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Lifestyle

How to Survive Thanksgiving if You’re Gluten Free

This article is written by a student writer from the Spoon University at Delaware chapter.

Food lovers rejoice when the end of November rolls around, because it means the best food holiday of the year is here.

That’s right, Thanksgiving is upon us, a day centered around stuffing your face with a meal you only eat once a year until you literally enter into a food coma.

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Unfortunately for us gluten free folks, half of the table will be filled with foods we can’t eat. This is why i’ve created this guide to gluten free Thanksgiving for tips, recipes and more to ensure you can have your cornbread, and pumpkin pie too.

The Sides

Yes, the star is the turkey but can you even imagine a Thanksgiving meal without all the delicious sides? Here are recipes for all the staples.

Cornbread

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Photo courtesy of glutenfreeonashoestring.com

Cornbread is one of those annoying things that naturally should be gluten free, but is often made with flour to make them more moist and fluffy.

Luckily, this recipe for homemade corn bread is easy and gluten free.

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Photo courtesy of bobsredmill.com

To make things even easier can you buy gluten free cornbread mix, like this one from Bob’s Red Mill.

#SpoonTip: Some places like Whole Foods have gluten free cornbread made in their bakery, so check out local stores to see if you can save some time the day of.

Dinner Rolls

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Photo courtesy of helloglutenfree.com

No matter how long you’ve been gluten free, there’s nothing you crave more than a good, hot roll of bread.

Here’s a recipe for gluten free dinner rolls that uses a gluten free flour blend, making it that much easier to make your own delicious rolls.

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Photo courtesy of udisglutenfree.com

Udi’s also has gluten free dinner rolls, in case you consider making toast cooking.

#SpoonTip: Making gluten free alternatives means oven space is going to be tight the day of. Save some time and some of your sanity by buying pre-made gluten free rolls from your favorite brand.

Stuffing

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Photo courtesy of seriouseats.com

Arguably one of the best parts of Thanksgiving is the stuffing, meaning you need to have a killer gluten free recipe to soak up all the gravy your plate can handle.

This site has an awesome how-to for gluten free stuffing, including tips on what type of bread to buy, different preparation methods, and different add-ins. You literally cant go wrong.

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Photo Courtesy of williams-sonoma.com

William’s Sonoma also has a great gluten free stuffing mix to cut down on preparation time.

#SpoonTip: Gluten free pre-made mixes often turn to mush or turn out super dry, so its totally worth taking the extra time to make homemade stuffing with quality, gluten free bread.

Gravy

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Photo courtesy of bonappetit.com

The liquid gold of Thanksgiving. If you don’t have delicious gravy to pour over everything, did you even do Thanksgiving dinner?

If you’re looking for tips on different recipes and methods, check out how to make gluten free gravy.

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Photo courtesy of splendidtable.org

There are also tons of gluten free gravy mixes in stores, where you just have to add water and you’ve got some gravy.

#SpoonTip: In case you have a vegetarian and gluten free guest, check out how to make easy vegan mushroom gravy.

Mashed Potatoes

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Photo courtesy of foodnetwork.com

These should be naturally gluten free, but anyone with a gluten allergy knows even the simplest of foods can become contaminated.

Here’s a foolproof recipe to get fluffy, delicious mashed potatoes every time.

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Photo courtesy of steamykitchen.com

And for anyone trying to avoid the holiday weight gain, or just wanting to try something new, heres a recipe for cauliflower mashed potatoes.

#SpoonTip: Check out how to make the best mashed potatoes by avoiding these 5common mistakes.

Dessert

Thanksgiving desserts are the capping stone on the most epic meal of the year. Just when you think you couldn’t eat another bite, you find yourself eating three pieces of pie. And cheesecake. And cranberry sauce. Oh boy.

Pumpkin Pie

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Photo courtesy of pillsbury.com

The epitome of fall and Thanksgiving, so thank god there are easy pie recipes, like with this pumpkin pie recipe that literally has 5 ingredients, including pre-made pie crust.

#SpoonTip: If you’re short on time, or baking isn’t really your forte, you can use the Pillsbury’s pre-made gluten free pie crust for any flavor of pie you’re looking to make. All you need then is to make the delicious filling of your choosing.

Apple Pie

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Photo courtesy of bobsredmill.com

This recipe uses a pie crust mix from Bob’s Red Mill that makes homemade gluten free pie crusts super easy.

Pecan Pie bars

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Photo courtesy of beardandbonnet.com

It’s always good to switch it up for Thanksgiving dessert, and this recipe makes sure you don’t have to decide between three different pies.

Cranberry Walnut Loaf

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Photo courtesy of thehealthymaven.com

This recipe is super easy and a nice break away from traditional Thanksgiving desserts.

#SpoonTip: Use this to make some epic french toast the next morning, topped with leftover cranberry sauce, maple syrup and orange zest. Woah.

It is now officially impossible for you to have another Thanksgiving deprived of your favorite food. Good luck, and happy eating.

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