Mushroom Stuffing
Nov 07, 2018, Updated Aug 27, 2025
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Stuffing is hands-down my favorite Thanksgiving side dish. A hearty, flavorful stuffing recipe that hits all of the seasonal flavor notes, my Vegetarian Mushroom Stuffing has been a mainstay for three decades.
While I’ve tweaked the recipe through those years, this version is one I can make with my eyes closed. But maybe not my arms tied behind my back, for obvious reasons. Whether I’m hosting Thanksgiving dinner at my house or going to a friend’s place, I am quick to make sure this vegetarian stuffing is on the table.
The Difference Between Stuffing & Dressing
Traditionally, it’s stuffing when the bread is cooked inside the Thanksgiving turkey. Dressing is baked in a separate dish, as is the preparation for this recipe.
These days, people tend to use the words dressing and stuffing interchangeably to describe the version of the side dish that’s made like a casserole. It’s not recommended by most food safety standards to bake the stuffing inside a raw turkey.
So, by technical standards, this stuffing recipe is actually a dressing. But I grew up with the stovetop variety, and that was never cooked inside anything other than a pot on the stovetop (hence the name). As such, I’ll keep calling it stuffing since that’s what I think a lot of us grew up saying.
Ingredients You’ll Need
This hearty stuffing recipe for vegetarians uses a mix of fresh vegetables, herbs and dried bread cubes to create a dish that’s a savory essential to Thanksgiving dinner. Here’s what you’ll need:
- Bread cubes – Start with a loaf of bakery-quality crusty bread and cut it into cubes for drying. You can use store-bought, dried cubes as an alternative.
- Mushrooms – Baby bella work well, as do cremini. Use a mix of wild mushrooms for an even earthier flavor.
- Onion, celery and garlic – Classic aromatics for fall dishes.
- Dried herbs & spices – Sage, thyme and rosemary, plus salt and pepper.
- Vegetable stock – Use store bought or a homemade vegetable stock.
- Eggs – These help bind the stuffing. Skip the eggs for a vegan dressing.
- Butter or olive oil – For sautéing and extra richness.
How to Make Vegetarian Mushroom Stuffing
Follow these step-by-step instructions to make the most flavorful mushroom stuffing.
Sauté the mushrooms. In a large Dutch oven, melt butter or heat olive oil. Add the mushrooms and cook for about 10 minutes, until they release their moisture and begin to brown.
Add onion and celery. Stir in diced onion and chopped celery, cooking until softened and fragrant.
Add garlic and spices. Stir in minced garlic and dried spices. Sauté for about 1 minute, just until the garlic becomes aromatic.
Combine with bread cubes. Remove the pot from the heat and fold in your dried bread cubes.
Add vegetable stock. Slowly pour in vegetable stock, reserving about ¼ cup. Mix until the bread is heavily moistened and all of the liquid is absorbed.
Whisk eggs into stock. Add 2 eggs into the remaining ¼ cup of stock and whisk together. Pour over the bread mixture and fold until everything is evenly coated.
Transfer to a baking dish. Spread the stuffing mixture evenly into a 9-inch by 13-inch baking dish. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake another 15 minutes, until the top is crispy and golden brown.
Recipe Suggestions & Make-Ahead Tips
Holiday cooking is all about timing. Luckily, this stuffing recipe is easy to prep in advance. Here are some tips and easy swaps:
- Dry the bread in advance: Oven dry bread cubes up to 48 hours ahead and store in an airtight container. Alternatively, you can cut a fresh loaf of crusty bread and let the cubes air dry on a baking sheet.
- Precut the vegetables: Chop mushrooms, onion and celery in advance. In fact, I often chop excess of each of these common ingredients, as they can mix into gravy recipes and other traditional Thanksgiving dishes.
- Bake it ahead: You can make this recipe, bake and cool completely a full day in advance. Cover with foil and store in the refrigerator. Bring it back to room temperature and reheat in the oven for serving.
- Make it gluten-free: Swap in your favorite sturdy gluten-free bread or dinner rolls.
- Go vegan: Swap the butter for half as much olive oil and skip the eggs. While the dressing won’t bind as well without the eggs, it will still have incredible Thanksgiving flavor.
Mushroom Stuffing
Ingredients
- 8 slices thick-cut rustic bread, about 10 cups, cut or torn into 1-inch cubes
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 4 cups baby bella, roughly chopped
- 1½ cups diced onion
- 2 cups chopped celery
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon dried sage
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 cups vegetable stock
- 2 large eggs
Instructions
To prepare bread cubes
- Spread bread cubes on a baking sheet and bake at 200 degrees F for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring once or twice, to dry them out. This can be done up to 48 hours in advance.*
To make mushroom stuffing
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a large Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot, melt 5 tablespoons of butter (reserve 1 tablespoon) over medium heat.
- Add chopped mushrooms and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, until softened and liquid as cooked out.
- Add diced onion and chopped celery to the pot, along with reserved 1 tablespoon butter. Cook for about 7 minutes, until vegetables are softened.
- Stir in garlic, sage, thyme, rosemary, salt and pepper. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes, until fragrant.
- Remove the pot from the heat. Fold in dried bread cubes.
- Pour in about 1¾ cup of the vegetable stock and stir until liquid is absorbed.
- Add remaining ¼ cup vegetable stock to a small bowl and crack in 2 large eggs. Whisk together, until combined.
- Fold the egg mixture into the stuffing mix.
- Transfer to a 9-inch by 13-inch baking dish.
- Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees F.
- Remove foil and bake for an additional 15 minutes, until top is golden and crispy.
- Let rest for at least 10 minutes. Serve.
Notes
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