This Vegan Croissant Sage Stuffing has all the delicious flavours of holiday stuffing you know and love; sage, garlic, onion, and thyme. Made with the buttery, flaky texture from the croissants that pairs perfectly with tender apples, celery and shallots.
You’ll never convince us that stuffing is not the best part of holiday dinners. It’s flavourful, forgiving, and hearty, this holiday dish is good we shouldn’t only be making it once or twice a year. When made right, stuffing is rich, moist, and savoury with a medley of delicious textures. This Vegan Croissant Sage Stuffing is all of the above and more.
Stuffing, but some call it dressing, is a combination of herbs and bread. Traditionally it’s stuffed into a turkey, but we’re keeping turkeys off our plates and baking ours in a dish in the oven. Typically it consists of onion, celery, spices and herbs like sage. Our vegan version is made with buttery croissants and baked in a ceramic dish.
With a crispy top and a buttery, pillow-y inside this vegan stuffing will be your new favourite holiday dish. Pair this dish with our Mushroom Wellington, Creamy Mashed Potatoes, and Everything Bagel Brussels Sprouts!
Top tips for making vegan stuffing:
- Make sure the croissants are vegan! Croissants are typically not vegan but we’re lucky enough to have access to ones that are. Vegan croissants can be found in Toronto at Farm Boy and Whole Foods.
- Use day-old bread. For the best stuffing its best to use day old bread so that it absorbs all the liquid and flavour you put into it. Day old bread ensures the stuffing is moist but not soggy.
- Tear, don’t cut the bread. Odd, torn pieces, as opposed to cut cubes or slices, create extra texture and surface area for browning. The jagged edges and little nooks are the perfect place for flavour to nestle into the stuffing.
- Use enough moister. A moist stuffing is key to a delicious stuffing experience. You may think you’re using too much, but we promise its not! Make sure there’s enough moisture so that there are no dry pieces of croissant.
- Compact the stuffing down. Press the stuffing into the baking dish for a delicious and scoop-able stuffing.
- Keep it covered for a moister stuffing. Because we’re not baking our stuffing in a turkey where the juices keep it moist, we have to work a little harder for a moist end result. Bake the stuffing in a ceramic pan covered with tin foil. Then for the last few minutes remove the foil and bake it until you get a crispy top.
- Use butter for a crispy top. For the ultimate crispy top, we bake our stuffing with little bit of plant based butter on top. It melts as the stuffing bakes and creates a beautiful golden brown topping.
About the ingredients:
Stuffing is all about the ingredients. It’s important to have a good balance of ingredients, flavours, and textures for the best vegan stuffing.
- Vegan Croissants – The heart of this recipe is a good vegan croissant. Obviously croissants aren’t easily accessible, but we get ours at Whole Foods and Farm Boy. Alternatively you can make your own vegan croissants from scratch; try this recipe from Sarah’s Vegan Kitchen.
- Shallots – Shallots are kind of like fancy onions. While onions can be used here we love the subtle umami and bright flavour you get from shallots.
- Red Apple – We use Honeycrisp Apples for our stuffing but you can use whatever apples you love. Keep in mind that some apples do not bake well, so you want to choose an apple that will hold its shape well when baked.
- Celery – Adds crunch along with its aromatic flavour.
- Vegetable Broth – Use a super flavourful vegetable broth, either store-bought or homemade, for a delicious stuffing.
- White Wine – A simple white wine helps bring this whole dish together.
- Seasonings – Thyme, sage, salt, pepper, garlic, and onion powder are classics for a reason!
- Vegan Butter – Adds to the buttery croissant flavour and creates a crispy, golden top.
How to make Vegan Croissant Sage Stuffing:
Vegan Croissant Sage Stuffing
Ingredients
- 850 g vegan croissants
- 50 g (2) shallots, diced
- 275 g (2) red apple, diced
- 150 g (2 stalks) celery, sliced
- ¾ cup vegetable broth
- ¼ cup white wine
- 3 tbsp ground sage
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- salt & pepper, to taste
- 1 tsp thyme
- 4 tbsp vegan butter, sliced
- fresh parsley, minced
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Tear or cut vegan croissants into bite sized pieces.
- To a bowl combine vegan croissants, red apple, and celery – toss to combine.
- Pour vegetable broth (starting with 1/2 cup) and white wine over croissant mixture and toss to coat. Each bread piece should have absorbed some of the moisture. If there are still dry pieces, add additional vegetable broth.
- Sprinkle with ground sage, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and thyme. Toss to coat.
- Press the mixture into a greased 9×9 baking dish. Top stuffing with butter slices and bake for 40-45 minutes until golden and crispy on top.
- Once baked sprinkle with fresh parsley and serve.