When you have a child with many food allergies, you search for everyday foods and holiday foods to make for the family. When Paige was was just a year old. We did allergy testing because just about everything she ate broke her skin out in hives. The testing came back that she was anaphylactic to many foods and their food family cousins: all dairy, eggs (biggest allergy), peanuts, tree nuts, soy, corn and gluten. Wow. So I researched foods and food families and came up with a list of healthy foods Paige
COULD have. Turns out she can have a lot of foods and loves to eat a variety. :)
She did outgrow corn and soy at age 5, but to this day at 20, she still has difficulties with the rest.
Fast forward years later a fellow autism mom shared this allergy free stuffing recipe and I made it. Paige loves it and so does everyone else. It is a crowd fav! It is so good, I cannot count the number of people I have shared this recipe with over the years. I have made modifications here and there... this is the final dish I make each year. It is not to late to get the Schär bread, they have it at Costco in a two pack.
Happy Thanksgiving to all! We are extremely grateful for the support over the past 2.5 year at Paige's Pantry.
All the best, Malinda
Gluten Free/ Vegan / Nut Free Stuffing
Prep Time: 30 minutes Cook Time: 45 minutes Total Time: 1 hour, 15 minutes
Ingredients:
• 1 loaf Gluten-Free Schär bread (1/2 inch cubes); approx. 8 cups
• ½ cup Earth Balance Soy Free Natural buttery spread or other butter sub
• 1/2 to 1 cups chopped onion
• 1 cups chopped celery with leaves
• ½ cups chopped fresh chives
• 3 tablespoons minced fresh sage
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme
• ½ cup pear or apple sauce mixed with 1 teaspoon Baking powder, Egg replacer or 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• 1 teaspoon all-purpose seasoning
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon pepper, or to taste
• ¾ cup gluten-free chicken broth if using pear or apple sauce or 1 cup if using eggs
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350°
1. Lay bread cubes in one layer on a baking sheet(s). Bake for about 10 minutes or until cubes are dry, but not browned.
2. Allow bread cubes to cool. Place cooled cubes in a large mixing bowl.
3. Melt Earth Balance Soy Free Natural buttery spread in a large saucepan over medium high heat. Add celery and onions; sauté for about 10 minutes or until onions are translucent (clear), but not browned.
4. Add herbs to vegetables and all-purpose seasoning and sauté an additional 2 minutes.
5. Add sauté vegetable herb mixture to bread cubes and stir to mix.
6. Pour lightly beaten pear/apple sauce and baking powder, Egg replacer or lightly beaten eggs into bread crumb and sauté vegetable mixture and stir to blend.
7. Add salt, pepper and garlic; stir to mix.
8. Add gluten free chicken broth and stir to thoroughly combine all ingredients. If the stuffing is too dry, add more broth, 1 teaspoon at a time, being very careful not to over dampen. Too much liquid and your stuffing will be soggy.
9. Transfer stuffing to a buttered 13x9 inch baking dish and bake for approximately 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes, cook until the top is golden brown.
Optional: If you like a more flavorful stuffing, add ½ to 1 tablespoon of gluten free poultry seasoning and/or ½ teaspoon of rosemary to the bread cube mixture before baking.