Apple-Cranberry Holiday Stuffing

10/21/2013 | BY Mickey Trescott

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It has been awhile since I have had a recipe to post on the blog – truth be told I have been so busy cooking for the cookbook photo shoots that I have not had time for developing new recipes. Since the shoots ended a couple of weeks ago, I have been hard at work coming up with new ideas for the holiday season, starting with this holiday stuffing!

This recipe is the perfect addition to any traditional holiday meal. In my last two seasons of eating grain-free, I hosted mostly AIP holiday meals, but I did have someone else bring the conventional stuffing because I didn’t think I could make anything comparable. This year, I finally figured out how to make a delicious stuffing using cauliflower rice as the base. It has fresh green apples and cranberries, along with bacon, sweet potatoes, mushrooms and celery, spiced with cinnamon and rosemary. The texture of this stuffing is great, and it has the perfect blend of sweet holiday spice and tart flavors. It can be served on its own as a side, or used to stuff a turkey or Cornish game hens. This recipe also makes a fair amount, so don’t be afraid to halve it if your crowd isn’t very large.

I will be happily serving this instead of traditional stuffing this year, and I hope that your family enjoys it as much as mine does!

Apple-Cranberry Holiday Stuffing
5.0 from 1 reviews
Apple-Cranberry Holiday Stuffing
 
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Serves: 6-8 as a side dish
Ingredients
  • 1 sweet potato, cut into 1" squares
  • 1 cup fresh cranberries, cut into halves
  • ¾ cup bone broth
  • 4 slices pastured bacon
  • ½ onion, chopped
  • 4 stalks celery, chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 tablespoons rosemary, minced
  • 1 tablespoon solid cooking fat
  • 2 cups mushrooms, sliced thinly
  • 1½ heads of cauliflower, processed in a food processor until it forms "rice" sized granules
  • 1 green apple, cut into 1" squares
  • ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
  1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Combine the sweet potatoes, cranberries, and bone broth in a large baking dish. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes, stirring once to ensure even cooking.
  2. Meanwhile, cook the bacon slices in a skillet on medium heat, turning when needed, until they are crispy. When they are finished, remove and let cool, leaving the fat in the pan.
  3. Add the onion and celery, and cook for 8 minutes, or until beginning to brown.
  4. Add the garlic and rosemary, and cook for another couple of minutes. Remove the onion mixture from the pan into a small bowl and set aside.
  5. Add the solid cooking fat and the mushrooms to the pan. Cook, stirring, for a couple of minutes until the mushrooms are browned.
  6. Add the cauliflower "rice", and cook, stirring for five minutes. Set aside.
  7. When the sweet potato mixture is finished cooking, remove from the oven and turn the heat up to 425 degrees. Add the cauliflower mixture, the onion mixture, the apple as well as the cinnamon and sea salt to the sweet potato mixture and stir to combine. Place back in the oven for another 10 minutes. Let cool for a few minutes, and serve warm.
Notes
Note: If you are using this to stuff a turkey, skip the last 10 minutes of cooking - it will have plenty of time in the oven with the bird!

 

About Mickey Trescott, MSc.

Mickey Trescott is a founder of Autoimmune Wellness, the host of The Autoimmune Wellness Podcast, and a co-creator and lead educator of AIP Certified Coach. She has been a leader in the Autoimmune Protocol (AIP) movement since its earliest days and has worked as a health coach since 2013. After recovering from a severe autoimmune health crisis following diagnoses of celiac disease and Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (and later psoriatic arthritis), Mickey began creating practical, accessible AIP resources to help others navigate autoimmune disease with clarity and confidence. She holds a Master’s degree in Human Nutrition and Functional Medicine and has contributed to the development and communication of AIP medical research. Mickey is the author of several best-selling books, including The Autoimmune Paleo Cookbook, The Autoimmune Wellness Handbook, The Nutrient-Dense Kitchen, and The New Autoimmune Protocol. You can find her sharing recipes and cooking demos on Instagram.

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