Vegan Stuffing
A dressed stuffing or a stuffed dressing? Either way, this vegan stuffing recipe is the perfect addition to your side dish menu for Thanksgiving. This dressing has subtle dualities in the taste (sweet and savory), the texture (soft and crunchy), and the flavors (herb-y and wine-y). Trust me, your guests/family will want to have that with everything. Also try my Loaded Vegan Green Beans Casserole for other vegan Thanksgiving side dishes.
Jump to RecipeThe Bread
To make this stuffing I used regular sliced white bread. I’ve tried the recipe with sourdough bread as well and it worked great. For perfect absorption, the bread needs to either be stale (at least a day old) or you can use the method that I used and bake it in the oven for a few minutes.
Pre-heat the oven at 350F. Cut the sliced bread in cubes. I stacked about 5 slices at the time to cut them in cubes to be more efficient.
Line an extra large baking tray with parchment paper. Add in the cubed bread. Spread the bread as much as possible so they don’t overlap. Pop the tray in the oven and let the bread toast for no more than 15 minutes. Once it’s out of the oven, set it aside.
A Subtle Chewy Element
What I love most about making a stuffing is that it’s like making a pizza: You can free style it. So I wanted to add a chewy texture to the stuffing, and I decided to use mushrooms, a lot of them. Chop the mushrooms in relatively medium pieces (keep in mind that the mushrooms contain a lot of water, so they shrink considerably when they cook).
Place a skillet on medium heat. Add in the mushrooms. You may need to add half of your mushrooms first, since they are bulky when raw. As they cook and shrink in size, you can add the remainder. Sauté the mushrooms until they are cooked, then add the salt and pepper. Stir for another minute or so, then remove them from the skillet and set them aside.
Pecans for an extra crunch
To add a little bit more crunchiness to this stuffing, I decided to add some pecans. You need to roughly chop the pecans. Then finely chop the shallots, garlic, celery, rosemary, thyme, sage and parsley.
On the same skillet we’ve been using on medium heat, add the olive oil, followed by the shallots, garlic, celery, rosemary, thyme, sage and parsley. Saute until the shallots and celery become translucent. Then add the chopped pecans. Stir for about a minute, then add the salt and pepper. Give everything a mix, then remove them from the skillet and set them aside.
The Broth
The broth is one of the most important ingredients of this vegan stuffing. It’s what drive the overall taste of the stuffing, so it’s important to get it right.
In that same skillet on medium low heat, pour in the Chardonnay. Let it simmer for about a minute, then add in the butter. Let the butter melt, then add the vegetable broth, followed by the salt, veggie stock, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder. Mix everything to incorporate, then turn off the stove.
Vegan Stuffing: Combining the Ingredients
Now that all the ingredients are ready, all that’s left to do is combine them. So, in a large mixing bowl, add the toasted bread, sautéed mushrooms, sautéed pecans, dried cranberries and the broth.
Mix everything with a spatula, making sure the bread absorb the broth, but being careful not to over mix and make the bread mushy. Once everything is well mixed, pour the mixture in a baking dish. Cover it with aluminum foil, then pop it in the oven at 350F for 40 minutes.
Optional step: If you want the stuffing to be extra crunchy, you can remove the aluminum foil after the 40 min, switch the oven temp to broil on high and broil for no more than 5 min. You should be left with an amazingly delicious stuffing that should have your guests beg for me, vegan or not.
Vegan Stuffing
Ingredients
- 1 Loaf White Bread Sliced
- 3 oz Shallots
- 4 Cloves Garlic
- 1/2 Cup Celery
- 35 oz Mushrooms Cremini and White Mushrooms
- 1 Tbsp Butter Vegan
- 1 Tbsp Garlic Powder
- 1 Tbsp Onion Powder
- 3 Tbsp Olive Oil
- 1 Cup Dried Cranberries 50% Less sugar
- 1 Cup Pecans Raw
- 1 Cup Chardonnay White Wine
- 2.5 Cup Vegetable Broth
- 1 Tbsp Sage
- 1 Tbsp Rosemary
- 1 Tbsp Thyme
- 1 Tbsp Parsley Italian
- Salt To Taste
- 1 Tsp Black Pepper Ground
- 1 Tbsp Better than bouillon veggie stock
Instructions
Bread
- Pre-heat the oven at 350F.
- Cut the sliced bread in cubes. I stacked about 5 slices at the time to cut them in cubes to be more efficient.
- Line an extra large baking tray (I used this one) with parchment paper. Add in the cubed bread. Spread the bread as much as possible so they don't overlap. Pop the tray in the oven and let the bread toast for 15 minutes. Once it's out of the oven, set it aside.
Sautéed Mushrooms
- Chop the mushrooms in relatively medium pieces (keep in mind that the mushrooms contain a lot of water, so they shrink considerably when they cook).
- Place a skillet on medium heat. Add in the mushrooms. You may need to add half of your mushrooms first, since they are bulky when raw. As they cook and shrink in size, you can add the remainder. Sauté the mushrooms until they are cooked, then add the salt and pepper. Stir for another minute or so, then remove them from the skillet and set them aside.
Sautéed Pecans
- Roughly chop the pecans. Then finely chop the shallots, garlic, celery, rosemary, thyme, sage and parsley.
- On the same skillet on medium heat, add the olive oil, followed by the shallots, garlic, celery, rosemary, thyme, sage and parsley. Saute until the shallots and celery become translucent. Then add the chopped pecans. Stir for about a minute, then add the salt and pepper. Give everything a mix, then remove them from the skillet and set them aside.
Seasoned Broth
- In the same skillet on medium low heat, pour in the Chardonnay. Let it simmer for about a minute, then add in the butter. Let the butter melt, then add the vegetable broth, followed by the salt, veggie stock, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder. Mix everything to incorporate, then turn off the stove.
Stuffing
- In a large mixing bowl, add the bread, sautéed mushrooms, sautéed pecans, dried cranberries and the broth. Mix everything with a spatula, making sure the bread absorb the broth, but being careful not to over mix and make the bread mushy. Once everything is well mixed, pour the mixture in a baking dish. Cover it with aluminum foil, then pop it in the oven at 350F for 40 minutes.
