What is stuffing traditionally made of?

Stuffing typically means dried out bread cubes with herbs, vegetables, and broth. You can really enrich the flavor with homemade broth and a mixture of fresh herbs.

What kind of bread should I use for stuffing?

French bread is best! But sourdough works well here too.

What type of mushrooms should I use?

Wild mushrooms like morels, chanterelles, or lobster mushrooms are great choices, but tame mushrooms like shiitake mushrooms, cremini mushrooms, or button mushrooms taste lovely too!

Do I need to use eggs in stuffing?

The eggs act as a binding agent to hold the stuffing together. They are essential, but if you wish to make a vegan stuffing you can use flax eggs or a vegan egg substitute.

Can I prepare the stuffing ahead of time?

Yes! You can prep the bread and saute the vegetables the day before.

Mushroom Stuffing

Name: Mushroom Stuffing
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 1 h 30 min
Yield: 10
Cuisine: Vegetarian
Ingredients: 1 lb loaf of bread (French Bread or Sourdough) torn or cut into one-inch cubes; ¼-½ cup butter (or vegan butter) please see notes.; 1/4 cup olive oil; 1 1/2 pounds fresh wild or tame mushrooms- shiitake, chanterelles, button, cremini, sliced; 1 teaspoon kosher salt; 1 teaspoon pepper; 1 small fennel bulb, thinly sliced (or sub 2 cups diced celery); 2 cups chopped leeks (white and pale green parts only) or sub-diced onion; 4-6 garlic cloves, roughly chopped; 1/2- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds – optional; 1/2 cup dry white wine, optional, sub veggie broth; 1/4 cup fresh thyme, rosemary or sage, chopped (a combo is best); 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped; 1 1/2- 2 cups Broth or stock- veggie broth, mushroom broth, chicken stock ( add as needed may need more or less); 2 large eggs, whisked (or use Vegan Eggs- see notes); optional: truffle oil

Description

This Mushroom Stuffing recipe with fennel and leeks is so savory and delicious! A tasty vegetarian Thanksgiving side dish full of depth and umami flavor. Vegan- adaptable!

Ingredients

Units Scale

1 lb loaf of bread (French Bread or Sourdough) torn or cut into one-inch cubes
1/4–1/2 cup butter (or vegan butter) please see notes.
1/4 cup olive oil
1 1/2 pounds fresh wild or tame mushrooms- shiitake, chanterelles, button, cremini, sliced
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 small fennel bulb, thinly sliced (or sub 2 cups diced celery)
2 cups chopped leeks (white and pale green parts only) or sub-diced onion
4–6 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1/2– 1 teaspoon fennel seeds – optional
1/2 cup dry white wine, optional, sub veggie broth
1/4 cup fresh thyme, rosemary or sage, chopped (a combo is best)
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1 1/2– 2 cups Broth or stock- veggie broth, mushroom broth, chicken stock ( add as needed may need more or less)
2 large eggs, whisked (or use Vegan Eggs- see notes)
optional: truffle oil

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Instructions

Preheat oven to 350F
Cut or tear bread into small bite-szed pieces or cubes, place on baking sheet and place in oven (while its still warming up) for 15-20 minutes, to lightly toast, or dry overnight on the counter.
Heat butter and olive oil over medium-high heat in an extra- large heavy bottom pan or dutch oven. Add mushrooms. Stir mushrooms every few minutes or so for 8- 10 minutes, lowering heat if necessary. Add leeks, fennel, garlic, salt and pepper, fresh herbs and optional fennel seeds. Continue cooking another 6-7 minutes, over medium-low stirring occasionally.
Deglaze the pan with wine (or sub-veggie stock). Let this cook all the way down, stirring up any browned bits, until it’s completely evaporated.
Once the liquid has evaporated, combine this mushroom mixture with cubed bread in a large bowl.
Mix the whisked eggs with 1 1/2 cups of cool broth. Toss this with the mushroom-bread mix. You want the bread nice and moist, but not sopping wet. Add more broth as needed.
Pour into a greased 8×11 or 9×13 inch baking dish covering with foil for the first 30 minutes. Then uncover, and bake 10 minutes so it turns a nice golden brown.
Scatter with fresh sprigs of rosemary, parsley or thyme and a few drops of truffle oil (optional).

Notes

BUTTER: You can cut back on the butter- or even add more. Traditional stuffing calls for 1 cup of butter. I’ve made it with 1/4 cup butter and 1/4 cup olive oil, and we all agreed, it needed more butter. 😉 Up to you.

VEGAN: To keep this vegan, use “egg replacer” or make flax eggs.

Gluten Free: You can make this gluten-free by using gluten-free bread or cornbread.

Mushroom Broth: Feel free to make your own mushroom broth- pour 1 ½ cups boiling water over ½ ounce dried mushrooms. Cover and let stand 30 minutes, until softened. Strain, add the soaked mushrooms (chop them first) to the bowl in step 5. Use the strained mushroom broth in step 6.

Nutrition

Serving Size: ¾ cup
Calories: 228
Sugar: 3 g
Sodium: 452.3 mg
Fat: 10.6 g
Saturated Fat: 1.7 g
Carbohydrates: 26.4 g
Fiber: 2.4 g
Protein: 6.8 g
Cholesterol: 15.5 mg