Prep time: 1 hr Cook time: 1 hr 30 mins Rest time: 10 mins Total time: 2 hrs 40 mins
Makes: 1 9×13 baking dish
This animal-based Thanksgiving stuffing is made with nutrient-dense ingredients like pork, bacon, squash, bone broth, and apples.
What you need to make Animal-Based Thanksgiving Stuffing
Ingredients:
- Ground pork
- Sugar-free bacon
- Kabocha squash
- Apples
- Eggs (ASHLEY20 for 20% off)
- Yellow onion (optional)
- Bone broth (I recommend chicken or turkey)
- Apple cider vinegar
- Sea salt (ASHLEYR for 15% off)
- Grass-fed ghee (or butter)
Equipment:
- Vegetable peeler
- Cooking pan
- Baking dish (9×13 recommended*)
*Note: if you need to double the recipe, it will fit in the 9×13 baking dish.
(for the full recipe, scroll to the bottom)
Substitutions
Honeynut, butternut, or acorn squash will work in place of the kabocha squash.
For the bone broth, I recommend chicken or turkey, but any bone broth will do.
Yellow onion is optional, but highly recommended if tolerated!
How to make Animal-Based Thanksgiving Stuffing
If a visual will help, watch the Instagram Reel for this recipe.
Make the kabocha squash.
Peel your kabocha squash with your vegetable peeler and remove the seeds.
Dice the meat into 1/2 inch x 1/2 inch pieces. Measure out 2 cups and store the rest away.
Place 1-2 tbsp of ghee in your cooking pan and bring to medium-high heat.
Once the pan is hot, add the kabocha squash. Sauté for about 5-7 minutes, stirring the squash every 30-60 seconds. Kabocha squash burns easily, so don’t forget to rotate it. The goal is to get it browned and crispy without burning it. When you see the brown color creeping up the sides of the squash, rotate it. Even just 15-30 seconds too long without rotating the squash can burn it. Add more ghee or butter if you need to.
When the kabocha squash is done, salt (ASHLEYR for 15% off) it to taste. Remove it from the pan and place it in a bowl to cool.
Note: if you go through tons of salt in your household like we do, check out this salt-purchasing hack that will save you money + make things more efficient. We started this last year, and I’m so happy we did!
Make the bacon.
Chop up the bacon into thin slivers (like 1/4 inch x 1 inch).
At medium heat, cook the bacon in your cooking pan.
Once the bacon is cooked to your liking, remove it from the pan and set it aside to cool.
Note: save the bacon grease for the next step!
Make the apple-onion-pork mixture.
Chop your apples into 1/2 in x 1/2 in pieces, similar to the size of the kabocha squash pieces.
Chop your onions finely (smaller than the kabocha squash and apple pieces).
Bring the pan with the bacon grease at medium heat, and add the chopped onions and apples. Saute for 3-4 minutes until the apples begin to soften and the onions become translucent.
Add your raw pork to the pan with the onions and apples. Cook until the pork is fully cooked through (no pink).
Once the pork is done cooking, remove the mixture from heat.
Put it all together.
Beat your eggs in a small bowl and set them aside.
In your baking dish, add the apple-onion-pork mixture, pan-fried kabocha squash, cooked bacon, apple cider vinegar, bone broth, and beaten eggs.
Swish around the ingredients until all are evenly incorporated throughout the stuffing.
Bake the stuffing.
Bake the stuffing for 25-30 minutes at 375 degrees. The top should brown a little.
Serve and enjoy.
Allow the stuffing to cool for about 10 minutes or so, then serve!
This dish tastes great either fresh or out of the fridge. If there are leftovers, store them in the fridge in an airtight container for 3-4 days.
Tips to make the best Animal-Based Thanksgiving Stuffing
- Don’t forget to save the bacon grease for the pork-onion-apple mixture!
Other favorite dinner ideas:
Cobb ‘Salad’ with Duck Fat Ranch Dressing
Animal-Based Thanksgiving Stuffing
Animal-Based Thanksgiving Stuffing
Equipment
- Baking dish (9x13 recommended)
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground pork
- 5 pieces sugar-free bacon
- 2 cups raw kabocha squash
- 1 yellow onion (optional, but recommended)
- 2 large apples
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 eggs
- 1/3 cup bone broth (I recommend turkey or chicken)
- sea salt, to taste (ASHLEYR for 15% off)
- ghee or butter (for cooking)
Instructions
- If you’re interested solely in the recipe, skip this bullet point and keep on reading. For those interested in sourcing nutrient-dense food, low-toxic household products, and discounts on brands that may support your AB journey, you may find value in my product guides. Head over to this page if you’d like to check them out. All are free (and always will be).
If a visual will help, watch the Instagram Reel for this recipe.
Make the kabocha squash.
- Peel your kabocha squash with your vegetable peeler and remove the seeds.
- Dice the meat into 1/2 inch x 1/2 inch pieces. Measure out 2 cups and store the rest away.
- Place 1-2 tbsp of ghee in your cooking pan and bring to medium-high heat.
- Once the pan is hot, add the kabocha squash. Sauté for about 5-7 minutes, stirring the squash every 30-60 seconds. Kabocha squash burns easily, so don't forget to rotate it. The goal is to get it browned and crispy without burning it. When you see the brown color creeping up the sides of the squash, rotate it. Even just 15-30 seconds too long without rotating the squash can burn it. Add more ghee or butter if you need to.
- When the kabocha squash is done, salt (ASHLEYR for 15% off) it to taste. Remove it from the pan and place it in a bowl to cool.
- Note: if you go through tons of salt in your household like we do, check out this salt purchasing hack that will save you money + make things more efficient. We started this last year, and I'm so happy we did!
Make the bacon.
- Chop up the bacon into thin slivers (like 1/4 inch x 1 inch).
- At medium heat, cook the bacon in your cooking pan.
- Once the bacon is cooked to your liking, remove it from the pan and set it aside to cool.
- Note: save the bacon grease for the next step!
Make the apple-onion-pork mixture.
- Chop your apples into 1/2 in x 1/2 in pieces, similar to the size of the kabocha squash pieces.
- Chop your onions finely (smaller than the kabocha squash and apple pieces).
- Bring the pan with the bacon grease at medium heat, and add the chopped onions and apples. Saute for 3-4 minutes until the apples begin to soften and the onions become translucent.
- Add your raw pork to the pan with the onions and apples. Cook until the pork is fully cooked through (no pink).
- Once the pork is done cooking, remove the mixture from heat.
Put it all together.
- Beat your eggs in a small bowl and set them aside.
- In your baking dish, add the apple-onion-pork mixture, pan-fried kabocha squash, cooked bacon, apple cider vinegar, bone broth, and beaten eggs.
- Swish around the ingredients until all are evenly incorporated throughout the stuffing.
Bake the stuffing.
- Bake the stuffing for 25-30 minutes at 375 degrees. The top should brown a little.
Serve and enjoy.
- Allow the stuffing to cool for about 10 minutes or so, then serve!
- This dish tastes great either fresh or out of the fridge. If there are leftovers, store them in the fridge in an airtight container for 3-4 days.
Other favorite dinner ideas:
Cobb ‘Salad’ with Duck Fat Ranch Dressing
Note: This post contains Amazon affiliate links. This means that if you click on a link and make a purchase, I will receive a small commission at no cost to you. Thank you for supporting me!
Ashley Rothstein develops tasty, whole food, animal-based recipes that include a moderate amount of “minimally toxic” plant foods. To fix her own health issues, she bounced around between the carnivore, keto, and paleo diets for a few years. After experiencing and studying each diet philosophy, she learned she feels her best by merging the three and following an animal-based diet. As a glut at heart, she likes to channel her creativity and create meals that are healthy but also satisfy her inner gluttonous spirits.
It was really good. I used ground beef, liver, and butternut squash instead since that is what I had. I will definitely make this again. We are pretty strict carnivores but this is a great animal based dish that also helped to satisfy my inner fall baking side. Thanks for the recipe!
This stuffing is GREAT. I’ve made this multiple times and it’s always a big hit at every family holiday. I’ve gotten many weird looks from relatives when I tell them this is a grain-free stuffing and they always come back for seconds and thirds! I think a tart apple such as a Granny Smith or Pippin works best in this recipe as the acid is a very welcome addition in this dish. I’ve also made it with butternut squash and it turns out great too. Thank you SO much for this recipe. I’ll never make the bread stuff again.