When you’re eating low carb, decent turkey stuffing/dressing recipes are hard to come by. Sure there are lots of keto friendly options that don’t use any kind of bread – for example my cauliflower sausage and walnut stuffing is delicious and goes great with any roasted bird – especially my Easy Sage Roasted Turkey!
But let’s be honest, it’s hard to beat a bread-based stuffing for sheer comfort food value.
This year I wanted to think outside the box for a new keto stuffing recipe, and when I created the low carb Easy Pumpkin Quick Bread a few weeks ago I knew that it would make the perfect base for a delicious and comforting low carb stuffing recipe!
The pumpkin bread recipe as-is was a little too moist and fragile for a stuffing, so I modified it to make it firmer and sturdier. I also removed the nuts and maple extract from the original recipe to make it more conducive to this savory application.
This will be the same base bread recipe as I used for the Pumpkin Bread French Toast I posted earlier this week. If you’re smart – you’ll double it and freeze some like I did so you can make the stuffing AND the french toast in the same weekend!
Winning.
Be sure to make the bread in advance at least one day, preferably two of making the stuffing. I let mine sit out loosely covered to dry out a bit, and then prior to making the stuffing I cut it into cubes and toasted them in the oven for a few minutes so they wouldn’t completely disintegrate into the stuffing.
It worked like a charm and had a texture much like that of a cornbread based stuffing.
Perfection…
To offset the slight sweetness of the pumpkin bread, I used a sage flavored pork sausage and a tangy feta cheese to give it some pop. I also included the traditional Bell’s turkey seasoning that I grew up on, as well as some fresh parsley to offset the richness of the other flavors.
Overall I would say this low carb stuffing recipe was a big hit. The flavors were perfect and the texture was pleasantly bready and comforting. My only caution is to not let it sit out too long. I made this mid-morning to photograph it and when I tasted it then it was perfect.
By that evening when I reheated it for dinner, the pumpkin bread had absorbed more of the moisture and gotten overly soft. While it still tasted good, it lacked the texture that it had while fresh – so be sure to mix and bake this within no more than an hour of serving your turkey.
In fact if you pop it in the oven while the turkey is resting before carving that would be even better – it will come out hot, crunchy on the top and pleasantly chewy/soft on the inside.
Yummy.
PrintLow Carb Pumpkin Bread, Sausage & Feta Stuffing
- Yield: 10 half cup servings 1x
Description
This low carb and gluten free pumpkin bread stuffing / dressing is flavored with sausage, sage and feta cheese! The perfect side dish to turkey or any roasted bird! Keto, Atkins and Paleo friendly.
Ingredients
- 4 cups cubed pumpkin bread (recipe here)
- 16 oz roll of sage flavored pork sausage
- 1/2 cup onion, chopped
- 1/3 cup chicken or turkey broth
- 2 Tbsp butter
- 1 tsp Bell’s seasoning
- 3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
- 2 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
Instructions
- Toast the pumpkin bread cubes in a 350 degree (F) preheated oven for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown.
- In a medium saute pan, cook the sausage and onions together until the onions are soft and the sausage is fully cooked (about 5 minutes.)
- Pour off 1/4 cup of the liquid from the pan.
- Add the broth, butter and Bell’s seasoning and bring to a boil.
- Remove from the heat and gently stir in the bread cubes, feta and parsley.
- Transfer to a baking dish and bake at 375 degrees (F) for 20 minutes or until the top is golden brown and slightly crunchy.
- Serve warm within one hour of baking.
Notes
Approx nutrition info per serving: 288 calories, 25g fat, 3.5g net carbs, 11g protein
- Category: Low Carb Side Dish Recipe
- Cuisine: American
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Cv says
Best stuffing EVER!!!
Mellissa Sevigny says
Yay! Thank you and so glad it was a hit!
Rhonda says
I made three loaves of the pumpkin bread, intending to make the stuffing. It’s delicious but it falls apart unless cold. How do I know if I over or under cooked it? It’s such a different texture from what I’m used to and I’m new to baking so I honestly don’t know.
Mellissa Sevigny says
Did you use superfine blanched (ie. skins removed) almond flour?
Calvin says
Lovely homemade stuffing recipe, really interesting ingredient of pumpkin to
Rebecca Seevers says
I have been eating low carb for over two years now… lost 45 lbs, and have been maintaining pretty well. I enjoy looking for new ways to make food, and this is one of the best recipes… it satisfies any craving you may have for bread, and the flavors meld together wonderfully in this dish. I tried it a week ago to see if it would be good enough to take to a family Thanksgiving dinner. Overwhelmingly, YES! Thank you for posting this delicious stuffing recipe!
Mellissa Sevigny says
So glad you liked it Rebecca, this is a favorite of ours too!
Suzanne says
Hi. I have the bread in the oven now. Thanks so much for the recipe. I put it in two smaller pans, hoping they bake evenly. I’m also in need of a Bells Seasoning substitute. I’m in Maryland and searched 4 stores. Pretty Please give us an alternative. I also have not found sage sausage, but I did not try Food Lion yet. Any tips to get around that… while there is still time. Happy Thanksgiving all!!
Mellissa Sevigny says
If you can’t find the bell’s you can just use ground sage instead!
Cindy says
I just baked the bread for this. What is Bell’s Seasoning? It’s out of stock on Amazon and I’ve never seen it locally. Is it like poultry seasoning? I’m going to check a couple stores here, but just trying to figure out a replacement if I need one.
Niki Flynn says
Hi Melissa! I LOVE your blog. Thank you so much for the amazing recipes! I am curious if you could make this ahead of time and freeze/refrigerate it until the day of??
Mellissa Sevigny says
I would make the bread ahead for sure and even toast the cubes and freeze, but don’t mix the stuffing until right before baking and then serve within and hour or two after that at the latest.
Niki Flynn says
Thank you! :)
kiki lapalainen says
I so love the pumpkin bread recipe…mine came out delicious and my family loved it!! I am going to do this stuffing for Thanksgiving dinner! Only thing, this year Im making Turkey rolls from turkey breast meat…do you think this stuffing can hold up to being baked inside a turkey roll? Love from happy low carber
American in Finland!! ❤
Mei says
I’m excited to try out this recipe! Exactly how did you modify the original pumpkin bread recipe?
:)
Willow | Will Cook For Friends says
You are a genius with this pumpkin bread! First the french toast, now stuffing. It never would have occurred to me to put pumpkin bread in a stuffing, but now I’m like “best idea ever!” I’ll have to try this sometime just for The Husband and I (we aren’t in charge of stuffing on Thanksgiving, but I see no reason why that should stop us from having it any other time!)
Ruth Spyker says
This is exactly what I’ve been looking for – thanks Melissa! Will be trying it this Thanksgiving. We love the pumpkin bread as is, and it does make delicious french toast. My last one came out too dark and crumbly and I think that was because I baked it 35 minutes instead of 30. That 5 minutes makes a big difference. Keep up the good work!