by Jennifer
I earn a small commission via affilate links at no extra cost to you.
Jump to Recipe Print Recipe
Thanksgiving is just around the corner and that can leave many who are new to paleo wondering what they’re going to eat this Thanksgiving. No worries my friends. Most Thanksgiving dishes can be made paleo including this “cornbread” stuffing.
More often than not people see corn as a vegetable when in fact it is a grain. They also think it’s gluten-free. All grains contain gluten and corn has the second highest amount of gluten protein (Zein) coming in second place behind wheat. When people entertain the idea of a Paleo lifestyle they are often a little freaked out at the thought of giving up breads and grains. In America we eat everything in, on, or wrapped in a grain so it’s understandable. When you’ve eaten Paleo as long as I have you no longer miss the starchy canvas because you realize that real food is full of flavor. But like most things there are exceptions to the rule and in this instance it is Thanksgiving dinner and cornbread stuffing.
To me it wouldn’t be Thanksgiving if I didn’t have turkey with stuffing, and an obscene amount of gravy. In years past I’ve tried stuffing made out of sausage and stuffing made out of store-bought Paleo bread. I wasn’t impressed. A number of years ago I created what I though was gluten-free cornbread using cornmeal and I created this recipe from what I vaguely remembered about that one. Except of course that there wouldn’t be any corn.
What surprised me the most about this recipe is that the maple syrup combined with coconut flour kind of gave it a corn flavor. I didn’t see that coming.
The only thing I’d change in the future for myself (it was a touch too sweet for me) is reducing the amount of maple syrup to 1/4 cup or less in the recipe. (I’m married to a boy from the south who hasn’t shaken his sweet tooth despite my best efforts. He’s a paramedic so he rides the cortisol train which doesn’t work in his favor.) If you like your cornbread slightly sweetened, I think you’ll be happy with this recipe. As it’s written it’s not deep south sweet, only slightly sweet.
Grain Free Paleo Cornbread
Prep Time
5 mins
Total Time
35 mins
Ingredients
- 5eggs
- 1/3cupavocado oil
- 1/3cupmaple syrup
- 1cupwater
- 1.5cupalmond flour
- 3/4cupcoconut flour
- 3/4cuparrowroot flour
- 1/2 tspsalt
- 1/2tspbaking soda
- 1/2tspbaking powder
- butter or lard for greasing the pan
Instructions
Mix the wet ingredients in a large bowl with a whisk
Add the dry ingredients and combine thoroughly
Bake at 350 F in a greased 9 x 13 pan for 30-35 minutes
Recipe Notes
*reduce maple syrup to 1/4 cup or less for a more savory version
Pro Tip: Don’t clean the pan right away and use it to bake the stuffing in.
To Make Stuffing:
Grain Free Paleo Cornbread Stuffing
Prep Time
3 hrs
Cook Time
45 mins
Total Time
3 hrs 45 mins
Ingredients
- 1batch of "cornbread" from the recipe above
- 3tbspgrass fed butter or lard
- 1 cupdiced onion
- 1cupdiced celery
- 1/4tspdry sage
- 1/2tspsalt
- pepper to taste
- 1/2boxPacific Turkey Broth
Instructions
Cut the cornbread into cubes and dry on a sheet tray at 250 F for about 3 hours. Stir it once or twice to make sure all of the cubes are dry.
When the cubes are dry saute the onion and celery in your fat of choice for 5 minutes or so. Add the dried sage, salt, and pepper.
Put the cornbread cubes back into the 9 x 13 you baked the cornbread in and mix with the onion and celery mixture. Use the turkey broth to add more moisture to the cubes. The cubes should be moist, no longer hard, but not soggy. Adjust the amount of broth to suit your taste.
Pro Tip: Make this a day before you need it and pop it in the refrigerator to let the flavors marry.
Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 350 F for 30-40 minutes. Check the moisture level about half way through the cooking process. If it is too dry add a bit more broth and re-cover with foil; if it's too wet remove the foil and allow it to bake uncovered. If it is fine, continue to keep it covered. If you'd like some drier bits on top, remove the foil after the 30 minute mark, and bake uncovered for 15-20 minutes.
Recipe Notes
This is the turkey broth that I use:
[amazon_link asins='B00OJHC3A0' template='ProductAd' store='jphphc-20' marketplace='US' link_id='f29242ab-db69-11e7-8ee8-d36b9738b196']
Try my other Thanksgiving recipes: Turkey & Cream of Mushroom Soup (more to come)
Originally posted on December 8, 2017 @ 10:06
