No Thanksgiving table would be complete without a big dish of stuffing – so try your hand at making your own dairy free stuffing this season! This easy recipe uses simple ingredients that are easy to find. As someone that has been testing and optimizing dairy-free recipes for more than 10 years, this is as close as you can get to the traditional dairy version.
Quick tip: You actually don’t even have to make homemade stuffing if you don’t want to. Stovetop was currently dairy-free by ingredients at the time of publish, and you can simply follow the directions for preparation using dairy-free butter. (Always check labels, though). But isn’t making your own homemade version so much more fun?!
Ingredients
Here’s a photo of all the ingredients you’ll need, along with selected ingredient notes:
- Bread – I generally go with French bread or an Italian loaf for a stuffing recipe, but you can really use whatever loaf you prefer. Be sure to always check labels, as different store bakeries may use different ingredients and some may contain milk. I used Great Value bakery loaves in this dish, which did not contain milk by ingredients (but did have a cross-contamination warning). If you are highly allergic, you may want to check each brand for their risk of cross-contamination (those “may contain” labels are voluntary, not required).
- Dairy-free butter – Country Crock plant butter sticks made with avocado oil work exceptionally well in this recipe. You can use other dairy-free butter options like Earth Balance if you prefer.
- Fresh sage – This offers the most class “stuffing” flavor, in my opinion. You can alternatively use fresh rosemary or fresh thyme, or a combination of these seasonings. Do not use a 1-1 substitute with dried herbs though, as it will overpower the dish. If you are using dried sage, for example, only use 2-3 teaspoons instead of the 3 tablespoons of fresh sage used in the recipe.
- Broth – Chicken broth is great for classic flavor, but vegetable broth can be used if you need to make a vegan version of this dish.
Instructions
You’ll find the full recipe amounts and instructions in the recipe card below, but here’s a helpful overview with photos and tips.
The key to this recipe is making sure that the bread is a little stale – or you can dry out fresh bread easily beforehand. If you don’t follow this, the bread can absorb too much moisture from the broth and the stuffing will be a bit soggy. If using fresh bread, just cut it into cubes and then bake it in a 350 degree oven on baking sheets for about 8-12 minutes, until it feels dry to the touch (but is not browning or burning). Now it’s all ready to use!
Place the bread in a bowl and set it aside for now.
In a skillet or sauté pan, melt the butter over medium-low heat, then add the onion, celery, and garlic. It will seem like a whole lotta butter for the amount of vegetables – this is purposeful. The butter will absorb some of those aromatic flavors which helps with the flavor of the stuffing.
When the veggies are tender (about 7-8 minutes), add the sage and season with salt and pepper. Cook for another minute, until fragrant.
Pour the butter/veggie mixture over the bread, and add the parsley. Toss everything well. Add the chicken broth slowly, about a half cup at a time. Toss in between, helping ensure all the bread gets evenly coated. This will prevent pockets of soggy or overly dry stuffing.
Pour that into a 9×13 casserole dish and cover with foil. You’ll bake for 25 minutes covered, then remove the foil and finish baking for 15-20 minutes more (for a total time of 40-45 minutes). The stuffing is done when it is slightly crisp on top, and the bottom part of the filling is still moist (but not soggy).
Let cool slightly in the pan and enjoy!
Recipe FAQ
Here are some common questions that may come up as you’re preparing this recipe:
Store leftover stuffing in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Reheat in the microwave or in an oven-safe dish in the oven.
Yes, it can be frozen for up to 3 months (for best quality). If freezing a large portion that will all be reheated at once, freeze in a covered foil casserole dish. When ready to enjoy, pop in the oven at 350 degrees F and cook from frozen. Cook until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F and the stuffing achieves the right texture.
For this recipe, simply swap the chicken broth for vegetable broth, and double check that your bread does not contain any animal ingredients. This should ensure a vegan dish.
Allergens in this Recipe
Disclaimer: Always double check ingredients and labels yourself prior to making a recipe. While I try to check all ingredients for allergens, there’s always the chance I may miss something, or manufacturer formulations can change.
As written, this recipe is dairy free. As long as your packaged ingredients (like bread and dairy-free butter) do not contain nuts or eggs, this recipe would also be free of those ingredients.
This recipe does contain wheat/gluten (in the bread) and soy (in the bread that I used and in the Country Crock dairy-free butter). Here is how you can adjust for these allergens:
- To make wheat/gluten free: Choose wheat/gluten free bread. Ensure the bread is sufficiently dry using the toasting method before making the stuffing, as gluten-free bread has the tendency to fall apart in stuffing if not. Also, double check your broth to ensure it is wheat/gluten free.
- To make soy free: Choose bread, dairy-free butter, and broth options that are all soy free. Simply check the labels at the store to find options that work for you. For dairy-free butter, Earth Balance soy-free sticks are a good option.
More Dairy-Free Thanksgiving Recipes
If you’re looking for more recipes to add to your Thanksgiving menu, be sure to give one of these a try:
- Dairy free twice baked potatoes
- Dairy free pumpkin pie (a classic!)
- Dairy free sweet potato casserole
- Dairy free pumpkin truffles (my fav no-bake Thanksgiving dessert)
- Dairy free biscuits
I hope you enjoy this recipe! If you get a chance to try it, please leave a recipe rating or comment below.
Dairy Free Stuffing
This dairy free stuffing makes the perfect addition to any Thanksgiving menu!
Ingredients
- 20 ounces stale bread, cubed (about 1 ½ loaves of French bread, or 12 cups)
- ¾ cup dairy-free butter (i.e. Country Crock plant butter; 1 ½ sticks)
- 1 large sweet onion, diced (or 2 small)
- 4 ribs celery, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 3 tablespoons fresh chopped sage
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- ¼ cup fresh chopped parsley
- 2 ½ cups chicken broth (or vegetable broth for vegan version)
Instructions
-
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9×13 casserole dish and set aside for now.
-
Add the stale bread cubes to a large mixing bowl and set aside for now. (See notes if bread is not yet stale).
-
In a skillet or sauté pan, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Add the onion, celery, and garlic, and cook for about 7-8 minutes, until tender.
-
Add the fresh sage, salt, and pepper to the pan. Stir well and cook for another minute, then remove from heat.
-
Pour the mixture from the skillet into the bowl with the bread cubes. Add the parsley and toss everything together. Slowly add the chicken broth (about ½ cup at a time), stirring the mixture frequently to ensure even distribution of all the ingredients.
-
Pour the stuffing mixture into the 9×13 casserole dish. Cover with foil. Bake at 350 degrees F for 25 minutes covered, then remove the foil and cook for another 15-20 minutes uncovered (until the mixture is slightly crisp on top but the filling is still a bit moist), for a total cooking time of 40-45 minutes.
Recipe Notes
- If your bread is not slightly stale, toast the cubed bread in the oven at 350 degrees F for about 8-12 minutes to dry it out. Then proceed with the recipe as described above.
- Note that *fresh* sage is used in this recipe. You can substitute this with equivalent amounts of fresh rosemary or fresh thyme based on your flavor preferences. If you do not have any fresh herbs, do not substitute dried herbs at a 1-1 ratio or it will overpower the dish. For example, if you are substituting dried sage for fresh sage, use only 2-3 teaspoons.
- This recipe makes approximately 8-12 servings, depending on the size of the serving. The nutrition analysis below is based on 12 servings.
Nutrition analysis (approximate per serving): 244 calories, 12 g fat, 5.5 g saturated fat, 650 mg sodium, 28 g carbohydrate, 1.5 g fiber, 4 g sugar, 0 g added sugar, 6 g protein, Vitamin D: 0%, Calcium: 3%, Iron: 11%, Potassium: 3%
Please pin this post – it helps you save it for later and keeps the site growing.
