The best vegan stuffing for your holiday table! With cubes of flavour-soaked crusty bread, crumbled vegan sausage for meaty richness, loads of onion, garlic and herbs, and some grated apple and dried cranberries for delicious contrast and pops of colour. You can even prep it ahead!
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This from-scratch vegan stuffing recipe is packed with flavour and texture, can easily be made ahead, and is perfect for your vegan Thanksgiving or Christmas dinners.
You'll love the delicious medley of hearty bread, aromatics, vegan sausage (or mushrooms), apples, and dried cranberries for a pop of festive colour. It's crispy and golden on top and tender underneath. So many textures and flavours in one dish, with no eggs needed.
This is the kind of classic vegan stuffing that will disappear fast and is an essential part of any vegan holiday table. Serve alongside my vegan roast, vegan beef, or vegan ham and your favourite vegan sides.
Mel x
P.S. Got leftovers? Serve warm for brunch with some JustEgg or a poached Yo Egg (or similar style vegan egg) and a drizzle of hot sauce!
Ingredients
Here is what you need at a glance, along with some important ingredient notes & substitution ideas:
- Bread - A crusty, sturdy loaf is ideal for the best stuffing recipe. Think sourdough bread, French bread, sliced white bread, or artisan bread. I think the flavour is at its very best when the stuffing is made with a good-quality artisan sourdough loaf. It adds so much more complexity. My homemade sourdough recipe makes pretty much the perfect amount. The bread should be very stale and dry. That's because it will be better at absorbing liquid without becoming soggy. I give directions in the recipe for how to quickly dry the bread if you haven't had time to wait for it to get stale.
- Sausage - Adding vegan sausage takes the flavour and texture of this vegan stuffing to a new level. I have tried this recipe with many different kinds of vegan sausage, and raw-style vegan sausages like Beyond or Impossible work best. They give it way more flavour. You can use any other kind of vegan sausage though, or even substitute them for brown (chestnut/cremini) mushrooms.
- Aromatics - Onion, garlic, celery, mustard, and herbs build a solid foundation of flavour. I know some people don't like celery (I don't like it raw), but it's really important in this recipe, and honestly, you won't know it's there by the time it's all cooked up. I like to use red onion, but it's great with yellow or white onion too. The recipe calls for 2 medium onions. I know someone with eagle eyes will notice there's only 1 in my ingredients pic, and that's because I could only find absolutely humungous red onions at the shops!
- Apples: The fruit's sweetness, or tartness depending on variety, adds a really nice contrast to the rich sausage. If I can, I like to use 1 Granny Smith and 1 Gala or Honeycrisp apple for a mix of tart and sweet, but you can use whichever apples you have on hand.
- Vegan butter - I prefer this over oil for the extra layer of buttery flavour. You can use oil if it's all you have, though.
- Dried cranberries - These are optional, but I love the pops of chewy sweetness and the festive colour they add. Don't use fresh cranberries. They are way too sour.
Let's Make The Best Vegan Stuffing!
Can't wait to make it? The full printable recipe is below, but first, let me walk you through the steps to set you up for success in your kitchen.
1 - Sauté the onions, celery, garlic, and sausage.
2 - Mix some of the stock with the seasonings and mustard.
3 - Toss the bread with the grated apples, cranberries, sauteed sausage mixture, any fresh herbs, then drizzle over the stock mixture, adding a little more if necessary, then cover and bake. Remove the cover about halfway through.
4 - Let it rest for at least 10 minutes before digging in.
Prefer Crispier Stuffing?
If you prefer more crispy bits of stuffing than soft and tender bits, simply spread the stuffing out thinner before baking by using a bigger baking dish or split the mixture between 2 large dishes. You could even use a large sheet pan. Keep an eye on it while it's baking because it will get crisp and golden much quicker.
Recipe
Vegan Stuffing
Author:Ingredients
- 1½ lb (24oz or 680 grams) loaf of crusty bread , cubed & stale/dry (not soft sandwich bread. Artisan sourdough gives the very best flavour)
- 4 tablespoons vegan butter , or olive oil (butter for best flavour) & a little more for optional dotting over the top
- 2 medium onions , red, yellow or white
- 2 ribs celery , diced
- 4 large (about 400g / 14 oz) vegan sausages chopped (Beyond or Impossible style are best, or use 2 cups brown mushrooms instead or 50/50 sausage & mushrooms).
- 5 cloves garlic
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage or 2 teaspoons dried
- 4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley or 4 teaspoons dried
- 1 teaspoon thyme , fresh or dried
- 1 teaspoon rosemary , fresh or dried
- 2 medium apples , grated (no need to peel)
- ½ cup (62 grams) dried cranberries , sweetened or unsweetened (don't use fresh!)
- 2 to 3½ cups (480 to 840 mls) vegetable stock , I like using Better Than Bouillon No Chicken
- 1 heaping tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
INSTRUCTIONS
- Before: Your bread needs to be very stale and dry for this recipe. If you only have fresh bread or it's not really dry, cube it a day or two before you assemble your stuffing, lay the cubes in a single layer on a large baking tray and let them dry out at room temperature for 24 to 48 hours. Or place in an even layer on a large baking tray and bake at 300°F (150°C) for 30 to 40 minutes until completely dry.
- Preheat: Turn your oven on and preheat to 375°F (190°C).
- Sauté: Melt the vegan butter in a medium saucepan over low heat. Once hot, add the onions and celery. Cook, stirring frequently, until just tender (about 5 minutes). Then add the chopped sausage (I snip it into small pieces straight into the pan with some kitchen scissors), and cook until just starting to turn golden on the edges. Then add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes more. Turn off the heat.
- Assemble: To a very large bowl (or in the baking dish you will be using), add the cubed bread, fresh herbs (if using - leave the dried ones out for now), grated apple, cooked sausage, onions, garlic and dried cranberries. Toss together with clean hands to combine.
- Take 2 cups of the stock and add the dried herbs, salt, pepper and mustard. Give it a good stir to incorporate the mustard well, then pour evenly over the stuffing. Pour over up to 1½ cups (360 ml) more stock as needed, a little bit at a time, tossing gently until the cubes of bread are moist but not soggy. You shouldn't be able to see any excess liquid pooling.
- Transfer the stuffing mixture to a 9 x 13-inch casserole dish. Make sure it's no smaller than that or use two 8 x 8 or 9x 9-inch dishes instead. Try not to compact it down as you're filling the dish and poke any visible cranberries below the surface.
- This is optional, but some small knobs of butter scattered all over the top will give you extra lovely colour and flavour!
- Bake - Cover with foil or an upturned baking tray and bake for 25 minutes. Remove the cover and continue baking for another 25 to 30 minutes until the top is golden brown. You can give it even more colour by popping it under the broiler (grill in the UK ) for a few minutes if you want to.
- Rest - I recommend leaving the stuffing to rest for about 10 minutes before digging in.
NOTES
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Tina M says
Wow, can’t wait to make this recipe! It looks amazing.
Melanie McDonald says
Hope you enjoy it, Tina!