How to Make Vegetarian Stuffing for Thanksgiving

If you know how to prepare it properly, vegetarian stuffing can be every bit as moist, flavorful and delicious as stuffing cooked inside a Thanksgiving turkey. The trick to making vegetarian stuffing is to ensure that there's plenty of vegetable stock and fat in the recipe to keep it moist. You also need a glass casserole dish with a glass lid to properly make vegetarian stuffing for your Thanksgiving dinner.

Vegetarian Fats to Use in Thanksgiving Stuffing Recipes

You can use butter in vegetarian stuffing if you and your Thanksgiving guests are lacto vegetarians. However, there are healthier fats you can use in vegetarian stuffing. Extra virgin olive oil is one of the most nutritious vegetarian fats. However, any vegetable oil will do. There is also a wide range of margarines you could use, including regular and vegan margarines. For best results, use margarine cubes that are intended for cooking instead of tub margarine. Don't use light margarine in recipes, as it won't yield the same results. Use margarine that's free from hydrogenated oil such as Smart Balance or Promise or vegan margarine such as Earth Balance or Soy Garden. If you're working with a non-vegetarian stuffing recipe, you can substitute equal parts of margarine for the butter in your recipe, or substitute 7/8 cup of vegetable oil plus two tablespoons of liquid per cup of butter or margarine.

Making Vegetarian Stock

If you don't want to buy vegetarian stock or make it from a mix or cubes, you can prepare it from scratch. When making dishes for Thanksgiving, be sure to prepare your vegetable Thanksgiving dishes first before making your vegetarian stuffing. When you chop or peel vegetables such as onions, garlic, celery, carrots, green beans, sweet bell peppers or potatoes, save the peels and any parts of the vegetables you can't use in a recipe. If you won't make your stock right away, place the vegetable peelings and scraps into a plastic storage container or bag and stick them in the freezer. When you're ready to make the vegetarian stock, pour some filtered water into a large pot and bring it to a boil. Put in the vegetable peelings and scraps along with a bay leaf and some savory herbs such as parsley or thyme. Turn the heat down to low and allow the water to simmer for one hour. When the cooking process is complete, place a strainer or colander in a large bowl and pour the stock in, vegetable scraps and all. Remove the strainer from the bowl and discard the vegetable scraps.

Making Stuffing Healthier

Traditional Thanksgiving stuffing is typically made with white bread. However, you can make your stuffing much healthier simply by using whole grain products such as whole wheat bread, whole grain bread or corn bread in your stuffing recipes. Just substitute a whole grain bread for the white bread called for in your recipe. You can also add fruits and vegetables to vegetarian stuffing to make it more delicious and give it some pizazz. Add extra onion and celery to your recipe, or add mushrooms, green onions, bell peppers, potatoes, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, raisins, apples or dried cranberries to your stuffing recipe.

How to Cook Vegetarian Stuffing

For best results, vegetarian stuffing should be cooked on Thanksgiving day; however, you can make the bread crumbs ahead of time if you like. When you combine your vegetarian stuffing ingredients, check the stuffing to make sure that it's very moist but not excessively wet. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the stuffing in a glass casserole dish and bake it, covered, for about 45 minutes to an hour.

Free Vegetarian Thanksgiving Stuffing Recipes

There are many vegetarian stuffing recipes available online for free. You can use this vegetarian stuffing recipe with apples and walnuts with whole wheat bread to make a traditional-tasting Thanksgiving stuffing with a kick. For a delicious cornbread stuffing, try this vegetarian cornbread stuffing recipe on PassionateVegetarian.com.

You can find many more free vegetarian stuffing recipes on the Vegetarian Thanksgiving page of the AllRecipes.com website.

For more ideas, read Interesting Ways to Make Fresh Pumpkin for Thanksgiving and Thanksgiving Dinner: Healthy Side Dishes for Special Diets.