Vegan Thanksgiving Ideas – Mom’s Stuffing Recipe

Here’s one more Thanksgiving recipe for you before the holiday, and it’s one of my very favorites. It wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without my mom’s stuffing. This is the recipe my mom makes every year. Other holiday recipes may come and go, but this is one we can’t seem to be without on Thanksgiving.

I guess I lucked out growing up in a house where stuffing was always made from scratch. I don’t actually know if I’ve ever had stuffing from a box, but I know that’s how many people make it. I would definitely recommend making stuffing from scratch, but if you are set on making it from a mix, Whole Foods now sells a Vegan Stuffing Mix. I did buy one, but haven’t tried it out yet. But really, this recipe is so tasty and not very hard to make, so it’s worth the effort! Thanks Mom for sending me the recipe!

Ingredients:

1 large onion, chopped

2 stalks celery, chopped

3 Tbsp olive oil plus more if needed

1 large loaf of white sandwich bread

1 carton of vegetable stock

salt

black pepper

dried thyme

dried sage

dried rosemary

Directions:

Rip up the loaf of bread into small pieces (roughly 1 inch or so).

Heat a very large skillet (cast iron or heavy weight stainless) to medium heat. Pour in enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan (about 3 tbsp). Saute the onion and celery until the onion is slightly golden brown

Add half of the bread pieces, about 1/4 tsp salt, several grinds of black pepper, and 1/2 tsp each of dried thyme, sage, and rosemary. Pour enough stock evenly over the bread to moisten the it, but not make it soggy (about 1 to 1 1/2 cups to start with). Stir until mixed well.

Add remaining bread cubes and mix well. Add more stock, a little at a time, until it is all blended and moist, but again not soggy. The stuffing will be in clumps, not sticky or wet.

Continue to brown the stuffing, adding a little more oil if necessary to keep it from sticking to the pan. Scrape the browned bits from the bottom and turn the stuffing to brown it some more. Taste and add more thyme, sage, rosemary, salt, and pepper as needed. If it gets too dry, add more stock a little at a time.

The stuffing is finished when it’s browned and looks a little drier. You can serve it right away, or if you need to keep it warm, turn it into a casserole dish or baking pan. Cover it with a lid or foil and keep it in the oven to stay warm. If you make it ahead of time you can cool it and refrigerate it until you are ready to reheat. Reheat the stuffing in the oven with the cover or foil on until warm, then take the cover off and let the top brown a bit before serving.

If you want, you can use the leftover stock to make a vegan gravy to put on top of the stuffing. Mix a little bit of cornstarch or flour with cold water to dissolve it. Bring the stock to a boil and add the flour/cornstarch and water mixture until it reaches your desired thickness. Turn down the heat and let it simmer for a minute or two.