A low carb and Keto friendly version of stuffing with cubes of herbed bread and ground sausage making a perfect edition to your Thanksgiving feast!
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This stuffing will not leave you feeling deprived this Thanksgiving! If you are looking for a stuffing that most resembles traditional stuffing made with herb bread/croutons, this recipe will deliver!
I make my own herb bread to cube up and use in this stuffing. It's an extra step, but trust me when I tell you it is SO worth it!
Crumbled sausage, celery, fennel and chopped pecans are also in this delicious dish, along with my Homemade Chicken Stock. Once you make this low carb and Keto friendly version, you will see there is no reason to cheat with traditional stuffing!
One thing to note, this is not the type of stuffing that you could patch a wall with! You know the kind I am talking about, right?! It's more on the loose side, but the flavor is tremendous so it's totally worth the effort!
What's in Herb Sausage Keto Stuffing
- Almond Flour
- Oat Fiber
- Eggs
- Sour cream
- Grass-Fed Butter
- Swerve confectioners
- Fresh thyme
- Herbs De Provence
- Fresh sage
- Celery
- Onions
- Pecans
- Parsley
- Fennel
- Ground sausage
- Chicken stock
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Salt and pepper
*Exact measurements are listed in the recipe card below.
How to Make Sausage Herb Keto Stuffing
To Make the Herb Gluten Free Bread
Preheat oven to 350F.
Whisk all the dry ingredients together in a bowl and set aside.
In a separate bowl, add the eggs, sour cream, herbs, Swerve and butter.
Whisk well until combined.
Mix in the dry ingredients in to the wet and stir just until combined.
Pour the mixture into an 9 X 13 glass or ceramic baking dish that's been sprayed with nonstick spray.
Bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick, when inserted, comes out clean.
Lower the oven temperature to 250F.
Take the bread and invert it onto a cutting board to cool slightly, then cut it into small cubes and spread over a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Bake for 25 minutes or until the bread has dried and firmed up, careful not to burn it!
Remove and set aside to cool slightly, and increase the temperature to 375F. Place it back in the oven and bake for 5 more minutes, then set aside.
To Make the Gluten Free Stuffing
Cook the sausage in a large skillet over medium heat. Once browned, scoop out and set aside.
Add most of the butter (reserving some to dot on the top of the stuffing) in the pan and sauté the onions, fennel and celery for about 8-10 minutes or until slightly softened.
Add the sausage, onions, celery and fennel to a large bowl and mix.
Mix in the chicken stock, herbs and pecans.
Add in the cubed herb bread and gently toss. Add more chicken stock if you prefer a more soggy stuffing. I prefer mine moist, but a little crunchy on top once baked, so 2 ¼ cups is the perfect amount for me.
Pour the mixture into a large baking dish that has been sprayed with nonstick spray and add small dots of softened butter to the top.
Bake for 45 minutes on 375F, first 35 minutes covered with foil and last 10 minutes uncovered. Allow to cool slightly before serving!
You can replace the pecans with walnuts or pine nuts, if you'd like. You can make the herb bread in advance and toast the day you plan on making the stuffing.
If you want to save a little time and make the bread a day in advance, just cook it according to the directions, then keep in the fridge until you're ready to make the stuffing.
Can I Make Keto Stuffing in Advance?
You sure can. In fact, a lot of people prefer to make it a couple of weeks in advance and freeze it precooked. It intensifies the flavors as it freezes. Just make the recipe according to the instructions but place the uncooked stuffing mixture in an airtight container until you're ready to make it.
The night before you want to cook it, just thaw in the fridge overnight then continue with the baking instructions.
This can be a huge time saver when you're doing a lot of other holiday cooking.
Tips for the Best Gluten Free Stuffing
Whether you call it dressing or stuffing, it is the utmost cornerstone of most Thanksgiving menus so it's important for it to turn out perfect every time. Here are some great tips and substitutions for you to try:
- Adjust the seasonings to suit your taste. One thing that most people understand is, the herbs used for dressing vary based on what part of the country you live. Some like a lot of sage, some do not. So test it before making it for your family to make sure you add just enough or not to much of your favorite stuffing seasoning. This gluten free stuffing recipe is a great starting point as it has a mild blend of the most commonly used stuffing ingredients.
- To keep your stuffing from being soggy, don's skip drying out the bread. In traditional stuffing, it calls for crackers or day old biscuits. But you can achieve the same results by toasting the cubes of this Keto bread recipe in the oven. The texture really depends on this step.
- A good quality chicken stock is also essential. If you can not make this homemade chicken stock, try using Chicken Bone Broth. It has a more intense chicken flavor than most store bought brands of stock.
- There are several substitutions you can experiment with. You can use whatever ground sausage you like best. If you prefer ground Italians sausage, a mild breakfast style sausage or even chicken sausage, it will work just fine. Just adjust the amount of seasonings in the mixture accordingly. You can also use walnuts instead of pecans, or even omit the nuts all together. But, trust me, that little bit of crunch really makes the recipe.
What are the Carbs in Sausage Herb Stuffing
Traditional cornbread stuffing can have as many as 40 carbs per serving. That's two days worth of carbs for those on Keto. Bread made with almond flour greatly reduces the carbs. For one serving of this gluten free stuffing, there are only 4 net carbs! How is that for low carb!?
More Holiday Inspired Keto Recipes
- Pumpkin Crème Brulee
- Green Beans Almondine
- Pumpkin Cheesecake Mousse
- Homemade Cranberry Sauce
- Cranberry Sauce Walnut Muffins
- Bacon Wrapped Green Beans
- Pumpkin Coffee Cake
What is Oat Fiber? Is Oat Fiber Keto?
The Oat Fiber is really important in this recipe! Â I use it in so many recipes, because of the amazing texture it gives whatever I'm baking! Â It is hands down, the best ingredient I've baked with! Â The Oat Fiber that I use is made by Lifesource Foods, because they grind it to a very fine powder and has a mild flavor. I buy it in the 16 ounce bag, which lasts a while, because you don't need to use much in your recipes.
Oat Fiber is not the same as Oat Flour, which is made from grinding oats. Â Oat Fiber is made from grinding the outer husks of oats and is pure insoluble fiber. Insoluble fiber doesn't dissolve in water and is not broken down in the digestive tract, so it has zero net carbs and is Keto friendly.
More Recipes Using Oat Fiber
- Blueberry Muffins
- Coffee Crumb Cake
- Coconut Lime Cupcakes
- Cheddar Jalapeño "Cornbread"
- Fluffy Pancakes
- Rosemary & Kalamata Olive Focaccia
- Lemon Cupcakes
- Chocolate Chip Cookies
Need Even More Holiday? Check out my 50+ Best Keto Thanksgiving Recipes roundup!
Shop my favorite products on Amazon and check out my Keto Pantry List!
Herb Sausage Stuffing - Keto, Low Carb & Gluten Free
INGREDIENTS
For the Herb Bread
- 2 Cups Almond Flour
- 3 tablespoons Oat Fiber , see note below
- 3 Eggs, beaten
- 1 Cup Sour Cream
- ½ cup Grass-Fed Butter, melted
- 2 teaspoons swerve confectioners, or powdered erythritol
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme, regular or lemon, chopped
- 3 teaspoons dried Herbs De Provence
- 1 teaspoon fresh sage, chopped
- 1 tablespoon Baking Powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- Pinch of Salt
For the Stuffing
- 1 pound ground sausage
- 2 ¼ cups chicken stock , see my homemade chicken stock recipe here
- 2 stalks celery, chopped
- ½ cup fennel, chopped
- ½ cup onion, sliced thinly
- ⅓ cup toasted pecans, chopped
- ½ cup grass fed butter, divided
- 1 tablespoon fresh sage, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme, regular or lemon, chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground pepper
INSTRUCTIONS
To Make the Herb Bread
- Preheat oven to 350F. Mix all the dry ingredients together in a bowl and set aside. Â In a separate bowl, add the eggs, sour cream, herbs, swerve and butter, then mix to combine. Mix in the dry ingredients, just until combined.
- Pour the mixture into an 9 X 12 glass or ceramic baking dish that's been sprayed with nonstick spray. Â Bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick, when inserted, comes out clean.
- Lower the temperature to 250F.  Invert onto a cutting board to cool slightly, then cut into small cubes and spread over a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  Bake for 25 minutes or until the bread has dried and firmed up, careful not to burn it!  Remove and set aside to cool slightly, and increase the temperature to 375F.  Bake for 5 more minutes, then set aside.
To Make the Stuffing
- Cook the sausage in a large skillet over medium heat.  Once browned, scoop out and set aside.  Add most of the butter (reserving some to dot on the top of the stuffing) in the pan and sauté the onions, fennel and celery for about 8-10 minutes or until slightly softened.
- Add the sausage, onions, celery and fennel to a large bowl and mix. Mix in the chicken stock, herbs and pecans. Â Add in the cubed herb bread and gently toss. Â Add more chicken stock if you prefer a more soggy stuffing. Â I prefer mine moist, but a little crunchy on top once baked, so 2 ½ cups is the perfect amount for me.
- Pour the mixture into a large baking dish that has been sprayed with nonstick spray and add small dots of softened butter to the top. Â Bake for 40 minutes @ 375F, first 30 minutes covered with foil and last 10 minutes uncovered. Â Allow to cool slightly before serving!
I made your stuffing for Thanksgiving. I had to do some substations because of family preferences. I used dry herbs sage, rosemary, thyme and parsley but ground them in my spice blender. I substituted chopped turkey for the sausage and left out the fennel. I had rave reviews from my family especially my pickiest eater. Thank you for sharing your recipe with us I gave you 5 stars but your recipe deserves a much higher rating.
That's wonderful that your family enjoyed it! Thank you for letting me know and for sharing your modifications 🙂
I just made the breading for tomorrow (Thanksgiving dinner). It's so tasty and flavorful!!! I made an additional batch to use as croutons, they are perfect for a Caesar salad addition! Thank you, Julianne, for all the wonderful recipes you share with us! Blessings to you and your loved ones, from California <3 🙂
That's awesome, I'm glad to hear you like it!! I hope you and your family have a wonderful Thanksgiving and may the Lord bless you all 🙂
Do you know the amount do carbs that are in a serving.
Each serving has 4 net carbs.
Daughter has nut allergies. Can I substitute coconut flour for the almond flour?
I've never tried subbing with coconut flour, so I can't say for sure how it might turn out.
Not a big fan of sausage stuffing — would this recipe be tasty without sausage? Or do you have an alternate recipe for low carb stuffing/dressing? Thank you and blessings.
It wouldn't be quite as flavorful, since most of the flavor does come from the sausage. Would there be another protein that you could use instead, like bacon, pancetta or prosciutto?
Hi - what is your note about the oat fiber? I'm not seeing it in the recipe notes. Thanks!
Not sure how that got removed, but I've added it back. Sorry for any confusion!
I'm looking for a stuffing recipe more traditional for us. One with no meat. Any suggestions? Could I just double the Herb Bread?
Sure, or even add more veg to give it more flavor.
Absolutely the best Keto Stuffing I have ever had. So full of flavor and heats up nicely.
Thanks for the feedback, good to hear you enjoyed it!