Grain-Free Walnut Mushroom Stuffing

What’s Thanksgiving Dinner without sweet and savory bread stuffing?

An incomplete meal.

This year for Thanksgiving, I have an extra challenge because of my oddly-timed decision to go gluten-free this month. When thinking over the different aspects of Thanksgiving dinner, I had a twinge of regret realizing I would not be savoring bread stuffing.  Of course I could have bought gluten-free bread and subbed it out in my classic vegan stuffing dish, but the whole idea behind my occasional dietary restrictions is to step out of common food ruts and get back to whole foods and creativity. So after several attempts, I came up with this Grain-free Thanksgiving Stuffing recipe.

This rich, earthy nut-based stuffing is truly indulgent. Just as Thanksgiving should be.

Grain-Free Thanksgiving Stuffing
serves  6-8

12 oz portobello mushroom, chopped
2 cups vegetable broth
2 1/2 cups walnuts
2 tbsp fresh rosemary
1 tbsp fresh thyme
1 tbsp fresh sage
pinch of salt
3 carrots, finely diced
2 celery stalk, finely diced
1/2 cup pecans, chopped
1/2 cup dried cranberries

In a large, shallow dish combine chopped mushrooms and vegetable broth and marinate for at least 4 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine walnuts, herbs, and salt in a food processor and blend until walnuts are a fine crumb and stick together when pressed (you may need to add 1-2 tbsp of water, depending on the strength of your food processor). Transfer to a large bowl.  Add carrots, celery, pecans, and cranberries and mix to combine. Add mushrooms and broth and mix together.

Spread stuffing into a shallow casserole dish and bake for 35-45 minutes, turning every 15 minutes, until liquid has absorbed and stuffing is browned all the way through.

Serve warm.