Our vegan and gluten free cornbread is always a hit at our Thanksgiving table. It's easy to make and packed with fall flavors, like dried cranberries, mushrooms and herbs. Make a batch of our homemade cornbread a few days before Thanksgiving and this stuffing will come together in just under an hour!
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🌽 Why We Love This Recipe
- Cornbread adds so much flavor: instead of using regular toasted bread, we love the added flavor of subtly sweet cornbread in this stuffing. Our homemade vegan and gluten free cornbread is easy to make and best made a few days ahead of time for this recipe. (Or, to lessen your workload, use store bought!)
- Allergy friendly: this cornbread stuffing is both vegan and gluten free (although can be made with regular flour if preferred). We love that everyone can enjoy, but it's just as delicious as any other recipe!
- Quick and easy to make: once your cornbread is made and dried out/toasted, this vegan cornbread stuffing is insanely easy to make. It takes less than an hour and only 2 dishes to clean!
- Great addition to Thanksgiving menu: this vegan and gluten free cornbread stuffing is perfect alongside other holiday classics like cranberry sauce, green beans, brussels sprouts, gravy and mashed potatoes.
🍞 Ingredients
Here's what you'll need to make this vegan cornbread stuffing:
📋 Ingredient Notes
- Cornbread: You can use our vegan cornbread recipe (also gluten free adaptable) or use store-bought cornbread from a local grocery store or bakery. We suggest using fresh baked cornbread and drying it out in the oven versus using cornbread croutons – it will taste much fresher.
- Poultry seasoning: poultry seasoning adds extra depth of flavor to this vegan cornbread stuffing. If you don't have any, you can substitute with a mix of thyme, sage, marjoram, rosemary & black pepper.
- Dried cranberries: we prefer no sugar added dried cranberries.
- Mushrooms: we use regular white button mushrooms in this recipe, but you can use just about any variety. For a more flavorful stuffing, feel free to use a mix of wild mushrooms.
- Herbs: fresh herbs are best in this recipe – they add so much flavor. If you need to use dried, use ¼-1/3 of the amount listed for fresh.
🔪 Step-by-step Instructions
(1) Bake a double batch of our cornbread (or any cornbread recipe you like) and let cool (if using store bought, skip this step), then cut into 1” cubes. Some of the cornbread will crumble, which is totally fine.
(2) Transfer cornbread cubes to two rimmed baking sheets and toast at 275˚F / 135˚C for 30-40 minutes. Stir the cubes 3-4 times while they are in the oven to ensure even toasting.
Once cornbread is toasted, remove from oven and let cool. Increase heat to 375˚F / 190˚C.
(3) Add butter to a large skillet over medium heat, then add onions and sauté for 5-6 minutes. Stir in celery, mushrooms, parsley, sage, thyme, salt, poultry seasoning, and pepper. Cook until mushrooms have softened, about 5-10 minutes.
(4) Add toasted cornbread cubes and cranberries to a large mixing bowl, then add the onion, celery, and sliced mushroom mixture and toss to combine. Pour 1 ¼ cups of broth over the cornbread/onion mixture, stir, and let sit for 15 minutes so the cornbread cubes can absorb some of the liquid. Add the rest of the vegetable broth if the cornbread still looks and feels too dry.
(5) Spread evenly in a lightly greased baking dish and bake for 30-35 minutes, until golden brown.
💭 Expert Tips and FAQs
- Make prep faster with store bought cornbread: if you're short on time, skip the homemade cornbread. Store bought works just fine, but you'll still need to slice and toast it before adding to this vegan cornbread stuffing.
- Add more liquid if needed: depending on how much the cornbread has dried out in the oven, you may need to add a bit more vegetable broth before baking. The cornbread mixture shouldn't look soggy before baking, but you shouldn't see a lot of dry areas. If you do, add in an extra ¼ cup of broth.
- Stir breadcrumbs 3-4 times while toasting: to make sure the breadcrumbs toast evenly, keep an eye on them while they toast.
- Make ahead: you can definitely make the homemade cornbread up to a few days before making this stuffing. Or, you can make the entire vegan cornbread stuffing up to the point up baking and freeze until ready to bake.
- Storage: store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. Reheat in the oven or microwave.
- How to reheat cornbread stuffing: cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and place in a 350˚ oven for 15-20 minutes, until warmed through.
- Freezer storage: you can freeze leftover vegan cornbread stuffing for up to 3 months. For best results, defrost overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.
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Vegan Cornbread Stuffing
- Total Time: 3 hours
- Yield: 10-12 servings 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Our vegan and gluten free cornbread is always a hit at our Thanksgiving table. It's easy to make and packed with fall flavors, like dried cranberries, mushrooms and herbs. Make a batch of our homemade cornbread a few days before Thanksgiving and this stuffing will come together in just under an hour!
Ingredients
- Double batch of homemade cornbread* (about 9 cups once cubed, baked, and toasted)
- 6 tablespoons vegan butter
- 2 cups diced yellow onion (1 large onion)
- 2 cups diced celery
- 2 cups thinly sliced mushrooms
- 1 ¼-½ cups vegetable broth
- ½ cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
- 3 tablespoons fresh sage, finely chopped
- 1 ½ tablespoons fresh thyme, chopped
- 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 ½ teaspoons poultry seasoning
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ cup dried cranberries
Instructions
- Bake a double batch of our cornbread (or any cornbread recipe you like) and let cool (if using store bought, skip this step), then cut into 1” cubes. Some of the cornbread will crumble, which is totally fine.
- Transfer cornbread cubes to two rimmed baking sheets and toast at 275˚F / 135˚C for 30-40 minutes. Stir the cubes 3-4 times while they are in the oven to ensure even toasting.
- Once cornbread is toasted, remove from oven and let cool. Increase heat to 375˚F / 190˚C.
- Add butter to a large skillet over medium heat, then add onions and sauté for 5-6 minutes. Stir in celery, mushrooms, parsley, sage, thyme, salt, poultry seasoning, and pepper. Cook until mushrooms have softened, about 5-10 minutes.
- Add toasted cornbread cubes and cranberries to a large mixing bowl, then add the onion, celery, and sliced mushroom mixture and toss to combine. Pour 1 ¼ cups of broth over the cornbread/onion mixture, stir, and let sit for 15 minutes so the cornbread cubes can absorb some of the liquid. Add the rest of the vegetable broth if the cornbread still looks and feels too dry.
- Spread evenly in a lightly greased baking dish and bake for 30-35 minutes, until golden brown.
Notes
*Can use store bought cornbread: if you're short on time, skip the homemade cornbread. Store bought works just fine, but you'll still need to slice and toast it before adding to this recipe.
Add more liquid if needed: depending on how much the cornbread has dried out in the oven, you may need to add a bit more vegetable broth before baking. The cornbread mixture shouldn't look soggy before baking, but you shouldn't see a lot of dry areas. If you do, add in an extra ¼ cup of broth.
Make ahead: you can definitely make the homemade cornbread up to a few days before making this stuffing. Or, you can make the entire cornbread stuffing up to the point up baking and freeze until ready to bake.
Storage: store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. Reheat in the oven or microwave. You can freeze leftover stuffing for up to 3 months. For best results, defrost overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.
- Prep Time: 2 hours
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 385
- Sugar: 15.1 g
- Sodium: 989.4 mg
- Fat: 21.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 53.9 g
- Fiber: 14.7 g
- Protein: 3.9 g
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