This vegan stuffing recipe is my favorite Thanksgiving side dish! Onions, celery, and sautéed mushrooms fill it with delicious savory flavor.
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This vegan stuffing recipe is a plant-based version of my mom’s classic stuffing recipe. Her stuffing has been my favorite part of Thanksgiving ever since I was a kid. She never makes it from a box, but uses fresh bread, lots of butter, onions, and celery instead. It’s richly flavorful, soft in the middle, and crisp on top, and it’s always the first dish I reach for at Thanksgiving dinner.
In this vegan stuffing recipe, I keep the celery, onions, and crusty bread, but I use a generous amount of olive oil instead of butter, which adds robust flavor. Then, I increase the veggies. Along with the onion and celery, I add a hefty amount of shiitake mushrooms, kale, and tons of fresh herbs. Sautéed with a splash of balsamic vinegar, the mushrooms give this stuffing a delicious savory flavor – it took everything I had to resist devouring it straight out of the pan!
Traditional stuffing is typically considered a Thanksgiving side dish, but with all these hearty veggies, this vegan stuffing recipe could easily pass as a meatless main course. It’ll definitely be at the center of my plate at Thanksgiving this year!
How to Make Vegan Stuffing
This vegan stuffing recipe comes together with just a few simple steps:
- First, sauté the veggies. Cook the onions until they become translucent. Then, add the mushrooms and cook until they soften. Stir in the garlic, celery, sage, and rosemary, and cook a few minutes more.
- Then, add the bread, along with a big glug of olive oil. Toss in the kale and cook until it wilts. Before you transfer the stuffing to a baking dish, pour 1 cup of vegetable stock into the pan, and stir to combine.
- And bake! Pile the mixture into a greased baking dish, and pour more stock on top to moisten it. Sprinkle it with dried cranberries and bake until it’s golden brown and lightly crisp on top. Before digging in, let it sit for at least 15 minutes at room temperature. (I like it better the longer it sits!)
Vegan Stuffing Recipe Tips
- Swap the mushrooms. While I love the savory flavor of the shiitakes in this stuffing recipe, it’s also delicious with different mushroom varieties. Try making it with cremini mushrooms, or with a mix of shiitakes and creminis.
- Use your favorite bread. I call for ciabatta and nine grain bread in this recipe, but it works just as well with any good crusty bread. French or sourdough bread would both be excellent. And if you need to make your stuffing gluten-free, sub in the best loaf of gluten-free bread you can find!
- Buy (or make!) your bread a day ahead of time. If you’ve never made stuffing from scratch, you might be surprised to learn that using dried bread will actually make it better! Dry, day-old bread cubes will soak up the olive oil, stock, and mushroom juices like a sponge, which makes for extra-tasty stuffing.
- Make it in advance. Like any great Thanksgiving side dish, this vegan stuffing recipe is even better if you make it ahead of time. I like it more the longer it sits, and it’s still delicious on the second day! To reheat it, add a little extra stock and bake at 350° until it’s warmed through and lightly crisp on top.
More Favorite Thanksgiving Recipes
If you’re looking for more recipes to add to your Thanksgiving dinner, you can’t go wrong by trying one (or more!) of these:
- Butternut Squash Soup
- Green Bean Casserole
- Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes
- Vegan Sweet Potato Casserole
- Simple Roasted Beets with Citrus
- Roasted Delicata Squash with Apples & Sage
- Maple Roasted Acorn Squash
- Roasted Brussels Sprouts
- Or any of these 50 Thanksgiving Side Dishes!
And don’t forget the pumpkin pie for dessert!
Vegan Stuffing
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
- 1 cup coarsely chopped cipollini onions
- 3 cups chopped & stemmed mushrooms, mix of shiitakes & creminis
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 stalks celery, diced
- 1/4 cup chopped sage, plus 8 leaves for garnish
- 2 tablespoons minced rosemary
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 5 cups cubed crusty ciabatta + nine-grain bread*
- 3 lacinato kale leaves, coarsely chopped or torn
- 2 cups vegetable broth, plus more for reheating
- 1/4 cup dried cranberries
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease an 8x12 or 9x13 casserole dish.
- In a very large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions, mushrooms, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and several grinds of fresh pepper, and let the mushrooms cook until they begin to soften, 5 to 8 minutes, stirring only occasionally. Add the garlic, celery, sage, and rosemary, and cook until everything is soft and the mushrooms are golden brown, 8-10 minutes.
- Add the balsamic vinegar, stir, and scrape any bits off the bottom of the pan. Add the bread and the remaining 1/4 cup olive oil and toss to coat. Add the kale and cook until it begins to wilt, about 1 minute. Add 1 cup of the broth and stir.
- Transfer to a casserole dish and pour the remaining 1 cup broth evenly over the stuffing.
- Sprinkle with the dried cranberries, remaining whole sage leaves and bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Let sit for at least 15 minutes or until ready to serve.
Notes
pictured: Staub Cast Iron 12 x 8 Roasting Pan
Delicious! I only used half the broth and it was great
Can you make ahead except for the baking? Or will it get too soggy?
Thank you!
Hi Melanie, if your bread was hearty and/or dried out enough (day old), making it ahead should be fine.
Should I dry out the bread first?
Hi Susan, if it’s crusty/grainy bread it doesn’t have to be super stale – day old bread is sufficient.
This is our FAVORITE Thanksgiving dish by far. My family loves it so much, I had to make a second one the day after Thanksgiving to have with leftovers.😊
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Really excited to make this for Christmas Eve.
One question: You said that it is good to make ahead. Would you pour the broth over and then store it in the fridge for baking the next day or would you leave that out so that the bread doesn’t get too soggy and then add it before baking the next day?
Hi Kate, you can do it either way!
Great Thanksgiving recipe! We loved it!
So glad you enjoyed!
This is one of my favorite recipes for thanksgiving! This is the third year I’m making it and it has been a hit for meat and non meat lovers every year. I always use day old bread and find it makes the perfect texture. 10/10 recommend anyone to try!
I’m so glad you’ve loved it!
Hi. I can’t wait to try out this recipe. I am trying my hand at vegan sides this year for Thanksgiving. How much kale did you add to this? It shrinks up so much, it’s hard to guess from your picture.
Sorry, I must have touched the rating. I didn’t make it yet.
Well I guess if I slowed down and read instead of skimming, I would have seen it. I bet I picked about 10 times the amount that I need.
This is one of my favorite recipes for thanksgiving! This is the third year I’m making it and it has been a hit for meat and non meat lovers every year. I always use day old bread and find it makes the perfect texture. 10/10 recommend anyone to try!
3 leaves of kale torn. I hope you enjoy it!
Absolutely blown away by this vegan stuffing! The savory flavors and perfect texture are proof that plant-based dishes can be just as delicious and satisfying as their traditional counterparts. Plus, it’s a great option for anyone with dietary restrictions or those who simply love incredible food. I can’t wait to serve this at my next holiday meal – it’s a true game-changer. Thank you for sharing this cruelty-free culinary masterpiece! ?? #VeganDelight
I made this for friends, one can’t have onion and the other can’t have mushroom so I left both out and subbed in chopped dried apricots instead. It was so good, they absolutely loved it. I’m making it again, with the onions, for the family Christmas dinner. A brilliant recipe easily adapted. Thanks a million!
I’m so glad you loved it!
What a fabulous vegan stuffing. No need for eggs here! Love the flavors – thanks for sharing:)
This recipe looks amazing and such an upgrade from the boxed stuffing of Thanksgivings past. My mom is allergic to onions, any suggestions to substitute for this? I noticed you mentioned fennel, do I just sautee them as I would the onions? Thanks! First year hosting Thanksgiving!
Hi Whitney, oh that’s a tough one – is she also allergic to leeks? I think fennel could work, I would sauté it like the onion until it’s soft – it might need a bit more time.
Thanks! I’ll give it a try!
If I am using relatively fresh bread, would it be beneficial to cube and lightly toast it ahead of time to dry it out?
You don’t have to – I used relatively fresh bread too.
Hi! We discovered your blog and books a little while ago and have been cooking our way through delicious dish after dish! I was wondering if you have any thoughts on what could take the place of mushrooms here since the dish looks amazing but family really doesn’t like them! Thanks!
Hi Karin, I’m so glad you’ve been enjoying the recipes! I’d add about 1 cup more bread cubes. Softened (roasted or sautéed) carrots or fennel would be delicious. I hope that helps!
Thanks so much for your reply, Jeanine! I will give that a try!
Not a mushroom fan. Would this stuffing be good without mushroom. Any ideas of other veggies to add?
Hi Kim, you could skip them – I’d add about 1 cup more bread cubes. Softened carrots or fennel would be delicious. I hope that helps!
Hi, you don’t mention anything about toasting the bread before you toss it all together, is this correct or should I toast the bread beforehand?
Hi Regina – I didn’t toast the bread. You could use stale bread if you like, but I don’t find toasting it to be necessary.
Hi I may have missed the # of servings but for 13 adults how much should I make was thinking of doubling the recipe
Hi Carolyn, I think doubling it would be perfect.
For those of us local in Austin, do you mind disclosing who you purchased the bread from? Based on the description and photo my guess is Easy Tiger but I could be wrong.
Good eye :). It is Easy Tiger’s nine grain bread (although I like their rye batard too).
Or can I replace the sage for other fresh herb?
This looks amazing! I cannot find fresh sage in my country. Can I substitute it for dry? Please tell me the quantity. Thanks.
you can skip it (maybe increase the fresh rosemary in the recipe a little?) Or you can use dried sage, but don’t use 1/4 cup – use a teaspoon or two.