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Vegan "sausage" stuffing or dressing for your Thanksgiving celebration flavored with cranberries, spices, vegan sausage, and broth

Festive "Sausage" Stuffing with Cranberries

Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 1 hr 20 mins
Yield: 12 people

Description

Ingredients

  • 1 pound crusty Italian or French bread, torn into bite-size pieces (10 to 12 cups)
  • 2 cups fresh breadcrumbs from a crusty French or Italian loaf, a food processor fitted with the steel blade works well
  • 12 ounces frozen vegetarian sausage patties (Morning Star is our favorite brand)
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 medium onions, cut into medium dice
  • 2 medium celery stalks, cut into medium dice (about 1 cup)
  • 1 cup dried cranberries
  • 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
  • 1 teaspoon each: dried rubbed sage, dried thyme leaves, and chopped fennel seeds
  • 3/ 4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 2 1/2 cups vegetable broth, your choice
  • 2 tablespoons chia seeds

Instructions

  • Spread bread chunks in a single layer on a large, rimmed baking sheet and breadcrumbs on a small, rimmed baking sheet; let dry several hours or overnight. Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Bake bread cubes until toasty, 12 to 15 minutes. (Do not toast crumbs.) Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees.
  • Meanwhile, heat a splash of oil over medium-high heat in a 12-inch skillet; add sausages and cook, turning once, until crisp and brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove sausages from skillet, cool slightly, and then cut them into small dice. Return skillet to medium-high heat and add the oil. Add onions and celery; sauté until soft, 8 to 10 minutes. Mix bread, sausages, sautéed onions and celery, raisins, parsley, sage, thyme, fennel, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Whisk broth and chia seeds; let stand 5 minutes for chia to hydrate. Add to stuffing mixture and toss to coat.
  • Turn into a 3-quart greased baking dish (a 13- by 9-inch works well). Cover with foil and bake until steamy hot, about 30 minutes. Remove foil; continue to bake until top is crusty brown, about 10 minutes longer. Serve.