This Gluten-Free Cornbread Stuffing recipe for Thanksgiving is a family favorite. Made with caramelized onions, mushrooms and pecans, this stuffing is on a level of its own. 
My mom used to start cooking her Thanksgiving stuffing at least a week before the holiday. The aromas of caramelized onions and fresh herbs would drift through our house for days.
The whole week, I could always smell Thanksgiving as I'd walk down our block on my way home from school.
The cooking, tasting, and adjusting didn't end until after the Thanksgiving feast.
My mom would add something to her Thanksgiving stuffing daily for the whole week! After each new ingredient, we would all taste and say how delicious it was.
Those positive reviews, however, did not stop my mom from making subtle changes until the very last moment. And somehow it just got better and better.
Time marches on, though, and now I am the main cook for the family's Thanksgiving feast. And I make my own stuffing (and admittedly, I don't spend a full week on my version).
And I make gluten-free stuffing because my son can't eat wheat.
Gluten-Free Stuffing Made with Cornbread
This is a family favorite.
And each time I begin this recipe, when I sauté the onions and add the fresh herbs, the oh-so-amazing aroma brings me right back to every other Thanksgiving.
What's in this recipe?
- your favorite gluten-free cornbread (I use Skillet Jalapeño Bacon Cornbread)
- onion
- celery
- mushrooms
- sage
- rosemary
- sherry
- pecans
- vegetable, chicken or turkey stock
Just imagine a combination of these ingredients!
Recipe Tips and Substitutions
- Typically, cornbread is much more crumbly than other (loaf) breads. Even once you've toasted your cornbread cubes, don't expect them to hold their shape.
- In the recipe I link to my favorite gluten-free cornbread recipe, but if you are up to making your own, and have a recipe you love, you can use it. This recipe will work with just about any cornbread.
- To keep this gluten-free, if you buy your own cornbread (or a mix), it's very important to read the labels. Just because it's made with corn flour, doesn't mean other flours might not be in the mix.
- You can make the cornbread up to a week ahead. Just wrap it tightly in a couple of layers of plastic wrap. Keep it in the freezer until the day before you make the stuffing.
Can you make it ahead?
You can make this Gluten-Free Cornbread Stuffing ahead.
You can do everything up to mixing the toasted cornbread and stock with the onion mixture. About an hour before serving, mix everything together and heat.
I hope you love this as much as my family and I do.
Here's another version of gluten-free stuffing you might also like, made with gluten-free white bread.
What else is on the Thanksgiving menu?
I'm glad you asked. 😉
- Smoky Paprika Bacon Roasted Turkey
- Shaved Brussels Sprouts with Prosciutto Cranberries or
- Hazelnut Brown Butter Brussels Sprouts
- Spiced Cranberry Sauce
- Rustic Garlic Confit Mashed Potatoes
- Chai Spiced Butternut Squash Pie with Gluten-Free Nut Crust
Gluten-Free Cornbread Stuffing Recipe
This Cornbread Stuffing is a family favorite. Made with caramelized onions, mushrooms and pecans, it bursts with flavor.
*Note that the prep time doesn't include making the cornbread. The recipe I use is here, and should be made a day ahead.
- 8 cups Gluten-Free Cornbread Recipe (click here for the recipe)
- olive oil for the pan
- 2 cups yellow onion, (medium dice)
- 1½ cups finely chopped celery
- 10 ounces roughly chopped Crimini mushrooms (about 3 cups)
- 1½ tablespoons fresh sage, (washed and dried, finely chopped)
- 1½ tablespoons fresh rosemary, (washed and dried, finely chopped)
- ½ cup dry sherry
- 1 cup toasted pecans, (roughly chopped)
- about ½ cup turkey, chicken or vegetable stock
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
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Preheat oven to 350°F.
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Toast the cornbread. Cut the cornbread into bite-sized pieces. Place them on baking sheet and toast until they are dry and beginning to brown, about 15 minutes. Remove them from the oven and set aside to cool to room temperature.
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Cook onions with celery, mushrooms and herbs. While the cornbread is toasting, coat a large sauté pan with olive oil and place it over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until it's soft, about 7 minutes.
Then add the celery and cook for another couple of minutes. Stir in the mushrooms and a bit more olive oil if necessary. Sauté the mushrooms until they are nicely browned, about 10 minutes. Then mix in the fresh herbs.
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Deglaze and season. Turn the heat to low and deglaze the pan with the sherry, scraping any bits of onion, celery, and mushroom off the bottom of the pan and back into the mixture. Cook until almost all of the liquid has evaporated.
Season to taste with salt and pepper. (Here's How to Season to Taste.)
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Add the pecans, toasted cornbread and stock, and season. Add the pecans, toasted cornbread to the mushroom mixture in a large mixing bowl. Gently mix to combine. Add the desired amount of stock to the stuffing. (If it's too wet, it will become mushy. Be careful and add a little bit at a time.) Season to taste with salt and pepper.
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Warm and serve. Before serving, heat stuffing in covered dish just until it's heated through, about 20 minutes at 350°F. For added crispness to the top, uncover the dish for the last 5 minutes or so.
Calorie count is only an estimate.
Maureen Smith
OMG, yes! I have so many fond memories of your mom's amazing stuffing and all the great smells that went along with it at Thanksgiving! And even cooler, that now you are carrying on with this great tradition 🙂
Diane {Created by Diane}
oh yummy!!!
Melani
I love the pictures. This looks yummy. I'd love to try this at home using another cornbread recipe. Can you estimate how many cups of cornbread would make up 1/2 a recipe of the skillet cornbread? I'm thinking maybe 1/2 a recipe is 3-4Cups but would like a second opinion.
valentina
Thanks, Melani! I think if you made cornbread in an 8 X 8-inch pan it would be perfect. 🙂 Enjoy!
angiesrecipes
Let's forget about the turkey and just serve the stuffing for the Thanksgiving! This looks so GOOD!
valentina
Thank you, Angie! 😀 Enjoy. ~Valentina
David @ Spiced
A week long stuffing? Now that's legit dedication to one's craft! I love it. And I bet the smells would really get you into the Thanskgiving mood! I use a mixture of corn bread and biscuits in my stuffing recipe, and it's a Thanksgiving favorite. (I know the biscuits make my version non-GF, though.) Funny thing is I didn't like stuffing growing up...but now it's one of my favorite side dishes on the Turkey Day table!
valentina
Thanks, David. Yum! I bet the biscuits make for an absolutely scrumptious stuffing. Easy to be a family favorite, I'm sure! 🙂 ~Valentina
Dawn - Girl Heart Food
Truth talk...stuffing (or dressing as we often call it) is one of my FAVE parts about any special meal. I could honestly just eat that and be quite happy. I just love it. And with this version with caramelized onions, mushrooms and pecans, there is no going wrong! Delish, my friend 🙂 Pinned! Happy weekend ahead!
valentina
Thanks so much, Dawn. I'm with you I could eat pretty much all holiday food all the time! 🙂 Hope you have a delightful weekend. ~Valentina
Marissa
I'd never had cornbread stuffing before I started dating my husband (his parents grew up in the south). And I love it!! Yours looks loaded with flavor!! Must try this recipe!
valentina
Thanks, Marissa! Hope you love it. 🙂 ~Valentina
Eha
May I send my warmest wishes, hopes and prayers that you will not be personally involved in the horrendous California forest fires we sadly see on our TV screens . . . We have over 60 bushfires ravaging my state of NSW at the moment also . . . altho' I am way south of Sydney beleaguered by thick brown smoke from 600-700 kms away with so many asthmatics in hospital, I also can just see out of my windows . . . I do feel for you ! I agree that your recipe would make a fine plateful all on its own . . . don't normally bake cornbread here across the Pond but would love to taste this, so . . .
valentina
Thank you so much, Eha, for your well wishes. I didn't realize how many fires were over there, too. Wow! I'm glad you're well away from them, but must be crazy to see it out your windows. We could too. So eerie. I love hearing what's popular across the Pond and what isn't. Maybe one day for the cornbread. 😉 Stay safe. ~Valentina
Kathy @ Beyond the Chicken Coop
I love making my own stuffing too. You just can't beat homemade. I've never had a cornbread stuffing. I am going to have to give it a try. This does look delicious.
valentina
Thank you, Kathy. I agree. Homemade is the best! 🙂 ~Valentina
mimi rippee
OH, I just love this. We don't have to be GF, but of course that doesn't change the recipe for me. I love the addition of the mushrooms and pecans. So perfect for fall and Thanksgiving!
valentina
I hope you love it, Mimi! 🙂 ~Valentina
Nancy
This sounds absolutely DIVINE Valentina!! Stuffing is rather new to me - growing up, we never had it since Thanksgiving was a "new" holiday for our family. I remember my first Thanksgiving with my husband's family and I had no idea what this "stuffing" business was all about. Truth be told, I wasn't a fan - but this ONE? Oh, this one I could definitely wolf down!!
valentina
I bet your Thanksgiving spread is delicious, Nancy! 🙂 ~Valentina
Alene
How many does this serve? 8?
valentina
Hi Alene, Yes, it serves 8 -- as a side. 🙂 Enjoy! ~Valentina
David Scott Allen
I am very serious when I ask this: with a stuffing like this, who needs the turkey? I would stuff a sugar pumpkin with this and it would make a fine dinner! Saved, and will make for Christmas, I think!