Vegetarian Stuffing

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Made with celery, onion, and plenty of herbs and spices, this simple Vegetarian Stuffing will be a new holiday favorite!

Pin Image:   Text title, a bowl of stuffing.

Thanksgiving is my favorite food holiday.  I can’t get enough of the turkey, stuffing, gravy, and mashed potatoes.  It’s really like my dream meal.

For years we’ve been making a turkey breast sometime during the winter, after Thanksgiving, just to have a taste of the holiday again.  I usually serve it with potatoes and stuffing.

Since it’s just a breast I don’t put the stuffing into the bird and I generally make my stuffing with different types of meat.  I’ve used sweet sausage, chorizo, and even bacon.  I love making different types of stuffing.

I realized this year that I don’t have any vegetarian stuffing recipes!  This is the first year I’ve made an actual whole turkey and I wanted to put half of my stuffing into the bird so I went on the hunt for a decent stuffing recipe.

A cutting board with bread cubes, onions, butter, and spices on it.

Ingredients:

  • butter
  • celery
  • onions
  • bread
  • fresh herbs (sage and thyme are my favorites)
  • dried herbs (I like rosemary and sage)
  • garlic
  • chicken broth
  • salt
  • black pepper

To Make the Stuffing:  Place the bread cubes in a large bowl.  Add the fresh and dried herbs and mix to combine.  Heat the butter in a pan until melted.  Add the celery and onions and cook 10 minutes or until softened.  Add in the chicken broth and garlic and mix well.  Pour over top of the bread cubes and mix well to combine.  Season with salt and pepper.

I could have just asked my mom for her recipe because truth be told, I love her stuffing, it’s vegetarian, and she puts it in the bird.   But I really like it because I only get it once a year and she makes it so I asked some of my friends instead.

My friend Carla came through with this simple and tasty stuffing recipe. I, of course, tweaked it a bit, but the basis of the recipe is from her.  I liked how easy it was and I didn’t have to run out and buy anything because I already had all of the ingredients on hand. 

A skillet with celery and onions in it.

The basic recipe is celery and onions fried in butter.  Then you pour that over top of bread cubes along with some chicken broth (or vegetable broth if you want to go full on vegetarian), and plenty of herbs and spices.

What type of bread should I use?

I use a decent white bread but use what you like.  Some people like half white and then half something else like cornbread, sourdough bread, or even rye bread.   Use your favorite.

What herbs can I use?

This is another thing that is specific to taste.  You should use whatever fresh or dried herbs you enjoy. Some good fresh herbs would be parsley, sage, thyme, or rosemary.  You can use the same dried herbs.

Can I put this stuffing in the turkey?

Yes!   I had enough to put half in the bird and then bake half on the side.  I find that the stuffing inside the turkey because moist and gets all the juices from turkey.  The other stuffing baked in a dish get soft inside but the edges get a little crispy. 

The one thing I wished I would have had was fresh herbs.  However, it’s November and we live in a cold climate and there’s snow on the ground so fresh herbs from my garden was out of the question.   I have plenty of dried spices though and used those instead.

Also, since I hadn’t planned on making Thanksgiving dinner I didn’t have time to dry out my own bread cubes.  Ideally that’s what I would have done but because I was short on time I just used a bag of cut up bread cubes from our local bread shop.

A plate with turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, and gravy on it.

More Stuffing Recipes:

The entire recipe takes about 10 minutes to make.   The house smelled amazing as the celery and onions were frying up in the pan.  I could have probably just eaten the fried vegetables and left the bread.

I stuffed half of the stuffing into the turkey and cooked the remaining stuffing along side the turkey.  It turned out really flavorful.

I like how the butter fried vegetables shown through and I could really taste the garlic and sage I added to the bread cubes.   All in all it was a good, basic stuffing recipe that I’ll be happy to use in the future.

f youโ€™ve tried my Vegetarian Stuffing or any other recipe on Hezzi-Dโ€™s Books and Cooks please take a minute to rate the recipe and leave a comment letting me know how you liked it. I love hearing from you! You can FOLLOW ME on:

A bowl with stuffing in it.

Vegetarian Stuffing

Vegetarian Stuffing is a delicious stuffing made with celery, onion, and plenty of herbs and spices. This simple stuffing will be a new holiday favorite!
5 from 18 votes
Print Pin
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 55 minutes
Author: Hezzi-D

Ingredients

  • 1 loaf bread OR 1 lb. dried bread cubes
  • 12 Tablespoons butter 1 1/2 sticks
  • 2 c. celery chopped
  • 2 c. onions chopped
  • 3 Tablespoons fresh herbs chopped
  • 1 Tablespoon dried herbs
  • 4 garlic cloves minced
  • 2 c. chicken or vegetable broth
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

  • If you are starting with a fresh loaf of bread, cut it into 1 inch pieces. Let dry out for 3 days. If you don't have the time you can put it in the oven at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.
  • Place the bread cubes in a 9 x 13 baking dish. Add the fresh and dried herbs and toss to combine.
  • Melt 8 tablespoons of butter over medium heat in a large skillet.
  • Add the celery and onions and saute for 10 minutes or until softened.
  • Add in the chicken broth and garlic and mix well.ย 
  • Pour over top of the bread cubes and mix well to combine.ย  Season with salt and pepper.
  • At this point you can cover and refrigerate for up to 24 hours before baking.
  • When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place in the oven and cook for 20-30 minutes.

Notes

Carla's recipe adapted by Hezzi-D
A bowl with stuffing in it.

More Side Dish Recipes:

5 Comments

    1. My mom has always made a vegetarian stuffing so it’s always my favorite. I rarely make it but I love eating it!

5 from 18 votes (18 ratings without comment)

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