Every year I make an herb onion stuffing I love, but my mom won't eat anything with onions of any sort. I don't want to leave everyone else eating flavorless or dry dressing though! Is it a lost cause? Should I just let her enjoy potatoes and biscuits?
- Posted by:maggiepcs
- November 17, 2014
- 37610 views
- 9 Comments
- Thanksgiving
9 Comments
Sharon June 25, 2019
This is five years late, but I recently was told I can’t eat onions and garlic and I’ve been re-learning how to cook without them. Tonight I roasted a chicken and made stuffing and it came out great. I used fresh sliced sourdough, which I dried at 250 in my toaster oven for 20 minutes.
While that was drying, I sautéed celery and finely diced carrot in butter with cinnamon, fennel, maple syrup, fresh parley, fresh oregano, and then the typical dried spices (thyme, sage, marjoram, rosemary). Maple syrup gives it that sweetness that is missing from the onions. Fresh spices kept it from being flavorless. You can make a non onion broth ahead of time with your own leftover chicken carcass, or veggie scraps cooked in the crockpot on low for 12 hours, to add in to sort of simmer and soften the celery and carrots and loosen the caramelized bits. Water would do a in a pinch. DO let the carrots and celery caramelize to replace the onion flavor. The maple syrup and butter will help you.
Then I cubed the bread, put it in a bowl, mixed it with the veggies, extra melted butter, and salt. I whisked one egg with a half cup of milk, and added that to the mixture until it was slightly soft and sticky. (according to your own desire of softness, more milk for a softer stuffing). Put it in a white porcelain crock, with a bit more of my own broth at the bottom, and covered in foil. Cooked at 350 for 30 minutes. I roasted my chicken so it was done around the same time, and drained off some of the chicken fat in the pan into the stuffing for a little extra flavor.
Hope this helps someone out there who can’t have onions but loves stuffing !
Joan C. November 12, 2019
Thanks for posting this, Sharon. I have an allium allergy also and it's very limiting. Everything has onions in it! I'll try your recipe this Thanksgiving.
maggiepcs November 18, 2014
Thanks everyone! I think the answer is to make her a small pan without onions. she won't eat leeks, shallots, onion powder. They give her a stomach ache. And I have to say, with no onion family members, it's just not stuffing. Maybe i'll even put the effort in for a small savory bread pudding; that's a great approach.
LucyS November 18, 2014
I usually put meat in my stuffing and I like to cook it inside the turkey, so if I have vegetarians over I just make two smaller batches (a bit of a pain but not so bad if you do them side by side at the same time) and cook the vegetarian batch in a separate pan. Could you do this for your mom and make a small onion-less batch?
sexyLAMBCHOPx November 18, 2014
Will she eat shallots or leeks? If so, try swapping the onions for that. Does she have her own stuffing that she enjoys? If so, ask her to bring it to T-Day. Otherwise, potatoes and biscuits with everything else sounds like enough for her to enjoy.
drbabs November 18, 2014
Is it the flavor or the texture that bothers her? You could use apples, celery, mushrooms etc. for moisture, and add onion powder as a seasoning. Not exactly the same thing, but it would add a bit of the complexity that I think you're looking for.
ATG117 November 18, 2014
just leave them out, use carrots, celery, garlic, and your other mix-ins; not ideal but doable.
Nancy November 17, 2014
try any savory bread pudding w/o onions, like this one...https://food52.com/recipes/27712-fattet-hummus-mid-eastern-savory-chickpea-bread-pudding
Susan W. November 17, 2014
Dressing with no onions makes me sad. I think it can be done. Apples, fennel and even oysters add moisture. You could make a little batch just for her with no onions. I would do that for my mom for sure.
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