Traditional Potato and Bread Stuffing

One of the most basic of this type of recipe, traditional potato and bread stuffing is a holiday staple to serve as a side dish or to use as a filling for seasonal vegetables. Serve at the Thanksgiving table or as an everyday side dish, especially if you have odds and ends of bread to use up.

Any kind of potato: Most any kind of potato works — golden, red-skinned, russet, etc.. See the variation calling for swapping in  a sweet potato or two.

Starchy, carb-laden and so comforting, this stuffing takes the dish back to its roots. However, we won’t be stuffing it into anything that was once living!

Bake it in a casserole, or use it to stuff pre-baked butternut, acorn, or other winter squash; peppers; or back into the potato shells (leave a sturdy shell of about 1/4 inch) if using good-sized potatoes. There’s not much else to say, so let’s just get to it!

Yield: 6 to 8

Traditional Potato and Bread Stuffing

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One of the most basic of this type of recipe, traditional potato and bread stuffing is a holiday staple to serve as a side dish or to use as a filling for seasonal vegetables.

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes

Total Time 1 hour

Ingredients

• 6 to 8 medium potatoes (golden, red-skinned, and russet all work)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large onion (red or yellow), finely chopped
• 3 large or 4 medium celery stalks, diced
• 5 medium or 4 larger slices whole-grain bread, cut into 1/2-inch dice
• 1 cup unsweetened plant-based milk
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 2 teaspoons salt-free seasoning (like Mrs. Dash Table Blend)
• 1 to 3 teaspoons fresh seasonal herb (like sliced rosemary or sage leaves, sliced, or whole thyme leaves), optional
• Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
• Paprika for topping

Instructions

1. Bake or microwave the potatoes until fairly soft. This can be done ahead of time. 
2. Preheat the oven to 375º F.
3. Heat the oil in a medium skillet. Add the onion and sauté until translucent. Add the celery and continue to sauté until both are golden.
4. When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, peel, cut into chunks, and mash very coarsely with a potato masher or large fork in a large mixing bowl.
5. Add the onion and celery mixture, bread cubes, plant-based milk, parsley, seasoning, optional fresh herb. Stir together well. Season with salt and pepper and stir again. 
6. Transfer to a lightly oiled 1-quart casserole dish and sprinkle with paprika. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the top is golden and beginning to turn crusty.
7. To serve, simply scoop portions out of the casserole dish.

Notes

Variations 

• Use this to stuff pre-baked butternut, acorn, or other winter squash; bell peppers; or back into the potato shells (leave a sturdy shell of about 1/4 inch) if using good-sized potatoes. Bake as recommended.
• Swap in 1 or 2 medium sweet potatoes (also pre-baked or microwaved) for 2 to 3 of the potatoes. 

If you like this plant-based stuffing, here are lots more …

16+ Vegan Stuffings for Thanksgiving & Beyond