The easiest keto stuffing recipe you'll ever make! Perfect for your keto Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner.
Can be served as keto stuffing meatballs or use the ground pork mixture to stuff a turkey to guarantee the meat is juicy, flavorsome, and tender.
When it comes to winter holiday celebrations such as Thanksgiving and Christmas, you'll want healthy recipes that are quick and easy. You also want recipes the whole family will love.
If you need more ideas for the holidays, I have 30+ healthy keto Christmas recipes for you, 61+ best Thanksgiving recipes, and the best ways to use Christmas leftovers.
Pork stuffing is perfect to be stuffed into the roast turkey cavity or you can serve as a side dish as stuffing meatballs.
If you prefer a bread stuffing recipe you can make my low carb cornbread stuffing. It is made with keto bread (keto cornbread) and can be made ahead of time so you can offer guests various stuffing options.
Ingredients
This is the easiest keto stuffing (or dressing) you'll ever find. It only requires 4 simple ingredients and can be made in 5 minutes.
It is a traditional stuffing recipe, except for it's made out of high-protien pork rather than soggy bits of carby bread. Plus, it has all the traditional flavors you would expect at your thanksgiving dinner.
See the recipe card below for quantities.
- egg - medium
- onion - finely chopped
- chopped fresh sage - or dried ground sage
- ground pork or pork sausage meat (check label to ensure there are no added flours or starch)
- salt and pepper
Instructions
First, place all the ingredients and fresh herbs (or ground sage) together in a large mixing bowl. Then use a large spatula, wooden spoon, or clean hands, to mix the low-carb stuffing ingredients together until totally combined.
TOP TIP: Some people like to wet their hands first, or cover them with olive oil to prevent the ground pork stuffing from sticking to their hands.
Next, roll half of the mixture into stuffing balls. Store these covered, or in an airtight container in the fridge until you are ready to cook them or stuff your turkey. It makes them more solid and easy to handle without falling out of shape.
If you want to bake the pork sausage balls as a side dish, you can place them onto a prepared baking tray (or baking dish) that has been lined with baking parchment paper. You can also use a nonstick baking tray, or an oiled sheet pan. Keep covered in the fridge until ready to cook.
Now you can begin to prepare the turkey by stuffing the cavity and the skin.
Hint: Before you begin, use clean hands to separate the turkey skin from the turkey breast. This creates a wonderful cavity ready to receive the keto stuffing mixture.
Press the pork stuffing firmly into the cavity then massage to create an even layer of stuffing across the turkey.
Now place the firm cooled sage sausage stuffing balls into the cavity. Tie the legs together to hold the stuffing in place.
Cover the turkey with butter and bacon (or poultry seasoning) and wrap in aluminum foil to ensure your turkey is cooked and remains moist and tender inside.
Make sure to follow all the instructions on how to cook a turkey. It even has a full cooking schedule for you to use so it's perfect for beginners.
Variations
If you don't want to use ground pork, you can also use ground turkey for a mild stuffing recipe. You can also add a variety of herbs and seasoning such as:
- Fresh rosemary or dried rosemary
- Thyme, fresh or dried
- Poultry seasoning (chicken salt)
- Onion flakes instead of diced onion
- Nuts such as pecans, walnuts or macadamias
And remember, if you want a keto stuffing recipe made with keto bread cubes, try my cornbread low carb stuffing recipe. It is a lighter option for those who don't want a lot of meat at their meal and is a good vegetarian stuffing recipe when made apart from the turkey.
You can make the cornbread stuffing bread cubes ahead of time. The recipe can even be used with pre made keto bread.
Storage
If you make the keto stuffing recipe ahead of time, always store covered, in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
If you want to store them in the freezer, roll the pork stuffing into meatballs, place them on a lined sheet pan and freeze for 2 hours. Remove each individual meatball and place in a ziplock bag or airtight container then freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw then cook immediately.
Recipe FAQs
If you love meaty stuffing, then the pork and sage stuffing recipe below is perfect. Especially if you follow the keto carnivore diet. The pork and sage stuffing adds even more moisture, fat, and flavor. If you prefer the traditional bread stuffing, but you want to stay low-carb or keto, then I suggest the low-carb and keto stuffing recipe might be more to your taste
You can use any traditional sausage stuffing herb such as rosemary, onion flakes, garlic powder, or poultry seasoning.
I like to serve creamed Brussels sprouts, baked asparagus, steamed broccoli, boiled cauliflower, or Brussels sprouts with bacon.
The biggest difference between dressing and stuffing is that a dressing recipe is not used to stuff a turkey, it is served as a side dish by itself. Often a dressing is made with bread cubes and herbs and baked in a casserole dish. You can make my cornbread stuffing recipe for a true dressing.
Festive recipes
It can be tough to stay on track with your ketogenic diet over the festive season. Here are some more keto Thanksgiving recipes the whole family will love.
Thanksgiving and Christmas side dishes
The most popular side dishes are:
- creamed Brussels sprouts
- baked asparagus
- mashed cauliflower
- steamed broccoli
- boiled cauliflower
- Brussels sprouts with bacon
Thanksgiving and Christmas desserts
The most popular Thanksgiving desserts and Christmas desserts are:
All these recipes can be made ahead of time for the perfect Thanksgiving meal prep.
Instant Pot lime cheesecake Keto chocolate lasagna Chocolate pumpkin pie
Best keto side dishes to serve with pork
Almost any side dish will taste delicious with pork. Pork is generally complemented best with a slightly sweet side dish or one with bold flavors.
Here are some of my favorite keto pork side dishes.
- Cheesy keto garlic bread
- Easy mashed cauliflower
- Creamed Brussels sprouts
- Keto stuffing
- Bacon broccoli and cauliflower salad
- Low-carb keto almond flour bread
- Baked cheesy broccoli and cauliflower
📖 Recipe
Keto Stuffing
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Ingredients
- 1 onion finely diced
- 1 tablespoon dried sage
- 1.7 lb (770 g) ground pork sausage meat
- 1 egg
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- Place the onion, sage, pork, and egg in a mixing bowl.
- Mix through with your hands, squeezing all the ingredients together.
If stuffing a turkey
- Half of the pork sausage stuffing can be used to stuff the raw turkey breast, a quarter will be used to stuff the raw turkey cavity. The remainder will be cooked as a side dish of pork sausage meatballs.
If baking pork stuffing meatballs
- The keto stuffing can be rolled into small to medium meatballs and baked in an oiled baking dish for about 30 minutes. The length of cooking time will depend on how large the keto stuffing meatballs are and how closely packed together they are. Bake until completely cooked in the centre. Cut one in half to test there is no raw meat remaining.
Notes
- The length of cooking time will depend on how large the keto stuffing meatballs are and how closely packed together they are.
- The nutrition values are per 100g, the recipe serves 8.
Approximate nutrition information is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. For the most accurate nutritional data, use the actual ingredients and brands you used in your preferred nutrition calculator.
Wishing you all a very happy Thanksgiving, merry Christmas, and a healthy holiday season.
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