This Sweet Potato and Mushroom Thanksgiving Stuffing Recipe is the simplest, easiest, and the best Vegetarian Thanksgiving stuffing recipe you will ever come across!
Is it Thanksgiving Stuffing? Or is it Dressing? Lots of Confusion!
Well, as the name suggests, Thanksgiving Stuffing is a side dish that is stuffed inside the cavity of the bird (Turkey or Chicken, whatever you are cooking). This stuffing is baked along with the turkey. It soaks up the juices of Turkey and gets even flavorful as it gets baked.
But, dressing is something that you bake outside the bird. According to food safety experts, it's not safe to put the stuffing in a bird. So, these days, people take this in a casserole dish and bake it separately.
Depending on where you live, people will either refer to this as Stuffing or Dressing. Popular Magazine - Southern Living, sheds some more light on this Great Debate. They actually have found out the states in the US searching for Stuffing recipe vs dressing recipe.
Well, whether you call this Stuffing (or Dressing) you will love this recipe. Buttery, Herby, and flavorful this is the best Vegetarian Thanksgiving dressing (or stuffing) recipe ever! Also, Sweet Potatoes and Mushrooms are a bonus! Yummm!!!
You might also like my Green Bean Cheddar Casserole or my Sweet Potato Casserole with Black Beans or my Sweet Potato Casserole with Walnuts and Brown Sugar Topping.
Vegetarian Thanksgiving Stuffing
Hey y'all, we have finally made it almost to the finale of the year. I can't believe Halloween is over. Man oh man! what a hoopla it was. We had so much fun, throwing candies from our houses to the Trick or Treaters and grabbing candies in the most unique possible ways with my boys 🙂
Now, all I hear from people is - I want to get done with 2020. 2020 was like the king of worst years. Don't get me wrong. I get why you are saying that.
But, think about, it. Didn't 2020 teach us how to do things differently? Didn't we learn to take better care of ourselves?
Well, talking about doing things differently, I thought, let me take a different route from a classic Thanksgiving Stuffing (or Dressing) this time. Let me make a Vegetarian Thanksgiving stuffing.
I used whatever veggies I had at my home. And, trust me, you can do the same. No need to rush to the market on a Thanksgiving day or before just to make the stuffing. Grab all the veggies you've got, give all of them a good chop and they'll be ready to be used.
Ingredients I have used to make this Herby Sweet Potato and Mushroom Vegetarian Thanksgiving Stuffing
Ingredients:
- 8 Oz Button Mushrooms wiped with a paper towel and then sliced (227gm)
- 1 Medium-Sized Sweet Potato washed, peeled, and chopped into 1/2-inch cubes
- 2 Medium-Sized Carrots shredded (using the large hole of the cheese grater)
- 1 Medium-sized Onion Diced (I have used red onion, you can also you yellow or white onion)
- 5 Cloves Garlic minced
- 3 Stocks Celery diced
- 2-3 medium-sized Fresh Green Beans finely chopped
- ¼ Cup Parsley Finely chopped
- 8 Tablespoon Salted Butter divided
- 1 Teaspoon Dried Thyme 1/2 tablespoon if using fresh
- 1 Teaspoon Dried Sage 1/2 tablespoon if using fresh
- ½ Teaspoon Salt OR TO TASTE
- ½ Teaspoon Freshly Ground Black Pepper
- 2 cup Vegetable Broth
- ½ Cup Walnuts Chopped and Toasted
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 Large Loaf French Bread 18-24" long
How to make Sweet Potato and Mushroom Thanksgiving Stuffing?
First, Prep the veggies. Slice the Mushrooms. Shred Carrots. Mince Garlic. Chop Green beans, Celery, Onions, Sweet Potatoes, and Parsley.
Now heat some butter in a deep-dish skillet and sautee the mushrooms until it gets caramelized. In about 4 minutes on medium heat, you will see that they are turning brown on the edges. This process is helping the mushrooms release its moisture.
Into that pan add all your chopped veggies along with some dried sage and dried thyme. You can also use fresh sage and thyme. Season it will salt and pepper. Sautee it until the onions are translucent. This process takes about 4-5 minutes on medium heat.
While the veggies are sauteing, take another pan and add some chopped walnuts to it and Toast it over low flame for 2-3 flame. This will bring a little nuttiness and a beautiful bite in our stuffing. Toast them until you get a beautiful nutty aroma.
Meanwhile, your onions must have become almost transparent and the sweet potatoes mush have been partially cooked. So, add some more butter along with chopped parsley, Lemon Juice, and Toasted Walnuts.
Quickly chop the bread cubes and add it in. The idea is to let the bread soak all the butter.
Add vegetable broth a little at a time and stir well. When you are stirring you might see the bread breaking apart. And, that's completely okay.
If you are using fresh bread then put it in the oven while it's preheating. Or else, make sure your bread is at least 2 days old. The next step is obviously preheating the oven to 375F or 190C.
Take out your stuffing in a greased 9x11 baking dish or a similar casserole dish. Wrap it with foil and bake for 30-minutes. After 30-minutes, open the foil and add some chopped butter cubes to it.
Now bake it uncovered for at least 15-minutes or until the top is brown.
Garnish with some freshly chopped parsley and your Vegetarian Thanksgiving Stuffing with Sweet Potatoes and Mushrooms is absolutely ready!
How to Make this Recipe Vegan Friendly?
Besides, butter there is no other ingredient in this recipe that is not vegan-friendly. Therefore the best possible way to make it vegan friendly is to replace butter with vegan butter.
Make it Ahead of Time
The preparation of the veggies takes longer than actually making this recipe. It took me at least 30-minutes to chop the veggies. So, what you can do is - prepare the veggies and wrap them with foil and put it in the refrigerator at least 2-3 days before Thanksgiving.
When you want to bake, take it out and bake it fresh. Serve it hot.
If you are making this recipe, then please provide a rating below. And if you can take a snap and share it on Instagram with #recipemagik it would be great.
Sweet Potato and Mushroom Thanksgiving Stuffing Recipe - Vegetarian Thanksgiving Stuffing
INGREDIENTS
- 8 Oz Button Mushrooms wiped with a paper towel and then sliced (227gm)
- 1 Medium-Sized Sweet Potato rinsed, peeled, and chopped into 1/2 inch cubes
- 2 Medium-Sized Carrots shredded
- 1 Medium-sized Onion Diced (I have used red onion, you can also you yellow or white onion)
- 5 Cloves Garlic minced
- 3 Stocks Celery diced
- 2-3 medium-sized Fresh Green Beans finely chopped
- ¼ Cup Parsley Finely chopped
- 8 Tablespoon Salted Butter divided
- 1 Teaspoon Dried Thyme 1/2 tablespoon if using fresh
- 1 Teaspoon Dried Sage 1/2 tablespoon if using fresh
- ½ Teaspoon Salt OR TO TASTE
- ½ Teaspoon Freshly Ground Black Pepper OR TO TASTE
- 2 Cup Vegetable Broth
- ½ Cup Walnuts Chopped and Toasted
- 1 Large Loaf French Bread 18-24" long
INSTRUCTIONS
- Prepare the veggies. Wipe the mushrooms with a wet kitchen towel. Slice the mushrooms. Peel and Shred Carrot. (Use the large hole of a cheese grater). Peel and chop the sweet potatoes into 1/2 inch cubes. Wash and dice the celery. Finely chop the green beans. Dice the onions and mince the garlic. Chop the parsley.
- Heat 2 tablespoons of butter in a deep dish skillet over medium heat. Add sliced mushrooms. Sautee until the Mushrooms release all of its moisture get caramelized on the edges. As it begins to brown from the edges (after 4-5 minutes), add other veggies.
- Now, add your diced onions, minced garlic, diced celery, chopped sweet potatoes, and finely chopped green beans, and shredded carrot into the skillet. Add dried sage, dried thyme, ground black pepper, and salt. Sautee until the onions are translucent and the carrots have softened. (4-5 minutes)Meanwhile, in a separate pan toast the chopped walnuts on medium heat until you get a nutty fragrance. Keep it aside.
- Add additional 2 tablespoons of butter, chopped parsley, and chopped walnuts. (Taste the veggie mixture once and adjust the salt as per taste).
- Preheat the oven to 375°F or 190°C. Cut the bread into 1/2 inch cubes. If your bread is not stale, then chop the bread throw them in a bowl. Pop it in the oven, while the oven is preheating. Add the bread to your vegetable mixture, stir well to coat the bread with the vegetable mixture.
- Finally, pour the vegetable broth and mix well. While you mix, your bread might break down and that's completely al-right. The bread will absorb only half of the broth. Do not over-mix. It will absorb the rest of the moisture while it gets baked.
- Grease a 9x13 inch or similar size casserole dish with cooking spray. Add the stuffing to your casserole dish. Spread it out and slightly compress it. Cover with foil, and bake for 30-minutes. After 30-minutes, get the stuffing out of the oven. Remove the foil and top with the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter. (The butter should be cold and cut into chunks).Pop it in the oven (uncovered) and bake for additional 15-minutes or until the top is browned. Garnish with more parsley and serve.
Video
Notes
- Try to purchase the bread sometime before. I buy mine at least one or two days ahead. Because the bread should be stale for this recipe. If it's not stale and you've got it yesterday or just now, then you can put it in a baking dish with some oil and pop it in the oven only for the duration during which the oven is getting preheated.
- If your stuffing feels dry, add an additional 1/4 cup vegetable broth.
- If you want to make it vegan then just use vegan butter and apart from that everything else is vegan-friendly.
- You can make it ahead overnight and pop it in the refrigerator. Next morning, Thaw in the countertop for 2 hours on Thanksgiving day and then bake just before serving and enjoy it hot.
- If you want to add apples and cranberries, you can dice the apples and sautee it with other veggies. Then, later on, you can add them as a topping.
Nutrition
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