Make the holidays complete with this hearty and comforting Easy Vegan Wild Rice Stuffing. This classic Thanksgiving side dish is loaded with wild rice, vegan sausage, crusty bread, apples, and an array of veggies and spices. Easy to make gluten and oil free!
This Easy Vegan Wild Rice Stuffing is a must-have for all of your holiday celebrations. It’s so savory and hearty, your guests will scoop it all up before the rest of the sides are put out! The warm spices, savory vegan sausage, wild rice, and buttery sauteed veggies are impossible to resist.
This easy vegan stuffing recipe is the very best because it’s
- Perfect for the holidays
- Full of veggies
- Super hearty, savory, and delicious
- Easy to make oil free and gluten free!
Looking for more easy vegan Thanksgiving side dishes? Try my Scalloped Potatoes, 10 Minute Vegan Gravy, and Vegetable Stew!
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What kind of bread is best for stuffing?
Dense, hearty, and firm bread is always best for stuffing because it holds its shape and doesn’t turn to mush when baked. For this recipe, I used a mixture of sourdough and hearty whole grain bread but french bread, sandwich bread, whole wheat bread, potato bread, and even vegan cornbread works.
Simple vegan stuffing ingredients
- Bread - Make sure the bread is at least a day old and toasted before mixing it into the stuffing. Stale bread always holds its shape in the oven.
- Veggies - You’ll need a combination of onion, garlic, celery, bell pepper, and mushrooms.
- Apples - Green apple will hold its shape when baked but any type of apple will work in this stuffing.
- Vegan sausage - I like using mild or spicy Beyond Meat sausages but you can use vegan Italian sausages, vegan ground beef, Impossible Meat, Lightlife, or Gardein instead.
- Wild rice - This is a Thanksgiving classic! Wild rice makes the stuffing extra filling but leftover cooked rice or quinoa works just as well.
- Herbs - A blend of poultry seasoning, ground fennel, parsley, garlic powder, and fresh rosemary are necessary for the coziest and comforting vegan stuffing.
- Bouillion - I used Better Than Bouillon No Chicken Soup Base but vegetable broth works just as well.
How to make the best vegetarian stuffing
Easy homemade stuffing comes together in one skillet before it’s baked in the oven. You can finish the stuffing ahead of time or about an hour before you sit down for the holiday dinner! Does it get any better than that?
- First, cook the rice according to the package instructions.
- Spread the cubed bread onto a baking sheet and toast in the oven.
- Saute the onions with some melted vegan butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and sausage, and continue to cook until the sausage has browned.
- Add the celery, peppers, and mushrooms into the pan and cook until they’re soft. Finish by stirring in the herbs and spices.
- Turn off the heat and stir in the diced apple, rice, veggie stock, and cubed toasted bread. Taste and season as needed.
- Transfer the stuffing into the casserole dish, cover with foil, and bake. Remove the foil for the last 5 minutes of baking, then serve and enjoy! For full ingredients and instructions see printable recipe card below
Tips for success
- For even more flavor, cook the rice in vegetable stock.
- If the stuffing seems dry in the skillet, add a little more veggie stock.
- Worried about the stuffing falling apart? One flax egg (1 tablespoon ground flaxmeal + 3 tablespoons water) mixed in will make sure it all sticks together! (I much prefer it without)
- Spray the top of the stuffing in the casserole dish with cooking spray to give it an extra crispy top.
Variations
There’s a lot of room to customize a vegan stuffing recipe. The options are practically endless! Use these suggestions for inspiration:
- Replace the rice with green lentils or your favorite grain.
- Use chickenless stock for true poultry flavors.
- Add or substitute any veggies you like, such as kale, carrots, sweet potatoes, or butternut squash.
- Mix in some pecans, almonds, raisins, or dried cranberries.
- Add dried thyme or sage to the list of herbs.
- Make the vegan stuffing without bread to lighten it up.
Frequently asked questions
Gravy, obviously. But stuffing also calls for all of the best Thanksgiving, Christmas, and holiday side dishes like cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, broccoli salad, and roasted vegetables. It’s a must-have for special celebrations!
Make sure the bread you use is gluten free to ensure the vegan stuffing is also gluten free.
Absolutely! Just saute the veggies in vegetable stock or water instead of the vegan butter or olive oil and use oil free sausages or omit them.
Save time during the holidays by fully assembling or baking the vegetarian stuffing up to 1 day ahead of serving. When it’s time to eat, reheat it (covered) in a 350ºF oven and enjoy!
Looking for more savory vegan holiday recipes?
Enjoy everyone! Happy Day! Please feel free to comment below and give this recipe a rating. Your feedback is greatly appreciated!
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Easy Vegan Wild Rice Stuffing
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Make the holidays complete with this hearty and comforting Easy Vegan Wild Rice Stuffing. This classic Thanksgiving side dish is loaded with wild rice, vegan sausage, crusty bread, apples, and an array of veggies and spices. Easy to make gluten and oil free!
Ingredients
For stuffing:
- 1 cup cooked wild rice blend*
- 7 cups cubed bread, I use a mix of sourdough bread and whole grain
- 1 - 2 tablespoons vegan butter or oil
- 1 small yellow onion, diced
- 3 -4 garlic cloves, chopped
- 2 -3 vegan Italian sausages, sliced lengthwise and chopped*
- 2 celery ribs, diced
- 1/2 bell pepper, diced (any colour)
- 1/2 lb (227 grams) ( 8 oz) mushrooms, chopped
- 1 apple cored and chopped
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons poultry seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon ground fennel
- 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley, or tablespoon fresh parsley
- 1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon Better than Bouillon No chicken soup base + 1 cup water /or 1 cup vegetable stock
Instructions
- First get rice cooking according to instructions ( I use rice cooker) or use leftover rice. Gather and prep all ingredients. Add spices and salt to small bowl, set aside. Preheat oven to 350° Lightly grease a 9x13 casserole dish.( I use my lasagna pan). Set aside
- Spread cubed bread evenly on large baking sheet , bake for 10-12 minutes, stirring halfway. Remove from oven and set aside
- Set a large deep sided non stick skillet over medium heat. Sautés onions with butter a pinch of salt and pepper until softening and slightly brown. Add garlic and vegan sausage. Cook for another 3-5 minutes until sausages are cooked through.
- Add the celery, peppers, mushrooms and cook for 4-5 minutes or so until vegetables are softening but the celery and peppers still have a bite to them. Add in the herbs, salt and spices, give it a stir.
- Turn off the heat. Now add the diced apple, 1 cup cooked rice and veggie stock, give it a mix.
- Add the toasted cubed bread and mix until combined. Taste for seasonings, add more salt, pepper and or poultry seasoning if needed. If stuffing seems to dry add little more veggie stock. (For stovetop stuffing see notes*)
- Add the stuffing mix to the casserole dish. Lightly spray top of stuffing with oil for a crispier top ( optional) and Bake covered for 30 minutes. Uncover and cook for an additional 5 minutes.
- Remove from oven, Serve and Enjoy! Lovely along side, sweet potatoes, veggies, vegan turkey, scalloped potatoes and or mashed potatoes and my easy 10 minute vegan gravy, and of course cranberry sauce! For step by step photos, FAQ, Tips and more see above post
Notes
- This post was originally published December 2018 and has been updated with new photos and more.
- vegan sausage options for stuffing: I like beyond meat sausages , mild or spicy. or use your favourite. Vegan ground beef also works, Impossible meat, Gardein, lightlife etc,...
- Rice: For even more flavour cook rice in vegetable stock!
- For stovetop stuffing: add apples in step 4. Leave the heat on in step 5 and in step 6 make sure stuffing is heated through before serving.
- For oil free stuffing: sauce veggies in vegetable stock or water and use oil free sausages or omit them
- For gluten free: use gluten free bread
- Make ahead: make and cook stuffing up to a day ahead (either from pan or oven) and reheat according to baking instructions in step 7
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 Minutes
- Category: Snacks & Sides, Gluten free,
- Method: Stovetop, Oven
- Cuisine: American, Canadian
Keywords: wild rice stuffing, easy vegan stuffing, vegetarian stuffing
Rita
Made this for a get together ,everybody loved it
★★★★★
Verna
Awesome! Thanks for the feedback Rita!
Midge
The family really enjoyed this at thanksgiving,it will be on our table at Christmas
★★★★★
Verna
Thanks Midge! so glad the family loved the vegan stuffing for thanksgiving. Enjoy the holidays!
Kiesha
This looks so savory. I think I'll try to make this one at Christmas:)
★★★★★
The Cheeky Chickpea
Thank you Kiesha, it's a very good stuffing recipe, let me know how it goes? thank you for your comment!