This Paleo Butternut Sausage Apple Stuffing is perfect for Thanksgiving dinner, or alongside a simple roasted chicken.
For years I’ve been making my Cranberry Sweet Potato Stuffing 2 Ways for Thanksgiving dinners. However, mashed potatoes for me are way more important than stuffing. So having 2 kinds of potatoes on the table seemed a bit redundant.
Anyways this year I decided it was high time to change things up, and make a butternut stuffing instead. That way I figured it would add more variety to the table.
And so I got to work putting together a recipe loaded up with all my favorite stuffing flavors. There’s apples, sage, sausage, and cranberries all together with the butternut. And I’ll tell you what – I don’t miss regular stuffing at all.
Not that it means much coming from me since I’m such a mashed potato person. But my mom who is all about stuffing at Thanksgiving, loves this grain free/paleo stuffing, which is actually really saying something!
How to make this Paleo Butternut Sausage Apple Stuffing:
- Start by roasting the cubed butternut in the oven.
- Then while the squash roasts, sauté the sausage/apple mixture on the stovetop.
- Finally combine the 2, (see photo below) and bake until tender and golden browned!
Make Ahead Tips: You can prep this recipe up until the point where the 2 mixtures are combined together, then refrigerate for 1-2 days before baking it. Or the stuffing can also be made 2-3 days in advance and gently reheated at 300ºF after the turkey comes out and is resting before you carve it.
What to serve this stuffing with:
- Outside of my Paleo Thanksgiving Menu, this stuffing goes well with some many things as a simple dinner.
- Easy Herb Roasted Chicken
- Honey Mustard Glazed Cranberry Pork Roast
- Green Beans with Bacon and Mushrooms
- Caramelized Bacon Balsamic Brussels Sprouts
If you make this Paleo Butternut Sausage Apple Stuffing, I hope you’ll leave me a comment/rating below. I love hearing from you, and please don’t hesitate to ask questions! And of course you can always tag me over on Instagram #getinspiredeveryday, I really enjoy seeing all your creations!
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Paleo Butternut Sausage Apple Stuffing
- Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
- Yield: 10 servings 1x
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
This stuffing is perfect for Thanksgiving and Sunday dinners alike!
Ingredients
2 Tablespoons avocado oil
1/2 Teaspoon sea salt
12 cups diced butternut squash, 1/2″ dice, 1-3 1/2 pound squash
1/2 pound bulk sausage, see notes
2 1/2 cups diced onion, 1/4″ dice, 1 large, 12 ounces
1 1/2 cups thinly sliced celery, 4 stalks, 8 ounces
4 cups chopped apples, 1/2″ dice, 1-2, 12 ounces
1 cup dried apple juice sweetened cranberries, roughly chopped
1/2 Teaspoon sea salt, or to taste
1/2 Teaspoon black pepper
2 Teaspoons poultry seasoning
1/4 cup chopped fresh sage, 10-14 large leaves
Optional: 1/2 cup chicken stock whisked together with 1 egg, see notes
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 425ºF and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Toss the diced butternut cubes together with the avocado oil and sea salt. Roast the squash in the oven until tender and beginning to brown, about 30 minutes.
Sauté the sausage in a large skillet over medium high heat, breaking it up into small pieces as it cooks. Add the onion and celery to the pan, and sauté until they’re just softening, about 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and add the apples, cranberries, sea salt, pepper, poultry seasoning, and sage. Stir to combine, and set aside.
When the butternut is done roasting, remove it from the oven and lower the temperature to 375ºF. Carefully toss together the butternut and sausage mixture until combined. Taste the mixture, then adjust the salt and pepper to your taste. If you’re using the egg mixture pour that over the top and mix just to combine.
Transfer the mixture to a 9″x13″ baking dish and bake until golden brown and bubbly, about 30 minutes. Serve immediately.Â
This stuffing can be made ahead and reheated at 300ºF until warmed through and hot.
Notes
I really like sage sausage in any stuffing, but you can also use any kind of breakfast sausage you’d like.Â
The optional chicken stock whisked with an egg adds a little extra binding to the stuffing, but it’s not necessary at all if you can’t have eggs. I’ve made this both ways, and it’s great either way you go!
- Prep Time: 20
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Hi Kari,
Made this as a side dish for Thanksgiving and it was very good. I felt like my ratios were off as I thought it was apple heavy and would have preferred more butternut squash. I will try again and will reduce to one apple (I used pretty large pink ladies). Definitely needs the chicken broth and egg binder, in my opinion. Lastly, the ingredient list calls for fresh sage but the instructions never list when to add it. I realized this at the end so simply crushed some dried sage on top before serving. It made a delicious side dish for our GF, DF holiday meal, and with gravy…yummm!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it and I hope you can customize it to your taste! I made this over Thanksgiving too and missed the sage instruction so I just added it to the recipe, thanks so much for catching that! I only list the egg binder as an option because so many can’t have egg, but I agree it’s better with it for sure!
Anything new with pumpkins, I am in. Tomorrow dinner is done
I’ve been all about any kind of squash right now too!
Lovely! I love sausage in stuffing. Just yum with the herbs … and so allergy-friendly! 🙂
I do too, it just adds so much extra flavor!
We love butternut squash and this is perfect for the upcoming holidays. Thank you for sharing!
I sure hope you enjoy it!