Sourdough Spelt Stuffing

Michael Eisenwasser

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Thanksgiving stuffing built on long-fermented sourdough spelt, garlic-infused oil, scallion greens, and fresh herbs. No onion, no raw garlic.

Prep 20 min

Cook 45 min

Serves 8

Low-lactose

Ingredients

• 1 lb (about 450 g) sourdough spelt bread (Bakery on Main or similar traditional long-ferment loaf), cut into 3/4-inch cubes — about 10 cups
• 4 tablespoons (57 g) unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons garlic-infused olive oil
• 1 medium carrot (about 3 oz / 85 g), finely diced
• 1 stalk celery (about 1 1/2 oz / 40 g), finely diced
• 1/2 cup (about 40 g) thinly sliced scallion greens, dark-green parts only (or leek greens, dark-green parts only)
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
• 1 1/2 cups (360 ml) low-FODMAP chicken broth, warm
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 3/4 teaspoon fine salt, plus more to taste
• Freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

Dry the Bread

1. Heat the oven to 275°F (135°C). Spread the spelt cubes in a single layer on a sheet pan.
2. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, tossing once, until the cubes are dry and lightly crisp but not browned. You want them bone-dry so they soak up the broth without turning to mush.
3. Tip the dry cubes into a large mixing bowl and raise the oven to 375°F (190°C).

Sweat the Vegetables

1. Melt the butter with the garlic-infused oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
2. Add the diced carrot and celery with a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring often, for 6 to 8 minutes, until softened and just starting to pick up color at the edges.
3. Add the scallion greens and cook for another 2 minutes, until bright and wilted. Pull the pan off the heat.
4. Stir in the parsley, sage, thyme, and rosemary so the herbs bloom in the warm fat.

Assemble and Bake

1. Scrape the vegetable-herb mixture over the dry bread cubes. Toss to coat every cube.
2. Whisk the beaten egg into the warm chicken broth, then pour over the bread a little at a time, folding gently, until the cubes are evenly moistened but not swimming. Season with the fine salt and several grinds of black pepper.
3. Butter a 9x13-inch (3-quart) baking dish. Pack the stuffing in loosely; don't press it down.
4. Cover with foil and bake for 25 minutes. Uncover and bake another 15 to 20 minutes, until the top is deeply golden and crisp and the interior reads 165°F (74°C).
5. Rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Tips & Substitutions

• Use a true long-ferment sourdough spelt loaf. Monash lists traditional sourdough spelt bread at 2 slices (about 109 g) per serve as low-FODMAP — the long fermentation eats down the fructans. Packaged supermarket spelt loaves that skip the slow ferment do not get the same reduction. Check the bag for "traditionally fermented" or a multi-hour culture step.
• Leek greens instead of scallion greens. Swap in 1/2 cup sliced dark-green leek tops. The whites (and the pale green parts near the root) are high in fructans; the dark tops are low-FODMAP at 2/3 cup per serve. Same rule for scallions: greens yes, whites no.
• Make it dairy-free. Replace the butter with another 4 tablespoons of garlic-infused olive oil. The stuffing will be a touch less rich but still carries the aromatic base.
• Gluten-free version. Use a gluten-free sourdough or a sturdy gluten-free sandwich loaf in place of the spelt. Spelt is a wheat relative and contains gluten, so it is off-limits for celiac diagnoses regardless of the FODMAP math.
• Stuff the bird or bake separately. Baked separately (as written) the top stays crisp. If you spoon it into the turkey cavity, pull it out the moment the bird hits temperature so it doesn't cross into food-safety territory.
• Make-ahead window. Assemble through step 3, cover, and refrigerate up to 24 hours. Add 10 extra minutes to the covered bake time straight from the fridge.

Why This Works

Long-fermented sourdough spelt is one of the few breads with real portion headroom. Spelt on its own is high in fructans at most serving sizes, but the multi-hour sourdough culture breaks those fructans down. Monash rates traditional sourdough spelt at 2 slices per serve as low-FODMAP, which is more bread than almost any non-sourdough option.

Garlic-infused oil carries the garlic flavor without the fructans. Fructans are water-soluble, not oil-soluble, so steeping garlic in oil transfers the aromatic compounds while leaving the FODMAPs behind in the discarded solids. That is how this stuffing gets a classic garlicky backbone without any raw garlic in the pan.

Scallion greens and leek greens replace chopped onion. Onion's fructans concentrate in the white bulb. The dark-green tops of scallions and leeks are low-FODMAP and deliver the allium note that onion would normally provide in a Thanksgiving stuffing.

Small amounts of carrot and celery stay under the cap. Carrots are low-FODMAP at typical portions with no strict cap. Celery has a 1/4-stalk per-serve limit because of its mannitol; one stalk split across 8 servings lands well inside that limit.

Homemade chicken broth is the safest base. Most boxed broths start with onion and garlic, which puts the fructans right back in. The linked homemade broth uses leek greens, carrot, celery, and herbs for the same savory depth without the triggers.

Storage

Refrigerate in a sealed container for up to 3 to 4 days at 40°F (4°C) or below. Reheat covered at 325°F (165°C) for 15 to 20 minutes with a splash of extra broth to re-moisten. To freeze, wrap the cooled baked stuffing tightly and freeze up to 2 months; thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating. The crisp top softens on reheat — if that matters, run the uncovered dish under the broiler for 1 to 2 minutes at the end.

Not sure about an ingredient? FODMAP Tracker includes a database of 1,000+ foods with FODMAP ratings to help you cook with confidence.