Quinoa Apple Onion Stuffing

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