Quick Vegetarian Christmas Stuffing

This easy vegetarian stuffing is a delicious festive recipe made using sage and onion, apple, cranberries, chestnuts and a fair amount of quality vegetarian sausages, which add flavour, substance as well as healthy protein.

Vegetarian stuffing ingredients

This quick and easy vegetarian Christmas stuffing is made using classic festive flavours including sage, onion, cranberries and chestnuts as well as apple and cider for added moisture.  It does contain some bread, but the main ingredient in this stuffing recipe are vegetarian sausages.  Good quality vegetarian sausages are delicious on their own but also make a great addition to stews, casseroles as well as stuffing.

For this recipe I chose ones with lots of herbs in them.  They add loads of flavour without the fat that sausage meat (the 'meaty' kind!) would usually contribute.  So all the other ingredients are simply added to further enhance the flavour and give this stuffing more of a Christmassy character.

Step-by-step recipe instructions

1.Start by preheating the oven to 375 F/ 190 C/ gas mark 5.

In a medium size pan fry the onion with the oil for 3-4 minutes, until softened, then add the cider, fruit, seasoning and continue cooking for 5 more minutes.

2. Briefly process the sausages, bread and ⅓ of the onion mixture until the stuffing becomes sticky, but is still quite lumpy.

3. Stir in the cheese and chestnuts and combine thoroughly.

4. Transfer the stuffing into a small casserole dish, arrange loosely so it has a rugged appearance (it will crisp up better), drizzle with a little oil and bake for 30 minutes.

5. Remove from the oven and serve.

Substitutions

• You can use either soft bread or bun, white or whole wheat.
• Instead of cider use white wine or vegetarian stock.
• I used mature cheddar cheese but you can use another strong hard cheese if desired.

Top tips

• Use good quality vegetarian sausages.
• Blitz the ingredients for a few seconds only, until they start coming together so that the stuffing is not overblended and pasty.
• Arrange the stuffing in the baking dish loosely, without smoothing out the top so that it has a bit of a rugged appearance which will crisp up nicely in the oven.
• Best served immediately.
• Freeze raw stuffing in the baking dish and bake from frozen.

Consistency and texture of vegetarian Christmas stuffing

If you are wondering about the texture of this healthy vegetarian stuffing, it's quite 'meaty', with lots of moisture in it (remember it contains apple as well as apple cider), and a bit of crunch from the chestnuts.  I added a little cheese as it's a great binding ingredient.  It also adds extra flavour and, due to its high fat content, helps to keep this vegetarian stuffing moist (vegetarian sausages tend to be low in fat).

As this is my final Christmas recipe of the year I would like to wish everyone a happy, peaceful and delicious Christmas!

I'll be back in a few days with a Christmas leftovers recipe (we are all bound to have some:)

Serving suggestions

This easy vegetarian stuffing is a delicious addition to a vegetarian Christmas dinner, perfect served alongside stuffed butternut squash or leek and mushroom pie.  You could also serve it instead of sausage meat stuffing alongside turkey, ham and other festive favourites. This stuffing is delicious with cranberry sauce, cranberry chutney as well as beetroot chutney.

You might also like

• Cauliflower Stuffing with Crispy Topping
• Stuffing Meatballs with Cranberries & Chestnuts
• Christmas Stuffing Casserole with Cranberries and Chestnuts

Keep in touch!

Have you made this festive vegetarian stuffing? I'd love to know how it turned out for you. Let me know in the comments below, thanks!

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Quick Vegetarian Christmas Stuffing

This easy vegetarian stuffing is a delicious festive recipe made using sage and onion, apple, cranberries, chestnuts and a fair amount of quality vegetarian sausages, which add flavour, substance as well as healthy protein.

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Course: Party Food, Side

Cuisine: International, vegetarian

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

Servings: 6 people

Calories: 303kcal

Author: Monika Dabrowski

Equipment

• ▢
  Food processor
• ▢
  Medium size frying pan
• ▢
  Medium size casserole dish

Ingredients

• ▢ 270 g (9.52 oz) vegetarian sausages chopped
• ▢ 50 g (1.76 oz) soft bread broken into small pieces
• ▢ 40 ml (3 tbsp) cider
• ▢ 1 medium apple
• ▢ 50 g (1.76 oz) dried cranberries
• ▢ 70 g (2.47 oz) chestnuts chopped
• ▢ 1 medium/large onion finely chopped
• ▢ 1 tsp dried sage
• ▢ ¼ tsp onion granules
• ▢ 40 g (1.41 oz) cheese mature cheddar or other strong cheese, coarsely grated
• ▢ 5-6 tbsp olive oil
• ▢ Sea salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 375 F/ 190 C/ gas mark 5. You will need a medium casserole dish.
• In a large frying pan heat up 1.5 tablespoons of the oil, add the onions and cook slowly for 2-3 minutes until softened. Add the cider, peeled, cored and finely cubed apple, cranberries, sage, onion granules, a bit of salt and a good pinch of pepper, and continue simmering for about 5 minutes, stirring often. Remove from the heat and cool a little.
• Place the sausages, bread pieces, 2 tablespoons of the oil and ⅓ of the onion mixture in a blender and process briefly until the mixture starts coming together and becoming sticky but is still very lumpy (this should take seconds).
• Place the mixture in a large bowl, add the cheese and chestnuts and stir to combine. Transfer the stuffing into your oven dish, drizzle with the remaining oil (about 2 tablespoons) and bake for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve.

Notes

• Use good quality vegetarian sausages.
• You can use either soft bread or bun, white or whole wheat.
• Process the ingredients for a few seconds only, until they start coming together so that the stuffing is not overblended and pasty.
• Arrange the stuffing in the baking dish loosely, without smoothing out the top so that it has a bit of a rugged appearance which will crisp up nicely in the oven.
• Best served immediately.
• Refrigerate leftovers for up to 3 days. Reheat in the microwave or in a frying pan with a little oil.
• Freeze raw stuffing in the baking dish and bake from frozen.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 303kcal | Carbohydrates: 27g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 7mg | Sodium: 571mg | Potassium: 137mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 12g | Vitamin A: 83IU | Vitamin C: 7mg | Calcium: 70mg | Iron: 3mg

*Nutritional information is automatically generated and should be considered as an estimate.

**A note about baking: If using a fan-assisted oven refer to your appliance's instructions and adjust the temperature accordingly.

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