This Vegan Stuffing Recipe is packed with onion, celery, green apple and sage! It’s crispy on the top and full of flavor. Perfect for your vegan Thanksgiving table this year.
Do you like stuffing? I feel like it’s one of those sides that some people love and others stay far away from. We’ve always loved stuffing at our Thanksgiving dinner and my husband is especially fond of the Stove Top version 🙂 I decided it was finally time to make my own Vegan Stuffing recipe and I’m so proud of it!
Traditionally stuffing is cooked inside of the turkey cavity but most people just make it as a separate side dish these days. And, since we don’t cook turkey for Thanksgiving it’s a perfect side dish that packs so much savory flavor.
INGREDIENTS FOR MY VEGAN STUFFING RECIPE
- Bread – You can really use any kind of bread you prefer for your stuffing. I first tested this recipe with sourdough bread, which I love, but I felt like the flavor kind of overpowered the other ingredients so I ultimately went with white French bread and it worked great. It’s mild in flavor but has great texture and holds up well.
- Onion and celery – Onion and celery are traditional in most all stuffing recipes. They help add a nice savory flavor.
- Green apple and dried cranberries – I love a little tart sweetness in my stuffing. Sweet and savory is always a great flavor combo, especially around the holidays.
- Herbs and spices – I like to use both dried poultry seasoning as well as fresh sage and thyme.
- Vegetable broth – You don’t want to use too much liquid but it’s important to hav a little bit so the stuffing cooks together.
HOW TO MAKE VEGAN STUFFING
The main difference between vegan stuffing and non-vegan stuffing is that I don’t add eggs as a binder and I use veggie broth instead of a meat based broth. There are a few steps in making stuffing but they’re all easy!
- You want your bread to be stale or lightly toasted. If you use fresh bread it will become soggy when you add the broth and nobody likes soggy stuffing! Bread that has sat out all night or has been toasted in the oven is able to soak up some of the broth while still keeping it’s texture.
- Although the stuffing does ultimately bake in the oven for a bit, you want to cook the veggies beforehand. I like to sauté my celery, onion, apples and cranberries in some butter to get them nice and soft and flavorful.
- You then add the crispy bread and the veggie mixture to a bowl with a little bit of veggie broth, mix everything together well and place in a buttered baking dish. I also like to top the stuffing with a few pads of butter to make sure the top gets nice and crusty.
- Cover with foil and bake for a bit, take the cover off and bake until golden brown.
MAKE AHEAD THANKSGIVING STUFFING
We all know how stressful it can be to cook an entire Thanksgiving dinner in one day so here are a few ways to save time cooking your vegan stuffing recipe:
- Leave your bread out the night before to get stale or crisp up your bread in the oven the day before. Since you are wanting your bread to be hard/stale, it is recommended to do this step a day or two early so it’s all ready to go.
- The onion, celery and apple mixture can be cooked up to 2 days in advance. That way all you have to do on the day of is mix it with the bread and stock and bake it in the oven.
- You can also cut up the veggies a few days beforehand without cooking them, but I would recommend not cutting up the apple until you’re going to cook the mixture because it will brown.
- Another way to prep this vegan stuffing ahead of time is the make the full recipe but only bake it for the 30 minutes where it’s covered in foil. Remove from the oven and refrigerate until ready to bake and serve.
Looking for more Vegan Thanksgiving Day Recipes?
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Vegan Stuffing with Sage & Green Apple
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Yield: 10 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This Vegan Stuffing Recipe is packed with onion, celery, green apple and fresh sage! It’s flavorful and the perfect vegan side dish!
Ingredients
- 6–8 cups cubed bread, I used one loaf of French bread
- 2 tablespoons vegan butter, divided
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 2 cups diced celery
- 1 medium sized green apple, small diced
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries
- 1 1/2 teaspoons poultry seasoning
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper
- 1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh sage
- 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
- 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
Instructions
- Dice your bread into bite size pieces. Either leave bread out overnight on a sheet pan to get stale or bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes until crispy. Add bread to a large bowl.
- Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees F. Heat a large skillet over medium heat and melt 1 tablespoon of butter. Add the onion and cook for about 2 minutes and then add the celery, apple and dried cranberries and a pinch of salt. Cook until vegetables are softened, about 5 minutes.
- Add in the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter, fresh herbs, poultry seasoning, salt and pepper. Mix well and then add to the bowl of bread. Mix together and then pour in the vegetable broth and mix again. I don’t like a lot of liquid in my stuffing so I just use 1 1/2 cups but you could use more if you like.
- Pour stuffing mixture into a large buttered baking dish and press down lightly. Optional: place a few small dabs of butter on top of the stuffing and then cover baking dish with foil. Bake covered for 30 minutes and then remove foil and bake for an additional 30 minutes, or until stuffing is browned and crispy on top.
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 45 mins
- Category: Side, Vegan
- Method: Stovetop, Oven
- Cuisine: American
I love stuffing, but never tried a vegan version. Looks amazing, will try for certain
Thanks! It’s my favorite!