The Best Vegan Stuffing Recipe

The Food Lab

Unraveling the mysteries of home cooking through science.

J. Kenji López-Alt
The Best Vegan Stuffing Recipe
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  • Yield:Serves 10 to 14
  • Active time:45 minutes
  • Total time:About 2 hours
  • Rated: 5.0
This recipe appears in:
The Food Lab: How to Make Vegan Stuffing That Really Rocks

Traditional sage-scented Thanksgiving stuffing, now in fully vegan form! [Photographs: J. Kenji Lopez-Alt]

I've only ever had one criterion for my vegan recipes: They must be good enough that even an avowed meat-head would gladly down them. I wanted a stuffing with deep, complex, savory flavors that bakes up with a moist texture almost like a savory bread pudding. I wanted stuffing so good that it'll be the first side dish to disappear from the table. A stuffing so good that my meat-eating family would attack and devour it with reckless abandon.

Why this recipe works:

  • Cooking down mushrooms with sage until well browned builds in plenty of meaty flavor.
  • Toasted pecans add texture to the finished stuffing.
  • Drying the bread in the oven makes for better texture and flavor than using staled bread.

Note: This recipe requires you to make a batch of this Hearty Vegetable Stock before beginning. I strongly recommend using the recipe instead of store-bought vegetable stock, which is universally inferior stuff. When making your own stock, add any extra vegetable or mushroom trimmings to extra flavor. If keeping it vegan is not of concern to you, feel free to substitute homemade or store-bought low-sodium chicken stock for the vegetable stock, butter for the olive oil, and an egg added along with the stock.

Ingredients

  • 2 1/2 pounds (about 2 loaves) hearty vegan white bread, crusts removed, cut into 3/4-inch pieces (about 5 quarts)
  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • 1 pound button, cremini, or shiitake mushrooms (or a mix), roughly chopped
  • 6 ounces toasted pecan halves
  • 1/2 cup minced fresh sage leaves (or 1 tablespoon dried sage leaves)
  • 1 large onion, finely chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)
  • 1 large leek, white part only, finely chopped (about 1 cup)
  • 4 large stalks celery, finely chopped (about 2 cups)
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced or grated on microplane
  • 32 ounces (4 cups) Hearty Vegetable Stock (see note above)
  • 1/4 cup minced fresh parsley leaves
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

  1. 1.

    Adjust oven racks to lower middle and upper middle position. Preheat oven to 275°F. Spread bread evenly over two rimmed baking sheets. Stagger trays on oven racks and bake until completely dried, about 50 minutes total, rotating trays and stirring bread cubes several times during baking. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Increase oven heat to 350°F

  2. 2.

    Place half of mushrooms in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until roughly chopped, about 8 short pulses. Transfer to a large bowl and repeat with remaining mushrooms. Place pecan halves in food processor (do not wipe out bowl) and process until roughly chopped, about 12 short pulses. Set aside.

  3. 3.

    Heat oil in large Dutch oven over medium high heat until shimmering. Add mushrooms and cook, stirring frequently until all moisture has evaporated, about 8 minutes. Add half of sage and continue to cook, stirring, until mushrooms are well browned, about 5 minutes longer. Add onions, leeks, celery, garlic, and remaining sage and cook, stirring frequently, until vegetables are softened, about 10 minutes. Add stock and pecans and bring to a boil. Add bread cubes and fold gently until evenly mixed. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

  4. 4.

    Transfer mixture to a greased 9- by 13-inch rectangular baking dish (or 10 by 14 oval dish), cover tightly with aluminum foil, and bake until hot throughout, about 30 minutes. Remove foil and continue baking until golden brown and crisp on top, about 10 minutes longer. Remove from oven, let cool for 5 minutes, sprinkle with remaining parsley and serve.

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