Vegan Stuffing Recipe
This Vegan Stuffing Recipe tastes just like the classic and is buttery and so flavourful with well-seasoned vegetables and the best herbs. It’s 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!
Whether you call it stuffing, filling or dressing – this, this my friends is delicious! I remember that boxed stuffing that I used to love eating. My mom made it all year round, not just as Thanksgiving. This version is vegan, tastier and so incredible!
There are two very important things when making stuffing – ensuring it has the best flavour and the best texture. I went above and beyond to ensure this was bursting with buttery, flavourful notes. I also walk you step by step on how to start with the right bread texture, and end with a stuffing that everything will be reaching for.
Notes on the Ingredients
sourdough bread – this is my favourite bread to use for this vegan stuffing. Feel free to use regular bread like my dutch oven no knead bread too, but you want to ensure you choose a thick and hearty type of bread.
vegan butter or oil – you can use either, but I highly recommend using vegan butter for the flavour!
celery or leeks – I tested both celery and leeks and either works great here. You could even use leeks instead of the onions (same family).
thyme or sage – these are my choice of herbs but you can add or switch out for marjoram, rosemary and any of your favourite fall herbs
vegetable broth – get a great quality vegetable broth/stock. It helps so much in flavouring the bread.
Step by Step 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.
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 cornbread is set and the top becomes golden brown and slightly crusty.
Remove, cool slightly and serve. Enjoy!
Expert Tips & FAQ
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.
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. You can of course just use my cornbread stuffing, or try challah, brioche – any kind. Try french bread, or even a bakery loaf of bread.
Yes you can! You can make several layers of this 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!
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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
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
- 1/2 teaspoon to 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 1/2 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!