*This post may contain affiliate links. Read more »
This is the downright easiest, most satisfying vegan stuffing recipe you'll ever come across. Other than some fresh herbs, there are no costly or hard-to-find ingredients, no complex steps-just straightforward, delicious comfort food that my army of recipe testers has been freaking out about. The guests around your holiday table are going to love the heck out of it too!
Recipe tips tailored to what matters most to you:
Grab your fave gluten-free loaf (mine's the millet flax bread from Sami's bakery) and you're good to go, because there's no other gluten going on here. Use tamari and pass on soy sauce.
Start with stale bread and skip the 30-35 minutes of oven drying. It freezes and reheats like a dream, so make the whole thing weeks ahead.
Packaged whole wheat or spelt bread is cheap and available everywhere. The chestnuts and walnuts are optional, so leave them out if money's tight.
Olive oil subs in for the vegan butter if you want a less processed option, and those garnish pats of butter at the end are entirely skippable.
Cornstarch is what normal human beings have laying around, regular soy sauce swaps for the tamari measure for measure, and the chestnuts are optional.
Make sure your bread is dry but not rock hard. Stale bread absorbs flavors better, but if it's too fresh, dry it out in a low oven.
Leeks are nasty in the sense that there is usually some gritty, sandy soil hiding within the layers. Rinse the leeks before you slice them.
After baking, let the stuffing sit for about 10 minutes before serving. Doing this will prevent your guests from melting their gosh darned faces off.
Oodles more tips, step-by-step recipe photos, info on weird ingredients, and FAQs are all still here. I just tucked 'em out of the way so you can start cooking sooner.
We have a pretty big (and almost entirely non-vegan!) extended family, and they all descend on our house for Thanksgiving because they love the food we put on the table for them. I would say that's despite the fact that it's vegan. But now, after more than a decade of being the family gathering place for Thanksgiving, I am starting to suspect that they are actually coming around to the delicious plant-based holiday menus we cook up.
This vegan stuffing recipe, or my vegan cornbread stuffing, are the natural choices to cram your vegan stuffed acorn squash, or (optionally baby-shaped) stuffed tofu turkey full of.
It's everything you want in a stuffing: crispy edges, savory herbs, and a hearty texture that doesn't come out sad and soggy. Whether you're a seasoned stuffing maker or a first-timer, this recipe will have you feeling like a pro. Plus, you can customize it with gluten-free bread if that's your thing, or add your favorite mix-ins like chestnuts, walnuts, or dried cranberries to make it your own. You and your guests are gonna love this one!
Made the stuffing again, and used it to stuff artichokes and mushrooms. Only changes I made was to cut things smaller to allow for it to be easily stuffed into the artichoke and mushrooms. I left out the nuts and chestnuts , but chopped them up, added some panko bread crumbs and a little olive oil, toasted it up, and used it to tope the artichokes and mushrooms.
Jump to:
🥰 Why this is the best vegan stuffing recipe
⏰ Can be prepped in advance: The week of Thanksgiving or Christmas can be a mad dash to get everything made in time for your guests. That's why I formulated this recipe to be made up to a few days in advance. Heck, you can also make it weeks ahead of time-it freezes and reheats like a dream.
💧 Stays Moist, Not Mushy: The trick to this stuffing's perfect texture is tossing the dried-out bread cubes with cornstarch before adding the vegetable stock. This little step ensures the stuffing stays moist without becoming a festival of sad old mush.
🙅♀️🌾 F- Gluten, If you Hate It: Got a wheat sensitivity? This can easily become one of the vegan gluten-free recipes that you rock on Thanksgiving if you simply use gluten-free bread because there's no other wheat-based ingredient in the recipe.
Tested and Approved Worldwide: After tirelessly tweaking and refining this recipe for the past couple of decades, like all of the vegan recipes I share, I first had it double-checked by a massive team of over 400 recipe testers. You can trust that this stuffing is going to be a hit, no matter where in the world you are cooking it.
I'm on my knees staring weirdly into your eyes, asking you in a soothing voice to be my taste-testing partner in crime. Sign up for the recipe testing crew and get early access to new recipes before they're published.
🍞 Ingredients for vegan stuffing
Day-Old Bread:
Regular ol' packaged whole wheat bread, whole grain bread (like Ezekiel bread), or spelt bread are what I usually make this out of. They are cheap, available everywhere, and are usually vegan (though read the ingredients as some use honey in them).
You can also make this stuffing with nicely sourdough bread from a bakery, but try to opt for one that's kinda soft and fluffy (before it's dried in the oven). Whatever you do, since you are trying to make this completely vegan, opt for an egg-free bread. So, brioche and different types of bread that contain dairy are obviously off the table.
Stale bread works best as it holds its shape better, but I have also included instructions for drying fresh bread in the oven first if that's what you have on hand.
Of course, this is an easy gluten-free stuffing recipe because, other than the bread, there's no other gluten going on. So just use your fave GF bread in the recipe and you are good to go. My fave gluten-free bread is the millet-flax bread from Sami's bakery in Florida. They can ship it to you anywhere in the USA if it's not available at your local grocery store or health food store.
Vegan Butter:
Vegan butter is essential for giving the veggies that classic country-style flavor and adding richness to the stuffing. If I am out of homemade vegan butter that I teach in my vegan dairy crash course, Earth Balance is my go-to. I am also kinda into the considerably cheaper vegan butter from Trader Joe's. You can use olive oil as a substitute if you're looking for a less processed alternative.
Fresh Herbs out the Wazoo:
Thanksgiving and Christmas are NOT the time for you to use tons of dried herbs. You bought whole bunches of fresh herbs for this stuffing and don't know what to do with the rest? Garnishing your vegan fried chicken, Turkish green beans, vegan mashed potatoes, and all of the other side dishes on your table is 100% the right thing to do.
Cornstarch:
Cornstarch is what normal human beings have laying around in their pantry, but you can totally use arrowroot or tapioca starch instead. I ALWAYS have a ton of tapioca starch on hand because I am always using it in Southeast Asian vegan dessert recipes like Indonesian klepon, Filipino karioka donuts, and my Malaysian martabak recipe.
Anyway, using any one of those starch options helps to create the perfect texture, giving the right body and structure to the stuffing and preventing it from becoming too soggy.
Tamari:
Tamari is a gluten-free soy sauce that adds a deep umami flavor, rounding out the taste of the stuffing. Using this as your soy sauce choice makes it so all you have to do is use GF bread if you want to have all (or just some) of your stuffing gluten-free.
Regular ol' soy sauce, Nama shoyu, or liquid aminos can all be used as a measure-to-measure substitute if that's what you have on hand.
Unsalted Vegetable Stock:
Packaged vegetable broth can vary a lot in its salt content. So to keep the results more predictable, I call for using either homemade or store-bought unsalted stock.
To make it at home, as I do for use in my chicken seitan recipe, just boil together onions, carrots, celery, garlic, and perhaps a couple of bay leaves and a few peppercorns. Once the veggies are pretty lifeless and wilted, strain them out, and you have a nice, cheap, versatile stock to use in this recipe and for the roasted carrot lentil soup with chestnuts that you might want to dish out as a Thanksgiving appetizer.
If you can only get low-sodium or fully salted vegetable stock or want to use a vegan chicken broth, just cut back on the tamari to taste. An easy hack for vegan chicken stock is to use the no-chicken bouillon paste from Better Than Bouillon whisked into some boiling water. But like I said, it has some sodium, so cut back a little on the tamari, ok?
Optional Mix-Ins:
Roasted chestnuts or walnuts are both a no-brainer addition to this classic stuffing recipe for extra yum and texture. Dried cranberries can also be pretty rad, but I only add them if I'm not already doing a few other cranberry-oriented sides and appetizers in addition to the compulsory cranberry sauce. You don't wanna be a one-trick pony with your menu, right?
*See the recipe card at the bottom of the page for exact quantities, nutritional info, and detailed cooking directions.
🤯Variations
Wild Mushroom, Sausage & Chestnut Vegan Stuffing:
Step up your stuffing game with crumbled vegan sausage and earthy wild mushrooms like chanterelles or porcini. Sauté the mushrooms until golden and mix them into the stuffing with finely chopped chestnuts.
Baharat Stuffing with Dried Apricots and Pistachios:
To me, the Lebanese 7-spice, known as baharat, works seamlessly in vegan Thanksgiving recipes as a more refined alternative to pumpkin pie spice. Mix in a spoonful into your stuffing along with some chopped pistachios and dried apricots that have been soaked for at least 30 minutes in warm water.
Garnish the roasted stuffing with pomegranate seeds and roasted Brussels sprouts, and you can hook your Thanksgiving table the heck up with this Mediterranean-vibe stuffing. It's lovely to serve with oyster mushroom shawarma drizzled in zhoug and tarator sauce.
Grab my easy-yo-use app that builds your whole week with real, chef-tested vegan dinners in 30 seconds, customized to your budget, time, and taste, with a shopping list sorted by aisle.
📖 How to make vegan stuffing
Nail this easy-as-heck traditional stuffing recipe on your first shot by following these step-by-step photos with helpful tips. Or scroll down to the bottom of this page for the easy-to-print recipe card. You've never had such a yummy Thanksgiving dinner or Christmas dinner!
Step One
2 Live Croutons:
If your bread is fresh and not stale, preheat the oven to 250°F (120°C). Spread the cubed bread on a baking sheet and let it dry out in the oven for 20 minutes. Remove the bread and let it cool to room temperature. Meanwhile, crank up the oven to 350°F (175°C).
If you already have old dry bread on hand, you can skip this step.
Step Two
Spa Time for Leeks:
Rinse the leeks thoroughly to remove surface dirt, then slice them and immerse in a bowl of warm water. Gently massage the leeks to release any hidden grit, then drain and rinse under cold running water until completely clean.
Step Three
Sauté-braham Lincoln:
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and melt the vegan butter. After about 2 minutes, when the butter is hot and bubbling, add the diced onion and sliced leeks. Sauté for 6-7 minutes, stirring frequently, until the onions and leeks are golden brown.
Step Four
Stir Crazy:
Throw in the diced celery, minced garlic, sage, parsley, and thyme. Continue sautéing for 2-3 minutes over medium heat until the celery just begins to soften. Remove the pan from the heat.
Step Five
Broth IRA:
In a saucepan, bring 2 cups of vegetable broth to a boil over high heat.
Step Six
Bread Basket Case:
Place the bread cubes in a large bowl and toss them gently with cornstarch. Add the sautéed veggies and herbs, pour in the boiling stock, and then season the mix with tamari and black pepper to taste.
Step Seven
Foil Metal Jacket:
Transfer the stuffing mixture into a casserole dish. Gently mix in your optional chestnuts, walnuts, or cranberries, and cover the dish with foil. Bake it at 350°F (175°C) for 18 minutes, then remove the foil and bake uncovered for an additional 10 minutes.
Step Eight
Herb Your Enthusiasm:
Take your dish of homemade stuffing out of the oven, garnish with pats of vegan butter, fresh parsley, sage leaves, or thyme sprigs, and serve hot.
🥧 Vegan Holiday Menu Ideas
This stuffing might just upstage everything or your holiday table, even the maple-glazed vegan ham, and vegan pot pie. But it can be the perfect thing to fill your stuffed vegan turkey with too.
I like to kick things off with a roasted carrot lentil soup or maybe a butternut squash soup-gotta keep it cozy, right? For sides, why not rock a vegan green bean casserole or pumpkin risotto?
Of course, the classics are a must: bourbon cranberry sauce, vegan mashed potatoes, which are dripping with either vegan brown gravy, mushroom gravy, or vegan sausage gravy-you know the drill.
And then you have one of this year's most important questions to deal with. Are you gonna serve vegan sweet potato casserole or candied yams this year? Don't mess this up.
Then, finish strong with something sweet: vegan apple pie, vegan pumpkin muffins drizzled in cardamom glaze, vegan sweet potato muffins, or a smooth vegan pumpkin flan. Boom, holiday feast complete!
👉Top tips
- Dry Bread = Happy Bread: Make sure your bread is dry but not rock hard. Stale bread absorbs flavors better, but if it's too fresh, dry it out in a low oven. This ensures your stuffing has the perfect texture-moist but not soggy.
- Ugh. Leeks are SO Filthy: For real, y'all. Leeks are nasty in the sense that there is usually some gritty, sandy soil hiding within the layers. Rinse the leeks before you slice them to minimize getting any of that junk on your cutting board. Then, after slicing the leeks, submerge them in a bowl of warm water and massage them. Then rinse in a colander under cold running water until they are completely free of dirt. Than sandy crunch is the LAST thing you stuffing needs!
- Uniform Cubes for Even Cooking: Cut your bread into evenly sized cubes. This will help it to absorb the broth and other flavors consistently, preventing some pieces from turning into mush while others stay dry.
- Let It Rest Before Serving: After baking, let the stuffing sit for about 10 minutes before serving. Doing this will allow the texture to firm up, and also prevent your guests from melting their gosh darned faces off.
🤷♀️ Recipe FAQs
Depending on the kind of oven you have, it may dry out a wee bit more than you'd like for just the short time of baking without the foil on it. Add a tiny splash of additional hot vegetable stock or water either before serving it, or when reheating to keep it moist.
🧊 Refrigeration: Allow the stuffing to cool completely. Transfer it to an airtight container and refrigerate. The stuffing will keep for up to 4 days.
❄️ Freezing: Allow the stuffing to cool completely. Transfer it to a freezer-safe airtight container. The stuffing can be frozen for up to three months. This is a great hack for getting one of the components to your holiday dinner made a week or two in advance, so that you aren't scrambling to make as many recipes within the final 24 hours.
🧊 Thawing Frozen Stuffing: To thaw, move the container from the freezer to the refrigerator and let it thaw overnight.
🥵 Oven Reheating: Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Cover the dish with foil and bake for 12 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for an additional 5 minutes, or until heated through and the top is crispy.
🔥 Stovetop Reheating: Place the stuffing in a skillet over medium-low heat. Add a splash of vegetable stock or water to prevent it from drying out. Put a lid over the pan, but open it to give it a good stir occasionally for 5-10 minutes until heated through.
✌️My fave things to use this vegan stuffing recipe in:
Enter your email & I'll send it to your inbox. Plus, get great new recipes from me every week!
By submitting this form, you consent to receive emails from Cinnamon Snail.
Easy Vegan Stuffing Recipe
Ingredients
- 16 oz bread whole wheat, spelt, gluten-free, or sourdough, ideally stale
- ½ cup vegan butter
- 1 cup onion diced
- ½ cup leeks thinly sliced
- 1 cup celery diced
- 4 teaspoons garlic minced
- 2 tablespoons fresh sage roughly chopped
- 3 tablespoons fresh parsley roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch arrowroot, or tapioca starch
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon tamari
- 2 cups unsalted vegetable stock
Optional Mix-Ins:
- 2 cups roasted chestnuts sliced
- 1 ½ cups toasted walnuts
- ½ cup dried cranberries
Garnishes:
- 3 tablespoons vegan butter
- Fresh parsley leaves
- Sage leaves
- Thyme sprigs
Instructions
- If using fresh bread instead of stale, preheat the oven to 250°F (120°C). Cut the loaf of bread into ½ inch (1.25 cm) cubes. Spread the bread cubes on a baking tray and place them in the oven to dry out for 30-35 minutes. Remove and allow them to cool. Adjust the oven temperature to 350°F (175°C).
- Rinse the leeks thoroughly to remove surface dirt, then slice them and immerse in a bowl of warm water. Gently massage the leeks to release any hidden grit, then drain them in a colander or wire mesh strainer, and rinse under cold running water until completely clean.
- Place a large frying pan over medium-high heat and add the vegan butter. Once melted, add the onion and leeks. Sauté, stirring often, for 6-7 minutes until the onion and leeks start to brown lightly.
- Add the celery, garlic, sage, parsley, and thyme to the pan. Continue sautéing for 2-3 minutes just until the celery has softened slightly. Remove the pan from the heat.
- Heat the vegetable stock in a saucepan over high heat until it reaches a boil.
- In a large mixing bowl, toss the cubes of bread with the cornstarch. Add the cooked herb and vegetable mixture, pour in the boiling stock and season with tamari and pepper to taste.
- Transfer the bread mixture to an oven-proof dish. Gently stir in optional sliced chestnuts, walnuts, or dried cranberries, then cover the dish with foil. Roast in the oven at 350°F (175°C) for 18 minutes, then remove the foil and continue roasting for an additional 10 minutes. Remove the large baking dish from the oven and either serve directly from it or transfer the stuffing into an attractive serving dish.
- Garnish with optional additional pats of vegan butter, fresh parsley leaves, sage, or thyme sprigs.
Notes
Enter your email & I'll send it to your inbox. Plus, get great new recipes from me every week!
By submitting this form, you consent to receive emails from Cinnamon Snail.
Willa Richards says
I love this stuffing, it's not oily like a lot of stuffing, and it has so much flavor. I already have it in the freezer for Thanksgiving.
hg says
Made the stuffing again, and used it to stuff artichokes and mushrooms. Only changes I made was to cut things smaller to allow for it to be easily stuffed into the artichoke and mushrooms. I left out the nuts and chestnuts , but chopped them up, added some panko bread crumbs and a little olive oil, toasted it up, and used it to tope the artichokes and mushrooms.
Terri B says
I can't wait to try this recipe!
hg says
Made this last week. A lot oof great flavors and textures. Great as a side dish and works perfectly when making the Stuffing Stuffed Seitan. Freezes and thaws out well too! ( Although optional, I suggest (at the very least) adding the chestnuts.
Deborah Coccoli says
Wondering about freezing this - good idea?
Adam Sobel says
Yep! Freezes great ❤️