked bread into 1 inch chunks (it doesn't have to be perfect). Place the pieces on a large baking sheet and place in the oven (do not turn it on!). Keep it there for 24 hours. If it's still moist, let it sit in a 170F oven for about 20 minutes or so. The bread should be a bit more moist than croutons, but not soft. This step will help the bread retain its shape in the stuffing, so don't skip it!
Place the bread chunks in a large bowl and set aside.
Preheat oven to 350F and lightly grease a 2.3 L/2.5 qt. casserole dish with a dab of coconut or olive oil.
Combine apple juice and dried cranberries in a small bowl. Set aside.
Heat olive oil in a large pan on medium-high heat. Add onion, celery and garlic and cook until soft, about 7 minutes. Add remaining ingredients, parsley, thyme, sage, pepper, salt, ginger and cinnamon, and stir to combine.
Add vegetable mixture to bread and toss to combine being sure not to over mix.
Now, pour the apple juice and cranberry mixture over top. Again, be sure not to over mix, just toss, then add to the prepared casserole dish.
Cover and bake in preheated oven for 35 minutes.
Remove from the oven and let sit with the cover on for 5 minutes.

Notes

For a nut-free alternative, you could try to make your own bread using a recipe like this, however it is not grain-free. You could also use store bought gluten-free bread if you're not concerned with grains and want to make this recipe vegan. You'll need about 6 cups of cubed bread for the recipe. If you're looking for an egg-free, grain-free, vegan bread check out this recipe. You could also try making socca and using it as a bread base.

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I chose to make my own apple juice for this grain-free stuffing recipe. Feel free to use whatever is easiest for you. I felt all wholesome when I made my own juice for this, like I’d made this recipe completely from scratch. It felt nice.

Okay, so you want to cut up the celery, onions and mince the garlic. Add it to a pan with oil and saute it until it’s soft like the picture below to the right.

Once that’s done, add the remaining spices. You may think that cinnamon is a crazy idea… just go for it. You’ll like it.

Add the veggie mixture to the chunks of bread and toss to coat. I find picking up the bowl and tossing it like that is easiest and will avoid anything breaking up too much.

Add the apple juice that’s been added to the dried cranberries. Toss a bit…

then drop everything in your well-oiled casserole dish.

Bake that baby, then let it sit with the lid on for a couple of minutes so it gets a bit soft and nice as stuffing should be.

Okay, now for the homemade grain-free bread…

Lightly adapted from Elana’s Pantry.

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5.0 from 1 reviews

Grain-free Flax Bread

Author: Leanne Vogel

Recipe type: Gluten-free, Dairy-free, Refined sugar-free, Yeast-free, Corn-free, Grain-free

Prep time: 15 mins

Cook time: 30 mins

Total time: 45 mins

Serves: 16

Homemade grain-free bread that's free of yeast and highly versatile!

Ingredients

Dry:

2 cups blanched almond flour
1 cup + 2 tablespoons arrowroot starch
¼ cup ground flax seed
2 tablespoons whole flax seed
¾ teaspoon gluten-free baking soda
½ teaspoon sea salt

Wet:

6 eggs
1½ teaspoon coconut nectar
1½ teaspoon apple cider vinegar

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350F and oil a 9.25x5.25 loaf pan with a dab of coconut oil or olive oil.
Combine dry ingredients in a medium-sized bowl.
Add eggs to your blender and blend until foamy and light, about 4 minutes. Add remaining wet ingredients, pulse, and pour into a large bowl.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir to combine.
Pour mixture into prepared loaf pan and bake for 30-32 minutes or until top is golden and a toothpick inserted into the top of the loaf comes out clean.
Remove from the oven and remove from the loaf pan immediately. To do this, flip it upside down and tap the bottom of the pan a bit. If oiled well enough, the loaf should pop right out. If not, use force. Doesn't matter if it breaks, you're making stuffing out of it anyways.

Notes

I have not tried to make this recipe without eggs. If you do, I would recommend splitting the recipe in half and making two loaves instead of one so that the mixture can fully bake through. I'm not sure it would work completely, but if you try it, let me know!

View nutrition information (once on page, scroll down)

Begin by raiding Bulk Barn. They have everything there, I’m telling you. Every gluten-free flour, baking product, condiment you need. I love them.

Add all of your dry ingredients together in a bowl. Whisk and set aside.

Then blend your eggs!

I keep a Magic Bullet in the kitchen for these small jobs. It’s easier to clean that my Vitamix and doesn’t take up as much space. Plus, when you have small jobs that just have a couple of tablespoons of liquids, the vitamix just can’t blend them. The Magic Bullet does.