Classic Vegan Stuffing

Instructions

1. You'll want to start with dry, crusty bread, so leave your bread out to dry overnight. (For a quicker method, see the next step.) You can spread them out on a large wire rack or a few baking sheets, or use a large mixing bowl and rotate the pieces regularly.
2. Alternate method: If you don't have time to dry your bread overnight, you can use your oven instead. Heat your oven to the lowest setting, then spread your bread slices out on two baking trays. If you have a wire rack to set on top of the baking tray, you can place your bread on top of the wire rack instead, which will dry the bread on both sides and reduce your drying time. Place the baking trays and bread in the oven and check on it after about 30 minutes. If it's not yet dry, add another 15 minutes. If it's dry on one side, flip the slices and continue to let them dry. Once the bread is dry, remove it from the oven and let it cool.
3. Use a serrated knife to cut your dry bread into pieces. I cut approximately 1-inch pieces, but you can cut larger or smaller pieces, depending on the texture you prefer. Put your bread cubes in a large mixing bowl and set it aside.
4. Preheat your oven to 350°F (180°C), then grease a casserole dish with olive oil spray or vegan butter.
5. In a small bowl, mix your ground flax with water to make a "flax egg," and set it aside to thicken.
6. Melt your vegan butter in a large saute pan or skillet over medium heat. Add your onions and cook for 3-5 minutes. (Adjust your cooking time depending on how soft or crunchy you'd like the veggies to be.)
7. Add your chopped celery to the pan and cook for 4-6 minutes longer, then remove from heat.
8. Add your veggies and all the vegan butter to the bowl with your bread cubes. Then add in your flax egg, parsley, vegetable seasoning, thyme, salt, and pepper and mix well.
9. Slowly add the vegetable broth to the stuffing mixture, stopping regularly to mix everything together. Keep adding broth until all the bread is moist, but not soggy. I prefer to use my hands for this step so I can tell which parts of the stuffing are still dry.
10. Add your stuffing mix to the greased casserole dish and cover it with foil. Bake at 350°F (180°C) for 35 minutes, then remove the foil and continue baking for another 10-15 minutes.
11. Allow the stuffing to cool slightly, then garnish with your choice of fresh herbs and serve.

If you plan to use my homemade vegan butter recipe, prepare the vegan butter without cashew cream, otherwise it may burn in the pan.

If you can't get low-sodium vegetable broth, you can use regular vegetable broth and skip the salt.