As one of the most beloved Thanksgiving sides, I present to you … the BEST Gluten Free Cornbread Stuffing. This gluten free stuffing recipe is perfectly moist from vegan butter and homemade cashew cream. The flavors (and aroma) of fresh rosemary, sage, and fennel spice will have everyone ready to dig in!
Whether you make this for Thanksgiving or alongside a meal, this cornbread is the perfect side. It’s gluten free, dairy free, and absolutely delicious. No one will even know that it’s healthy!
If you’d like some soup to enjoy alongside this cornbread, check out my Vegan Broccoli ‘Cheese’ Soup. It’s creamy and ‘cheesy’ from homemade cashew cream and nutritional yeast. This soup is cozy comfort food with a healthy twist!
Ingredients in GF Cornbread Stuffing
Gluten Free Cornbread – The key to this stuffing is the BEST gluten free cornbread. It’s moist and makes for the perfect stuffing base. That being said, I’ve also made using Trader Joe’s gluten free boxed cornbread mix for a quicker option 🙂
Celery, Carrots, and Onions – Traditional mirepoix that add flavor and texture.
Vegan Butter – Helps create the traditional stuffing flavor while remaining 100% vegan. I love Earth Balance butter for their high quality ingredients. You can also use regular butter if you don’t need the recipe to be dairy free!
Rosemary, Sage, and Fennel Spice – Most might not realize this, but the traditional stuffing flavor comes from herbs and spices. Ground rosemary and sage plus the fennel spice creates the perfect warming blend for stuffing!
Cashew Cream – Homemade cashew cream keeps this gluten free stuffing extra moist and flavorful. You can make this by blending together ½ cup raw cashews and 1¾ cups water in high speed blender for 5 minutes. I haven’t tried this with any other substitutions, but would suggest nutpods vegan original creamer if I had to try an alternative!
How to Make Gluten Free Cornbread Stuffing
- Preheat oven to 350F and grease a 9″ x 9″ square pan with melted coconut oil or vegan butter.
- On the stove, melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions, celery, carrots, rosemary, sage, fennel seeds, salt, and black pepper. Saute until the onions are clear and vegetables have softened, about 4-5 minutes.
- Add cornbread and cashew cream and lightly stir together until evenly combined.
- Bake at 350F in the greased 9” x 9” square pan for 30 – 35 minutes. Broil for an additional 1 minute after baking to create a nice golden brown on top. Remove from the oven and serve immediately!
Gluten Free Cornbread
The key to great stuffing? A batch of *slightly dried out* gluten free cornbread. When baked fresh, this cornbread is absolutely moist and delicious. But for stuffing, I like to let it dry out for a few days and you’ll have the perfect texture for stuffing.
I suggest making a batch to enjoy fresh then a batch to prep for stuffing. Will guarantee an easy and delicious Thanksgiving!
How to Dry Cornbread for Stuffing
The best stuffing is always made with dry / stale bread. For this cornbread stuffing in particular, I suggest using the cornbread that was either:
- Made a few days ago / left out to dry
- Baked at 200F for 1-2 hours to help dry out the cut cornbread pieces.
Using dried cornbread creates the best texture, even better than traditional stuffing!
If you’re in need of additional Thanksgiving ideas, check out these delicious Fall inspired recipes:
This Maple Pecan Roasted Squash Salad would pair perfectly with the stuffing. Or for something different, try this Vegan Mushroom Stroganoff with stuffing sprinkled overtop or served alongside it.
If you try this recipe, please let me know by leaving a comment and rating in the boxes below! I always love to hear from you and it helps other people find this recipe when they search online for the BEST Gluten Free Cornbread Stuffing 🙂
Ingredients
- ½ cup vegan butter (I used Earth Balance)
- 1 cup onion diced medium fine (~1 heaping cup)
- 3 ea celery stalks diced medium fine (~1 heaping cup)
- 3 ea medium carrots diced medium fine (~1 heaping cup)
- ¼ tsp dried rosemary
- ½ tsp dried ground sage
- ½ tsp dried fennel seeds
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp ground black pepper
- 4 cups dried gluten free cornbread* cut into ½” cubes (~ ¼ of my cornbread recipe**)
- ½ cup cashew cream (blend together ½ cup raw cashews and 1¾ cups water in high speed blender for 5 minutes)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F and grease a 9" x 9" square pan with melted coconut oil or vegan butter.
- On the stove, melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Once melted, add onions, celery, carrots, rosemary, sage, fennel seeds, salt, and black pepper. Saute until onions are clear and celery/carrots have softened, about 4-5 minutes.
- Add cornbread cubes and cashew cream to the pan and stir together until combined.
- Move to the 9” x 9” square pan and bake at 350F for 30 minutes.
- Broil the cornbread for an additional 1 minute to get a nice golden brown on top.
Notes
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