Stuffing Muffins {Can be Gluten-Free} – Kalyn's Kitchen

My Stuffing Pies are flavored with sausage and Parmesan, and are a staple Thanksgiving side dish in my house. And if you use portion control, no carb splurge! (And this recipe now has a gluten-free option!)

PIN Stuffing Muffins to try later!

This recipe Stuffing for pancakes He was one of the Top ten healthy Thanksgiving recipes for several years. This is a huge favorite in my family, and today I’m offering it up for her Favorite Friday To remind you of this fun stuffing option in case you want to try it for your family too!

If you love the idea of a flavorful filling with sausage and Parmesan cheese and baked in a muffin tin so it’s crispy on all edges, you’ll enjoy these mini muffins made with filling for Thanksgiving. Of course, these aren’t really muffins, but I love the idea of stuffing bread into muffin cups. It also helps with portion control, which may or may not be something you crave for Thanksgiving.

And to make these filled muffins even healthier than regular Thanksgiving filling, I use 100% whole wheat bread, and sausage, Parmesan, and eggs are delicious low-carb additions. There’s no doubt about it, these stuffed muffins really are a winner if you’re looking for a filling idea that’s totally delicious but is still somehow healthy!

What ingredients do you need?

Whole wheat bread (see below for gluten-free)
Low-fat pork sausage
olive oil (affiliate link)
an onion
celery
Butter or olive oil
dried sage (affiliate link)
poultry seasoning (affiliate link)
salt
Parmesan cheese
Chicken broth
egg

Can the muffin filling be gluten-free?

My niece who cooks with me has a son who can’t eat gluten, so I’m not sure why it took us so long to try this recipe with gluten-free baking! But I just heard from Kara that she made the recipe with her Franz Bakery Gluten Free Seven Grain Bread (referral link) And they turned out to be just fine. Kara couldn’t find low-fat pork sausage, so she used ground breakfast sausage on the regular. Otherwise, you have followed the recipe exactly. (I suspect this will work for any gluten-free bread that has a similar texture to wheat bread; if anyone has tried it with a different gluten-free bread, please let me know in the comments.)

Can stuffed pies be frozen?

Leftover donuts can be frozen, thawed, and reheated for another meal later. If you want to make them intentionally ahead of Thanksgiving, I’ll cook them a little the first time, freeze in an airtight container, then defrost on the counter and reheat them in the original muffin pan in a hot oven while you do those last-minute touches to the meal.

Can you make muffin filling with turkey sausage?

If you don’t want to use pork or can’t find low-fat pork sausage, you can definitely make breakfast sausage buns out of ground turkey.

Want low-carb holiday foods?

I realize that some people are gluten-free, don’t want to eat bread, or can’t eat a lot of carbs. If baking muffin filling doesn’t work out for you or your guests, check out my collection Keto side dishes, appetizers, and salads for the holidays For gluten free and low carb holiday ideas.

How to make muffin stuffing:

(Scroll down for the full printable recipe with nutritional information.)

I like to use two types of 100% whole wheat bread; If you’re watching your carbs or following the original South Beach Diet, choose the bread with the least amount of sugar you can find.
Cut the bread into cubes about 1/2 inch square and toast on a baking sheet for 10 minutes, then flip and toast for another 10 minutes.
While the toast is cracking, brown the sausage well in a heavy skillet, then place the browned sausage in a large bowl.
Then cook the celery and onion over medium heat until softened, about 10 minutes. Add the dried sage, poultry seasoning, and salt and cook for another 1-2 minutes.
Now the bread cubes should dry out a bit and start to brown.
Add the onion and celery mixture to the sausage bowl.
Whisk the broth and eggs together.
Mix the bread cubes with the sausage and veggies, stir in the Parmesan cheese, then add the stock and egg mixture a little at a time, stirring until the bread is moist.
Use a 1/3-cup measure to scoop out the filling and fill it into a muffin cup, pressing down on each “muffin” until they are well packed together.
Bake the cookies for about 30 minutes, or until they are lightly browned and the filling is hot. I’ll start checking it out in about 20 minutes; Some breads brown more quickly than others.
If you’re going to reheat them when you get to your dinner destination, bake for a shorter time to begin with.

More Thanksgiving side dishes:

Ingredients

8 slices 100% whole wheat bread, cut into cubes about 1/2 inch square (See notes for more information or for the gluten-free option.)

12 ounces reduced-fat pork sausage (see notes)

1 tsp. olive oil

1 cup finely chopped onion

1 cup finely chopped celery

1 ton of butter or olive oil

1 1/2 tsp. dried sage (or use ½ teaspoon if you’re not a big fan of sage, which is a fairly strong flavour)

1 tsp. Poultry seasoning (see notes)

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup chicken broth (see notes)

2 eggs

instructions

Preheat the oven to 300°F / 150°C.
Cut the bread into cubes about 1/2 inch square (You will need 5 large cups of bread cubes.)
Place the bread cubes on a large baking sheet and toast in the oven for 10 minutes, then flip the bread and toast for another 10 minutes, or until the bread is dry and lightly brown.
While the bread is baking, heat 1 tsp. Combine the olive oil in a heavy skillet, add the sausage, and cook until well browned and cooked through, about 10 minutes.
Break the sausage with a metal stirrer while cooking so that you have small pieces to mix through the filling.
Place the browned sausage in a large mixing bowl, then wipe excess fat from skillet with a paper towel. (I “patted” with the paper towel to leave the crumbly sausage bits in the skillet while I eliminate the fat.)
Heat 1 T of butter or olive oil in a skillet, add the finely chopped onion and celery and cook over medium heat until the vegetables are softened and barely beginning to brown, about 10 minutes.
Add the dried sage, poultry seasoning, and salt and cook for another 1-2 minutes. Add the onion/celery mixture to the mixing bowl.
When the bread cubes are toasted, add them to the mixing bowl and increase the oven temperature to 400°F/200°C. Add the Parmesan cheese and mix well so that all the bread cubes are covered with a little Parmesan cheese.
Whisk together the chicken stock and eggs, adding 1/3 at a time, pouring over the top of the filling mixture at a time and stirring until all the bread cubes are slightly moistened.
Spray the metal muffin tin well with non-stick spray. Use a measuring cup to add 1/3 cup to each muffin cup, and press down on each muffin until it is well packed together. (I used a measuring cup to pack the “pancakes,” then pressed them back together with my fingers when they were all stuffed.)
Bake the muffins for 30 minutes or until the top is nicely browned and hot and clear. (I’ll start checking in 20 minutes.
If you’re going to reheat them when you get to your dinner destination, I’d bake them for a shorter time to start and then heat/cook them at a high temperature just before serving them.)
Let it cool for 5 minutes before removing it from the pan, then use a knife to get around the edge of each “muffin” before lifting it from the muffin pan.
Serve hot with turkey gravy, of course!

notes

You need 5 large cups of bread cubes for this recipe. In 2021, my niece Kara tested the recipe using Franz’s Gluten Free Seven Grain Bread and it worked perfectly.

If you can find it, use turkey breakfast sausage to reduce the fat.

used Penzeys Poultry SeasoningClick to see the ingredients.

used Homemade chicken broth But canned chicken broth is fine for this.

This recipe was prepared by Kalyn.

Nutrition information:

fruit:

Serving size:

1

Amount per service:
Calories: 199Total fat: 12 gramsSaturated fat: 4 gramsUnsaturated fats: 0 gramsUnsaturated fats: 7 gramsCholesterol: 60 mgsodium: 528 mgcarbohydrates: 12 gramsthe basic: 2 gramssugar: 2 gramsprotein: 10 grams

Nutrition info is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I’m using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, as many variables affect these calculations.

Low Carb Diet / Low Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
I haven’t tried making Stuffing Muffins with low carb bread, but I think it will work. But that’s not much of an overindulgence in carbs for low-carb diet plans if you limit yourself to one pancake; Check nutritional information. If you want the most convenient South Beach Diet version of Stuffing Muffins, choose the bread with the lowest amount of sugar possible. South Beach also recommends using turkey sausage, and cooking vegetables in olive oil instead of butter. However, even if you use reduced-fat pork sausage and some butter like I did, this is a diet-friendly recipe for a special occasion.

Find more recipes like these:
Uses Eid recipes To find more recipes like this Diet type indicator To find recipes suitable for a particular food plan. You may also like to follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on PinterestAnd the in FacebookAnd the on instagramAnd the on TikTokor on YouTube See all the good recipes I share there.

Historical notes for this recipe:
Stuffing Muffins was first published in 2010, after a lot of experimentation to perfect the recipe. Now they are a classic dish in my family. Recipe updated with a gluten-free option in 2021 and most recently updated with more information in 2022.