Paleo Thanksgiving Cornbread Stuffing (AIP & Grain Free)
This paleo Thanksgiving Cornbread Stuffing is made with a corn-free cornbread, and all of the classic stuffing ingredients that you know and love! It’s paleo, AIP, grain free, and perfect for the holidays.
Paleo Thanksgiving Cornbread Stuffing
Stuffing is one of those Thanksgiving staples that you just can’t really miss. Traditionally it’s made with bread, which just isn’t happening for a paleo, AIP, or grain-free diet. There are plenty of recipes out there for stuffing with just vegetables, which I’m totally game for and have shared myself. However, what about when you’re just really craving that classic comfort food? That’s why I made this Paleo Thanksgiving Cornbread Stuffing! It’s paleo, AIP, grain free, and just like the real thing.
The only thing that’s different in this stuffing is that there isn’t any butter, and the cornbread is grain free… that’s it! Other than that, it’s just like a traditional stuffing. It’s the kind of thing where you can potentially fool Thanksgiving guests!
The Ingredients
- Paleo/AIP “Corn”bread. It sounds like an oxymoron, but it’s real! My cornbread muffin recipe is delicious and works perfectly in this recipe.
- Avocado Oil. For sautéing the vegetables.
- Chicken Broth. This helps keep the stuffing moist when baking.
- Egg. This binds the stuffing, but you can leave it out if you don’t tolerate it. However, the stuffing won’t bind as well.
- Celery, onion, and apple. Celery and onion are classic stuffing ingredients, and I think the apple added a little something extra.
- Dried cranberries, parsley, sea salt, sage, rosemary, and thyme. These amp up the flavor!
How to make Paleo Cornbread Stuffing
- Dry the cornbread in the oven.
- Prep the vegetables. Using a medium skillet, heat the avocado oil over medium heat. Add the onion, and celery and saute for 5-6 minutes or until lightly tender. Stir in the apple for another 2 minutes to lightly soften.
- Combine the stuffing. Prepare a bowl with the corn muffin cubes and add the celery, onion, dried cranberries, seasonings, and broth mixture. Toss the entire mixture together with a rubber spatula to fully combine.
- Bake. Add the stuffing mixture to the baking dish and cover. Bake in the preheated oven covered for 25 minutes. Remove the cover and bake for another 12-15 minutes or until lightly golden brown.
- Serve! Serve topped with additional thyme and dried cranberries.
Can you make this stuffing without the egg?
You can leave out the egg if you don’t tolerate eggs, but it won’t bind quite as well. You can also try egg substitutes like a gelatin egg or flax egg.
How do you reheat this stuffing?
The best way to reheat this stuffing is to add 2-3 more tablespoons of broth and reheat it in the oven for a few minutes! This keeps it from drying out, and helps it taste fresh.
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Paleo Thankgiving Cornbread Stuffing (AIP & Grain Free)
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Ingredients
- 1 batch cornbread muffins, chopped into large cubes
- 2 tbsp avocado oil
- 1 medium white onion, diced
- 3 stalks celery, chopped
- 1 granny smith apple, peeled and chopped
- 1 egg, whisked (see notes for AIP)
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 2 tsp chopped parsley, fresh
- 2 tsp fresh rosemary leaves
- 2 tsp dried sage
- 1 tsp fresh thyme, plus extra for garnish
- ½ tsp sea salt
- 2 tbsp dried cranberries
Instructions
- To dry the cornbread, preheat the oven to 250 F and bake the cornbread muffins for 30 minutes, tossing halfway through. Set aside on the counter.
- Preheat the oven to 350 F and lightly grease an 8×8″ casserole dish.
- Using a medium skillet, heat the avocado oil over medium heat. Add the onion, and celery and saute for 5-6 minutes or until lightly tender. Stir in the apple for another 2 minutes to lightly soften. Set aside.
- In a smaller bowl, whisk the broth and egg together. Set aside.
- Prepare a bowl with the corn muffin cubes and add the celery, onion, dried cranberries, seasonings, and broth mixture. Toss the entire mixture together with a rubber spatula to fully combine. The mixture will be soft and wet.
- Add the stuffing mixture to the baking dish and cover. Bake in the preheated oven covered for 25 minutes. Remove the cover and bake for another 12-15 minutes or until lightly golden brown.
- Serve topped with additional thyme and dried cranberries.
Notes
This post was originally published in 2018 and the recipe and photos were updated in 2021.
Recipe by Michelle, Unbound Wellness. Photos by Eat Love Eats
If I’m swapping for my own bread, how many cups would I need?
The recipe uses about 6-7 cornbread muffins so I would just try to reach that equivalent
This was delightful! I couldn’t find AIP compliant dried cranberries so I went with dried cherries and it was divine.
So glad you enjoyed!
Can this be made with another bread of choice? (In thinking of the gluten-free millet bread that I eat)
You probably can, yes! As long as the measurements are the same.
What is the measurement of bread in cups?
Hi, Nicole! It would be roughly 3 cups of bread.
Sorry, one more thing…are all the herb amounts listed fresh or dried? Thank you!
The parsley, rosemary, and thyme are fresh. The sage is dried.
I forgot to add my stars to my comment! Oops.
I made this last thanksgiving and this thanksgiving. I noticed I forgot to add my review. This recipe is awesome! It makes Thanksgiving dinner for me. This year I used the juices leftover from my turkey roasting ( which may be fattier) instead of broth, because broth gives me a headache. Thanks for the wonderful recipe!
Can this be made with dried seasonings instead? I know the rosemary is supposed to be fresh, but what about the others? Thanks!
We basically had an Unbound Wellness Thanksgiving this past year with this stuffing, your green bean casserole, and butternut squash poppers lol. All of it was so delicious, but stuffing has always been my favorite Thanksgiving food and this one with the cornbread was amazing! Loved it!
Ah thank you, SO MUCH Carrie! I’m so grateful that you enjoyed everything. Thank you so much for commenting 🙂 Happy New Year!
Michelle, I made this for Thanksgiving yesterday. Since our traditional cornbread dressing is savory and not sweet, I omitted the sweet ingredients. My fear was that the sweetness of the coconut flour would be off putting but it was wonderful!! My husband loved it and my daughter and mom couldn’t believe it was paleo. Thank you for sharing such a great recipe!
Thank you so so much Lanae! I’m so happy you liked it!!
Do you dry the cornbread cubes out before prepping this dish?