Vegetarian Mushroom Stuffing
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Bread cubes, mushrooms, and fresh herbs combine to make this tasty and delicious Classic Mushroom Stuffing that’s great for the holidays.
Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays and probably my favorite food holiday. I love all of the warm and cozy side dishes that are paired along side the turkey. Plus there’s all of the tasty pies at the end of the meal.
While I love a good turkey my sights are usually set on the side dishes. I can’t get enough of mashed potatoes, stuffing, and vegetable casseroles.
I have a lot of favorite Thanksgiving side dishes. Butternut Squash mashed potatoes are a great fall twist on the classic. My Stuffing with Chestnuts and Sausage is perfect with roasted turkey. One of the best vegetable side dishes is Maple Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Butternut Squash.
But I’m always on the look out for new holiday side dishes. This year I wanted to find a new stuffing recipe since it’s one of my favorite sides.
What’s the difference between stuffing and dressing?
The main difference between stuffing and dressing is the cooking method. Generally stuffing is stuffed inside the turkey which allows it to absorb the juices from the turkey. Dressing is usually cooked in a separate dish and gets crispy on the top. However, people often use the terms interchangeably.
I’ve found that I prefer a vegetarian stuffing with my turkey so that’s what I was trying for. I like the umami flavor that comes from mushrooms and I knew I had plenty of fresh herbs in my garden so that helped me to decide on the flavors.
When making stuffing another big debate is whether to use bread cubes or stale bread that you cube yourself. If I’m in a hurry I often buy a bag of bread cubes that are seasoned but I much prefer using stale bread that I cut up myself because it has a better texture.
Ingredients:
- dried bread cubes (As stated above you can buy already cubed bread at the store or you can use stale bread that you cube yourself.)
- butter (I prefer salted but you can use unsalted.)
- onions (I like to use sweet onions but use whatever type you like to eat.)
- celery (Celery provides both flavor and some color to the stuffing.)
- garlic cloves (Garlic cloves are optional but I feel like that add a good bit of flavor to the stuffing.)
- mushrooms (I like to use white button mushrooms or cremini mushrooms in the stuffing.)
- chicken broth (You need a binder for the stuffing and I prefer chicken broth but you can also use vegetable broth.)
- fresh herbs (Use your favorite herbs or whatever you have on hand. I used parsley, chives, and sage because that’s what I had growing in my garden.)
- dried rosemary and sage (If you used fresh rosemary and sage in your fresh herbs don’t worry about adding them dried as well. If your herbs did not include these then please use them.)
- salt and pepper
To make the stuffing preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat and add in the mushrooms, onions, garlic, and celery. Saute for 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until the vegetables are tender.
Pour the chicken stock into the skillet and add the fresh herbs, dried herbs, salt, and pepper. Let simmer for 1 minute.
Place the dried bread cubes or stale bread pieces in a 9 x 13 baking dish. Pour the mushroom mixture over top and mix to make sure the bread is moistened.
Bake for 40-50 minutes or until the stuffing is beginning to brown on the top.
Can I put the stuffing in the turkey to cook?
Yes! Put the stuffing the the cavity of the turkey and let it cook while the turkey cooks. Please note that a stuffed turkey will take longer to cook than an unstuffed turkey. If you have extra stuffing that won’t fit in the bird just cook it in a baking dish on the side.
This stuffing is really good. It’s a classic vegetarian stuffing with plenty of herbs. It’s delicious baked alone as a side dish but it’s also really good cooked inside of the turkey.
What can I do if my stuffing is too dry?
If you notice that the stuffing is looking really dry during baking you can add 1/4-1/2 cup more chicken broth and mix it so that the pieces aren’t as dry. However, keep in mind that you don’t want to add too much liquid to the bread pieces.
We enjoyed the mushroom stuffing with gravy on top but it has a lot of flavor and can be enjoyed on its own. While we usually eat it with turkey it’s great with ham, beef, or vegetarian options as well.
Equipment
- 1 skillet
Ingredients
- 12 cups dried bread cubes
- 1/2 cup salt butter
- 2 onions chopped
- 1 cup celery chopped
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 8 oz. mushrooms chopped
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 1/3 cup fresh herbs sage, parsley, rosemary, chives
- 2 teaspoons dried sage
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Spray a 9 x 13 baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.
- In a large skillet over medium heat melt the butter.
- Add in the mushrooms, onions, and celery and saute for 5 minutes. Add in the garlic and cook for 1 additional minute.
- Pour in the chicken stock, fresh herbs, dried herbs, salt, and pepper. Let simmer for 1 minute.
- Place the bread cubes in the prepared baking dish and pour the mushroom mixture over top making sure to moisten all the bread cubes. You may need to stir the stuffing to combine.
- Bake for 45 minutes or until the top begins to brown.
- Remove and enjoy.
Notes
