Today I am sharing my ultimate favorite vegan stuffing recipe – perfect for Thanksgiving and Christmas!
I have never liked stuffing for as long as I can remember.
Every year at Thanksgiving, I remember thinking it was just too mushy and I didn’t care for the flavor at all.
It tasted like baby food to me.
Then I grew up and started to learn how to cook things the way that I liked them.
So this Thanksgiving I decided to create a stuffing worthy of eating…a stuffing that didn’t taste like mush!
I have served this stuffing to meat eaters and to vegetarians and everyone cannot believe how much flavor it has!
It is one of the most delicious vegetarian thanksgiving recipes I have ever made.
I had never made stuffing before, so I decided to just go with flavors that I know I loved, and really focus on the texture.
That is key for this recipe.
I fell in love with this recipe, it is the perfect amount of texture while still moist.
It is not labor intensive at all, and the flavor is absolutely incredible!
How to make vegan stuffing for Thanksgiving
This stuffing starts off with a base of fresh garlic and onion, carrots, and celery.
Fresh vegetables add great texture and flavor to the stuffing.
Garlic and onion add a great base of flavor and I use so much of them every Thanksgiving.
Every year I try to prep ahead as much as I can for Thanksgiving as there is just so much to do!
The day before, I will chop up the carrots, celery, garlic, and onion and put it in a ziploc bag in the fridge.
This will make your stuffing go so much faster the next day!
I’m all about making my life easier on Thanksgiving day.
Once you are ready to make your vegan stuffing, add the veggies to the pan.
You will need a very large skillet or pan.
I use a jumbo cooker pan.
I bought it from Walmart years ago and it has fast become one of my most used kitchen tools!
Add in vegan butter, salt, sage, thyme, oregano, and pepper to the vegetables.
Cook around 10 minutes, or until the veggies start to soften, but are not mushy.
Cut your bread into cubes, and place on a baking sheet.
Dry roast in the oven for 10 – 15 minutes, until it starts to brown.
Check often towards the end to avoid burning.
We want crispy bread, not burnt!
Toasting the bread before adding it to the stuffing keeps it from turning to total mush – that is key here!
how to make vegan gluten free stuffing
To make your stuffing gluten free, all you have to do is use a gluten free bread.
I almost always use millet bread which is gluten free, and it is delicious!
Once your bread is done roasting, add it to the skillet along with the veggie stock.
Transfer the stuffing to a large baking dish, then dot the top with vegan butter.
Bake for 30 – 40 minutes, or until the top starts to brown.
Serve and enjoy!
This stuffing is also delicious reheated which is usually not the case for stuffing that I have had before.
Even just reheating it in the microwave it tastes great.
Ever since I first created this stuffing, I have made it every single year.
I’ve made it for years now and have no desire to even tweak the recipe.
I follow it exactly every year to guarantee it comes out perfect!
The spices in this recipe are key and sage really is the star of the dish.
I’m very happy with how this flavor combination turned out!
Last year I served Thanksgiving dinner to my family who are not vegetarians, and everyone raved about the dishes!
Here are some more of my tried and true Thanksgiving day favorites.
Vegan Thanksgiving Recipes
- Vegetarian Gravy Recipe (sub vegan butter to make it vegan)
- Healthy Cranberry Sauce
- Vegan Stuffing
- Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecan Crumble (sub vegan milk and butter to make vegan)
- Cranberry Blueberry Crisp
- Mini Vegan Pumpkin Pies
This will be on my Thanksgiving table for many years to come!
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Vegan Stuffing Recipe:
Easy Vegan Stuffing Recipe
The best vegan stuffing recipe for Thanksgiving. Easily made gluten free, and everyone loves it!
Ingredients
- 1 loaf of bread (14-16 slices) - I use either millet bread or Ezekiel brand
- 1 heart of celery, diced (about 5 stalks)
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 3 carrots, peeled and diced
- 10 cloves of garlic
- 1.5 teaspoons sea salt
- 3 tablespoons ground sage
- 1.5 teaspoons thyme
- 1.5 teaspoons oregano
- 2 tablespoons vegan butter
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 2 cups veggie stock
- 2 tablespoons vegan butter for topping
Instructions
- Cut bread into cubes and crisp in the oven until slightly crunchy, about 10-15 minutes on 400 degrees (roast dry on a baking sheet)
- Combine diced celery, onion, carrots, garlic, 2 tablespoons of vegan butter, salt, sage, thyme, oregano, and pepper in a skillet.
- sautee until cooked through (about 10 minutes on medium heat)
- Add bread to skillet and stir well, add in veggie stock
- Taste to adjust seasonings if necessary
- Pour stuffing into a large glass baking dish (grease with vegan butter first)
- Dot the top of the stuffing with 2 tablespoons of vegan butter, cut into small cubes
- Bake at 400 degrees for 30-40 minutes, or until desired texture (we prefer it more dry, but you could cook less for a more soft stuffing)
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
10Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving:Calories: 308 Total Fat: 8g Saturated Fat: 4g Trans Fat: 0g Unsaturated Fat: 4g Cholesterol: 13mg Sodium: 802mg Carbohydrates: 50g Fiber: 5g Sugar: 7g Protein: 9g
Dee says
Are the thyme and oregano dried or fresh?
Joy Shull says
They are dried!
Lisa J says
Can’t wait to try this recipe! I would like to bake the bread cubes ahead of time, as they typically maintain their crisp texture if kept airtight. Have you ever done this for your recipe?
Joy Shull says
I have not tried it myself but it sounds like it would work!
Michelle says
This worked out really well when I made it about a year ago but I can’t remember if you chop up the garlic or put it in whole? Thanks!
Joy Shull says
You dice it up! Enjoy!
Joy Shull says
The best stuffing I have ever had!
Rob says
we make this every year!
Rob says
This was amazing!
Erin says
Hi Joy,
Will this store well? Making it the day before… Also, the 3 tbsps of sage is correct? That amount is much more than the other spices which is why I ask. Thank you!
Joy Shull says
Hi Erin,
It depends on how you like your stuffing. If you don’t mind texture, then it would be fine to make it ahead. Personally I like mine a little on the dryer side so today I am chopping all of the vegetables and putting them in a container in the fridge so that tomorrow all I have to do is sautee, add spices, and the bread. I think either way you do it would be fine. And yes, the sage is correct, as that is the main flavor 🙂 Enjoy the recipe and Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family!
Jen says
We are trying this today.
Joy Shull says
Enjoy!
Cheryl Smith says
Can this be made ahead and frozen?
Joy Shull says
I wouldn’t recommend freezing as the bread may lose texture. To save time on Thanksgiving you could do the veggie prep ahead and put the chopped veggies, garlic, and onion in a ziploc so that it is ready to go right in the skillet.
Kylee says
Could you put the cooked bread/veggie mixture in your baking pan then wait to cook it? I’m thinking of making this before we leave then popping it in the oven once we get to my family’s for Thanksgiving (1 hour or so drive).
Joy Shull says
I think that would be your best bet! It may get a little softer this way so if texture is an issue for you that would be the only thing. I do think it would still be delicious though!
Leslie says
We made these tonight and they were delicious. We will be adding them as a regular dish to our Thanksgiving and Christmas tables.
Joy Shull says
So glad you enjoyed the recipe Leslie!
Tiareidt@gmail.com says
How many people will this recipe serve?
Thanks!
Joy Shull says
Hello!
This recipe will easily serve 6-8 people as a side dish.
Chelsea says
Just made this recipe for Thanksgiving and it was amazing! Thank you so much, definitely my favorite part of the Thanksgiving feast.
Joy Shull says
So glad to hear you enjoyed it Chelsea!
Becky Wallenborn says
Hi Joy! Just discovered you while searching for healthy and yummy recipes. So this vegan stuffing recipe Does use ten garlic cloves? I’m just checking on that number before I shop and make it and serve to my Guinea-pig family! Thanks!
Joy Shull says
Hi Becky!
I do use 10 cloves of garlic in this recipe (it ends up being around one medium head of garlic.) I really love the depth of flavor that it adds to the dish, but I don’t taste any “garlicky-ness” at all. If you think you may not want that much garlic, you could use half as much. I hope you and your family enjoy it! Happy Thanksgiving!
Joy
Becky Wallenborn says
Thank you Joy! I’m trying several of your recipes for our thanksgiving meal and can’t wait to enjoy them all.
Happy thanksgiving to you and yours!
Becky
Joy Shull says
Hope you enjoy them as much as we do! Happy Thanksgiving to you as well! 🙂
Joy
Iris says
Doesn’t say amount of servings it yields. ??
I have to do for 50 people. ???
Joy Shull says
Hi Iris,
This makes a 9 by 13 casserole dish, so it serves around 8 people. I have updated the recipe to reflect this. Thanks!
Natalie | Feasting on Fruit says
Stuffing is one of those Thanksgiving dishes that I hated as a kid too, mushy, soggy bread what’s up with that? But now I totally love it, I think that stupid stuffing in a bag stuff gives it a bad rap. Homemade is definitely the way to go, and your recipe looks so hearty I love those big chunks of bread!
Joy says
Thanks Natalie!