You’re going to love this traditional cornbread stuffing, now made gluten free and vegan! This classic dish deserves a place on your Thanksgiving table!
What’s your favorite part of the Thanksgiving meal? Mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, stuffing…or something else?
There are so many good things to eat on Thanksgiving, and thankfully, many of them can be made to accommodate many dietary needs and food allergies.
When I asked my Facebook followers what recipe they were struggling the most with for Thanksgiving, the answer was stuffing, mostly because if you have multiple food allergies, it’s really hard to find a safe bread. If you find a bread that’s gluten free, well, it probably contains eggs. Or else there’s a cross contamination issue with another allergen. It’s just really difficult to find store bought bread that works for everyone.
This cornbread stuffing is easy to make and just delicious. You make the cornbread, so you control what goes into that…the non-dairy milk, the brand of gluten free flour (or regular flour if you don’t need to be gluten free). Use your favorite yellow cornmeal that’s safe for your dietary needs. Then you will dry out the cornbread.
Once the cornbread is dry, you simply add celery, onions, vegan buttery spread, parsley, and broth. It all comes together to make a pan of delicious, comforting, cornbread stuffing. It’s the perfect side dish for Thanksgiving. Or any occasion, really!
This dressing is moist, flavorful, and has crispy, delicious edges. It has become one of my favorite recipes! I hope you’ll love it, too.
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Ingredient Notes
- Cornmeal – You need to use finely ground yellow cornmeal for best results. There are quite a few brands of this item out there, so be sure to find one that works for your particular needs.
- Flour – This recipe works with a gluten free flour blend, like my homemade blend, or if you don’t need to be gluten free, you can use white spelt flour or all-purpose flour.
- Non-Dairy Milk – Use a neutral tasting non-dairy milk that works for your dietary needs. You can try oat milk, rice milk, coconut milk, or soy milk. If you don’t have a plant based milk that works for you, water will be fine!
- Parsley – Flat leaf Italian parsley has a nice flavor in this dish, but you could use curly parsley as well.
Tips for Success
- After making the cornbread, you do need to let it dry out, so you’ll want to plan ahead for that. You can either let it dry out by leaving it uncovered for a day or so, or you can dry it in the oven at 200 degrees for about 90 minutes.
- If you need to make a double batch of this, you will want to use two pans so that the stuffing isn’t too soggy. The browned, crispy edges are the best part!
Serving Suggestions
Serve this stuffing with other delicious, traditional side dishes, like:
Storage/Freezing
Store leftover stuffing in the refrigerator. It should stay fresh for about 5 days.
You could also freeze leftovers. Store in a freezer safe container for up to 3 months.
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Recipe
Cornbread Stuffing (Vegan, Gluten Free).
Ingredients
For the cornbread:
- 6 Tablespoons vegan buttery spread melted
- 1½ cups yellow cornmeal
- 1 cup gluten free flour blend or regular all-purpose flour if you are not gluten free
- 3½ teaspoons baking powder
- 5 Tablespoons unsweetened applesauce
- 2 Tablespoons sugar
- 1¼ teaspoons salt
- 1⅛ cup non-dairy milk of your choice or water
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9×13 pan.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, gluten free flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder.
- Add the applesauce, vegan buttery spread, and non-dairy milk.
- Stir until combined, then pour into the prepared pan, smoothing out with a spoon.
- Bake at 350 degrees F for 20-24 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cornbread comes out clean. Once the cornbread is cool, slice into cubes. Set it out to dry on a cookie sheet for a day, or dry it out in the oven at 200 degrees for about 90 minutes.
- To make the stuffing: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
- Put the vegan buttery spread in a large skillet and melt it over medium low heat. Add the chopped onions and celery, and cook until they start to soften, about 10 minutes.
- Add half of the chopped parsley, broth, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low.
- Put the dried cornbread cubes into a 9×13 pan or casserole dish. Pour the broth mixture over the cornbread and mix together. Sprinkle the remaining parsley on top.
- Bake at 375 degrees F for 25-30 minutes, until the top is golden brown.
Susana
Made this for Thanksgiving and it was absolutely delicious!! So great in fact I’ve been asked to make it again for Christmas!! Will double the recipe this time 😉
Thank you for such a great recipe!
Kelly Roenicke
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for letting me know! Happy Holidays! :)
Malissa
Another hit! I’m practicing my Thanksgiving sides ahead of the holiday. This was fabulous and my whole family enjoyed. Can’t wait to make it again. Yum. Thank you!
Kelly Roenicke
So glad you enjoyed this recipe! Thanks for letting me know!
Laura
This was marvelous!!! I was invited to Thanksgiving dinner and asked to make a gluten-free, vegan, non-msg turkey dressing. I took this on as a challenge, found this recipe, and made it. I’m not gluten-free or vegan, so I purchased and “borrowed” ingredients. It was so good that I’d make it again in place of several family recipes I have — even if nobody else came to the party. Mmmmm. The key for me: right before putting it in the oven, look at the picture — have some of the cornbread cubes poking out the top. We didn’t have much in the way of leftovers, darn it!
Stacy
Made this for Friendsgiving. It was a hit for all involved, whether they were vegan or not! I’m making just the cornbread portion again today to go with a vegan chili. So good!
Kelly Roenicke
So glad you liked this, thank you for letting me know!
Peggy
I’m not vegan but have some food sensitivities that really limit my menu options. This recipe is a lifesaver. I made it for myself to take for Thanksgiving, but left the house without it. :( BUT – my husband ate some with me with leftovers and now he is asking me to make this for him every week or two. His mom used to make a similar one (hers was super runny tho) but she passed away a year ago. I never thought to try to make this for him because it wouldn’t be the same…but he loves it. Thanks so much.
PS how do you reheat it?
Kelly Roenicke
So glad you liked it! Thanks for letting me know! You can reheat in the microwave or in a pan on the stove.
Sharon
I make this regularly now, omitting buttery spread and adding corn and sage. Stuffing without sage?! Never. Thank you. I thought my stuffing days were over. Fyi, I use Bobs Red Mill cornbread mix.
Kelly Roenicke
So glad you like it! Your additions sound delicous!
Truth in Love Mama
I made this for Thanksgiving, and it was delicious! I made the cornbread 2 nights before and then assembled and baked it the night before. The only change I made was to use sage & thyme in place of the Italian seasoning. I drizzled a little extra broth on top Thanksgiving Day before heating it through because I prefer moist stuffing. It was even better than the night before! I’m so glad I made it ahead of time! The texture and flavor were spot on! Thank you so much for redeeming my favorite Thanksgiving side dish :)
I’ve made a few of your recipes so far and will be trying the dairy free shepherd’s pie this weekend! Thanks for everything!
Melissa
I’m so excited to try this! I’m making it today, for a thanksgiving side tomorrow ?
How long do I keep the broth mixture on low before pouring over the cornbread?
Melissa
I’m so excited to try this!! I’m making it for thanksgiving ?
How long do we keep the stuffing mixture on low before pouring over the cornbread?
Kelly Roenicke
Not too long, just bring it to a boil and reduce the heat to low, then get your pan of cornbread ready (so maybe a few minutes). Once that’s done, pour over the cornbread. I hope you love this recipe! :)
Melissa
Thank you!! It came out soooo good! I had leftovers today and it was still delicious :)
ChelseaT
K, I’m going to try this for my first vegan Thanksgiving! I’m scared!! Lol I’m used to my grandma’s recipe so i know this will be different. But I’m up for the challenge! ☺️
Kelly Roenicke
I hope you love it!
Naomi
Could I use coconut or almond flour for the gluten free flour? Any changes in ratio when doing this? Thank you!! Can’t wait to try this.
Kelly Roenicke
I don’t think those flours would work, they would result in a very dense, wet cornbread.
Amanda
I can’t wait to make this on Thanksgiving! I’m all about the make ahead stuff though, is this best day of or Can I make it the day before and throw in the oven to warm up when the turkey comes out!? Just trying to prep my game plan! Thanks! Love you’re site ❤️❤️
Kelly Roenicke
Yes, that should work just fine! Thanks for reading! :)
Jorien Bowens
Thank you!
Ana
Hello Kelly..it is a very good idea for the celebration and also corn is always perfect to use. The only thing that might confuse people who want to cook vegan is the chicken broth option…many people want to please their vegan friends and might not know that chicken broth is not allowed by vegans.
I love your site…
Ana
Kelly Roenicke
That’s a good point! Thank you for letting me know, I will make it clearer in the post.
Dee
I used your recipe for the stuffing at Thanksgiving. It was very good. My husband said it was good also. Thanks so much for such helpful recipes for dairy and wheat allergies. I also have been using the Earth Balance spread instead of margarine. Thanks for the recommendation. It is a good substitute.
Kelly Roenicke
Yay! I’m so happy you tried it and liked it!
Veronica
We made this for Thanksgiving and it turned out AMAZING! We would absolutely make this dish again for future events. Thanks for the wonderful recipes.
Kelly Roenicke
Yay! I’m so glad you liked this recipe! Thanks for letting me know!
Dee
What is a good vegan spread to use instead of butter? I have not found a good one yet. Thanks so much for the great recipes. They are such a great help to me. I am trying to cook for allergies and yet retain favorite foods for family.
Renee
I like Earth Balance soy-free.
Jennifer
I know for some reason that it’s not really 100% Vegan but Country crock(regular kind) is close enough to vegan for me and tastes sooooo good.
ChelseaT
Jennifer, Have you tried Earth Balance? It tastes amazing and is vegan. I also just tried the I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter- Vegan. It’s tasty as well ☺️