Best Stuffing Ever
The Best Stuffing EVER
Just as good as grandma's stuffing, only VEGAN! Red onion is sautéed in vegan butter, then cooked with meatless crumbles, fragrant fresh sage, and sweet and spicy seasonings. The mixture is added to bite-sized dried bread, celery, and savory poultry seasoning for a classic Thanksgiving dish. This decadent stuffing will be the BEST stuffing you've ever had, guaranteed.
Best Stuffing Ever
Ingredients:
- 12 oz Lightlife Smart Ground Original Crumbles
- 1/2 cup vegan butter
- 1 large red onion, diced
- 8 cups dried bread, shredded or cut into bite sized pieces
- 1 ½ cups celery, sliced
- 2 Tbsp fresh sage, diced
- 2 Tbsp 100% pure maple syrup
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1 Tbsp poultry seasoning
- 1 tsp black pepper
- ½ Tbsp table salt (or 1 Tbsp kosher salt)
- ¼ cup vegetable broth
- freshly cracked black pepper
Instructions:
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- In the skillet, melt the vegan butter.
- Once the butter has melted, add the diced red onion. Saute, stirring occasionally, until the onion is translucent.
- To the skillet, add the Lightlife crumbles and fresh sage. Saute for a few minutes, until the crumbles begin to lightly brown.
- To the skillet, add the maple syrup, red pepper flakes, and a generous amount of freshly cracked black pepper. Stir to combine, then remove from heat.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the dried bread pieces, meatless crumbles mixture, celery, salt, poultry seasoning, black pepper, and vegetable broth. Stir well to evenly distribute all the seasonings and moisture.
- Fill a casserole dish with the mixture, then cover with a lid or aluminum foil.
- Bake for 20 minutes, covered, then another 10 minutes uncovered.
- Allow to cool for five minutes before serving. Enjoy!
About the stuffing:
My maternal grandmother died from ocular melanoma when I was two. While I can’t remember the time I got to spend with her, her presence is felt at nearly every family gathering through her recipes. During summer bbq’s, it’s Rhubarb Custard Pie and Baked Beans. On Thanksgiving and Christmas, it’s her Stuffing.
This Stuffing recipe is synonymous with winter holidays in my mind. I could care less about jello salads, turkey, and even the pie. The sole menu item for Christmas dinner could be this stuffing and I would STILL be stoked about it.
Before I went vegan, I was a “weekday vegetarian” for a few years. By that, I mean I would eat meat occasionally: when we went out to dinner, during holidays, or at a friend’s home. But we didn’t purchase meat at the grocery store or cook with it. During that time, there was one kind of meat I chose to completely eliminate: pork. I chose to stop eating pork because we had just adopted our puppy, Indy, and I was captivated by her developing personality. It was clear to me, even at 3 months old, that she had her own internal world full of likes, dislikes, fears and phobias, joy, wants, etc. Shortly after we adopted Indy, I watched uncover footage of a pig farm and saw how horribly pigs- especially pregnant sows- are treated. I knew that pigs are as intelligent (if not more so) than dogs. I shuddered to think of my intelligent, sensitive girl enduring the same tortured existence as those pigs. So, I quit consuming pig products.
This created an issue, as my grandma’s stuffing recipe calls for Jimmy Dean Pork Sage Sausage. Instead of bidding adieu to my favorite Thanksgiving dish, I found a way to use ground turkey (seasoned to mimic the Jimmy Dean Sausage) in place of the pork. It worked just fine and no one seemed to notice the difference.
When I went vegan, I already knew how to convincingly replicate the taste of that sausage. So I just used meatless crumbles instead! Replacing the butter was easy, as vegan options abound (even in Montana!). Thus, the recipe above was created and continues to be my favorite dish on Thanksgiving and Christmas.
I hesitated to share this recipe, as it doesn’t fit my “healthy, oil-free” mission. On this site, I strive to create recipes that are GOOD for your body- nearly every ingredient, if possible. In my kitchen, you won’t even find a bottle of oil. However, twice per year, I excitedly make and snarf this stuffing because it connects me with my family (and it tastes amazing). So I decided to share it for any other WFPB folks who, over the holidays, want a meat-y, sinfully delicious stuffing recipe. That being said, if you are on a WFPB diet to reverse severe, chronic disease, this recipe is not for you! Find something easier on your heart ;).
Okay! I’m guessing you’re still reading this because you’re like “Courtney, I don’t care about any of that! Just tell me how to make this!” Let’s talk recipe notes:
RECIPE NOTES:
My grandma’s original recipe calls for wonder bread LOL. I opt to use a large baguette because I like that crunchy crust! Whichever kind of bread you choose, it is important that you dry it out. If you’re using bread in a bag, you can leave the bag open on the counter for a day and the bread should be sufficiently dry. If you use a baguette or other kind of unpackaged loaf, cut the loaf into slices and either leave them on a cooling rack to dry overnight OR (if you forget), pop those slices in a low-temp oven (300 degrees or so) and let them dry out for about 30 minutes. Once the bread is dry, cut or rip it into bite sized pieces.
This recipe doesn’t take too long to make. My estimate of one hour total is very generous. However, to save yourself some time on Thanksgiving or Christmas (or at whichever holiday you plan to serve this), make the stuffing the day prior and bake it day of. Try to ensure that you can serve it as soon as it has baked.
The method of baking described above (20 minutes covered and 10 minutes uncovered) ensures that stuffing on the bottom of the pan is soft and moist and the top is crunchy and crispy. If you prefer ALL soft stuffing, leave it covered for the entire 30 minutes. If you prefer it ALL crunchy, leave it uncovered for the 30 minutes.
You may be tempted to use a newer, shinier meat replacement than Lightlife crumbles (like beyond meat). I tried using Beyond Meat last year and it didn’t work as well. Lightlife crumbles have a more neutral taste, whereas Beyond definitely tastes like beef. Feel free to sub whichever brand of faux ground meat you prefer, but keep in mind we want it to take more like pork than beef.
Finally, notice which kind of salt you have before using it. If you have a fine grain salt (like table salt), use ½ Tbsp (or a bit less). If you have a coarse grain salt like kosher or sea, use 1 Tbsp (or a bit less).
That’s all you need to know! Fly free, sweet birds, end enjoy this recipe that is so near and dear to my heart. I truly hope it makes your winter holiday feast as special as it’s made mine. It may not be healthy, but it won’t certainly won’t harm any animals.
Did you make this recipe? Let me know! Tag me on Instagram @notlikemama. I love to see your versions of my recipes!
Happy Cooking (and Happy Holidays),
✌️Courtney