Gluten Free Thanksgiving Menu

Last week, I shared a Traditional Thanksgiving Menu. I told you a little about my Mom and her knack for making stuffing and orange jello salad. I wrote about how Mom makes the best Thanksgiving dinner ever. Well… Mom has had to make some changes in her life recently. She’s had to go gluten-free. Mom was feeling very sick earlier this year, and after many, many tests, the docs finally figured out that she had Celiac Disease. The gluten in her diet is what was making her sick. So she’s had to change her diet to one that is completely gluten-free– not an easy feat when you’re in your later years, but thankfully companies are producing more gluten-free products and some restaurants are more sympathetic to dietary needs.

If you’re not familiar with what Celiac Disease is all about, here’s a brief synopsis:
Celiac disease is an inherited condition that causes an extreme physical reaction when gluten is ingested from grains like wheat, barley, and rye. The condition is not curable, and can become severe, damaging the small intestine and causing poor absorption of vitamins and minerals or malnutrition. Though it usually cannot be cured, gluten intolerance can be addressed by avoiding products which contain gluten.

So in honor of Mom, and all of the other folks who need to eat gluten-free, I’ve put together a completely gluten-free Thanksgiving Menu. By the way, everything on the menu is completely edible and delicious–even for those who can eat gluten.

Roasted turkey is pretty easy to do gluten-free. You just need to be careful about buying a turkey that has not been injected with any ingredients that contain gluten. Here’s a good gluten free guide on how to roast a turkey with gravy too.

This is a creamy mashed potato recipe that is very simple to make-ahead. Potatoes are naturally gluten-free, and added dairy products make it creamy and delicious: Creamy Oven-Baked Mashed Potatoes.

Stuffing, oh stuffing. That’s a tougher one to make gluten-free. I decided to make a gluten free cornbread stuffing. I started with a GF cornbread mix, used a fabulous GF dried bread cube stuffing mix from Whole Foods Market, and added in bacon and sauteed vegetables. We all thought this was a pretty fabulous stuffing: Cornbread and Bacon Stuffing. The flavor and texture were just as you might find in a classic bread stuffing.

Every Thanksgiving dinner needs sweet potatoes or yams, right? These yams are simply roasted with a caramelized orange syrup and topped with marshmallows (gluten free!): Caramelized Yams with Toasted Marshmallows.

I’m sure there are quite a few Celiac’s out there who might be missing the classic Campbell’s Green Bean Casserole. This recipe is a terrific substitute and it was my favorite dish of this menu: Fresh Green Bean Casserole with Caramelized Onion- Breadcrumbs. Fresh green beans are mixed with a creamy fresh mushroom sauce. The french fried onions in the original Campbell’s recipe are replaced here by caramelized onions mixed with GF breadcrumbs. SO good.

Classic Cranberry Sauce is another one that is easy to make naturally gluten-free. This recipe is tainted with a little bit of sweetness, orange zest and spice.