Grandma’s Southern ‘Cornbread’ Stuffing {GAPS Friendly & Grain, Dairy & Nut-Free}
Ever since I was a little girl I can remember walking into my Grandma’s house on Thanksgiving and smelling her savory roasted turkey and her, full of flavor, cornbread stuffing cooking in the oven. After the initial pleasant smells hit my nose my Grandmas pleasant greeting could be heard from the kitchen where she was expertly preparing our wonderful family feast. I will never forget her generous and hospitable spirit, her open arms and her excellent cooking. Along with seeing her, my grandma’s cornbread stuffing was a dish that I looked forward to all year long.
Fast forward to the present… It has been years since we had our last Thanksgiving at her house and boy do I miss those times! I enjoy tradition and among other ones decided to carry on her tradition of southern cornbread stuffing. At first, before my lifestyle change, I made it with real cornbread but now I have adapted it to be grain free and dairy free since corn is no longer an option in my diet. Even with the adaptations, I still feel like I am indulging in my sweet Grandma’s stuffing that I looked forward to all year.
Grandma’s dining room
Stuffing can be quite the conversation starter (or argument starter) when talking about the holidays because everyone has their preferences on what stuffing (or dressing as some call it) should be. For us, it was and still is southern cornbread stuffing. Actually, my Grandma called it dressing! Even these days the minute I smell it I get taken back to my sweet Grandmother’s house on Thanksgiving day. I feel blessed to have been able to adapt her recipe so that our family can continue on with this tradition.
Grandma with her great-grandkids – my boys
Important Ingredient Tips
- Yes, there are A LOT of eggs in this. That’s ok guys. This is a holiday feast. It’s not something I make (or you will make) every day. Take a deep breath and move on.
- This is my favorite coconut flour that I have had the best results with.
- I get my organic, glyphosate palm shortening here.
- If you don’t have homemade broth on hand this is a great boxed version that we love.
- I purchase coconut milk here because it has no fillers like guar gums that can be harmful to the gut.
- Ghee, which is clarified butter, with the lactose removed, can be expensive but Thrive Market saves the day. We love the one linked and the price is right.
- Have you ordered from Thrive Market Yet? I can tell you that getting organic groceries delivered to my door at a fraction of what they cost in the stores has been a big blessing in my life! If you click on the photo below you can start your free 30-day trial!
Grandma’s Southern Cornbread Stuffing {Grain, Dairy & Nut Free} Recipe
- 1 tsp. sea salt
- 2 tsp. baking soda
- 1½ C. coconut flour
- 2 Tlbs. poultry seasoning
- 12 large, organic eggs
- ½ C. organic ghee, melted
- ½ C. organic palm shortening, melted
- ½ C. coconut milk, filler free and BPA free can
- 2 C. yellow onion, diced
- 2 C. celery, diced
- 6 organic, hard boiled eggs, peeled and chopped
- 3 cups of homemade, organic chicken broth (maybe a bit more - see instructions)
- ½ of a can of filler free canned coconut milk (try and get mostly the top cream)
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9 x 13 pan with coconut oil or ghee.
- In a mixing bowl whisk together all dry ingredients.
- In a separate mixing bowl, using a hand mixer, mix together all the wet ingredients.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Mix well.
- The dough will not be pourable like traditional cornbread. Instead it will be thicker. Put the dough in the greased pan and be sure to flatten it on top and spread it evenly in the pan.
- Bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown and the center is cooked through.
- Once the 'corn'bread is cool get a big mixing bowl that is at least double the size of the 'corn'bread. Crumble the cooled 'cornbread into the bowl so that there are small and medium chunks. This is the base of your stuffing.
- Mix in chopped eggs, celery and onions as well as 1½ C. chicken broth and all of the coconut milk. Mix until thoroughly combined.
- The options are to cook the stuffing inside or outside of the turkey. **I would recommend cooking some of it inside and some of it outside the turkey.
- Place the stuffing in the cavity of the turkey in the last 2 - 2.5 hours of time the turkey is in the oven. The fat and the juices from the turkey will add lots of extra flavor and moisture.
- Place the stuffing in a roasting pan or baking dish.
- Cook it for 1 hour at 325 degrees.
- After the first hour pour some of your remaining broth over the stuffing and stir it up. This prevents the top pieces from getting too brown and adds some extra moisture for cooking.
- Continue to cook for another 30 minutes to one hour checking on it and adding more broth as necessary.
- The stuffing will not be dry at all if you add the proper amount of moisture during the cooking process and there will be just the right amount of crispiness on some of the pieces if baked properly.
I have also prepped all the stuffing ingredients the day before I am going to serve it so that the day of all I have to do is cook it either in the turkey or out (or both) on the serving day.
For Your Next Gathering, You’ll This Grain Free Cornbread Stuffing is Great to Try!
When turkey day rolls around again or even in the middle of the year, this is a tasty side dish to add to the table.
What’s the best way to freeze this? This is the closest I’ve found to my grandmother’s dressing since all of my food allergies. Thank you!
Hi Michelle, I have not tried to freeze the stuffing before because we usually eat up the leftovers pretty quickly. However, if I did try, I would put it in a glass container and freeze it as is. To reheat, I would pop the oven-safe, glass container in the oven on low heat until it’s the right temperature. If you do, let me know how it turns out!