In the US, Thanksgiving is coming up soon so that means lots of friends, family, food and football! Last time we covered a main dish plant based alternative, but no thanksgiving meal would be complete without stuffing and gravy. Here are some great options to buy or make.
Grocery stores like Whole Foods carry plant-based packaged stuffing mix and they are all easy, quick and cruelty free. If you would like to make your own, here is an easy recipe with a couple of variations.
Basic Easy Stuffing – 6-8 servings, can be doubled or tripled
- 6 cups of cubed bread, whatever type you like
- 2 cups of cooked rice, white, brown or wild
- 1 large onion, diced
- 2 of each: stalks of celery, carrots and apples, diced
- 2 cups of mushroom or vegetable stock
- 1 Tbsp each: Thyme, Rosemary, Sage, Salt & Pepper
- 2 Tbsp of Olive Oil or Vegan butter
Directions:
- Heat oven to 350 degrees.
- Add oil or vegan butter to a large pan on medium heat. Add onion, celery, carrots and apples and all spices. Cook until soft (about 7-10 minutes). Mix in cooked rice and remove from heat.
- Place bread cubes in a large bowl and add onion mixture, and 1 ½ cups of stock. If mixture is dry add more stock. Taste and adjust seasoning.
- Place mixture in a lined or greased 9x13 pan and cover with tin foil.
- Cook for 35-40 minutes.
To make Cornbread Stuffing, use the above recipe and replace the bread with homemade or prepared cornbread.
To make Mushroom Stuffing, use the above recipe, add 2 cups of sliced mushrooms and use mushroom broth. Add the mushrooms to the pan when cooking onion mixture.
Again, many grocery stores offer plant based gravy mixes. Just add water and you are done. If you would like to make your own, here is an easy and delicious one:
Basic Turk’y Gravy, makes about 2 cups, can be doubled
- ¼ cup Vegan butter
- ¼ cup AP flour
- 2 cups Vegetable broth
- 1 tsp each: poultry seasoning (or ½ tsp each dried sage, thyme, rosemary), salt & pepper
Directions:
- In a saucepan over medium heat, melt butter, add spices and flour and stir until completely combined.
- Slowly add broth, stirring constantly until there are no lumps and gravy has thickened.
Easy Mushroom Gravy, makes about 2 cups, can be doubled
- 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
- 1 cup mushrooms, chopped finely (any type will work)
- ¼ cup of minced onion
- ¼ cup Vegan butter
- ¼ AP flour
- 2 ½ cups mushroom broth
- 1 tsp each: thyme, salt & pepper
Directions:
- Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat, add onions, mushrooms and spices. Cook until soft (about 7-10 minutes).
- Add butter and flour and mix until it is completely combined.
- Slowly add broth, stirring constantly until there are no lumps and gravy has thickened.