Amazing Vegan Cornbread Stuffing

This gluten-free vegan cornbread stuffing absolutely deserves a spot at your Thanksgiving table! Using homemade cornbread with sauteed sweet onions and fresh celery takes this stuffing to a whole new level. Plus, no one would even know it’s vegan and gluten-free if you didn’t tell them, it’s that damn good.

If you’re looking for more delicious vegan Thanksgiving recipes, you can serve this stuffing with thick cuts of vegan turkey roast, southern style vegan gravy, and these smoky roasted carrots.

Cornbread stuffing is a southern staple 

Even though I was born down south, I never had cornbread stuffing once growing up. Perhaps that’s because my dad is a damn Yankee and my mother is native to the only state named after a standardized test of basic skills. 

Therefor, our Thanksgiving was more of a hodgepodge of standard American dishes combined with whatever the grocery store was hawking that season, like red raspberry jello. Side note: I still love red raspberry jello (but vegan).  

When it came to stuffing, my dad would actually stuff the turkey, in the same delicate manner you would stuff a toy bearskin. He did this because he said that’s what stuffing is for. My mom meanwhile cooked the heart and gizzards in a saucepan over the stove. It smelled terrible.

What she did with them I don’t know, because my memory fails me, but I’m almost afraid to ask at this point.

What I do remember though is the first time my husband showed up for Thanksgiving dinner, back when we were dating. Even though this was foreign territory and he submerged himself in our customs just fine, the one thing he couldn’t get over was the stuffing. His parents were also damn Yankees but never used stuffing to fill a turkey cavity. 

Instead, his mom served a box of Stovetop stuffing on the side (and I think she still does to this day).

I said Stovetop stuffing is like crunchy croutons, not stuffing. He said stuffing should be crunchy and not come out of a turkeys carcass. Oh, young love.

But even though our dietary preferences have changed over the years, my parents included, that doesn’t mean we don’t enjoy stuffing at our house. Which brings me to cornbread stuffing, a dish that deserves a permanent spot in my Thanksgiving dinner. And if you’re wondering, my hubby and I both agree it tastes amazing! 

Recipe ingredients

Cornbread stuffing is the dish I never had for Thanksgiving growing up, but it’s the dish I always want to have for Thanksgiving now.  Here’s what you need to make this amazing side:

• Cornmeal.
• Gluten free flour. I recommend Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 gluten-free flour.
• Nutritional yeast flakes. I prefer using the fortified kind. This helps give your cornbread a little extra flavor, but is totally optional.
• Baking powder and baking soda.
• Salt and pepper. I use Himalayan pink salt.
• Maple syrup. I use this to sweeten the cornbread a touch, but you can use any natural liquid sweetener desired.
• Oil. Olive oil or canola oil work here. You can also use melted coconut oil, but keep in mind that using cold almond milk will harden the oil and can cause clumping.
• Apple cider vinegar. This helps act as an egg replacer because it reacts with the baking soda, causing your cornbread to rise.
• Almond milk. You can also use any other plant milk of choice.
• Vegan butter. I like using Earth Balance.
• Onions. Sweet onions work best for me.
• Celery.
• Broth. I like using Not-Chicken or vegetable broth here.

How to make it

1. First make the cornbread: Preheat oven to 425° F (218° C) . In a medium mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients (that’s the first 7 ingredients) and mix until combined. Add in the remaining wet ingredients and stir until combined well- you can do this by hand with a whisk or with electric beaters.
2. Grease an 8 x 8 inch baking dish with a touch of oil (or vegan butter) and pour batter into dish. Personally, I like to line my baking dish with parchment paper for easy removal. Pop in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until cornbread is slightly browned on top and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.
3. Once the cornbread is finished, remove from the oven and let cool on the counter for at least 20-30 minutes. Ideally, when making stuffing you want to leave out your bread overnight to dry out. This is totally optional! If you feel pressed for time, no worries! See the recipe notes below for more on this.
4. Once cooled, in a large bowl and using your hands, tear and crumble cornbread into bite sized pieces. 
5. Preheat oven to 375° F (190° C). Heat vegan butter in a large skillet. Add in onions and celery, and saute for 3-5 minutes. Stir in your broth and bring to a boil. Turn off the heat and then stir in your cornbread crumbles until all the bread has been coated with the broth.
6. Next, grease a baking dish (I used a 9 inch oval) with canola oil OR vegan butter. Transfer your cornbread mixture to your baking dish and pop in the oven for 20-25 minutes, or until the top of the stuffing is a nice golden brown.

Allergy Information + Substitutions

• This cornbread stuffing is 100% vegan, meaning it is meat-free, egg-free, and dairy-free. It is also naturally refined sugar-free and gluten-free.
• Need this to be made nut-free? Swap out the almond milk for another plant-based milk of your choice.
• If you don’t want it to be gluten-free, you could always swap out the gluten-free flour for regular unbleached all-purpose baking flour.
• Want a little extra pop? Toss ½ C of dried cranberries in your skillet with the onions and celery for extra sweetness.

More vegan Thanksgiving recipes:

• Instant Pot Smoky Roasted Carrots
• Vegan Turkey Roast
• Southern Vegan Gravy
• The Best Creamy Cranberry sauce

Thank you for taking the time to invest in your health and happiness!