This insanely good Mushroom Stuffing recipe is an absolute crowd-pleaser. It's loaded with flavor and happens to be vegetarian (as long as you don't stuff it in the bird!)
This mushroom stuffing is also easily made gluten-free by using your favorite gluten-free bread.
Article and recipe courtesy of Mary Fran Wiley
Friendsgiving is the time to breakout the fabulous recipes: and new ones.
Friendsgiving is a pretty awesome holiday. Like Thanksgiving, it usually involves a traditional set of dishes like a turkey, cranberry sauce (complete with a debate over whether or not you slice the kind from a can) and stuffing.
It also includes the added bonus of being celebrated with the people you choose to involve in your life, not just the ones that are lucky enough to be your family. Often we do not spend holidays with the people we let in to our lives from outside our families, and Friendsgiving is the perfect time to do this.
There is no stress about who makes better stuffing (um, me!) or if you deviated from the family pumpkin pie recipe. There is plenty of laughter and maybe even a few drinks. A lot of fun and ridiculous stories.
Choosing the Friendsgiving menu: mushroom stuffing is a must!
This year, I brought a gluten-free mushroom stuffing, my famous apple & sage gluten-free stuffing and some pretty spectacular gluten-free cupcakes. Mostly, I wanted to eat stuffing. (I would argue that it is the best part of any Thanksgiving feast). So, I have to make it. Then I know that it is gluten-free and safe for me to eat.
Here's the ultimate Friendsgiving menu:
Mushroom Stuffing:
Loaded with multiple types of mushrooms and fresh herbs, everyone loves this stuffing. Especially since it's vegetarian and easily made gluten-free!
Kale Salad with Cranberries and Pumpkin Seeds
Since kale holds up well, this salad keeps for 2-3 days in the fridge, so it's great for batch cooking/meal prepping/lunches, and for dinner parties too.
Colcannon - Irish Mashed Potatoes with Kale
Ready to take your mashed potatoes up a notch? Try Colcannon, or Irish Mashed Potatoes with Kale. - creamy potatoes with garlic, leeks, kale and butter. It's truly delicious.
Famous Sage + Apple Gluten-Free Stuffing
This gluten-free stuffing recipe is full of flavor from apple, fresh sage and sausage - and everyone will love it.
Yucatan Achiote Roasted Turkey
This Mexican-style Achiote Roasted Turkey recipe from Hola Jalapeno gets a rub of the classic savory annatto seed paste and citrus—classic flavors of the Yucatan—which gives it amazing color and flavor, and then slow roasted to a beautiful red-orange bronze.
Incredibly Delicious Gluten-Free Pumpkin Cheesecake:
No one will know this Pumpkin Cheesecake is gluten-free because it is so creamy and delicious! With a ginger snap crust that pairs perfectly with the cheesecake's spices, there's no doubt this will become a new holiday favorite!
Why this mushroom stuffing makes everyone happy:
This mushroom stuffing recipe happens to be vegetarian, and mine is gluten-free, but that doesn’t mean it is lacking in the flavor department. A healthy dose of fresh thyme and parsley along with a variety of mushrooms ensure a complex flavor that will satisfy meat eaters and vegetarians alike (as long as you don’t actually stuff it in the bird). Mushrooms + turkey = a match made in heaven. Stuffing full of mushrooms + corn casserole + cranberry sauce = happy vegetarian guests. Mushrooms + gluten-free bread = happy gluten-free you!
Choosing bread for gluten-free stuffing:
This recipe works with both conventional and gluten-free sandwich bread, and is perfect with Udi’s Gluten-free Multi-Grain bread. It is best if you freeze the bread overnight, as this makes dicing the bread easier. If you don’t have time to freeze the loaf, just tear the slices to keep from smashing the bread.
Fabulous Mushroom Stuffing
Ingredients
- 1 ounce dried porcini mushrooms 30 grams
- 1¼ cups boiling water 300 ml
- 4 tablespoons olive oil 60 ml
- 2 shallots finely chopped
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 1 loaf sandwich bread (gluten-free or conventional) frozen overnight if you can*
- 16 ounces white, cremini or similar mushrooms roughly chopped | about 450 grams
- 8 ounces portobello mushrooms roughly chopped
- 1 bunch thyme leaves picked and stems discarded | 10-12 stems
- 3 bay leaves
- ½ bunch parsley leaves picked and chopped, stems discarded
Instructions
- Pour the boiling water over the dried mushrooms and set aside.
- Grease an 11×13 baking dish with olive oil.
- Dice the loaf of bread and set aside.
- In a large skillet, over medium heat, heat the olive oil. Add the shallot and garlic and cook until translucent and soft, but not yet golden (about 5 minutes).
- Drain the porcini, reserving the soaking liquid, and add them along with the other mushrooms, bay leaves and thyme to the skillet. Cook until the mushrooms are softened. At this point, if you are cooking ahead, stop. You want to assemble the stuffing right before putting it in the oven.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (if your oven is a little hotter because of other dishes, you can adjust the baking time). While the oven heats, let the mushrooms cool slightly. Remove the bay leaves.
- Strain the reserved soaking liquid to remove any grit from the dried mushrooms.
- Stir together the mushrooms, the diced gluten-free bread and the parsley. Spread evenly in the baking dish.
- Pour the reserved soaking liquid slowly & evenly over the stuffing. You want to moisten the stuffing but not soak it. You may not need all of it (although I always have).
- Cover the dish with foil and bake for 35 minutes covered. Remove the foil and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes. You want the bread to start looking nice and golden brown.
Notes
Nutrition
About this mushroom stuffing:
This recipe was adapted from one in the November/December 2011 Jamie Magazine. We have made it at several Christmas dinners, Friendsgivings and Thanksgiving celebrations. It has become a family standby – it isn’t even in a magazine anymore. That’s how you know it’s good – it is now just a page clipped and saved in a binder.
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