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Cauliflower and Sausage Stovetop Stuffing (Low Carb)

This simple side dish is a perfect low carb replacement for holiday stuffing. Made with sautéed cauliflower and crumbled sausage, this classically seasoned stove top stuffing deserves a spot on alongside your next turkey or roast!

Cauliflower Stovetop Stuffing with sausage in a skillet

Just 7g net carbs!

Looking for more holiday sides? Try my 10 layer cheesy vegetable casserole or my roasted cauliflower mash recipe!

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Why You Will Love This Recipe

  • Finally a low carb replacement for holiday stuffing or dressing
  • A stovetop recipe that frees up oven space
  • A quick and simple one pan recipe that easy to make

We are big on turkey dinners at our house. It is not unusual for us to sit down for a turkey dinner 5 or more times per year, and getting that perfect bite with some turkey, stuffing and mash all swimming in gravy is what dreams are made of.

While the mashed potatoes were easy to replace thanks to my low carb cauliflower mash recipe, a proper stuffing has been dearly missed. 

This low carb stuffing recipe now has a place on our table anytime we are having turkey. It really hits the spot!

What is in Low Carb Stuffing

Ingredients for low carb stuffing on white marble

This low carb stuffing recipe uses:

  • Ground sausage
  • Cauliflower
  • Onion
  • Garlic
  • Celery
  • Rosemary
  • Sage
  • Parsley
  • Stock or bouillon
  • Lemon zest
  • Salt and pepper

What You Need to Know

Below is a deeper dive into some of the steps of this recipe, if you want to jump to the recipe card and make this now, use the jump to recipe button below!

Preparing the Cauliflower

In place of bread, this recipe uses chopped cauliflower as the base. To get the texture right you’ll want to either dice the cauliflower with a knife, or break it down by hand into very tiny florets. It will break down further in the pan as it cooks so aim for something around 1 cm (~ 1”).

Too small and it will turn to mush, too large and it won’t soften enough.

Tip: Use a blunt wooden spoon to break apart the cauliflower and the sausage in the pan while cooking, this will help achieve a stuffing like consistency.

Diced cauliflower on a cutting board for stuffing
Cauliflower diced for stovetop stuffing

What Type of Sausage?

You can use any type of sausage you like, even breakfast sausages can be used, just remove the sausage meat from the casings first by using a sharp knife to make a slit in the casing and pulling the ground meat out.

You can also buy ground sausage meat ready to go. Try to choose a sausage with complementary spices to the stuffing. 

Some good types of sausage for this recipe:

  • Mild Italian sausage
  • Honey garlic sausage
  • English bangers
  • Breakfast sausages

Chicken Stock or Bouillon

Any type of stock or bone broth will work the best for this recipe and add great meaty flavours like that of a true stuffing. If you don’t have any stock then you can use some chicken bouillon or stock cubes mixed into some warm water.

Fresh Herbs

There are certain herbs that seem to compliment a stuffing for a turkey dinner more than others. I choose whatever is growing in my garden. 

Some excellent herbs for stuffing:

  • Rosemary
  • Sage
  • Parsley
  • Thyme
  • Chives

 

In place of fresh herbs you may use dried herbs, but start by cutting the amount in the recipe in half and adjust from there. Dried herbs are much more potent than fresh herbs. 

Depending on what you are serving this with you can change the herbs to compliment the main dish.

Getting the Right ‘Stuffing’ Texture

In order to achieve a texture that is closer to stuffing it’s important to cook and simmer the cauliflower until soft and tender. You don’t want the cauliflower to be complete mush, but if it’s too firm it wont resemble stuffing which lets face it, is mushy bread. 

Normally you would avoid too much moisture when cooking cauliflower, but in this case moisture or stock can help you achieve the proper consistency. 

Cauliflower Stuffing in a cast iron skillet

Can I stuff this into a Turkey?

I have yet to try making this into an actual stuffing. I believe it would work, but keep in mind that cauliflower has a lot of water that needs to go somewhere when roasting a turkey. 

If you would like to stuff this into a turkey or chicken before cooking I would cook the stuffing on the stove top most of the way through until the water content has dropped. 

Low carb cauliflower stuffing on a spoon

Sausage and Cauliflower Stovetop Stuffing (Low Carb)

Cauliflower Stovetop Stuffing with sausage in a skillet
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Servings 6 servings
Calories 290 kcal
Net Carbs 7.2 g
Rate this Recipe
This recipe is as a low carb substitute for holiday stuffing, made with cauliflower instead of bread, this dressing is full of savoury herbs and crumbled sausage. Try this low carb recipe at your next turkey dinner!

IMPORTANT – There are often Frequently Asked Questions within the blog post that you may find helpful. Simply scroll back up to read them!

Equipment

  • Knife and Cutting Board
  • large frying pan

Ingredients
 
 

  • 1 pound ground sausage crumbled
  • 1 large cauliflower diced small
  • 1 small onion diced
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 2 stalks celery chopped
  • ½ cup chicken/turkey stock see notes
  • 1 tablespoon sage chopped
  • 1 tablespoon rosemary chopped
  • 3 tablespoons parsley chopped
  • 1 teaspoon lemon zest optional
  • salt and pepper to taste

Instructions
 

  • Chop the cauliflower into small pieces. Dice the cauliflower into small pieces about 1 cm (½"). Or break them into tiny florets using your hands.
    1 large cauliflower
  • Brown the sausage. Heat a large frying pan over medium heat and add the ground sausage. Fry until the sausage is browned and cooked through.
    1 pound ground sausage
  • Add diced vegetables and sauté. Add the diced cauliflower, onion, garlic, and celery to the cooked sausage and sauté until the vegetables become tender. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
    1 small onion, 2 stalks celery, 2 cloves garlic
  • Add the stock or bouillon and simmer. Add the stock (or bouillon mixed 1/2 cup of water) to the pan and stir to combine. Bring the pan to a simmer and cook until the liquid reduces and the stuffing thickens to the proper texture, use a blunt wooden spoon to break down the cauliflower futher as needed. At this time the cauliflower should be quite tender and have a similar consistency to stuffing.
    ½ cup chicken/turkey stock
  • Add the fresh herbs. Add the freshly chopped herbs (see notes for dried herbs) and stir to combine. Cook for 1 minute and turn off the heat. Add fresh lemon zest and season to taste.
    1 tablespoon sage, 1 tablespoon rosemary, 3 tablespoons parsley, 1 teaspoon lemon zest, salt and pepper
  • Serve with your choice of roast and enjoy!

Notes

Dried Herbs: In place of fresh herbs you may use dried herbs, start with half the amount of dried herbs and adjust from there as they are much more potent. 
In place of the herbs shown in this recipe you may use a tablespoon of Italian seasoning. 
Stock or Bouillon: Fresh stock or bone broth will be the most flavourful choice, however chicken stock or bouillon mixed with 1/2 cup water can be used in its place. 
Sausage choice:  Try to choose a sausage with flavours that compliment the stuffing or the roast this will be served with. Honey garlic, bangers, and even breakfast sausage work very well. Avoid spicy Italian sausage unless you like a spicy bright red stuffing!
Make Ahead and Leftovers
This recipe can be prepared ahead of time and stored in the fridge a few days prior to dinner. 
This stuffing recipe also makes wonderful leftovers!

Nutrition

Calories: 290kcalCarbohydrates: 10.7gProtein: 16.9gFat: 20.3gSaturated Fat: 7gSodium: 840mgPotassium: 742mgFiber: 3.3gSugar: 4.7gVitamin A: 19IUVitamin C: 72mgCalcium: 55mgIron: 1.75mgSugar Alcohols: 0.18gNet Carbs: 7.2g

Nutritional information is calculated using the recipe calculator and verified database available from Cronometer. Although every reasonable effort is made to provide accurate information this estimate is provided as courteously and convenience only. To obtain the most accurate representation of the nutritional information in any given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe.

Try the free recipe calculator at Cronometer
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Looking for a different low carb recipe?Something you don't see here or looking for a low carb version of your favourite recipe? Let me know so I can get working on it! Contact me directly or leave a comment!
Keywords: christmas dinner, easter dinner, holiday sides, keto stuffing, low carb holiday recipes, side for turkey, Thanksgiving sides
Stovetop Cauliflower stuffing in a cast iron skillet

What to Serve With Low Carb Stuffing

This recipe naturally lends itself to a turkey dinner alongside my roasted cauliflower mash, and my 10 layer cheesy casserole. However this low carb stuffing recipe is a great compliment to any type of roast you might enjoy.

Try this along side:

Enjoy!

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