AIP Thanksgiving Stuffing (Paleo)

Thanksgiving is only 1 week away!  Ahh!  Do you have your menu planned yet?  Are there certain family recipes or favorite dishes that you make every year?

In my family, we do have our favorites, but we tend to veer off the beaten path and experiment with many variations on the traditional Thanksgiving side dishes and desserts.  (The turkey is the only constant!)  And honestly, I couldn’t be more thankful to have a family who is so willing to try new things and play around with new recipes!  I think God knew I would need very flexible eaters in my life. 🙂  It not only allows me to be very creative in the kitchen, but also gives me freedom to find healthy substitutions to accommodate a wide range of dietary restrictions over the years (all thanks to yours truly)!

After years of gluten-free and Paleo Thanksgivings, we celebrated our first totally AIP Thanksgiving last year – free of grain, nuts, seeds, dairy, soy, sugar, legumes, nightshades, and eggs.  Although the list of foods to avoid made it seem like we were destined for a pretty sad holiday meal, it actually turned out to be our favorite Thanksgiving dinner to date! (To view our menu, check out this post.) And one of the standout side dish recipes was this AIP Thanksgiving Stuffing, which I created last year and couldn’t wait to share with you ever since!  Today is the day!  Get ready for a LEGIT herbed bread-like stuffing made from AIP pumpkin biscuits, colorful veggies, and nutritious bone broth!  Now that’s something to be thankful for!

Last year, when I realized I’d be on the AIP diet for Thanksgiving, I assumed that stuffing would be out of the question.  My family had enjoyed all sorts of stuffing recipes in the past, like Stovetop stuffing, rice/grain-based stuffing, and cornbread-based stuffing.  Unfortunately, none of those recipes fit my new diet and I really couldn’t find an AIP stuffing substitute that fit what I was looking for during my recipe searches.  So, I started playing around with using sweet potato biscuits as a stuffing foundation and cooking veggies and herbs to go with it.  The combination actually worked, baked wonderfully, and tasted just as good as a more traditional recipe!  It was a huge hit with the fam!

This year, when it came time to share my delish AIP Thanksgiving Stuffing with you, I realized I had forgotten something.  I didn’t write my original recipe down!  (Food blog fail.)  After searching through all of my recipe notes and menu plans, it sank in that I would again be starting from scratch this year.  My only saving grace was that I had taken some food photos of our meal and it jogged my memory as to what most of the ingredients were.

Thanks to another day of recipe testing, I can assure you that today’s recipe is even better than my original from last year! 🙂 The results were so delicious that it made me want to eat it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner (and I did)!  The only alteration I made came from replacing the sweet potato biscuits with my Easy Paleo Drop Biscuits!  I’m so glad I made the switch, because the entire recipe is so much simpler to make!

The combination of the tender, sweet biscuits combined with flavorful celery, carrots, onion, zucchini, fresh and dried herbs, and my Instant Pot Bone Broth make this AIP Thanksgiving Stuffing both healthy and tasty!  Not to worry if you don’t have bone broth on hand all the time like I do and don’t feel like making it, you can substitute prepackaged chicken or turkey broth/stock.  I also used rainbow carrots in my version because they’re just so darn pretty!  Regular carrots are perfectly fine and you can adjust the veggies to suit your tastes.  Zucchini isn’t normally in traditional stuffing, but it fits in well and adds some extra nutritional value.  To each his/her own!

The only other advice I have for this recipe is that I definitely recommend making the biscuits in advance.  Much like traditional stuffing, the biscuits will withstand the broth and veggies best if they have time to cool and sit for awhile before being crumbled up in this recipe.  I’m guessing it would still turn out  just fine if you have to make the biscuits the day of, but may as well make it easier on yourself and bake them a day or two ahead.  The rest of the recipe is extremely easy and quick to throw together.  You’ll love it!

Since this is my token Thanksgiving post of the year, it’s only appropriate that I close with a note of thanks.  I could go on and on about everything I’m thankful for this year, but I’ll just limit it to a short list that feels relevant to the blog:

• I’m so thankful for the little things like AIP Thanksgiving Stuffing and for such a variety of fruits, vegetables, meats, and flour substitutes that allow those on AIP/Paleo diets to not feel deprived!
• I’m thankful for my Fed & Fulfilled food blog and for each person who stumbles upon it.
• I’m also thankful for the other Paleo and AIP food bloggers who create amazing recipe substitutions and variations on Thanksgiving main dishes, sides, and desserts!
• I never thought I’d be thankful for the AIP diet itself, but without it, so many of my food blog recipes wouldn’t exist, including this one!
• Most importantly, I’m thankful for my faith in Jesus Christ, for His unfailing love and grace, and that His plan and way for my life is perfect.
• I’m also thankful for so many friends who provide care, encouragement, and a listening ear.
• And finally, I’m thankful for my wonderful, supportive family who is loving me well, praying for me daily, and joining me in yet another AIP Thanksgiving this year!

What are you most thankful for this year?  Take some time to think about it while you bake a big pan of my AIP Thanksgiving Stuffing!  I wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving!!

5.0 from 3 reviews

AIP Thanksgiving Stuffing (Paleo)

 

Print

Created by: Joanna Smith

Serves: 8

Ingredients

• 2 batches of Easy Paleo Drop Biscuits
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1½ cups chopped carrots (3-4 large)
• 1½ cups chopped celery (1 stalk)
• 1½ cups chopped zucchini (2 medium)
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil, plus extra to grease dish
• 2 cups bone broth, divided
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon fresh sage, chopped
• 2 teaspoons dried thyme
• 2 teaspoons dried rosemary
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ teaspoons sea salt

Instructions

1. Prepare 2 batches of Easy Paleo Drop Biscuits and let cool completely. (Best if made a day or two ahead.)
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9''x13'' glass baking dish with coconut oil.
3. Heat 1 tablespoon coconut oil in a large skillet over medium/high heat. Sauté chopped onion, carrots, and celery for 5-6 minutes.
4. Add in zucchini, sage, and minced garlic and cook for another 6-8 minutes, or until veggies are softened.
5. Turn heat to low and stir in dried herbs, garlic, salt, and ½ cup bone broth for another minute, then pour into baking dish.
6. Break apart biscuits into large chunks and crumble them on top of the veggie mixture and give it a stir.
7. Pour the remaining bone broth evenly over the top. Give it a final stir and then bake for 30-35 minutes, until top is lightly browned and the broth is bubbly.

Notes

~This recipe can easily be made well in advance! Bake your biscuits 1-2 days before you make the rest of the stuffing. The stuffing keeps wonderfully if covered in the refrigerator. Simply reheat in the oven or microwave individual servings.

3.5.3226