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baking dish of vegan sausage stuffing

Vegan Sausage Stuffing

This hearty stuffing is made with crusty bread, savory vegan sausage, and fresh herbs for a rich, buttery Thanksgiving side everyone will love.
5 from 3 votes
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Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
If drying out bread in oven, add: 25 minutes
Servings: 10 servings
Author: Sarah Sullivan

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Equipment

  • 9x13" baking dish
  • large mixing bowl
  • skillet

Ingredients

  • 1 ½ pounds crusty bread (about 12-14 cups once cubed or torn)
  • 1 pound vegan sausage I use Beyond Meat sweet Italian or bratwurst
  • 1/2 cup vegan butter (1 stick)
  • 1 large sweet or yellow onion finely diced (about 2 cups)
  • 3-4 stalks celery finely diced (about 1 ½ cups)
  • 4-6 cloves garlic minced
  • 2-3 cups chicken-style veggie broth see notes
  • 2-3 tablespoons fresh chopped sage or 2-3 teaspoons dried
  • 1-2 tablespoon fresh chopped thyme or 1-2 teaspoons dried
  • 1 tablespoon fresh chopped rosemary
  • 1/2 cup fresh chopped parsley divided

Instructions

Prep the Bread (ahead of time)

  • Cut the bread: At least a day ahead of time, cut or tear the bread into bite-sized pieces. (This should yield about 10-12 cups.)
  • Dry the bread: Spread the bread pieces out on a large baking sheet in a single layer. Leave uncovered overnight on the counter to stale and dry out. Alternatively, you can bake in a 300°F oven for about 25-30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes, till the bread is dry and crisp but not browned. If you use the oven method, allow the bread to cool fully before adding it to the stuffing.

Stuffing

  • Prep: Preheat oven to 350°F with the rack in the middle. Grease a 9x13" baking dish, or a 3 quart casserole dish, with vegan butter or olive oil.
  • Brown the sausage: Preheat a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add in the vegan sausage and break it up into crumbles with your spoon. Pan-fry until nicely browned. (I actually like to overcook the sausage a little to keep it from getting mushy in the texture.) Remove the sausage to a plate.
  • Sauté aromatics: In the same pan, melt 1/2 cup vegan butter over medium heat. Add in the diced onion, celery, and minced garlic and sauté for 8-10 minutes. We want the veggies to be soft and buttery, not browned. During the last 2 minutes, stir in the minced fresh sage, thyme, rosemary, 1/4 cup chopped parsley, and black pepper. Season with salt.
  • Add the broth/bouillon: Pour in the veggie broth, starting with only 2 cups. If using bouillon cube or paste, you can dissolve it with 2 cups water directly in the pan.
  • Add the bread: Transfer the aromatics and broth mixture to a large mixing bowl, then add in the dried bread pieces and give everything a thorough toss. Drizzle in some of that extra reserved broth if needed until the bread feels evenly moistened but not soggy. Artisan-style breads will be very thirsty, whereas softer white breads will require much less liquid. We don't want loose broth at the bottom of the bowl.
  • Transfer and bake: Once all the bread has been moistened, mix in the browned vegan sausage. You can give the stuffing a taste and add more salt and pepper if you like. Transfer the stuffing into the greased baking dish, cover tightly with aluminum foil, and bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes.
  • Crisp the top: Remove the foil and continue baking for about 10-15 minutes to crisp up the top. If you like an extra crispy topping, you can increase the heat to 375°F for this step.
  • Serve: Remove from oven and allow to cool for about 5 minutes. Sprinkle with fresh chopped parsley if desired, and serve.

Notes

Chicken-style veggie broth: I like the Not-Chicken bouillon cubes from Edward & Sons, the "Savory Vegan Broth" from Zoup!, or the Better Than Bouillon No Chicken Base.
Vegan Butter: My favorites for this recipe are the baking sticks from either Melt or the Country Crock Homestyle butter.
Bread selection: I'm a big fan of sourdough in stuffing, but any rustic, crusty bread is ideal for a stuffing with a lot of textural variety. White breads like French or Italian loaves will work too, but won't have as much texture. I usually will not recommend something like a white sandwich bread — it just tends to get too soggy.
Make-ahead sausage stuffing: You can prep the recipe the day before Thanksgiving up to the point of baking. Cover it well (so the dish doesn't dry out) and refrigerate overnight. The next day, pop it in the oven covered in foil and add about 10 minutes to the covered bake time.
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