Looking for a clean, unprocessed, gluten free, but still delicious and hearty Thanksgiving stuffing (or dressing as we southerners call it) recipe? Well, look no further! I created this recipe based on a few stuffing recipes I’ve tried over the years and substituted quinoa for the traditional bread. This recipe could also be made with a wild rice blend as well and still be gluten free!
A couple of weeks ago Jessica and I tested a wild rice stuff recipe that didn’t really turn out the way we would have liked. So I started doing a little experimenting and came up with this one. Success! Its delicious, not too heavy but still hearty and flavorful. This stuffing could be served alone or to stuff a turkey, either way it will be a hit with your clean eaters (and probably the traditional stuffing aficionados too.)
Ok, so I started by cooking to quinoa in homemade herb chicken stock. I haven’t shared that recipe here yet, but will soon I promise! It’s super simple. If you really want it NOW, comment below and I’ll send the recipe quick (without photos.) While the quinoa was cooking, I chopped up all my other stuff; local apple, local onion, celery, fresh sage, fresh rosemary, fresh parsley, and fresh local cremini mushrooms. I put all those ingredients plus some dried cranberries, dried marjoram, salt and pepper in a skillet and sauteed with some olive oil. Once the quinoa was done, I put the apple onion mixture in the pot with the quinoa and mixed the goodness together. I preheated the oven to 350 degrees F and added the quinoa mixture to a baking dish. Then I topped the mixture with a handful of slivered almonds. Popped that sucker in the oven for about 10 minutes, then turned on the broiler on low for about 3-4 minutes. Took it out, let it rest for a few and dove in!
Now, most recipes like this would call for poultry seasoning, but since most store bought one come with chemicals and preservatives, I just used fresh herbs instead.
Local Ingredients: Fuji Apple, picked at a local orchard. Local onion from my relay foods local grocery box delivery. Local Cremini Mushrooms, from the local farm stand but ultimately from a local mountain farm here that grows all kinds of mushrooms.
Kitchen Gadget: A good knife is very important. Here is a link to one that we like a lot. Victorinox Swiss Army 8-Inch Fibrox Straight Edge Chef’s Knife
Quinoa Apple Onion Stuffing Ingedients
Local Apple, Onion, and Mushrooms!
Quinoa Cooking - Almost done
Fresh Ingredients Sauteing
Mix it all together!
Ready for the Oven
Quinoa Apple Onion Stuffing
Enjoy!
Ingredients
3/4 cup Quinoa (I used rainbow blend, but plain would be fine)
2 1/2 cups Homemade Herb Chicken Stock (store bought would be fine)
1/2 Onion, chopped
3 small Cremini Mushrooms, chopped
1 Fuji Apple, chopped
2 Celery Stalks, chopped
1 tablespoon Fresh Sage, chopped (about 1--15 leaves)
1 tablespoon Fresh Rosemary, chopped (about 2 1/2 stalks)
1/2 tablespoon Fresh Flat Leaf Parsley, chopped
1 tablespoon Dried Marjoram
1 cup Dried Cranberries, Organic and Unsweetened
1/2 teaspoon Sea Salt
1/4 teaspoon Fresh Cracked Black Pepper
1/2 cup Slivered Almonds
Olive Oil
1/4 cup Herb Chicken Broth (if, needed)
Additional Dried Cranberries for garnish if desired
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Put quinoa and 2 1/2 cups chicken broth in a medium sauce pan and turn onto medium high heat. Allow it to come to a boil and then turn the heat down to medium low. Cook about 15 minutes or until just tender.(It should gently simmer not boil once the heat is turned down)
- In a medium skillet, add all remaining ingredients except almonds and saute until tender and fragrant. About 10-15 minutes, starting on medium high heat and finishing on medium low.
- Once the quinoa and apple onion mixture are both finished mix them together in the saucepan. Stir to combine well. If this mixture is a little dry here add about 1/4 cup more chicken broth.
- Put the mixture into a sprayed baking dish and cover with the slivered almonds.
- Put dish in the oven for about 10 minutes, then turn on the broiler to low and cook for 3-4 minutes until almonds begin to brown.
- Remove from oven and let the dish rest for about 5 minutes.
- Serve and enjoy!
[…] This quinoa stuff is such an easy and tasty replacement to traditional holiday dressing. This recipe can be ready in just about an hour. The sweet apple and tart cranberry are a perfect combination with the almond and nuttiness of the quinoa. Click here for the recipe. […]