Vegan stuffing with chestnuts for the holidays

Along with savory spices and vegetable broth, it has loads of flavor and nary an animal product in the mix. Roasted and peeled chestnuts give the stuffing bite.

In this post:

Here are the ingredients you will need to make this recipe.

Oil: This is used to sauté the veggies & oil the baking dish. Any neutral-flavored cooking oil works here. Avocado oil is my go-to.

Produce: Onions, carrots, celery, and garlic.

Chestnuts: For the sake of ease, I recommend using cooked & peeled chestnuts. I buy them vacuum-packed at Trader Joe’s around the holidays. You can also find them elsewhere sold in jars or pouches.

Want to do it yourself? Check out this post on how to roast chestnuts in the oven.

Dried bread cubes: Look for them at the bakery of your natural grocery store. Or you can find them on grocery store shelves in boxes.

Or make your own by baking bread cubes in a single layer on a baking pan for 10 to 15 minutes at 300 degrees, stopping once or twice to stir. Let them cool before using.

Vegetable broth: Use your favorite vegetable broth. Or make a flavorful broth with water + Better Than Bouillon no chicken base.

Seasonings: Rosemary, thyme, sage, salt, and pepper.

This section shows how to make this recipe at a glance with process photos of the steps. For complete ingredient amounts & instructions, keep scrolling to the recipe card below.

1. Sauté onions, garlic, celery, and carrots in a skillet until translucent and fragrant.

2. Add chopped (cooked and peeled) chestnuts to the skillet and cook for a couple minutes more. Turn the heat off and set aside.

3. In a large mixing bowl, combine a pound of dried bread cubes with the mixture from the skillet. Then slowly pour vegetable broth and spices over the bread cubes. Occasionally stir the bread cubes, so that the cubes get evenly coated.

You want the cubes to be moistened, but not wet or mushy. There shouldn’t be any liquid at the bottom of the bowl.

4. Pour the bread cubes into an oiled baking dish and spread them evenly across it. Cover the dish in aluminum foil and bake for 50 minutes at 350 degrees.

Remove the foil and bake for 10 minutes more uncovered, so that the cubes can get a crispiness to the top.

If you like, serve with a crispy fried sage leaves garnish.

If you can't find chestnuts or they are out of season at the time you're making this vegan stuffing, no worries. Try one of these other options:

Simply omit the chestnuts. The stuffing is equally delicious without chestnuts.

Replace with chopped walnuts. Keep in mind that you may not want the same amount of walnuts, since walnuts have a stronger flavor than chestnuts and are a bit more dense.

I recommend halving the amount and working up from there, depending on your preferences.

Replace with cooked vegan sausage. In a skillet, brown 6.5 ounces of vegan sausage in bite-sized pieces. Then add it to your sautéed onions, celery, and carrots.

This vegan Christmas dinner side dish fits beautifully with all of the classic holiday staples.

Serve it with any of the following:

• Vegan schnitzel
• Vegan turkey roast with vegan turkey gravy
• Vegan chicken pot pie
• Vegan green bean casserole
• Dairy-free scalloped potatoes
• Roasted Brussels sprouts with apples

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge. It will keep for 3 to 4 days.

To reheat vegan stuffing in the oven: Transfer cold stuffing to an oven-safe baking dish. If it seems dry, add about a quarter cup of vegetable broth or water, and combine.

Cover with foil and bake for 15 to 30 minutes at 350 degrees or until the stuffing is heated through.

For a crispy top, remove the foil for the last 10 minutes of cooking time.

To reheat vegan stuffing in the microwave: Put cold stuffing in a microwave-safe dish, stir in a small amount of vegetable broth or water, and reheat for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until heated through.

📖 Recipe

Vegan stuffing with chestnuts

Author: Cadry Nelson

5 from 5 votes

This savory dish will have you wondering why stuffing is only served at the holidays. It's filled with carrots, celery, onions, and chestnuts.

If you don't have chestnuts, make vegan sausage stuffing instead by replacing the chestnuts with an equal amount of browned plant-based sausage.

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour hour 10 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour 20 minutes minutes

Servings: 10 people

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American, Vegan

Keyword: christmas recipe, holiday food, thanksgiving recipe

Ingredients

• ▢ 1 teaspoon avocado oil + more for oiling baking dish
• ▢ ½ cup sliced celery
• ▢ ½ cup sliced carrots
• ▢ 1 cup chopped yellow onions
• ▢ 1 clove garlic minced
• ▢ 6.5 ounces cooked and peeled chestnuts chopped
• ▢ 1 pound dried bread cubes
• ▢ 2 ½ to 3 cups vegetable broth
• ▢ 2 teaspoons dried rosemary
• ▢ 2 teaspoons dried thyme
• ▢ 1 teaspoon dried sage
• ▢ ½ to 1 teaspoon salt
• ▢ Few grinds of black pepper

Instructions

• ▢
  Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly oil a 9 x 13 glass baking dish and set aside.
• ▢
  Bring a non-stick skillet to a medium heat with a teaspoon of oil. Saute celery, carrots, onions, and garlic for a few minutes, until translucent and fragrant.
• ▢
  Add chopped chestnuts to the skillet and cook for a couple minutes more.
• ▢
  In a large mixing bowl combine dried bread cubes with mixture from skillet.
• ▢
  In a large measuring cup, combine vegetable broth with dried rosemary, thyme, sage, ½ teaspoon salt, and a few grinds of black pepper. Use a fork or whisk to blend the spices with the broth.
• ▢
  Slowly pour the broth into the mixing bowl with bread cubes and vegetables. Occasionally stir the bread cubes, so that the cubes get evenly coated.

  You want the cubes to be moistened, but not wet or mushy. There shouldn't be any liquid at the bottom of the bowl. So if it looks like the bread cubes are getting overly wet, stop there.

  However, if the cubes look too dry after all of the liquid has been poured, add a few more splashes of water or broth.
• ▢
  Taste for salt, and add up to ½ teaspoon more if necessary.
• ▢
  Pour the bread cubes into the oiled baking dish and spread them evenly across it. Cover the dish in aluminum foil and bake for 50 minutes.

  Remove the foil and bake for 10 minutes more uncovered, so that the cubes can get a crispiness to the top.

Notes

My Co-op has a bakery, and they sell their own bagged dried bread cubes. If your natural grocery store has a bakery, that’s a good place to look for vegan dried bread cubes. You can also find them on shelves in boxes.

Or make your own by baking bread cubes in a single layer on a baking pan for 10 to 15 minutes at 300 degrees, stopping once or twice to stir. Let them cool before using.

To make this stuffing in a Dutch oven instead of a skillet & casserole dish:

1. Sauté onions, garlic, celery, and carrots in the Dutch oven until translucent and fragrant.
2. Add chopped chestnuts and cook for a couple minutes more. Turn the heat off and set aside.
3. In a large mixing bowl, combine a pound of dried bread cubes with mixture from skillet. (My Dutch oven is 4 quarts. So it’s not large enough to easily combine the bread cubes in the pot itself, until it has shrunk from the broth. If yours is larger, you may be able to skip the mixing bowl.)
4. Slowly pour vegetable broth and spices over the bread cubes. Occasionally stir the bread cubes, so that the cubes get evenly coated.
5. Pour the bread cube mixture back into the Dutch oven. Cover with a lid, and bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes. Remove lid and bake for 10 minutes more uncovered.

Subscribe to Cadry’s KitchenSign up today! JOIN BY CLICKING HERE

Nutrition

Calories: 175kcal | Carbohydrates: 33g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 2g | Sodium: 480mg | Potassium: 228mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 1225IU | Vitamin C: 9.4mg | Calcium: 78mg | Iron: 2.1mg

Content updated December 1, 2025. Originally posted December 4, 2017.