Harvest Apple Walnut Stuffing

Need a new sweet and savory side dish recipe for your next friends or family gathering? Give our Harvest Apple Walnut Stuffing recipe a try and you will not be disappointed. It combines some surprising ingredients in a new, delicious way to wow the crowd!

Begin by gathering all of the ingredients, which includes sliced bacon, diced red onion, minced garlic, unsalted butter, diced butternut squash, apple cider, organic chicken broth, a Granny Smith apple, shelled walnuts, parsley and cornbread stuffing mix.

Preheat the oven to 350°F and coat a 1-quart baking dish with cooking spray. In a separate pot toss in the bacon and cook on medium heat for 3-4 minutes. The goal is to start rendering the bacon’s fat content, allowing the other ingredients to sauté. With that in mind, throw in the onion and garlic and stir until fragrant, roughly two minutes. Remove from the pot and leave the fat in the bottom of the pot.

Next, add two tablespoons of unsalted butter as well as the butternut squash. Sauté for 5-7 minutes before adding the apple cider and simmering for an additional three minutes while covered. Uncover and add the chicken broth, diced apple and a quarter cup of walnuts. Bring this to a boil, allowing the liquid to reduce and become more of a glaze consistency. Add back in the bacon mixture along with fresh parsley and the cornbread stuffing mixture. Stir to combine.

Finally, transfer this bubbling mixture to a baking dish and top with the remaining walnuts. Bake in the oven for an additional 10-15 minutes. Once it’s done, remove from the oven, finish it off with the last of the parsley and serve!

When you’re thinking of recipes to impress your favorite people, remember this Harvest Apple Walnut Stuffing.  

Prep Time:  5 minutes   |     Cook Time:  34 minutes   |    Total Time:  39 minutes   |    Servings:  8

Ingredients:

• Carlini  Canola Cooking Spray   
• 5 slices  Appleton Farms  Premium Sliced Bacon, chopped
• 1/4 cup diced red onion
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons  Countryside Creamery  Unsalted Butter
• 1 cup diced butternut squash
• 3/4 cup  Nature's Nectar  Apple Cider*
• 1 cup  Simply Nature  Organic Chicken Broth*  or 1 Chef’s Cupboard  Chicken Bouillon Cube
• 1 Granny Smith apple, cored and diced
• 1/2 cup  Southern Grove  Shelled Walnuts, divided
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley, divided
• 6 ounces  Chef's Cupboard  Cornbread Stuffing Mix*

*These are Seasonal items that are only in stores for a limited time and may no longer be available.

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Coat a 1-quart baking dish with cooking spray.
2. In a medium pot, over medium-high heat, cook bacon for 3-4 minutes. Add onions and garlic and cook an additional 2 minutes. Remove bacon, onions and garlic and reserve, leaving the fat in the pot.
3. Add the butter and butternut squash and sauté for 5-7 minutes.   Add apple cider and simmer for 3 minutes, covered.
4. Add chicken broth, apple, and 1/4 cup walnuts. Bring to a boil and then remove from the heat. Add reserved bacon, 2 tbsp. parsley and stuffing mix.   Stir gently until just combined.
5. Transfer to prepared baking dish and top with remaining 1/4 cup walnuts and bake for 10-15 minutes. Remove from oven and top with remaining 2 tbsp. parsley.

Tip: In place of broth boil water and stir in bouillon cubes until dissolved. Remove from heat. One bouillon cube equals one cup of broth.

Recipe Courtesy of Chef Leigh An, ALDI Test Kitchen