A great Thanksgiving side dish — gluten free Sausage Stuffing Balls. Transform your stuffing into an elegant side dish for your holiday table or into a seasonal dinner for any day. I’ve used my grandma’s gluten free cornbread stuffing recipe, and jazzed it up with apples, chicken sausage, and lots of fresh sage.
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An Elegant Thanksgiving Side Dish
Have you ever made stuffing balls? If not – join in on the craze!
My favorite part of the stuffing are the crunchy pieces that have been baked against the edge of the casserole dish. These stuffing balls maximize the crunchy pieces!
Besides being packed full of sausage, apples, and fresh sage, they are just so elegant. Rather than serving a casserole dish, try these individual portions of stuffing to elevate your holiday dinner presentation.
How to Make Sausage Stuffing Balls with Gluten Free Cornbread
These stuffing balls are a jazzed up version of my favorite stuffing, my grandma’s cornbread stuffing, made with my gluten free cornbread recipe.
Making stuffing balls is similar to making regular stuffing. The first step is to saute your veggies. I added chopped apples and lots of fresh sage to this step.
With a typical stuffing recipe, it doesn’t really matter if the veggies are sauteed super soft, because it will be baked for a long time. These only bake for about 15-20 minutes, so it’s important to take your time and really saute the veggies well, so they are soft and add a deep flavor to your stuffing balls.
Once your veggies are done, add some apple cider to infuse these with even more apple flavor, and some chicken stock (or turkey stock, if you’re already baking your turkey!), and then reduce the liquid. This will add flavor and keep your stuffing balls moist, without making them too soft to form into balls.
Add your chunks of cornbread, or use any bread that works for your family’s dietary needs, and combine.
Once the mixture has cooled some, add a beaten egg, then stir to coat. This will just help the balls hold together in a nice shape.
Bake for 20 minutes, and add this gorgeous side dish to your table!
We love eating these along with cauliflower mash and roasted veggies with cranberry sauce. No need to wait for Thanksgiving to enjoy these!
Need tips for baking the perfect turkey? Read about my dry brine method for a perfectly juicy and flavorful bird.
Other Healthy Thanksgiving Recipes:
- Grandma’s Cornbread Stuffing, by Sunkissed Kitchen
- Brussels Sprouts with Pomegranate and Pecans, by Sunkissed Kitchen
- Gluten Free Apple Pie, by Sunkissed Kitchen
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Sausage Stuffing Balls
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 onion chopped
- 1 cup celery chopped
- 1 apple chopped
- 1 green bell pepper chopped
- 1/4 cup fresh sage chopped
- 3/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 pound sweet Italian chicken sausage or sub pork sausage
- 1/2 cup apple cider
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 4 cups cornbread cut into cubes
- 1 egg
Instructions
- In a large skillet over medium heat, add butter, onions, celery, bell pepper, and apple. Saute for about 15 minutes until very soft.
- Season the vegetable mixture with salt and sage. Add the sausage, and continue to cook until sausage is cooked through.
- Add the apple cider and chicken broth, and simmer until the liquid is reduced to half.
- Add the cornbread, and stir well to combine, then remove from heat.
- Once the mixture has had 5 minutes to cool down, add a beaten egg, and then stir to coat.
- Perheat oven to 400 degrees. Bake stuffing balls for 20 minutes, or until lightly browned on top and heated through.
- Serve as a side at a holiday meal, or as a main course for a festive winter dinner.
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