Whole Wheat Stuffing Recipe with Dried Cherries & Pecans

You won’t miss the extra fat one bit in this delicious and lightened-up whole wheat stuffing recipe, complete with dried cherries and chopped pecans. Thank you to the Cherry Marketing Institute for helping me to share this recipe with you.

My sure-fire recipe for a successful Thanksgiving is simple. A plateful of stuffing smothered in gravy and topped with a sizeable dollop of cranberry sauce. That’s it. That’s all I need. And even though I appreciate the thought of wild rice or oyster stuffing that are traditional on many holiday tables, Thanksgiving (and Christmas too, for that matter) just isn’t the same without a pan of bread stuffing, soaked in turkey (or chicken) stock and infused with sage and thyme.

Even though I can turn out a pretty acceptable dish of stuffing by now, nothing compares to one made by my dad. He is our stuffing connoisseur, taking care to choose the best bread and rising early to meticulously cut off the crusts and tear the pieces with a fork to achieve a rustic look. I take the lazy man’s route by cutting the bread with a knife, but always prefer my dad’s version.

Never in all his years of making stuffing has my dad included anything but bread, herbs, celery and stock, but I have a feeling that he would approve of this version with dried Montmorency tart cherries and chopped pecans. If he doesn’t give me the side-eye at Christmas this year, I may just try it out. (Cue reprimand via email from Dad in 3…2…1. He always reads my posts, so my dried cherry and pecan plan won’t stay secret for long.)

First, I’ll have to convince him that the dried cherries add a wonderful sweet-tart flavor and lovely toothy chew to the savory stuffing. If that doesn’t work, I’ll remind him of the multitude of potential health benefits that Montmorency tart cherries offer, including anti-inflammatory properties, an abundance of heart healthy flavonoids and a dose of melatonin, which has been shown to help regulate sleep cycles.

If all of that convincing doesn’t do the trick, then I may be resigned to making two pans of stuffing – one Dad’s way and one my way. I make that sound like an inconvenience but, really, making two pans means more leftovers. And that can only be good!

If you prefer to make this stuffing vegetarian or vegan, simply replace the chicken broth with vegetable broth.

Montmorency tart cherries can be found in well-stocked grocery stores, as well as healthy food stores, such as Whole Foods. We always have tart cherries available in at least two forms in our house, and we use them daily in nut mixes, in rice salads and in baked oatmeal.

For more information on tart cherries and recipe inspiration, be sure to visit the Cherry Marketing Institute site, and follow Choose Cherries on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

Other healthy recipes with dried cherries:

Cookin’ Canuck’s One-Pot Farro with Butternut Squash & Dried Cherries
Cookin’ Canuck’s Dried Cherry & Orange Cranberry Sauce
Running to the Kitchen’s Cinnamon Ginger Kabocha Squash Soup with Tart Cherry Drizzle
Drool Worthy Daily’s Tart Cherry Glazed Brussels Sprouts
Garden Fresh Foodie’s Tart Cherry Sorbet

If you make this recipe, I’d love to see it on Instagram! Just use the hashtag #COOKINCANUCK and I’ll be sure to find it.

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Whole Wheat Stuffing Recipe with Dried Cherries & Pecans

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Prep Time 20 mins

Cook Time 30 mins

Total Time 50 mins

You won't miss the extra fat in this delicious lightened-up whole wheat bread stuffing recipe, complete with dried cherries and chopped pecans.

Yields Serves 12

Ingredients

• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 1 cup diced celery
• 1/2 cup minced flat-leaf parsley
• 2 tbsp minced fresh sage
• 1 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
• 11 cups cubed (crusts removed) whole wheat bread
• 1 1/2 cups 99% fat-free chicken broth (or vegetable broth for vegetarian/vegan)
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground pepper
• 1/2 cup dried Montmorency tart cherries
• 1/2 cup chopped raw pecans

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly coat a 7- by 11-inch baking dish (see Note) with cooking spray.
2. Heat the olive oil and butter in a large nonstick skillet set over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, parsley, sage, thyme and nutmeg. Cook, stirring frequently, until the celery is soft, about 5 minutes.
3. Place the bread cubes in a large bowl and stir in the onion mixture. Season with salt and pepper. Pour in the chicken broth and toss to combine.
4. Stir in the dried cherries and pecans.
5. Transfer the stuffing to the prepared baking dish. Bake until the stuffing is heated through and a light crust forms on top, 20 to 25 minutes.

by From the kitchen of cookincanuck.com

Recipe Notes

Weight Watchers Points: 6 (Points+), 5 (Old Points)

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by the Cherry Marketing Institute as part of a year-long brand ambassadorship. All opinions are my own. This post contains links to my Amazon affiliate page. Any revenue made from sales through these links helps to support this blog. Thank you!