Those of you who follow me regularly know that I am all about an abundance mindset. I truly believe that projecting an attitude of joy and love into the world will pay you back in health and happiness. That is why Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. This is a day centered around gratitude, sharing, family, and understanding. And food! 

For women with Hashimoto’s, food-centered holidays like Thanksgiving can feel anything but abundant. I’m here to tell you that you CAN have an amazing and delicious Thanksgiving meal that nourishes your body, soothes your Hashimoto’s, and tickles your tastebuds. To assist me in this endeavor, I’ve invited my dear friend, Elizabeth Kaplan, to share her seven favorite gluten-free Thanksgiving recipes with my readers.

Elizabeth is the amazing and talented founder of The Pure Pantry, as well as the author of “Fresh from Elizabeth’s Kitchen: Gluten-free and Allergy-free Recipes for Healthy, Delicious Meals.” Eighteen years ago, Elizabeth was diagnosed with celiac disease. Her diagnosis forced her to think outside the box and create delicious, gluten-free recipes. 

Whether you are hosting Thanksgiving this year or want to bring a dish or two that everyone can enjoy, these recipes will serve you and your family well:

  • Gluten-free Baking Mix
  • Southern Cornbread Stuffing
  • Sweet Potato Casserole
  • Pumpkin Bread
  • Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie
  • Pumpkin Cheesecake
  • Pumpkin Pie

Recipe 1 – Elizabeth’s Gluten-Free Baking Mix

Elizabeth suggests starting your Thanksgiving menu by creating your own gluten-free baking mix. This baking mix can be the centerpiece of a wide variety of different recipes, anything from hearty bread to scrumptious desserts, depending on how you make it. 

In order to replace the gluten that helps bind baked goods together, you’ll need to combine special flours and xanthan gum. 

Makes: 4 cups mix

Ingredients: 

  • 1 ½ cup organic brown rice flour
  • 1 ¼ cup organic white rice flour 
  • ½ cup organic potato starch flour
  • ½ cup organic sorghum flour, millet flour, or amaranth flour
  • ¼ cup organic tapioca flour
  • 2 teaspoons xanthan gum

Directions:

  • Mix all ingredients together and place in an air-tight container.

The beauty of this recipe is that you can store your baking mix in the freezer for up to four months. If you still have some left over after Thanksgiving, store it for Christmas, Hanukah, or New Years. 

When choosing which flour combination to use, consider that sorghum will give you the lightest result in baking. Millet and amaranth will give you a heavier result. For cakes and cookies, I recommend using sorghum in the blend. For breads, scones, and biscuits, millet or amaranth are good choices.

Hint: Short on time? You can also find gluten-free baking flour at many natural food stores. 

Recipe 2 – Gluten-Free Thanksgiving Cornbread Stuffing with Chicken Apple Sausage

If you thought leading a gluten-free life meant never enjoying savory stuffing, think again. This recipe takes a little work since you’ll need to make the cornbread first, but it is well worth the effort.

Gluten-free Cornbread Recipe

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup Elizabeth’s Gluten-free Baking Mix
  • 1 cup organic yellow cornmeal
  • ¼ cup agave nectar
  • 1 tsp aluminum-free baking powder 
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 1 cup milk (almond or rice milk may be substituted)
  • 1/3 cup vegetable shortening, butter, or coconut oil – melted
  • 1 large egg slightly beaten (or egg replacer)

Directions:

  • Preheat oven to 400° F. Grease or butter an 8-inch square baking pan.
  • Combine dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Combine milk, oil, and egg in a small bowl; mix well.
  • Add milk mixture to flour mixture; stir just until blended.
  • Pour into prepared pan and bake for 20-22 minutes.
  • For muffins spoon batter into greased muffin cups, fill 2/3 full, and bake 15-18 minutes.

This recipe may be doubled and baked as above in a 13X9 inch baking pan.

 

Cornbread Stuffing Recipe

stuffingMakes: 12 cups 

Ingredients:

  • 1 recipe for gluten-free cornbread
  • 2 cups pecans or chestnuts, chopped (already peeled chestnuts available at gourmet grocery stores)
  • 6 leeks (about 1 pound, white and pale green part)
  • 4 ribs celery, chopped
  • ¼ cup unsalted butter or coconut oil
  • ½ lb. chicken apple sausage, uncooked (about 4 links) omit for vegetarian option
  • 2 Fuji apples, peeled, cored, and chopped
  • 1 cup dried cranberries
  • 1 tablespoon fresh orange zest
  • ½ cup packed fresh Italian parsley, finely chopped
  • 1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped
  • 2 cups chicken stock (or vegetable stock)

Directions:

  • Preheat oven to 325 F.
  • Prepare cornbread and let cool. Cut cornbread into ½ inch cubes and in a large shallow pan toast bread cubes in oven for 20 minutes.
  • Transfer cornbread to bowl. Toast chopped pecans or chestnuts in oven (using pan from cornbread) for 5 minutes, until lightly toasted.
  • Halve leeks lengthwise and then cut crosswise into ¼ inch pieces. In a bowl of cold water wash leeks well and drain. In a 12-inch skillet cook leeks and celery in butter or coconut oil. Add salt and pepper and continue sautéing until leeks are tender, about 10 minutes. Set aside.
  • Remove sausage from casing and cut into small pieces. Add sausage to pan and cook over medium heat until sausage is thoroughly cooked, about 5 minutes. Add leeks, chopped apples, and sauté another 2 minutes.
  • To the bowl of cornbread cubes, add toasted pecans or chestnuts, sausage mixture, dried cranberries, orange zest, chopped parsley, fresh thyme, and chicken stock.

Stuffing can be made to this point one day ahead, covered and refrigerated.

To cook stuffing outside of turkey: 

Place stuffing in a shallow baking dish. Bake at 325 for 60 minutes. For moist stuffing, bake covered with foil.

For slightly crisp stuffing, uncover halfway through baking time.

To cook stuffing inside of turkey:

Place stuffing in turkey cavity immediately before roasting turkey. 

Recipe 3 – Gluten-Free Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecan Cinnamon Topping

Looking for a tasty gluten-free side dish for your Thanksgiving table or to bring over to a family Thanksgiving or Friendsgiving? Then you’ve got to try this wonderfully sweet potato casserole dish. The cinnamon and brown sugar toppings add an extra sweet touch.

Serves 6

Ingredients:

  • 3 lbs sweet potatoes
  • ¾ cup of orange juice
  • 2 large eggs* (see notes on omitting eggs)
  • 2 tablespoons coconut oil or margarine, melted
  • 2 tablespoons agave nectar
  • 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

Topping:

  • ½ cup Elizabeth’s gluten-free baking mix
  • ¼ cup firmly packed golden brown sugar
  • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ½ cup coconut oil or margarine
  • ½ cup chopped pecans

Directions:

For sweet potatoes:

  • Preheat oven to 350. Place three pounds of sweet potatoes in a baking pan and bake until all are tender, about one hour.
  • Butter 8×2 inch square glad baking dish. Scrape sweet potato pulp from skins into large bowl. Using an electric mixer, mash sweet potatoes.
  • Add orange juice, eggs, melted coconut oil or margarine, agave nectar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Beat until smooth.
  • Season to taste with salt and pepper. Spoon potatoes into prepared dish.

For topping:

  • Combine flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a medium bowl.
  • Add coconut oil or margarine and cut in until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Mix in chopped pecans. Sprinkle topping over potatoes.
  • Bake for 30 minutes. Serve warm.

*to omit eggs, increase coconut oil or margarine to ½ cup and add ¼ cup Old Fashioned baking mix to potato mixture.

pumpkin bread

Recipe 4 – Gluten-free Pumpkin Bread

Yes, you absolutely can have bread this Thanksgiving, and not just any bread. Elizabeth’s pumpkin bread recipe will leave you and your Thanksgiving guests begging for more. Here’s what you need to know.  

 

Makes: One loaf

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups The Pure Pantry gluten-free All-Purpose Baking Mix
  • 1 t. baking powder
  • 1 t. cinnamon
  • ¼ t. cloves
  • ¼ t. ginger
  • ¼ t. nutmeg
  • 3 eggs (or egg replacer)
  • 1 1/3 c. canned pumpkin
  • 1 c. organic dark brown sugar
  • 2 T. agave nectar
  • ½ c. safflower oil
  • 1 t. vanilla
  • ¼ c. water
  • ¾ c. chopped pecans (optional)

For Crumb Topping

  • ¾ cup Elizabeth’s Gluten-free Flour Blend 
  • 1/2 cup (packed) golden brown sugar 
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 
  • 1/2 cup Spectrum non-hydrogenated shortening or margarine

Directions:

  • Preheat oven to 350. 
  • In a medium-size bowl combine baking mix, baking powder, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and nutmeg. Set aside.
  • Break eggs into a large bowl of an electric mixer (or place egg replacer in a bowl). Beat until blended. Add pumpkin, sugar, agave, canola oil, vanilla, and water. Beat until well combined. Set aside.
  • Fold in the dry ingredients into the egg mixture, stirring until smooth. If adding pecans, stir in. Set aside. 

To make the crumb topping:

  • Place flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a bowl.
  • Blend shortening or margarine with dry ingredients using fingertips until well mixed.

chocolate bourbon pecan pie

Recipe 5 – Gluten-free Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie

Are you in charge of bringing a dessert to Thanksgiving? Then give your family and friends a dish they won’t stop talking about. This gluten-free pecan pie is the perfect blend of sweet and savory.

 

Serves: 6p

Ingredients:

  • ½ cup coconut oil
  • 1 cup quality bittersweet chocolate, chopped
  • ½ cup coconut milk 
  • ¾ cup light brown sugar
  • ½ cup agave nectar
  • 1 tablespoon blackstrap molasses
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 5 eggs
  • 2 tablespoons Elizabeth’s Gluten-free Flour Blend 
  • 1½ cups chopped pecans
  • 3 tablespoons Bourbon
  • 1 gluten-free pie crust in 10-inch fluted tart pan, chilled
  • 1 cup whipping cream sweetened with 1 teaspoon
  •   agave and laced with 1 teaspoon Bourbon (optional)

Directions:

  • Combine coconut oil and chocolate in a saucepan over low heat and stir until melted. Add coconut milk and brown sugar and stir to combine. Let cool.
  • In mixer with paddle attachment, beat eggs with agave nectar, molasses, vanilla, salt, and baking mix.  Add cooled chocolate mixture and blend. Turn off mixer and fold in chopped pecans.
  • Pour mixture into pie crust. 
  • Bake for 15 minutes at 400˚ F. Reduce temperature to 350˚ F and bake an additional 20 minutes until set. Remove pie from the oven. Let cool for 10 minutes. With a skewer poke small holes in the surface and brush with bourbon. Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream, if desired.

Gluten-Free Pie Crust

Ingredients:

  • 1 stick chilled butter
  • ½ c. Spectrum shortening or coconut oil
  • 1 cup sweet rice flour
  • 1 cup potato starch flour
  • ½ c. cornstarch
  • 1 t. xanthan gum
  • 2 T. sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 2 T. cold water
  • 1 tsp. cider vinegar

Directions:

  • Cut butter into small pieces. Blend butter and shortening with dry ingredients using fingertips.
  • Add egg, cold water, and cider vinegar and blend until well combined.
  • If too sticky, add a small amount of rice flour.
  • Roll dough into a ball and flatten. Cover with waxed paper and chill for 30 minutes before rolling out.

Recipe 6 – Gluten-free Pumpkin Cheesecake 

Nobody can say no to this mouth-watering, gluten-free pumpkin cheesecake. If you want to serve up a unique dessert that no one else will bring to Thanksgiving, you’ve found the right recipe. 

Serves 8-10

Ingredients:

  • 2- 8 oz. packages cream cheese or Tofutti cream cheese
  • 1/2 cup regular milk or coconut milk
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup canned pumpkin
  • ½ cup maple sugar or coconut sugar
  • ½ cup raw agave nectar
  • 1 t. cinnamon
  • ½ t. nutmeg
  • ½ t. ginger

Topping:

  • 1 cup sour cream or Sour Supreme by Tofutti
  • ½ cup brown sugar
  • 1 t. vanilla
  • 1 gluten-free graham cracker crust or gluten-free gingersnap crust, prebaked for 10 minutes at 350˚F (see below for crust recipes).

Directions:

  • Preheat oven to 350˚ F. 
  • Using an electric mixer with paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese until softened. Add milk and one egg at a time, blending well between additions.
  • Add pumpkin, sugar, agave, and spices. Beat until thoroughly blended.
  • Pour the mixture into the prepared crust and bake for 50 minutes.  
  • While cheesecake is baking, blend together sour cream, brown sugar, and vanilla.
  • Remove cheesecake from oven and check for doneness, it should be firm.
  • Spread sour cream mixture over the top and bake an additional 10 minutes.
  • Cool cheesecake on wire rack and then chill in refrigerator for at least two hours before slicing.

Graham Cracker Crust

Makes 1 crust for 9-inch pie plate

Ingredients:

  • 14-15 gluten-free graham crackers (purchased, Pamela’s or Kinnikinnick graham crackers)
  • ½ cup sugar
  • 1 tablespoon coconut oil, melted

Directions:

  • Place graham crackers in a food processor fitted with metal blade and pulse until fine crumbs form. Add sugar and melted coconut oil. (Add optional coconut or chopped nuts and coconut oil.) Pulse 2-3 times until combined. 
  • Press into pie plate or tart pan. Chill crust for 30 minutes. This step is important otherwise filing will disintegrate the crust.

Other crust options:

Gingersnap crust: Use purchased gluten-free gingersnaps (Midel brand works well). Pulse in food processor approximately 2 cups ginger snaps (1 package Midel) and follow directions above.

Coconut or Pecan Crust: add ¼ cup toasted, shredded coconut or ¼ cup toasted finely chopped pecans. Increase coconut oil by 1 teaspoon. Follow the directions above.

Recipe 7 – Gluten-free Agave Pumpkin Pie

gf pumpkin pie

Thanksgiving wouldn’t be complete without pumpkin pie, and now you can make sure you give your guests what they want. This amazing recipe is a fun twist on the traditional recipe that will have all your guests (gluten-tolerant and gluten-free) begging for more.

Serves 8

Ingredients:

  • 1 gluten-free pie crust (purchased or see recipe below)
  • 2 cups organic canned pumpkin
  • 1- 14 ounce can light coconut milk
  • 2 eggs or egg replacer
  • ¼ cup agave nectar, preferably Nature’s Agave Amber variety
  • 1/3 cup of brown sugar
  • 1/3 cup of maple sugar
  • 3 tablespoons of cornstarch
  • 2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
  • ½ teaspoon of sea salt

Directions:

  • Preheat oven to 400˚. 
  • Prepare pie crust (see recipe below). Chill dough for 30 minutes.  
  • In a large mixing bowl, beat together pumpkin, coconut milk, and eggs. Add agave nectar. In a small bowl whisk together both sugars, cornstarch, spices, and salt. Add to wet ingredients and blend until well combined.
  • Remove chilled dough from refrigerator. Place one sheet of waxed paper down on work surface. Generously flour waxed paper surface with gluten-free flour.
  • Place chilled dough on waxed paper and sprinkle the top of the dough with a little gluten-free flour.
  • Place another piece of waxed paper on top of the dough. Using a rolling pin, roll out dough into a 9-inch circle.
  • Remove top sheet of waxed paper and turn over dough into the pie plate.
  • Remove the second piece of waxed paper. Using a fork, prick a few tiny holes in the dough. 
  • Pour pumpkin mixture into prepared crust and bake in middle of oven for 15 minutes then reduce temperature to 350˚F and bake for 40 minutes longer or until an inserted tester comes out clean.
  • Let cool completely before serving.

Gluten-Free Pie Crust

Ingredients:

  • 1 stick chilled butter
  • ½ c. Spectrum shortening or coconut oil
  • 1 cup sweet rice flour
  • 1 cup potato starch flour
  • ½ c. cornstarch
  • 1 t. xanthan gum
  • 2 T. sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 2 T. cold water
  • 1 tsp. cider vinegar

Directions:

  • Cut butter into small pieces. Blend butter and shortening with dry ingredients using fingertips.
  • Add egg, cold water, and cider vinegar and blend until well combined.
  • If too sticky, add a small amount of rice flour. Roll dough into a ball and flatten.
  • Cover with waxed paper and chill for 30 minutes.

Wishing You a Happy and Abundant Thanksgiving

So, there you have it! These seven delightful and delicious gluten-free Thanksgiving recipes prove that you can offer an unbeatable meal on Thanksgiving. Of course, we all know that Thanksgiving is about more than the food. The year 2020 has been difficult in many different ways, but that’s why it’s more important than ever to count your blessings and recognize how much you have in your life. One of the things I’m grateful for this Thanksgiving is the generosity of Elizabeth Kaplan in sharing her recipes with all of you.

“Fresh from Elizabeth’s Kitchen: Gluten-free an Allergy-free Recipes for Health, Delicious Meals” is available at 30% off for clients of Dr. Labbe. This cookbook is full of delicious gluten-free recipes and color photos and is available for the discounted rate of $12 plus $5 shipping. Email ekaplan8@gmail.com to purchase your book.