I know we just knocked off Halloween but Thanksgiving will be here before you know it! I always start my menu planning early and sometimes test run recipes if I’m hosting a big group. It’s a special time of year, and one with some challenges, for those who are gluten-free.
Over the time I’ve been writing Boulder Locavore I’ve shared my experiences and that of my family being gluten-free for the holidays. I can safely say 10 years into it now that we find it an exciting time and one full of fantastic food, no longer with a sense of loss or exclusion as we did the first year. When trying to host meals with those who are not gluten-free often mandatory holiday favorites appear that those gluten-free can’t enjoy which is no fun! I feel there is a way everyone can enjoy the food together.
I’m sharing my first Thanksgiving recipe for the season. Ironically it is for dressing, something I really had no time for when I was growing up. Candidly I think we usually had stuffing, dressing cooked inside the turkey, but either way it was made with stale white bread (the stale part not being unusual since stale bread will absorb more moisture and hold its texture), and minimal seasoning. It just never made sense to me. It seemed like a waste of valued stomach space; I would rather eat the flavor-filled dishes around the holiday table.
I’ve loved making cornbread stuffing in the past but this year I’m using one of my all-time favorite things: Everything Bagels.
Chock full of onion, garlic, poppy seeds, flax seeds, millet seeds and more.
The bagels are full of flavor and texture and I thought they’d be a perfect match for an Everything Bagel Sausage Dressing.
The recipe is simple to make with traditional ingredients of celery, onion, garlic, herbs, the bagels, some breakfast sausage and a surprise touch of maple syrup; just enough to catch your attention without going overboard. I should warn you though, it may very well become your new holiday favorite!
Everything Bagel Sausage Dressing
Ingredients
- 6 Everything Bagels (regular or gluten-free)
- 2 tablespoons Unsalted Butter
- 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
- 1 medium Yellow Onion , chopped
- 3 large stalks of Celery trimmed and diced
- 2 large Garlic Cloves , peeled and diced
- 1 pound loose Breakfast Sausage
- 2 teaspoons fresh Thyme Leaves
- ½ teaspoon Kosher Salt
- ½ teaspoon Black Pepper , freshly ground
- 2 tablespoons Maple Syrup
- 1 ½ cups Low Sodium Chicken Broth
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place the bagel cubes on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes until turning golden. Remove from the oven to cook and reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees.
- Spray a 9-inch by 13-inch baking pan with non-stick spray.
- Combine the butter and olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion, celery and garlic. Sauté until the onions become limp and translucent (7-10 minutes).
- Add the breakfast sausage, breaking it up as it cooks. Cook until is browns lights, about 2-3 minutes. Add the thyme and cook for another minutes.
- Add the salt and pepper. Transfer the skillet mixture to the prepared baking pan. Stir in the bagel cubes.
- Combine the chicken broth and maple syrup; drizzle over the dressing mixture and toss the dressing mixture to evenly coat with the broth.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes covered with heavy foil. After 30 minutes, remove the foil and allow the dressing to cook an additional 15 minutes uncovered until lightly brown.
Nutrition
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Udi’s Gluten Free. The opinions and text are all mine.
Erika B White says
This is one of my favorite recipes! I make it every year for Thanksgiving AND for Christmas Day brunch. The bagels, maple syrup, and sausage make it perfectly breakfast-y!
Toni Dash says
I’m so happy to hear that Erika! Happy (almost) Thanksgiving!
Karen Greenleaf says
If I want to stuff the turkey with it, do I have to bake it first?
Toni Dash says
Hi Karen! I’ve only prepared this as dressing (outside the turkey) but my recommendation would be to still do steps 1-6 (putting the mixture into a large bowl instead of a baking dish) and them stuff it in the turkey. That way you’ll know the meat is cooked and flavors will be at their best. If you don’t care about the bagel pieces being toasted you can omit steps 1 and 2 (the toasting of the bagels); though I think it would help them not become mushy (unless you like that). You may have more than can fit into the turkey cavity so could still cook that per the directions.
Also as I’m sure you know the biggest concern about stuffing the turkey is that the stuffing doesn’t get hot enough to kill any bacteria from the turkey and can cause salmonella. You must be sure the temperature of the stuffing (not just the turkey) reaches a temperature of 165 degrees to ensure no risk of bacteria and potential sickness from it! This is why I do not stuff my turkeys but cook dressing separately. Also stuffing the turkey will lengthen the cooking time, which you may know, so be sure to account for that in your plans!
Tracy @ Ascending Butterfly says
This looks like some Sunday morning goodness to me, who says wait until Thanksgiving? 🙂
Anjanette Young says
This looks a delicious dressing recipe. I think I will try this with turkey sausage, thanks for sharing this recipe , prefect timing.