This simple, classic vegan stuffing recipe is brimming with herbs and buttery bread cubes – the classic stuffing flavors you know and love. But it also just so happens to be vegetarian, dairy-free, and vegan.
If you have vegetarians and vegans coming to the table this holiday season, this stuffing recipe should have a place on your menu. Trust me!
Table of Contents
- The Story Behind the Recipe
- Creating This Vegan Stuffing Recipe
- Ingredients
- Adaptations/Variations
- How to Make Vegan Stuffing
- Tips for Success
- More Stuffing Recipes
The Story Behind the Recipe
Welcome to my new series, “Food Blogger Creates and Posts Thanksgiving Recipes at the Last Possible Minute!” Gosh, that name rolls off the tongue, doesn’t it?!
Yeah, I’m a bit slow this year BUT I made it under the wire with this Vegan Buttery Herb Stuffing recipe that I cannot WAIT to share with you.
Creating This Vegan Stuffing Recipe
This stuffing recipe is inspired by How Sweet Eats who adapted from Bon Appetit. It’s a simple stuffing recipe with bread (of course!), onion, celery, loads of butter and herbs, and a couple of eggs.
Obviously a vegan version can’t have eggs. And butter is iffy. But there are some incredible vegan butters out there, and while eggs do add richness and make the stuffing hold together more, I find they’re really not necessary.
So for this buttery herb vegan stuffing, I sub in vegan butter, leave out the eggs, and use vegetable broth (I love this homemade recipe using veggie scraps and the Crock Pot).
The result is golden, buttery, full of flavor, crisp around the edges and soft in the middle. Everything a stuffing should be, vegan or not!
Ingredients
- Bread – I like Italian bread or sourdough. You’ll want about a pound of bread, the better part of a medium-size loaf, cut into cubes and either toasted in the oven or left out for a day or two until nice and stale.
- Vegan butter – I really like Miyokos butter in this dairy-free stuffing recipe.
- Onion & celery – Classic stuffing veggies.
- Garlic – I like a lot of garlic in this stuffing so I call for four cloves. You can reduce that if you like – or increase it!
- Salt & pepper
- Fresh sage, rosemary, and parsley – Fresh herbs make all the difference! But if you can’t get your hands on some of these fresh, just use 1/2 the amount of dried.
- Vegetable broth – Grab your favorite low-sodium brand at the store, or make your own vegetable broth (I have both a veggie broth from scraps recipe and a Crock Pot vegetable broth recipe!)
Adaptations/Variations
- Vegan Sausage & Apple – Add small chunks of tart apple and some pre-cooked vegan sausage.
- Vegan Mushroom Stuffing – Sauté button, cremini, chanterelle, or another favorite mushroom with the veggies.
How to Make Vegan Stuffing
First, you’ll want to grease an 8″x8″ pan with some of your vegan butter.
Next, prep the bread cubes. Either make sure you’ve cut it into cubes and it sat out overnight, or toast them in a 350-degree oven for a few minutes until stale and golden around the edges. Place the bread cubes in a large bowl and get to sauteeing your veggies.
Melt some of the butter in the skillet and add the onion, celery, and a pinch of salt. Saute until softened, then add the garlic and herbs.
Pour a cup of the broth into the veggie herb mix and stir to loosen up any flavorful bits. And then pour it all into the bowl over the bread cubes.
Sprinkle the rest of the salt and the pepper over the top, and add the remaining broth a little at the time just until the bread is moist.
Spread the vegan stuffing into your pan and bake until golden!
Melt the rest of the butter and brush it over the top of the stuffing, and sprinkle the top with parsley for a buttery, herby, delicious-y presentation.
Tips for Success
- Use day-old or otherwise stale bread! Don’t even attempt stuffing with fresh bread. It’ll disintegrate into a pool of sogginess. Super sad!
- Don’t add too much broth. Just add a little more at a time until a little pool starts to form at the bottom of the bowl. That’s when you know the bread can’t soak up any more.
I hope this buttery herb vegan stuffing is a homerun for you and your holiday table! We love the classic stuffing taste and how it brings stuffing to the table for multiple diets.
I hope you love this vegan stuffing recipe as much as I do, and don’t forget the mashed potatoes and vegan gravy! Happy holidays!
More Stuffing Recipes
- Cornbread Stuffing
- Slow Cooker Sourdough Herb Stuffing – set it and forget it!
- Herbed While Rice & Quinoa Stuffing – perfect for your gluten-free guests
- Vegetarian Caramelized Onion & Chanterelle Mushroom Stuffing – sooo good
- Wild Rice & Lentil Stuffed Delicate Squash – not stuffing but stuffed squash and SO GOOD so I had to share!
Vegan Buttery Herb Stuffing
Ingredients
- 9-10 cups stale or toasted bread cubes (About 1 pound of bread; cut or torn into 1/2-inch to 3/4-inch cubes; I like Italian bread and/or sourdough in this stuffing* )
- 4 ounces + 2 tablespoons vegan butter (divided; I like Miyokos unsalted cultured vegan butter for this recipe; 4 ounces is half the block)
- 1 medium yellow onion (diced; about 2 cups)
- 2 large celery stalks (diced, about 1 cup)
- 1/8 + 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (divided)
- 4 cloves garlic (peeled and minced)
- 2 tablespoons fresh sage leaves (chopped fine)
- 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary (minced)
- 2 + 1 tablespoons fresh parsley (minced; reserve 1 tablespoon for garnish)
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 1/2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
Equipment
- 1 8-inch by 8-inch baking pan
Instructions
Prepare the pan and preheat the oven
- Grease an 8-inch by 8-inch baking pan with one of the tablespoons of vegan butter. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Prepare the bread cubes
- I like to cut the bread into cubes the day before and let it sit out over night until stale. Another option is to toast the bread in a 350 degree oven for a few minutes until lightly golden.
- Place bread cubes into a large bowl and set aside.
Saute the veggies
- Place a large skillet over medium-low heat. Melt 4 ounces of the butter in the skillet and add the onion and celery along with 1/8 teaspoon salt (a generous pinch). Gently saute until softened but not golden, about 8 minutes.
- Add the garlic, sage, rosemary, 2 tablespoons parsley, and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, until the garlic is soft and fragrant, 1-2 minutes.
- Pour one cup of the broth into the veggies and stir. Remove from heat
Assemble the stuffing
- Pour the sautéed veggies and broth over bread cubes and sprinkle remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and the pepper over the top. Stir until evenly moist. Add remaining broth a couple tablespoons at a time just until the bread is moist but there is no broth pooling at the bottom of the bowl.
- Taste stuffing and add more salt and pepper if desired.
- Pour stuffing into the baking pan and spread evenly.
Bake the stuffing
- Bake until golden, 20-25 minutes.
Garnish
- Melt remaining 1 tablespoon vegan butter and brush it over the top of the stuffing with a pastry brush. Sprinkle with the remaining 1 tablespoon of parsley to garnish. And serve!
Hi! I’m Karen – I’m a real person with real recipes. No A.I. here! Since 2009, every recipe on Kitchen Treaty is thoroughly tested and loved before I hit “publish.” I’m a home cook, certified plant-based pro, and mom. I’m a vegetarian married to a carnivore, and my goal is to coexist deliciously.
I love this recipe. I did substitute a vegan chicken bouillon broth instead of vegetable broth to give it more flavor. Terrific
Great idea! Thank you for sharing, and I’m so glad this one is a winner for you 🙂
Could I use vegan bread crumbs instead of stale bread?
Hi Teresa, vegan bread chunks would work, but I think vegan crumbs would be too small.
This recipe is delicious! It pleases our vegan friends and my husband who couldn’t believe it was vegan. Tasted better than other stuffing recipes I’ve had in the past. Making it again this year!
Wonderful! I’m so happy it’s worth a repeat! Thank you so much for the review. Happy Holidays!