You Don’t Always Have to Make a Whole Turkey
Sometimes you want the whole bird on the table – but sometimes you want something a little more refined. This Low FODMAP Kale & Butternut Squash Stuffed Turkey Breast just might be the perfect holiday main dish.
Let me count the ways this Low FODMAP Kale & Butternut Squash Stuffed Turkey Breast is PERFECT:
- It’s turkey!
- It can be prepped up to 2 days ahead.
- You could use your favorite low FODMAP stuffing, making it versatile.
- It’s very easy to carve.
- The spiral filling has that WOW factor for your holiday table.
- It takes only an hour or a little longer to roast, freeing up your oven for other dishes.
- It would even work in a small apartment oven, that wouldn’t fit a whole bird.
- The pan drippings make amazing gravy.
- Even though it is breast meat, it comes out super juicy.
- And need I say, it tastes fabulous.
Plan Ahead
Call your butcher or meat-counter in your supermarket and tell them you want a whole 3-pound (1.4 kg) boneless turkey breast, that you want it butterflied and that you want the skin preserved as well as possible.
Colorful, Low FODMAP & Delicious
The filling combines sweet Italian sausage (make sure that it doesn’t contain any garlic or onion), extra fennel, from the vegetable and the seeds, sweet butternut squash and dark green kale.
While Butternut squash is low FODMAP in small servings of ⅓ cup, diced (46 g), the kale has barely any FODMAPs detected, so they make a great combo.
Do-Ahead Tips
Do-Ahead TipsWho doesn’t like do-ahead cooking tips, especially during the holidays? You can pause at step 5. After the turkey is rolled up, wrap the entire thing in plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 2 days.
Make sure to bring to room temperature before proceeding so that your Low FODMAP Kale & Butternut Squash Stuffed Turkey Breast roasts evenly.
This dish was inspired by one from my alma mater’s Test Kitchen at Bon Appetit.
Check out our Thanksgiving Roundup for over 75 Fabulous Holiday recipes! We’ve got everything from apps, to sides, to desserts – even creative low FODMAP recipes for leftovers!
Low FODMAP Kale & Butternut Squash Stuffed Turkey Breast
This Low FODMAP Kale & Butternut Squash Stuffed Turkey Breast is perfect for a small crowd or anytime you want an impressive turkey dish - but not a whole turkey!
Ingredients:
Stuffing:
- 3/4 cup (about 45 g) cubed low FODMAP gluten-free bread
- 2 tablespoons Garlic-Infused Oil, made with olive oil or purchased equivalent
- 5- ounces (140 g) low FODMAP sweet Italian sausage
- 1 cup (5 ounces/140 g) diced butternut squash
- 1/3 cup (27 g) finely chopped leeks, green parts only
- 1/3 cup (24 g) finely chopped scallions, green parts only
- 1/2 cup (48 g) finely chopped fresh fennel
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds, crushed
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon dried sage
- 3 cups (4 ounces/115 g) very finely chopped Tuscan kale
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 6 cups (1.4 L) low FODMAP Chicken Stock
- 1/4 cup (8 g) finely chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
Turkey:
- 3- pound (1.4 kg) boneless turkey breast, butterflied
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Dried thyme
- Dried sage
- Cheesecloth
- Butcher’s Twine
- 6 tablespoons (85 g) unsalted butter, softened
Preparation:
-
For the Stuffing: Preheat oven to 400°F/200°C.
-
Scatter the cubed bread on a rimmed half-sheet pan and bake until just beginning to dry out and turn golden brown, tossing during baking to toast evenly. Cool and place in a large mixing bowl and crush with hands until you have rough crumbs; set aside.
-
Heat a large skillet over medium heat, add the Garlic-Infused Oil and sausage, squeezed out of its casing, breaking it up as you add it to the pan. Sauté until it loses its pink color, then use a slotted spoon to remove and add to the bowl of bread.
-
Add squash, leek and scallion greens, chopped fennel, fennel seeds, thyme and sage to the pan, over low-medium heat, and sauté for several minutes (about 6 to 8) or until vegetables are softened, stirring often. Add the kale, butter and 1 cup (240 ml) of the stock (the rest is for later), turn heat up to medium, and sauté for several minutes or until kale is softened and most of the liquid is absorbed, but the mixture is still moist. Scrape mixture into bowl with bread and sausage, add parsley, season to taste with salt and pepper and combine very well (I like to use my hands) until evenly mixed. Add just enough of the reconstituted chicken stock to moisten (might just be ¼ cup (60 ml) or so). Save remaining stock.
-
For the Turkey: Spread the turkey out on a cutting board, skin side down. Peek underneath and make a mental note of which side the skin is on. Cover with plastic wrap and use a mallet to pound it out to a uniform thickness, about 1/2-inch (12 mm). Season with salt, pepper, thyme and sage. Use your hands to press the stuffing in an even layer all over the turkey, leaving a 1-inch (2.5 cm) border all around. Starting with the short end that does not have the skin begin rolling it up firmly into as even a log shape as possible. Take care with this step as it will effect how pretty the final dish looks and how easily it slices. Roll up the log in a large piece of double-layer cheesecloth. Tie both ends with kitchen twine, shaping plumping and the log as you go, keeping it nice and round. Tie twine crosswise around the turkey in 4 or 5 evenly spaced rotations, then slather butter evenly all over the cloth (use your hands).
-
Place log seam side down in roasting pan and add enough reserved stock to come up the sides of the log about 1/4-inch (6 mm). Immediately turn oven down to 375°F/190°C and roast for about 60 minutes to 1 hour and 15 minutes, basting once or twice and adding more stock to pan if it evaporates. An instant read thermometer should read 155°F when inserted in center. Remove from oven, transfer to cutting board, drape loosely with foil and allow to rest for at least 15 minutes (temperature should rise to 165°F. Meanwhile, you can strain the pan juices, discard the fat and use to make gravy, if you like (highly recommended). Remove twine and cheesecloth, then slice crosswise in thick slices to serve immediately.
Dédé's Quick Recipe Tips Video
Notes:
Tips
- While you can buy whole squash and prep it yourself, we often buy pre-cut. The hard skin will already be removed and your over-all prep time will be lessened. Look at the package carefully and avoid any that looks mushy.
Nutrition
All nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary with brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes and more. For a more detailed explanation, please read our article Understanding The Nutrition Panel Within Our Recipes.
Could i substitute spinach in for the kale in the recipe? I’m not a big kale fan, just wondering. Thanks so much for all of the amazing recipes! I couldn’t have made it without them!
The spinach doesn’t retain as much volume. Flavor-wise it would be great. Not sure it will work volume wise. And, of course, whenever you change a recipe you have to recalculate the FODMAP load. Kale has trace amounts; spinach has fructans so watch out for stacking within meal.