Why is stuffing so incredibly delicious? No really, think about it - it's just dried bread cubes, some veg, some spices, and a bit of broth- that's pretty much it. But put that simple combination together and magic happens. The most amazingly perfect, seasoned, fluffy Thanksgiving or Christmas side dish ever. Stuffing always seems to be the first dish to disappear at my family's holiday celebrations. That's why my easy vegan stove top stuffing is so perfectly genius (if I do say so myself).
You see, not only is this vegan stove top stuffing very easy to prepare (just toast bread cubes, sauté veg, combine and let sit for 10 mins), but you can make a giant pot of it. So if you're lucky, there might even be some leftovers. ...I mean this has never happened in my family, but one can dream, right?
This is a traditional flavoured stuffing with sage, thyme, rosemary, and some dried cranberries for a little pop of sweetness and chew. This stuffing can also be made ahead and reheated with a splash more vegetable broth as needed, making it the perfect stress-free side. Bring on the vegan stuffing!! Your holiday table will not be complete without it!
To Make Easy Vegan Stove Top Stuffing:
Start by toasting the bread. Spread the bread cubes across two large baking sheet and bake for about 5-8 minutes until dried out and very lightly browned.
Melt the vegan butter in a large skillet or pan over medium-high heat. When melted add the carrots, celery, onion, and garlic. Sauté for about 5 minutes until the veggies soften and begin to brown.
Stir in the thyme, rosemary, sage, salt, and pepper. Then add the toasted bread cubes, vegetable broth, and dried cranberries - no need stir at this point. Remove the pan from heat and cover, then let sit for 10 - 15 minutes until softened. Once softened it will be easy to stir, so stir well to combine and serve hot
Common Questions:
Can I freeze stuffing?Â
Yes, as long as you store it correctly, it should last up to 3 months in your freezer. Be sure to store it in an air-tight container and, if you have a lot, freeze in smaller portions.
Can stuffing be made gluten-free?
This recipe can! Just swap out the bread for a gluten-free bread!
Bon appetegan!
Sam Turnbull.
Easy Vegan Stove Top Stuffing
Ingredients
- 10 slices (450g) bread of choice - I used sourdough (gluten free if preferred), cut into 1 inch cubes
- 2 tablespoons vegan butter
- 2 carrots,, peeled and chopped
- 2 ribs celery, chopped
- 1 yellow onion,, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic,, minced
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme leaves
- ½ teaspoon dried rosemary leaves
- ½ teaspoon powdered sage
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 cup vegetable broth, (more if needed)*
- â…“ cup dried cranberries
Instructions
- To toast the bread: Preheat your oven to 400F (200C).
- Spread the bread cubes across two large baking sheet. Bake for about 5-8 minutes until dried out and very lightly browned.
- To make the stuffing: Melt the vegan butter in a large skillet or pan over medium-high heat. When melted add the carrots, celery, onion, and garlic. Sauté for about 5 minutes until the veggies soften and begin to brown.
- Stir in the thyme, rosemary, sage, salt, and pepper. Then add the toasted bread cubes, vegetable broth, and dried cranberries -no need stir at this point. Remove the pan from heat and cover, then let sit for 10 - 15 minutes until softened. Once softened it will be easy to stir, so stir well to combine and serve hot. *I find some types of bread are more absorbent than others so if 1 cup of vegetable broth was not enough to reach desired texture, add a splash more, cover and let sit again until desired texture is reached.
Notes
Nutrition
Mary says
If I could give this a hundred stars, I would! This is my all-time favorite stuffing/dressing recipe (it even knocked my childhood favorite off the top when I discoved it - my family's traditional, mom-created one). I am so sad when I visit others, and we adhere to the "way it has always been" recipe. lol. I then rush home and make THIS, so I can get my fix! So darned good! Thank you!
Sam Turnbull says
Yay!! So happy you love it! Thank you for your review 🙂
Lena Pfeffer says
here i am again, making the stovetop stuffing for thanksgiving! i've never made it with sourdough bread before (i usually use rolls). do i cut off the crust? also, how far in advance can i make it and refrigerate it?
thanks!!!!
Lena says
so, once again, it's Thanksgiving and I'm going to make this stuffing... like I do every year!
was wondering if you think I could make it this year as stuffing muffins? if so, how would I do it?
thanks again for a great recipe!
Sam Turnbull says
So happy you love it Lena! I haven't tried that so I am unsure. If you give it a go, let us know how it turns out.
Mari says
I am gluten free and I truly appreciate that your recipes can easily be dated to accommodate that. Love love love this recipe. This may be the best stuffing I have ever had, or ever will have. I have bought expensive gluten free stuffing for years, and none of it has even come close to yours. I keep making this so I can make sure I get it just right for the holidays, and we keep eating it even though that part has never been in doubt. I just downloaded almost all the recipes on the side dishes post. Thank you Sam! We love you, your books and recipes.
lena says
i love this recipe and make it all the time!!! was wondering, how far in advance can i make it and do i reheat it on the stove or in the oven??
thanks for such great recipes!!!!
Sam Turnbull says
This stuffing can also be made ahead and reheated with a splash more vegetable broth as needed on the stove over medium-low heat. Or the oven would work well too 🙂
Lena says
Thanks! Can I make it 2 days ahead???
Sam Turnbull says
Yes you can!
Barbara says
This is really, really, REALLY good!!! I'm starting to eat vegan, and one thing I will NOT do.......is use the words "yum", or "yummy", or "yummly" or "om nom nom (huh??? ) or "sammie (ugh)" -- cutsie words that seem to be so prevalent in vegan and paleo sites. Makes me think of growm adults who are so pleased with themselves and talk in liddle bitty words as if they're preschoolers at a party. Ewwwwwwww. And yuck.
Thank you for letting me vent.
Sam Turnbull says
Glad you enjoyed the stuffing 🙂
Kate says
I made some variation of this for the past two years and will be making it again this year. It's always a favorite, thanks for the recipe!
Sam Turnbull says
So happy you love it, Kate!
Linda W. says
This turned out great! I like my stuffing more moist so I just added more broth. (My people also don't love craisins, so I just omitted them - still perfect). Served at the vegan meal Wednesday and then stuffed a turkey with it Thursday - even moister! Loved it! Oh, also, I made almost twice as much as we love stuffing.
Sam Turnbull says
That's wonderful, Linda, so happy you enjoyed it 🙂
Niya says
Can this be put in the oven afterwards? How long would you recommend?
Debbie Dempsky says
Our entire Christmas dinner came from your recipes. This stuffing is A-mazing! The lentil loaf is delicious. We also made a mushroom gravy to serve with it. All of your Thanksgiving recipes are yummy for non-Vegans as well. My daughter also loves all of your recipes. I need to try the walnut pate this year. Yum. I need more breakfast ideas!
Ashley Tsumagari says
Hi! I just became a vegetarian and I made this for my Easter dinner tomorrow. It tastes delicious and was super easy! I was just wondering, how do you recommend heating it up? I'm technically eating it for tomorrow dinner (even though I've already snacked on it a ton, haha). Thanks for the great recipe!
Sam Turnbull says
You can warm it in the microwave or in a pan adding a splash of water or veggie broth if needed. 🙂
Stephanie says
My family loves chestnut stuffing. Do you think I can add chestnuts to this recipe without making other adjustments? Add during the step when you add bread and cranberries? Thanks!
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Stephanie, absolutely, add them with the cranberries 🙂
Sophia says
Love, love, love this stuffing!! Just bought your book too! Can’t wait to try EVERYTHING!!
Sam Turnbull says
Yay!! Thrilled you loved it so much, and I hope you love the book just as much, Sophia 🙂
Adi Loevsky says
Super easy and soo delicious! I made this recipe with a sour dough loaf as recommend and it turned out delicious! Just as good the next morning, highly reccomend.
Sam Turnbull says
Yay!! Thrilled you loved it so much, Adi 🙂
Patricia says
It's Samsgiving at my house today! Included on the menu are your Vegan Mushroom & Walnut Pâté, Cranberry & Thyme Vegan Cheese Ball (I used dried cherries instead of cran and also pressed pecans into the outside, om nom nom), Easy Vegan Stove Top Stuffing, and Easy Vegan Pumpkin Pie. Thankful for you and your great, easy recipes. 🙂
Sam Turnbull says
YAY! Love that! That sounds so yummy, I want to be at your Samsgiving!!! 😀
Dawn says
I made this tonight for tomorrow. It may not make it to the table if I can't stop nibbling. It is so good! Thank you for sharing.
Sam Turnbull says
Haha! I love that! Thrilled you love it so much, Dawn 🙂
Tara Dawn says
Had a random craving for stuffing and some GF bread that needed to be used up so trying this recipe seemed like the logical answer. So delicious! Thanks for all your great recipes and your fun videos and IG updates. You spread so much joy . . . and not just through food. 🙂
Sam Turnbull says
Yay!!! Thrilled you enjoyed it so much, Tara 🙂
Katy says
Any idea if this would freeze and reheat well? I am feeling like bringing a bunch of vegan items to the family gathering, but would need to space out cooking due to work.
Joanne says
I will defer to Sam, but I wouldn’t freeze this recipe. What I would do is saute the veggies and freeze that mixture & cut up the bread and freeze the cubes. At least most of the work is finished.
Katy says
oh smart! Almost all done at that point!
Sam Turnbull says
The finished stuffing should freeze just fine. You want the veggies to be hot when adding the broth and bread cubes so it creates steam and softens the toasted bread cubes 🙂
Katy says
Thanks Sam! Looking forward to trying this one.
Rhonda Morin says
I call it dressing. Not sure why that is either but this is gracing my dinner table next week. I am beyond excited!
Rhonda
Sam Turnbull says
I hope you love it!
Donna Stines says
Rhonda,
Technically if its inside a turkey and cooked it's called stuffing. If it is outside the bird and cooked in a pot or baked in a pan it's called dressing. Same product just different cooking techniques. 🙂
Ana says
I'm genuinely curious, why is this called stuffing if nothing is actually stuffed with it? To a European, these American traditions can be baffling 🙂
Joanne says
Although we vegans don’t stuff a turkey with this recipe, I can guarantee we will be stuffing ourselves!
Sam Turnbull says
Haha! Well said, Joanne. I just called it stuffing as that's what it is traditionally called, and that way readers will be able to find this vegan version when preparing for their holiday meals. I don't think "bread cubes with veggies and broth" would have the same ring to it. Haha! 🙂
Donna Stines says
Sam,
I have been making your recipes since the first of the year and love many that I have tried. But I have a question. At the bottom of your recipes you show the nutritional content, but I have never seen a serving size included with that. Am I missing something? Thanks!
Sam Turnbull says
The servings are at the top of the recipe under "course" and "cuisine". 🙂
Caryl says
Cant wait to try it. I'll make it and bring it for Thanksgiving!!!!
Sam Turnbull says
Yay! I hope you love it 🙂