We never have leftovers when it comes to stuffing! This recipe is a family favorite that has evolved over the years to include an abundance of pecans and cranberries. We use a plant-based butter so it’s suitable for both the plant-based eaters and the meat eaters alike. You can cut up the bread the night before and leave it out so it get stale and holds up to the butter and stock that is mixed in.
What is poultry seasoning?
Poultry seasoning is a key ingredient in this Holiday Stuffing with Pecans and Cranberries. But what is poultry seasoning? It’s a combination of the following delicious dried spices.
- Dried sage
- Dried thyme
- Dried marjoram
- Dried rosemary
- Ground nutmeg
- Ground black pepper
If you don’t have any premixed poultry seasoning on hand you can just whip up your own using those spices. Sage is the most prominent with the others playing a more supporting roleÂ
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Important steps in making stuffing
There a few important steps in this recipe to make sure that the flavor really shines.Â
- Make sure your aromatics, the onions and celery are cut in similar size chunks and cooked well in the butter. This allows them to develop uniform flavor and texture.
- Ensure the bread has ample time to go stale. If the bread is fresh the stuffing will end up being mushy. If you are pressed for time, putting the bread in a warm oven for about 30 minutes should do the trick, just keep the temperature low.Â
- Make sure you give the spices time to cook so they coat the aromatics and the flavors really mix together.Â
- When you are mixing the ingredients in the bowl be sure to stir throughout. If you just pour the butter mixture or the stock on top, you’ll end up with some wet and mushy patches. Combining the ingredients while adding the wet ingredients slowly prevents this.
What goes well with this dish?
This is a wonderful dish for your holiday table, Here are a few other recipes we recommend to round out your celebration.
Holiday Stuffing with Pecans and Cranberries
Ingredients
- 1 cup onion diced
- 1 cup celery diced
- 1 cup plant-based butter
- 1 tbsp poultry seasoning
- 1 tsp sea salt or to taste
- 1.5 cup vegetable stock only one cup is needed if stuffing inside a bird
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries
- 1/2 cup pecans chopped
- 1 loaf whole wheat bread cubed and left to dry out - crust on
Instructions
- In a large pot or dutch oven, heat the butter until melted.
- Add in onions and celery and cook for 3 minutes.
- Add in poultry seasoning and cook for an additional 5 minutes, allowing the flavors to infuse into the butter. Remove from the heat.
- Put cubed, stale bread in a large bowl and drizzle butter mixture over the bread, stirring to ensure not soak and particular pieces.
- Drizzle the stock over the top of the bread in the same way, just a quarter of a cup at a time at most and mixing throughout the process.
- Add the chopped cranberries and chopped pecans and give the mixture a good final stir. Adjust seasoning, adding salt and pepper if needed.
- Cook stuffing in a covered dish in a 375 degree oven for 40 minutes, taking the lid off for the last 5 minutes to allow the top to crisp up. *if stuffing inside a bird, you may want to 1.5 this recipe so you have some cooking separately.
