GF Corn Bread Stuffing

Happy Belated Thanksgiving. My apologies on the tardiness of my greetings, but I was busy in retail land. AND spending time with the amazing family God has blessed me with. :)

I made something new this year for our family get together. This was my first major holiday as a gluten free girl in the kitchen.

We opted to go with corn bread instead of biscuits. So I scoured the web and found some very promising recipes.

I will admit to being a bit intimidated at the thought of feeding my family a recipe I hadn't ever made before. But, I went for it anyway. And I can tell you with certainty, I will be making this again my friends.

There were a few slices left over so I decided to try a scaled down batch of corn bread stuffing (ok, I know it was technically dressing since I didn't do it in a bird. Deal with it. LOL)

Mmmm Corn Bread Dressing

It was the most flavorful stuffing/dressing I have ever made! Completely from scratch. It was a tasty success. I have no problem making this dish for my next big holiday meal.


Here's to you and your culinary adventures, friends. Cheers!

Gluten-Free Cornbread & Cornbread Stuffing

For the cornbread:
 1/2 cup all purpose gluten free flour (I used Hodgson Mill Gluten Free All Purpose Baking Mix)

 ½ cup scant brown rice flour

2 TBS corn starch or tapioca starch
2 TBS packed brown sugar

2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp xanthan gum 

1 tsp salt
4 TBS butter, softened

1 1/2 TBS olive oil
3/4 cup cornmeal
1 cup buttermilk
2 large eggs or 1/2 cup egg beaters

Preheat the oven to 400F. 

Place a 9x9 baking pan in the oven.

Dry ingredients: Whisk together flour blend, rice flour, corn starch, brown sugar, baking powder, xanthan gum, and salt. Use your fingers to cut 2 TBS of butter into the flour mixture until it resembles the consistency of peas. Whisk in cornmeal. Set aside.

Wet Ingredients:  Whisk the buttermilk, eggs, oil, and 1 TBS melted butter together.

Dump the wet ingredients into the dry and mix until just combined. 

Carefully remove the baking dish from the oven. Place remaining 1 TBS butter in the bottom. Swirl to coat the bottom and sides.

Pour the cornbread batter into the hot dish and bake for 15 – 20 minutes, until the top is golden brown and it tests clean with a toothpick.

Let cool slightly before slicing. Serve warm with room temperature butter. Wrap and freeze leftovers. Or let sit out overnight and make corn bread stuffing the next day.

Corn Bread Stuffing

1 recipe day old gluten-free cornbread, cut into small cubes and dried out (about 5 cups)
3 TBS butter
1/2 medium onion, finely diced
2 ribs of celery sliced thin
2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp poultry seasoning (more if you like)
1/4 tsp each- garlic and onion powder
1 cup homemade chicken stock

1/3 cup chopped pecans, slightly toasted

1 small chicken breast, diced small or shredded
freshly ground black pepper & salt to taste

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Melt butter over medium low heat. Add onion and celery. Cook for 5 minutes, add spices and  minced garlic. Cook for another 5 minutes or until celery is tender. Remove from heat and place into a large bowl.  

Add chicken and pecans to veggie mix.

Dump cornbread into the bowl. Add chicken stock. Gently mix so you don't tear up the bread. This is where you have to use your own judgment – you want the dressing to be wet but not soggy. You want just enough liquid so the bread can absorb it all but not so much that it's swimming in a puddle of broth.

Gently turn dressing into desired dish. Spread gently. A larger pan allows you to spread it for a thinner dressing. A smaller pan will produce a thicker dressing. The choice is yours.

Cover and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake another 30 minutes, until top is golden brown and crispy.