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Paleo Cauliflower Sausage Stuffing

November 5, 2021

Two words: Paleo. Stuffing. Does it sound too good to be true? Well, I promise that it isn’t! If you’re paleo, gluten-free, or otherwise don’t deal well with too much bread (no judgement here) then you’re going to love my Paleo Cauliflower Sausage Stuffing. Not only is it everything that you love about stuffing, but it’s bread free. And YES, it’s delicious. Don’t believe me yet? Just make it and see. I promise you’ll be convinced.

If there’s one group of people that often gets forgotten about on Thanksgiving, it’s all of my gluten-free friends out there. In fact, the holidays in general can be difficult for the gluten-free. From stuffing to bread rolls, pumpkin pies and sugar cookies, gluten is in almost everything we love about the holidays. How lame is that?

While I am not personally gluten-free, I empathize with the gluten-sensitive. After recovering from my eating disorder a few years back (more on that journey here), I found that my stomach was a lot more sensitive to certain foods – gluten being one of them. To cope with the perpetual bloating and belly aches that would ensue, I started looking for more ways to incorporate gluten-free goodness into my daily diet. And you know what? I started to feel better!

One of the best places to start, if you’re looking to get into gluten-free cooking, is with paleo recipes, because the paleo diet / lifestyle is naturally gluten-free. Now just like with not being gluten-free, I’m not paleo either. Nor am I vegan. But you will find both of those types of recipes on my blog! Why? Because they’re healthy recipes that taste damn good!

And this stuffing recipe is no exception. Crisp cauliflower and Italian sausage loaded with all of the seasonings and flavor? Sign me up. In fact, I would go as far as to say that this recipe is so delicious, you won’t even begin to miss the bread! You can absolutely use this as a stuffing for your turkey, or just go wild and eat it by the spoonful! I’m not judging, because TBH, I’ll be doing the same. Ha!

What You Need to Make This Paleo Cauliflower Sausage Stuffing

Olive Oil, Butter, or Ghee: If you’re making this recipe traditional paleo-style, you’ll want to use olive oil. But if you’re just making it to be gluten-free, or to be delicious, I recommend using butter or ghee!
Onion: Any onion works well here, but I personally use a yellow onion.
Celery: Celery adds the perfect bite, and is a staple in any good stuffing recipe!
Garlic: I use mashed, fresh garlic here. It just tastes so much better!
Cauliflower: Cauliflower florets are a MUST for this recipe. You can use frozen or fresh, both work well!
Italian Sausage: I use mild Italian sausage, and I recommend using mild so that you really get the most out of the seasonings we’ll be adding.
Sea Salt: You can’t make stuffing without sea salt!
Herbs: We’ll be using dried sage, thyme, rosemary, and parsley in this recipe. Yum!
Broth: You can use chicken or vegetable broth here! I personally love using bone broth.
Ground Black Pepper: Just like with the sea salt, black pepper is a must. Don’t skip this!

How to Make This Paleo Cauliflower Sausage Stuffing

Start by heating a large pan on the stove over medium-high heat and adding in the olive oil/butter/ghee.
Once the pan is hot, add in the onion, celery and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until the onion begins to brown and is tender. This will take approximately 7-ish minutes.
Next, add in the Italian sausage and the seasonings. If the sausage is in casing, remove the casing, so you can break it down into small pieces.
Stir everything together, breaking down the sausage, and letting it begin to brown. This will take about 4 minutes or so.
Next, reduce the heat to medium, and add in the cauliflower florets. Continue to stir and cook until the florets begin to soften – this will take about 10 minutes.
Pour in the broth and the parsley and stir everything together. Then, reduce heat to low, and cover. Let simmer for about 10-12 minutes, until the liquid is absorbed. You’ll want to keep an eye on it to ensure that the cauliflower doesn’t get soggy, and still maintains some bite to it!
Remove the cover and add your sea salt and pepper to taste.
Finally, remove from heat and serve immediately. You can garnish with more herbs, if you’d like. Enjoy!

Frequently Asked Questions

Here are the answers to a few of your most common questions regarding this Paleo Cauliflower Sausage Stuffing!

Q: Can I freeze this stuffing?

Sure, you can! To freeze it, simply wait for it to cool and then transfer your stuffing into a freezer-safe container. When you’re ready to eat it, simply place it into a pan on the stove or pop it into the microwave! Just note that, depending on how long it’s frozen for, you might want to add-in more liquid as you reheat it.

Q: What do you recommend serving this with?

I recommend serving this stuffing with any of your traditional Thanksgiving foods! Turkey is, of course, a must, but I also love it alongside my Creamy Green Bean Casserole, my Caramelized Roasted Carrots with Feta, or my Cinnamon Bourbon Cranberry Sauce!

Q: Can this recipe be made vegetarian / vegan-friendly?

Yes! If you’re looking to make this recipe vegetarian or vegan-friendly as well, then I recommend using a veggie sausage! The Beyond Sausage is a great pick, or Trader Joe’s has a good one, too!

I hope you guys love this recipe! If you make it, be sure to leave a comment below and let me know what you think! And if you post to Instagram, I repost your remakes on my IG stories! Enjoy! xx