This delicious Butternut Sausage Paleo Stuffing with apples and cranberries has all the flavor of traditional Thanksgiving stuffing or dressing but is grain free, gluten free, dairy free and Whole30 friendly too! Toasty, sweet roasted butternut squash and savory sausage form the base for this Paleo style holiday favorite.
Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.
I have nothing but great memories of cooking and eating classic, comforting, delicious food and laughing for hours on end with my family.
What do we laugh about? Everything and nothing all at once – like all families should during the holidays, don’t you think?
There are some things, however, that we do take pretty seriously on Thanksgiving.
I think we might all agree that even above the desserts and the turkey, it’s the stuffing that has our committed attention on this holiday.
I can’t totally explain it, but something about bread cubes with lots of butter and poultry seasoning captures our emotions more than all the other stuff combined.
As a result, we can all be a little intense and particular about this side dish fulfilling our wildest of expectations. A lot is invested in it.
So, when I first thought about recreating stuffing without the bread, I was pretty intimidated. But guess what? Good things happened with this grain free butternut stuffing!
What You Need to Make Butternut Sausage Paleo Stuffing
We’re not using bread or copycat bread type products in this stuffing at all.
Nope! It’s Whole30 compliant and made with veggies, fruit, fresh herbs and plenty of protein.
Here’s everything you’ll need to prepare the stuffing:
- Butternut squash
- cooking oil, like olive or avocado
- ground sausage (sugar free if you’re doing the Whole30)
- salt and pepper
- fresh poultry herbs (or dried, as an alternative)
- apple
- dried cranberries (fruit sweetened for Whole30)
- onion
- celery
- egg (optional)
How to Make This Paleo Stuffing
The first step is to roast the butternut squash cubes. You’ll want to roast them until crisp and toasty on the outside to get the best flavor and texture for your stuffing.
While the butternut roasts, prepare the rest of the stuffing mixture. Sauté the onions and celery and brown the sausage.
Season and add in the fresh herbs (or dried) and apples until softened. Stir in the cranberries, then toss everything with the roasted butternut squash.
If you want your stuffing to “stick”, you can add the whisked egg to the mixture now. It’s totally optional.
Transfer the stuffing mixture to a large baking dish and bake until set, then serve!
Hint – if you used an ovenproof skillet, you can bake the stuffing right in the skillet instead of a baking dish.
After trying this stuffing, don’t be surprised if yo love it more than any bread stuffing you’ve ever had!
I also have a few more grain free Thanksgiving stuffings I’ve made since that also beat out regular bread stuffing –
Low carb cauliflower sausage stuffing
I’ve made this stuffing many times over the years and it has served as a base for many of my other recipes, like stuffed butternut squash and ultimate roasted stuffed acorn squash.
My family has loved it over the years and I’m sure yours will too! Get this on your Thanksgiving menu because it’s sure to become a favorite this year!
Butternut Sausage Paleo Stuffing with Apples and Cranberries {Whole30}
Paleo Butternut Sausage Stuffing with Apples & Cranberries
This delicious Paleo Butternut Sausage Stuffing with apples and cranberries has all the flavor of traditional Thanksgiving stuffing or dressing but is grain free, gluten free, dairy free and Whole30 friendly! Toasty, sweet roasted butternut squash and savory sausage form the base for this Paleo style holiday favorite.
Ingredients
- 1 large butternut squash peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes, about 6 cups
- 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil or avocado oil, for roasting
- sea salt and black pepper
- 2 tbsp ghee or olive or avocado oil, more as needed
- 1 small onion chopped
- 3 celery stalks chopped
- 1 lb pork sausage no sugar added, for Whole30
- 1 large apple or 2 small, cored and chopped
- 1/4-1/2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp fresh rosemary minced***
- 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves ***
- 1 teaspoon fresh sage leaves minced***
- 3/4 cup dried cranberries fruit sweetened for Whole30
- 1 egg whisked (optional**)
- Fresh parsley minced, for garnish
Instructions
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First prepare to roast the butternut squash cubes.
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Preheat your oven to 425° F. Toss the butternut cubes with the 1 1/2 Tbsp oil, salt and pepper and spread out in a single layer on a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
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Roast in the preheated oven for 30-40 minutes, stirring or turning once for even browning. Squash should be soft and toasty brown before removing.
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While the squash is roasting, get your other ingredients chopped and ready.
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Heat a large skillet med to med-hi heat and add the 2 Tbsp additional cooking fat. Once heated, add chopped onion and celery and cook for about 3-5 minutes, until softened.
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Add the ground sausage to the skillet and use a wooden spoon to break up lumps and stir as it cooks. Cook the sausage with the onions and celery until browned, then lower the heat to medium.
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Add the chopped apples and herbs (or poultry seasoning) and cook for a minute or two until just softened, then add salt. Lower the heat and stir to combine all flavors. Simmer for 2 more minutes, remove from heat and set aside.
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Once the butternut squash is roasted (it should be light brown and crisp on the outside) add it to the sausage mixture along with the dried cranberries and toss to combine. If you want your stuffing to "stick" add the whisked egg** to the mixture and toss/mix to incorporate.
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Lower the oven heat to 375° F. If you used an ovenproof skillet, you can bake right in the skillet. If your skillet is not ovenproof, transfer the stuffing mixture to a large baking dish and spread out evenly.
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Bake in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes if you used the egg, and 15-20 without the egg. The top should be toasty. Garnish with fresh parsley if desired. Enjoy!!
Recipe Notes
**Adding the egg will make the stuffing stick together as it sets in the oven. It's an optional step depending on your preference.
***You can also use 2-3 teaspoons of dried poultry seasoning in place of the fresh herbs.
Nutrition
Want More Paleo Thanksgiving Recipes? Try One of these!
Maple Pecan Apple Crisp {Paleo & Vegan}
Paleo Candied Sweet Potatoes {Vegan}
Paleo and Vegan Pumpkin Cheesecake
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As ususal, excellent! I ate some while it was hot and it was so good, I had some more when it was cold. I like it much better hot. I love stuffing and this is a way to get the taste of stuffing as often as you like and you’re still eating healthy! How cool is that?
This was a hit with my 15 month old and my husband! We even decided that we could use it as a breakfast dish if we want. Probably will down the poultry seasoning or add something different in there for breakfast but it definitely reminded us of a sweet potato hash I’ve made before. My husband was a big fan of having the sausage 😉 I did have to use a 3 qt dish as my cast iron skillet was not big enough to fit everything in, but it still came out phenomenally!!!
I’m sorry, but I’m sort of new to paleo. Trying to keep Thanksgiving compliant for my kids who are eating paleo. Is there a certain “cooking fast for roasting” I should get? Can’t wait to try this recipe! Think everyone will love it!
this looks great! any suggestions for making this ahead of time and how to store? thanks!
I am wondering if anyone has tried a mix of butternut squash and sweet potatoes? Or just sweet potatoes?
this might sound silly – but i want to add some bread to this dish. would i just add in some broth also to soak up the bread?
Can this be made the night before and put in the oven the next day
What’s considered one serving?
Found this last Thanksgiving when we started paleo as a way to better manage around food allergies. Wow. This is now mandatory. Love the mix of sweet, tart, savory and salty. Thanks for putting it out there!
I made this today for Thanksgiving. My grandpa always put sausage in his dressing and so do I. This recipe is amazing and I may never eat bead stuffing again. Thank you so much!