All the best flavors of Thanksgiving layered into this Vegan Thanksgiving Casserole make this dish tasty, beautiful and it’s ready to travel!
Vegan Thanksgiving Casserole|YourMomsVegan
If you like all your food stacked and smothered in gravy, this is going to make you very happy. If you’re one of those people who need all your foods to be separated and not touch each other, you probably would have clicked away by now, so thanks for staying. I don’t know what is more appealing to me…the stack of flavors or the ease of serving or the portability.
I first saw something like this posted by Rob Brazius on YouTube. His version was a bit different, but it got me thinking and this recipe was born. If you need a video to figure out how to layer, then check Rob out here.
You’re going to start with your favorite stuffing recipe. If you don’t have a favorite or haven’t ever made stuffing, follow my mom’s directions here. (Yep, my mom’s vegan and still making stuffing…she calls it dressing…at 88 years young.)
First, you’ll need dry bread cubes. You can cut up bread and dry it for several hours or put it in the oven for a short time. It should be completely dry. Like a cracker. We used gluten-free bread, some homemade and some store-bought. We like cornbread in our stuffing so I saved some from a batch and froze it for use in things like this.
Chop the onions and celery into small bits. I use this handy gadget to dice.
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Sauté the chopped onions in a hot, dry pan. Add splashes of veggie broth or water if they start to stick. Sauté until onions become translucent. Add celery and continue to cook until softened.
Add about a cup of broth and seasonings and simmer for a few minutes.
Pour the onion mix over the bread cubes and stir. Add more broth until all the bread cubes are wet and no dry bits are visible. It should be sticky, but not sloppy-wet. The amount of broth you use will depend on the types of bread you use and how dry they are.
Line a casserole dish with parchment paper if you plan to make this ahead and assemble at a later date. If you are making it to serve immediately you don’t need the parchment.
Spoon the stuffing mixture into the bottom of the casserole dish.
Bake at 350 degrees, uncovered, for 15 minutes. Cover (I used parchment covered with foil) and bake an additional 25 minutes.
If you are making this ahead of time and planning to assemble the casserole at a later date, let it cool slightly, lift out of the casserole and set on a wire rack to cool completely. Once cool, place in an airtight container and refrigerate or freeze until needed. I was able to cut it in half and stack one half on top of the other with parchment in between and it fit into a gallon-sized freezer bag. On the day of assembly, I took it out of the freezer bag and let it thaw in the casserole dish.
If you are making this for same-day assembly, remove from the oven and set aside.
Make the mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes and gravy.
I use Yukon Gold potatoes, cooked in the Instant Pot with a few cloves of garlic. Instructions for that will be in the recipe box notes.
I use the orange-fleshed sweet potatoes, cooked in the Instant Pot until very soft. Just pull the skin off and mash them until smooth and creamy. Salt if desired.
Use your favorite plant-based gravy recipe. Check out Brand New Vegan’s Best Ever Fat Free Vegan Gravy or use my recipe that is in the recipe box below.
I topped mine with cranberry sauce that my mom made from Brand New Vegan’s recipe: Sugar-Free Cranberry Sauce with Sweet Cherries
Here’s the layering instructions with pictures:
Pour about a cup or two of gravy over the stuffing.
Spread the sweet potatoes next.
Add the mashed potatoes.
Bake covered at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until hot and steamy. You can use an instant-read thermometer to check that it’s completely hot all the way through. Or if you’re like me…just stick your finger in it…ha ha!
To make this look even better you could run a torch flame over the potatoes to give them a golden look. Or try broiling for a few minutes? Each serving will be covered in gravy, so…it probably doesn’t matter too much.
If assembling this with cold ingredients (like the previously frozen stuffing and leftover mashed and sweet potatoes) it will take longer to bake.
- 8 cups bread cubes, dried (Can use a combination of breads, including corn bread)
- 2 cups chopped onions
- 2 cups chopped celery (Include some leaves if the stalks still have some)
- 1-2 tsp poultry seasoning (or a combination of thyme, sage, rosemary, marjoram, black pepper and nutmeg)
- 2 cups veggie broth
- 1/2 tsp salt optional
- 4 cups mashed sweet potatoes (about 2 - 2.5 lbs)
- 1/2-1 tsp salt optional
- 4 cups mashed potatoes (I use Yukon Gold, about 2.5 lbs)
- 1/4 cup plant milk or broth
- 1 Tbsp miso paste (Miso is salty, so you may not need additional salt)
- 1/2 tsp salt (optional)
- 3-4 cloves peeled garlic (optional)
- 4 cups veggie broth (Pacific brand has no oil)
- 1/2 cup flour (I use oat flour)
- 1-2 tsp poultry seasoning
- 1-2 tsp onion powder
- 1/2-1 tsp garlic powder
- 2-3 tsp tamari sauce (or soy sauce if it doesn't need to be gluten-free)
- 2-3 tsp miso paste
- 1-3 tsp Kitchen Bouquet (optional...it's just to add color)
- 1-2 tsp salt (optional)
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Cube bread and dry it out on the counter the day before or in the oven for a quick dry. It should be very dry. Like a cracker.
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Sauté onions until translucent. Add celery and continue to sauté until softened.
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Add poultry seasoning.
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Add about 1 cup of broth and simmer.
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Pour onion/celery mixture over bread cubes and stir. Add remaining broth in increments until all bread is saturated and no dry pieces remain. Allow to rest and absorb for a few minutes. Mix it and ensure there are no dry, hard pieces of bread.
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Scoop into a casserole dish (I used 9"x13") lined with parchment hanging over the sides if pre-making your stuffing and freezing.
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Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes uncovered. Cover and bake an additional 25 minutes.
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If pre-baking the stuffing to freeze, remove from oven, pull out using the parchment paper and place it on a wire rack to cool.
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If continuing to assemble the casserole, allow cooling enough to handle the casserole dish.
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Cook the sweet potatoes.
I use an Instant Pot for about 20-25 minutes, high pressure, depending on the size.
OR
Bake at 400 for about 30-40 minutes depending on the size.
Remove skins and mash. Add salt, if using.
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Peel if desired and cook the potatoes.
I use an Instant Pot for about 10 minutes, high pressure, depending on the size. You want them soft.
I add a few cloves of peeled garlic to the potatoes in the Instant Pot.
Mash with the plant milk or broth, miso and salt, if using.
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To a saucepan, add flour, poultry seasoning, onion powder, and garlic powder. Heat over low heat until the spices are aromatic.
Add broth, whisking to incorporate.
Add tamari and miso and whisk.
Bring to a low simmer and cook until it has thickened. Taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary. Add salt, if using.
Add Kitchen Bouquet, if using.
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If using previously frozen stuffing, place the frozen stuffing back into the casserole dish and let it thaw.
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Begin by pouring about a cup of gravy over the stuffing.
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Spoon sweet potatoes over the gravy. Spread into a smooth layer over all.
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Spoon mashed potatoes over the sweet potato layer. Spread into a smooth layer to the edges.
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Cover with parchment paper and then foil (or use a lid that fits the casserole dish).
Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until hot all the way through.
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Cut portions out by using a sturdy spatula. A flexible spatula is helpful to get the first portion lifted out.
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Serve with a topping of cranberry sauce and gravy.
This will be made, thank you😋😋
Let me know how you like it!
BRILLIANT IDEA!! THANK YOU!! This is the prefect dish to bring to share when the rest of the food being served is not WFPBNO.
Thank you! I agree…vegan Thanksgiving all in one convenient portable dish!
This looks AWESOME!!! Do you know if it could be made in a slow cooker once it is assembled, rather than baking it?
Thanks!
I’m not sure…but I’d say it’s worth a try! As long as it is on low so that it doesn’t end up burning the stuffing on the bottom. It might be a little difficult to get the portions out in a nice stack, but that may not be important to anyone but a blogger (for photos). I like the idea!
Ha! I just saw this in July 2020 🙂 Never hurts to plan ahead! Thank you for this one, Trish.
I regret naming it “Thanksgiving” only because it’s so good all year! It’s definetly comfort food. Let me know how you like it 🙂
This looks so good. I am definitely going to make this!
Let me know how you like it!
Perfect!!!
Thank you! Happy Thanksgiving!
This looks amazing I will make.this.for.my daughter for Christmas dinner. BTW your mama is correct. It is dressing-not stuffing. That’s what my mom called it, and so did we. Because you “dressed” the turkey! Lol.
Thank you! We (my mom and I) are making this for Thanksgiving. My mom already made the dressing layer (I’m liking that word much better!) and the gravy. Today I’m making the mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes and will put it all together. Truly a team effort! I hope your daughter enjoys it for Christmas! Happy Holidays!
I intended to make it exactly as written, but 2 cups of mushrooms I’d sautéed found their way into the dressing layer. Then I forgot to put gravy over the dressing layer. Everything else was the same as written.
I used parchment in the 9×13 inch pan, but it did get rather soggy. A little spray of oil on the pan may have been easier to serve. It was superb, all three of us loved it. I’ll be making this for the holidays for many years. My favorite thing, besides the taste and texture, was that I had so few pans to clean after the meal. I wish I had this recipe years ago to easily layer so many sides in one dish. Excellent and thank you.
The mushrooms sound like a really tasty addition! I’ve also forgotten the gravy layer before. We tend to always bake the stuffing ahead of time and then build the casserole the day before, so maybe that allows our stuffing to dry out a bit? I’m not sure about that. This year we made two casseroles. One with the garnet yams and one with the white sweet potatoes that my mom likes best. She said hers was really tasty, but she missed seeing the colorful layer. (the mashed potatoes and white sweet potatoes were very similar looking.) I hear you about the dishes! And I’m loving the leftovers! Thanks for your comment!
This sounds so good! I will definitely be making this!
Let me know how you like it! It’s one of my favorites now and not just for holidays. I love having portions in the freezer for a delicious comfort food dinner.
Kinda like Shepherds pie a little. Only call it turkey secrets…. yumm
When I click on Amazon to try to see what gadget you use, it does not take me to the gadget. Very frustrating.
I’m so sorry the link wasn’t working. I fixed it and it should be working now. Thank you for letting me know.
wow – there is a local restaurant that uses that same image for the exact casserole they serve for thanksgiving.
Seriously? What restaurant and location? I don’t mind them using my recipe and photo, but I hope they give me credit!
Does it freeze well after full assembly?
It does!
Sooooo good! Everyone loved it! This made my Thanksgiving meal perfect 😍 Happy Thanksgiving!
Thank you! So happy you all loved it!
Excellent recipe. We made this for Turkey Day and it was a big hit. My husband loved it. A keeper. Thanks for sharing.
I’m so glad to hear that it was a hit! Always good to hear that a husband loved it!
My husband made this for Thanksgiving and we’ve been eating the leftovers ever since. We loved it and will definitely make it again. I suggested adding lentils to the gravy for some protein. We thought it was a great addition. We did freeze some and already ate most of the frozen portions. So, so good!
Thanks for that suggestion to use lentils Mary. I also wanted to add protein. This was fabulous. We made it twice so far. It freezes well so it’s a quick serving of comfort food any time.
Hi Trish, this looks fabulous! We were thinking of adding plant-based sausage crumbles. At what step do you recommend adding them and what quantity?
Hi! I have added my homemade sausage crumbles before and I think I added them on top of the stuffing layer and poured the gravy over that. I can’t remember the exact quantity, but I do remember that it was small crumbles and maybe only about 1/2″ thick. I think it would even be okay to add the cooked sausage crumbles to the stuffing layer before pressing it into the pan and baking. Let me know what you ended up doing and how it turned out!
I made this today and it is delicious! The only change I made was to use my own mushroom gravy recipe in place of the gravy. I’m going to freeze some for Thanksgiving. So yummy!! Thank you for the recipe.
I’m so glad you like it! Mushroom gravy would be lovely on this…good swap!
I’ve been making this Vegan Thanksgiving Casserole every year since 2019, and it has become a staple in our holiday celebrations. Over the years, I’ve made a few modifications to suit our tastes and portion sizes. Since it’s just me and my husband now, I’ve started cutting the recipe in half, which still yields plenty of delicious leftovers!
What I absolutely love about this casserole is how easy it is to make ahead. I can prep it in stages, which really helps when things get busy around the holidays. The recipe comes together quickly, and it’s the perfect time-saver when you have so many other dishes to think about. The layers of flavors are perfectly balanced, and it’s always a hit at the table—whether it’s just the two of us or if we’re having guests.
If you’re looking for a comforting, easy-to-make dish for Thanksgiving (or anytime, really), this casserole is the one! It’s delicious, customizable, and a total crowd-pleaser. I highly recommend trying it!
Thanks for sharing this lovely review! We love it too and had it for Thanksgiving and then again the next day when more family arrived. Thanks again!