Need a delicious vegan and gluten-free dish for Thanksgiving dinner? Try this simple vegan cornbread stuffing, which is naturally gluten-free AND refined sugar-free! Easy to pull together, this cornbread stuffing is so good, no one will even know it's vegan.
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.
Grease an 8 x 8 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.
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.
Once cooled, in a large bowl and using your hands, tear and crumble cornbread into bite sized pieces.
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.
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.
Notes
Traditionally, stuffing is made with dry bread, which I like to do but I realize it's not practical for everyone. Please keep in mind that if you decide to make this all in one afternoon, your cornbread will not be able to hold the liquid in the same way it would if it was allowed to sit out over night. That being said, it really comes down to personal preference: if you prefer your stuffing to "soak up" the broth (and be a little more on the drier side), then you may want to allow a space in between for drying time. However, if you like your stuffing moist, you can go ahead and make this from start to finish in one afternoon. This stuffing will be a little "wetter" and resemble more of a dressing. I think it tastes good either way, so for me there is no wrong answer!
Need this cornbread stuffing to be 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 cup of dried cranberries in your skillet with the onions and celery for extra sweetness.