Vegan Stuffing Recipe
This easy vegan stuffing recipe tastes just like the classic, but it’s made without the meat, eggs, and butter! With lots of herbs, veggies, and sourdough bread, this is an incredible side dish for Thanksgiving—one that will have everyone going for seconds!
I’ve heard your cries friends—a vegan stuffing recipe is finally on the site!
While we can argue about whether it’s properly called stuffing or dressing, we can all agree on one thing: this vegan stuffing recipe is delicious! I have to admit, I used to love eating boxed stuffing (my mom made it year-round!), but this version is so much tastier—plus it’s vegan, unlike your average Thanksgiving stuffing recipe.
Why You’ll Love This Vegan Stuffing Recipe
- Big flavour, but completely plant-based. Traditional stuffing gets a lot of its flavour from turkey, broth or stock, and butter, and it’s often held together with eggs. This version has all the flavour of the original (so everyone will enjoy it!), but it’s vegan.
- A Thanksgiving staple. As I mentioned above, I will gladly eat vegan stuffing all year long, but even if you’re not on board with stuffing 12 months a year, you have to admit, it’s just not Thanksgiving without it! (Be sure to try my Cornbread Stuffing too!)
- Easy to make. This recipe for vegan stuffing is simple, and it’s also great for starting ahead of time. That gives you more time to work on other recipes or focus on entertaining your guests!
Notes on the Ingredients
Scroll down to the recipe card to find the ingredient quantities and recipe instructions.
- Sourdough bread – My favourite bread to use for this vegan stuffing recipe. Feel free to use regular bread like my Dutch oven no knead bread too; basically, you want a hearty, crusty bread, not white sandwich bread.
- Vegan butter or oil – You can use either, but I highly recommend using vegan butter for the flavour!
- Onions
- Garlic
- Celery or leeks – I tested both celery and leeks and either works great here. You could also use leeks instead of the onions.
- Thyme or sage – These are my choice of herbs, but you can add or switch out for marjoram, rosemary and any of your favourites.
- Vegetable broth – Use a high-quality vegetable broth or stock. It helps so much in flavouring the bread. I use my homemade vegetable broth.
- Salt and pepper
How to Make Vegan Stuffing
- Prepare. Preheat the oven to 400°F/ 200°C.
- Dry out the bread. Add it to a baking pan and bake for about 5 minutes or so until dried out. It should feel like just gone stale bread.
- Start the aromatics. In a pan over medium heat, melt the vegan butter and add the onion, garlic, celery. Add the thyme, sage, salt and pepper; stir together.
- Sauté. Cook until onions are tender and garlic is fragrant, about 8 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Mix the stuffing. In a large bowl, add the dried bread pieces and vegetables. Pour the vegetable broth 1 cup at a time over the top, then stir everything together to incorporate. Continue until all the veggie broth is used.
- Assemble. Pour everything into a 8×11 or 9×13 casserole dish. Sprinkle extra thyme on top. Cover with foil and place in the centre of your centre rack.
- Bake. Bake for 35 minutes covered, then remove the foil. Bake for another 20 to 30 minutes until the stuffing is set and the top is golden brown and slightly crusty.
- Serve. Remove the vegan stuffing from the oven, cool slightly and serve. Enjoy!
Tips for Success
- Use stale bread. It’s crucial that you start with dried out bread. Stale and crispy. It provides the best texture to properly absorb the liquid for that incredible end texture! Don’t skip this step.
- Don’t make it soggy. Add your vegetable broth in increments. You might not need it all (although I usually use all of it). You want to ensure there is no pool of liquid at the bottom of your bowl. If there after you’ve stirred it all around (like it’s not being absorbed) just pour it off, trying not to pour any seasonings out with it.
- Feel free to switch up the type of bread. Try challah, brioche, country bread, French bread—as long as it’s not store-bought sandwich bread, this recipe for vegan stuffing will be good!
How to Make Vegan Stuffing Ahead of Time
There are a few different ways to make this vegan stuffing recipe ahead of time. You can dry out the bread, then freeze it until ready. Or you can assemble the entire casserole, then place it in your fridge tightly covered for up to two days before. Remove from fridge 30 minutes before baking (to come to room temperature). Toss one more time, cover with foil, then bake when ready!
What to Serve With Vegan Stuffing
All your Thanksgiving favourites, made vegan style! I love serving this vegan stuffing with Vegan Turkey or Vegan Wellington as main dishes, then pairing them with sides like Vegan Mashed Potatoes, Cranberry Orange Sauce, Vegan Mushroom Gravy, and Maple Brussels Sprouts with Apples and Pecans.
How to Store and Reheat Leftovers
Store leftover vegan stuffing in an airtight container or wrapped in the baking dish for up to 4 days. You can cover it and warm it up in the oven at 350ºF or simply warm individual portions in the microwave.
Can I Freeze This Recipe?
Yes, you can freeze this recipe for vegan stuffing. Wrap it in the baking dish or transfer leftovers to an airtight container or freezer bag. Freeze for up to 3 months, then thaw in the refrigerator before reheating according to the instructions above.
More Vegan Thanksgiving Recipes
- Vegan Green Bean Casserole (From Scratch)
- Sweet Potato Soufflé
- Vegan Meatloaf (Thanksgiving Main Dish)
- Duchess Potatoes
- Vegan Garlic Mashed Potatoes with Caramelised Onions
Enjoy friends! If you make this Vegan Stuffing Recipe, please snap a photo and tag #jessicainthekitchen on Instagram! We’d also love if you would leave a comment below, and give the recipe a rating! Thanks so much!
Vegan Stuffing Recipe
Ingredients
- 10 cups sourdough bread, torn into 1 inch pieces and dried out for a day on a sheet (no larger than this)
- 3 tablespoons vegan butter or oil
- 2 onions, chopped finely (1 ½ cups worth)
- 5 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 6 ribs of celery, finely diced or 2 cups leeks, cut in half and thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme, removed from stalks and chopped finely
- 1 teaspoon fresh sage, chopped finely
- ½ teaspoon to 1 teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 ½ cups vegetable broth, or more for your preference
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F/ 200°C.
- Ensure your bread is dried out. Add it to a baking pan, and bake for about 5 minutes or so until dried out. It should feel like just gone stale bread (and slightly crispy).
- In a pan over medium heat, melt the vegan butter and add the onion, garlic, celery. Add the thyme, sage, salt and pepper, stir together, and cook until onions are tender and garlic is fragrant, about 8 minutes. Remove from heat.
- In a large bowl, add the dried bread pieces. Add the cooked-down veggies. Pour the vegetable broth 1 cup at a time over, and stir everything together once more to incorporate. Continue until all the veggie broth is finished (you may not need everything – you want it moist, not with liquid pooling in the bottom after mixing it all together).
- Pour everything into your 8×11 or 9×13 casserole dish. Sprinkle extra thyme on top. Cover with foil and place in the centre of your centre rack.
- Bake for 35 minutes covered, and then remove foil. Bake for another 20 to 30 minutes until stuffing is set and the top becomes golden brown and slightly crusty.
- Remove, cool slightly and serve. Enjoy!
Notes
Disclaimer: Although jessicainthekitchen.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, kindly note that these are only estimates. Nutritional information may be affected based on the product type, the brand that was purchased, and in other unforeseeable ways. Jessicainthekitchen.com will not be held liable for any loss or damage resulting for your reliance on nutritional information. If you need to follow a specific caloric regimen, please consult your doctor first.
This was my first time making stuffing that didn’t come from a box, and it turned out wonderfully! The texture with homemade bread was amazing, and I loved the flavor with some rosemary added in too. Thanks so much for this recipe, I’m never going back to the box!
This was the star at my Thanksgiving dinner, even for my non-vegan neighbors who we shared our meal with. Seriously so good and flavorful. I don’t typically love stuffing, but loved this. I used leftover rosemary sourdough, dried out a French baguette for the bread. For herbs, I used fresh thyme and rosemary. Make this, it’s seriously so good. I can’t recommend it enough!
This stuffing was absolutely fantastic! My mom said it was the only stuffing she has ever liked and she’s not even vegan. Will definitely make this again
This was delicious! Thank you for sharing the recipe! Stuffing was always one of my favorite Thanksgiving foods but I haven’t been able to eat it the last few years because it always has chicken broth. I made this for Thanksgiving and my husband and I ate half of the pan at once! Thank you!
Absolutely wonderful! Super easy to make but incredibly flavorful. Very popular with the vegans and non-vegans at Thanksgiving. This will most definitely be added to our Thanksgiving lineup!
We’re so happy that you enjoyed this recipe Kaitlyn! Thank you so much for reading and leaving such a nice comment!
My dad has been making the same stuffing for over 20 years and this year we were doing a vegetarian thanksgiving and needed an alternative to his usual method. We used onions, leeks, and celery because there can never be too many veggies and Oh my goodness this stuffing was incredible. We had it a month ago at Thanksgiving and this is the only thing he wants for Christmas dinner. Thank you!
I have never been 100% sold on stuffing, but I I have been making sourdough for the past 6 weeks and this looked like a good way to use up the ends. I used celery, leeks, and onions, and fresh thyme. It smelled incredible cooking on Christmas day, and I was so impressed with the texture and flavour! Unfortunately there was no family around to share it with this year, but I’ll be making it again to share for sure! Thanks as always for the fantastic recipe!
I made it for Friendsgiving last year and it was a great success! I want to repeat it this year but I have a question – how many grams/oz is 10 cups of bread? I remember it was hard to measure last time and it’s my main deterrent for making it. Thank you!
Hi Olga,
The weight will vary greatly based on the type of bread, brand, did you make it yourself etc., but a good estimate is about 500/600 grams or 21-25 ounces. Hope this helps and enjoy!