Pear Walnut Stuffing Muffins

I’m pretty sure I say this every single year, but stuffing is my most favorite Thanksgiving side dish. Always and forever. If someone told me they burned the turkey and every side dish and there was only stuffing? FINE BY ME! If someone told me they aren’t making stuffing? NOT FINE AT ALL!

Since I pretty much eat pounds and pounds of stuffing over the course of Thanksgiving weekend, I thought I’d try a little portion control this year and what better way to do that than with these stuffing muffins?

Baking your stuffing in a muffin tin is not only great for portion control, but also cuts down on the cooking time which will help free up oven space on Turkey Day! I love adding apples or pears to my stuffing, so these have pears, walnuts, and some fresh thyme.

The trick for making sure your stuffing muffins don’t fall apart when serving them is to add enough broth and for good measure, I also add eggs. Your mixture should be moist, but not soaking wet. The bread should soak up the broth without having extra at the bottom of your bowl. The moisture from the broth and the eggs will keep the muffins from falling apart when you transfer them out of the muffin tin.

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Yield: Approx.18 Muffins

Pear Walnut Stuffing Muffins

Prep Time 15 minutes

Total Time 15 minutes

A fun and easy way to serve stuffing and great for portion control! These stuffing muffins are also perfect for holiday parties.

Ingredients

• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/2 medium yellow onion, diced
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 1 bag (12-14oz.) herb seasoned stuffing (I use cubed)
• 4 slices toasted white bread (or bread of your choice), cut into small cubes
• 2 medium pears, peeled and diced into small bite-size pieces
• 2/3 cup chopped walnuts
• 1 tablespoon fresh chopped thyme (optional)
• 5 large eggs, lightly beaten
• About 1-1 1/2 cups low sodium chicken broth
• 1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Melt the butter in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the onion and celery. Cook the veggies in the butter until softened and until the butter is mostly absorbed by the veggies, about 15-20 minutes (I like to do this step the night before).
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In an extra large mixing bowl, add the bagged stuffing, toasted bread, cooked veggies, pears, walnuts, and the thyme. Pour the eggs and gently stir in with the bread mixture until well-coated with the eggs. Then pour in the broth, a little bit at a time until the mixture is well-moistened, but not soaking in liquid (I usually add about 1-1 1/2 cups). Season the mixture with poultry seasoning and salt and pepper.
3. Spray each cavity of a muffin tin with non-stick spray. Fill each cavity to the top with the mixture. Bake for approximately 20-25 minutes or until golden on top and cooked through. Let cool for a few minutes and then carefully remove by loosening each muffin around the edge and then lifting out from the bottom of the muffins (I just use a fork to do this).

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

18

Serving Size:

1 muffin
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 123Total Fat: 9gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 62mgSodium: 91mgCarbohydrates: 8gFiber: 1gSugar: 3gProtein: 4g

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