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Much to be Thankful For
I think it’s fair to assume that if Brad had to choose only five foods to eat for all eternity, this stuffing would make that list. Thanksgiving is his favorite holiday and the stuffing might actually be his favorite part of the meal, rivaled only by a classic homemade pecan pie. When Brad and I started dating and celebrating holidays together, we would spend Thanksgiving not only with Brad’s kids of course, but also with their mom, Jill, and her significant other. I’ve been very fortunate to always have been warmly welcomed into the Garrett family, and I remain incredibly grateful for that to this day. As someone who grew up with divorced parents, I can appreciate what a rare gift it was that we adults all came together for birthdays, holidays, even the occasional vacation together. We enjoyed each other’s company with genuine friendship and also gave the kids a sense of familial peace and unity.
Giving Credit Where Credit is Due
I don’t ever want to claim credit for a recipe that is not my own creation, and this one in particular comes to you thanks to Jill Garrett. For years she would bring the stuffing to our Thanksgiving gatherings, and she would always make a vegetarian version (without sausage) for me, which was truly a gesture above and beyond. Perhaps even more generously, she agreed to share her famous recipe with me years ago. If you’ve ever seen a little kid’s face light up at what Santa left under the Christmas tree, you know the look I get from Brad every time I say “I’m making stuffing today!” I am SO grateful to her for this recipe every time I see that look on Brad’s face. I have made a few small changes to Jill’s recipe to officially classify this as “vegan,” but I swear you cannot tell the difference! Now I make this dish annually for both Thanksgiving AND Christmas, and sometimes just randomly throughout the year if I can get my hands on some stuffing cubes. Not everyone is eager or willing to share the recipes for which they become “family-famous” so thank you Jill, for both allowing me to carry on this culinary tradition, and now share this awesome dish with the world (or at least the ten people who read my blog, haha)!
But Vegan food… at Thanksgiving?
I know what you’re thinking. There’s something about the word “vegan” that makes many meat-eaters recoil and make a face like they’ve just smelled something awful. It’s as if there’s this notion that all vegan food was pulled straight out of the ground and put on a plate, raw and covered in dirt. Surely there is no place for vegan food in a “normal Thanksgiving” – it’s not a day to be “healthy,” it’s a day for comfort food, right?! Well, first of all “vegan” doesn’t always mean healthy. Burger King’s French fries are vegan but you won’t find them on any healthy diet list. The fact is, your cranberry sauce is inherently vegan even though you don’t call it “vegan cranberry sauce.” Your dinner rolls may be be vegan and you don’t even know it. If you use margarine instead of butter in your mashed potatoes, those may be vegan too. Just because they’re not presented as vegan dishes doesn’t mean they don’t qualify as such. Personally I like to wait until about 3/4 of the way through the meal before I casually mention to everyone that this stuffing is vegan… Generally, the response is “no way, REALLY?!” The key to that shocker is the inclusion of Impossible meat, which makes it taste like there is in fact meat in the stuffing when there is not. BUT if you don’t like fake meats you can just as easily make this without as well. It’s a moist, sweet and salty, crunchy and soft combination of holiday deliciousness, and I hope it becomes a staple in your family traditions like it is in ours.
Low-Stress Side Dish
I admit, I haven’t made any stuffing recipe other than this one in over a decade… Because if everyone loves it so much, why change it? Therefore I don’t have a lot to compare to in terms of other stuffing recipes and how complicated they may be. However, I can vouch for this one that it’s pretty easy peasy! And the best part: very few dirty dishes are involved! If you’ve ever hosted a meal, especially Thanksgiving, you are familiar with the dreaded mile-high stack of plates, bowls, silverware, bakeware, etc. that glares at you from the sink… right when the only place you want to be is food-coma’d on the couch. But with this recipe I use just one skillet to cook (one at a time) all the ingredients that need to be cooked. I mix everything in one big bowl. I use a cutting board, one knife, and one spatula to stir the cooking items. Plus one dish to bake it in (stuffing photos were taken in an 11×8 Emile Henry dish like this one that’s extra deep, but I often use just a regular old 9×13 Pyrex dish; I like this one because it comes with a fitted top for easy storage). Boom! You’re done.
Brad's Favorite Thanksgiving Stuffing
Equipment
- 9x13 baking dish (or dish of your choice that will hold apx. 10 cups)
Ingredients
- 6 tbsp vegan butter, divided (plus a little extra for buttering your dish)
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 3 celery ribs, chopped
- 1 cup dried apples, chopped
- 1 pound mushrooms, trimmed and sliced
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
- 1 package Impossible meat
- 1 bag dried stuffing cubes (15 oz. bag, traditional non-cubed is okay too)
- 2 tsp poultry seasoning (these are just herbs, there is no actual poultry involved)
- 2.5-3 cups vegetable broth (salted)
- Salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Place chopped onion in 3 tablespoons of butter over medium to medium-high heat and cook until translucent and starting to brown, stirring occasionally.
- 2. When onions are done, put them in a large bowl. Using the same skillet (no need to wash) add sliced mushrooms and an additional 3 tablespoons of butter. Continue to cook over medium to medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until they release their water, the water evaporates and the mushrooms are lightly browned.
- 3. When mushrooms are done add them to the big bowl with the onions, then add the celery, dried apples and parsley.
- 4. Again using the same skillet (no need to wash) cook the Impossible meat, stirring often, over medium to medium-high heat until it is cooked through. There is no need to use butter for this. I like to add some fresh cracked black pepper to the Impossible meat while it's cooking.
- 5. Add cooked Impossible "meat" to the big bowl, then add the dried stuffing cubes and poultry seasoning. Stir everything together to ensure the ingredients are well distributed.
- 6. Add the vegetable broth about 1/2 cup at a time and continue stirring gently until the mixture is well-moistened but not soggy. At this point, taste test and see if you want to add more salt or pepper.
- 7. Add stuffing mixture to a 9x13 baking dish (or baking dish of choice that will hold approximately 10 cups) that has been greased with vegan butter. If you like your stuffing really moist and are baking immediately, you can drizzle on another 1/4 to 1/2 cup of vegetable broth over the top of the mixture in the dish.
- 8. Bake stuffing covered for 30 minutes, covered with tin foil. Remove tin foil and bake for an additional 15 minutes uncovered. Enjoy!
Notes
Disclosure: if you know me at all, or have read enough of this website to appreciate that honesty is always my policy, you know that I am here to spread the word about things that I love: food, products, charity organizations, etc. Occasionally, through something called “affiliate links” (links to products on Amazon, specifically) there is a chance I may earn a small commission, at NO additional cost to you. But I am legally required to tell you that as an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Whether an item earns me a commission has NO IMPACT on my decision to list it, and if the item is on a site for which I earn zero commission (i.e., any site OTHER than Amazon) I will still link to it! It would go against everything I stand for to profit off of misusing your trust. I only recommend products I actually use myself (or occasionally link to other products as examples or points of comparison), and all opinions expressed here are entirely my own.