Vegetarian Stuffing

Vegetarian dishes at thanksgiving

Mushrooms

Mushrooms add meaty texture and umami flavor to this stuffing. They also add great flavor and they smell fantastic as they cook.

I slice them, and cook them sliced. They cook faster this way. Then once they’ve released their water, the water has cooked off, and they start to brown pop them in the food processor to make fast easy work of chopping them up nice and small.

This way the mushrooms are easily mixed into the stuffing, and you get that great flavor in every bite.

Water chestnuts

Water chestnuts are aquatic vegetables that are nutritious, low in calories, delicious, and not actually nuts at all. They add crunch and texture to the stuffing.

My family isn’t big fans of celery, which is pretty traditional in stuffing, so I’ve learned that water chestnuts are a good crunchy replacement.

You’ll find water chestnuts in cans at the grocery store, usually in the Asian foods aisle. They’ll have whole water chestnuts and sliced ones. Either will work in this stuffing.

Chestnuts

The chestnuts are probably the most unusual ingredient in my stuffing recipe.

They add a great meatiness to the stuffing. And the flavor is so good.

I use whole roasted and peeled (or shelled) canned or jarred chestnuts. Buying already prepared chestnuts is a great time saver. All you have to do is chop them in half so they are more bite sized.

I have found pouched organic chestnuts at my grocery store, at Sprouts Market, and at other health foods markets. Amazon also carries them, and you can grab some chestnuts in pouches with my affiliate link or jarred chestnuts.

Of course, you could roast your own. It’d be fun to do with your kids, and once you had enough to snack on you can throw them in the stuffing, follow these great instructions on how to roast them.

What if I can’t find chestnuts?

If you can’t find chestnuts, you can simply leave them out of the stuffing. Or, reader Karen suggests pecans, which I think is a fantastic idea!

Last year I had some problems finding jarred or canned chestnuts at the store. There’s enough other stuff going on in the stuffing that the stuffing is still great without them.

What kind of broth should I use?

Use a vegetable broth to keep this dish vegetarian. I know that may sound pretty basic to some vegetarians, but many people get confused about this point.

My favorite broth, that I highly recommend, is my homemade Vegetarian Vegetable Broth.

About a day or two before Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner I start making the homemade broth. It makes it smell like a holiday dinner! And, it gets me in the holiday spirit.

Making the broth helps me to clear out the fridge and the freezer of all those veggie bits that I have saved up or just want to use up. It makes more room for the prepared dishes (it’s like a win-win!).

The extra time it takes to make your own broth is so worth it! The food tastes richer and yummier.

Of course, if you don’t have time to make your own broth, I have a recommendation there too! I love {affiliate link} Better than Bouillon Vegetable Base. It tastes great, lasts a long time in the fridge, has less sodium than most brands, and doesn’t take up much space.

Stuffing mix

For the best easy stuffing recipe, just go with a packaged herb seasoned classic or traditional stuffing mix from the grocery store.

I suggest using {affiliate link} Mrs. Cubbison’s Traditional Stuffing in this stuffing. It has seasonings already in it, and I like the odd shapes and the fact that they aren’t perfect little cubes. And, Mrs. Cubbison’s is vegetarian and most grocery stores carry it.

Pepperidge Farm Herb Seasoned Classic Stuffing is another brand that’s good quality and often available. It’s also vegetarian.

I’ve made my stuffing with my homemade bread crumbs, and it turns out great. But, let’s be honest, who has time during the holidays to make everything, including the stuffing mix, from scratch.

If you’d like to read more about the easy way to make your own bread crumbs, take a look at my recipe for White Bean Gratin Casserole and you’ll get some great tips on homemade bread crumbs.

Let’s make this!

This meatless thanksgiving stuffing is easy to make and you can use the measurements and ingredients in the recipe card below as a guide to great stuffing. If you want to add more of something or swap in something else, it’ll still be great! 

To build the flavors, we work in stages, cooking each item to perfection.

Heat oil (and feel free to use your favorite kind: olive oil, grapeseed oil, avocado oil, etc…) in a large saucepan over medium-high heat, swirling to coat pan. Add chopped onion and salt. The salt will help draw out the moisture of the onion and help it cook more quickly. Plus, the salt will season the onion.

Sauté, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about 20 minutes.

If onions start to cook too quickly, add about ¼ cup water to slow the cooking and allow caramelization. Remove onions from pan to a large bowl, and set aside.

Heat another ½ tablespoon oil in the same pan and add in the sliced mushrooms. Sauté mushrooms until they release all of their water and start to brown, about 10 minutes.

Remove mushrooms and either place in the large bowl with the cooked onions, or place the cooked mushrooms in a food processor and pulse until finely chopped, adding finely chopped mushrooms to the bowl after chopping.

I highly recommend chopping them finely in the food processor. It makes the stuffing moist and flavorful!

And, finely chopping them after cooking makes them cook much faster than if you finely chop them before cooking.

Stir water chestnuts and chestnuts into the bowl with the veggies.

In the same pan, melt butter, adding ¼ cup olive oil, and once butter is melted, stir in broth. Heat broth to a low boil, and remove from heat. Stir dressing into broth, and mix moist dressing into the bowl with the veggies.

Taste dressing for moisture and seasoning. If the dressing seems a bit dry (remember, the dressing will dry out a bit in the oven), add in more broth, mixing to combine.

Spoon dressing into large oven-proof greased casserole dish. Cover with a tight-fitting lid or foil, and bake for 30-45 minutes, until heated through. Remove lid and bake for 5 more minutes to brown up the top if desired.

Uncover the casserole dish for a crispy top for the last few minutes of baking if desired.

Serve hot, garnishing with chopped chives, green onions, fresh sage leaves, or fresh thyme leaves if desired.

This recipe is easily doubled. If you’re feeding a crowd or if you want to have plenty of leftovers, simply double this recipe. I often do this because the leftovers are so good!

Now the vegetarians at your table don’t have to miss out on stuffing.

Can this be made ahead?

You can totally make this dressing in advance! Who doesn’t love a Thanksgiving recipe that can be made ahead of time!

Remember, this doesn’t have the same safety issues that a poultry stuffing would have. And because it’s eggless, there’s very little to worry about.

I usually make it the day before and keep it in the fridge. I also use this same stuffing to stuff the turkey if I’m going to be making a turkey.

You can prep it the day before thanksgiving or just a few hours in advance.

Either way, follow the recipe, stopping right before you bake the stuffing. Cover the baking dish, and stick it in the fridge.

Pop it in the oven 30-40 minutes before your meal, so that it’s hot when you eat.

And, if you’re a guest at someone else’s house, you can even do prep at home and then do the final bake once you get to your gathering.

My guests say they never realize that the stuffing is vegetarian, so it all works out.

Can I freeze vegetarian stuffing?

Yes, you can freeze stuffing for up to 3 months.
 
Allow the stuffing to cool. Place it in an airtight container, and place the container in the freezer.
 
When you’re ready to eat, just let it defrost in the fridge overnight then bake it up as directed.

Can I make this vegan?

Yes, this vegetarian stuffing can be made vegan very easily! The only non-vegan ingredient is the butter, so you’ll simply need to use a store-bought vegan butter in a one-for-one swap.