Ciabatta Bread Vegetarian Dressing
Ciabatta bread, veggies, rosemary, and thyme make this vegetarian dressing a plant-based spin on the classic Thanksgiving side.
Servings: 6
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Ingredients
For the veggies:
- 3 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 cup carrots, peeled and cut into half moons
- 4 celery stalks, cut into half moons
- 1 leek, roughly chopped
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 1 tsp sea salt
- ¼ tsp pepper
- ½ tsp fresh thyme, minced (or ¼ tsp dried thyme)
- 1 tsp fresh rosemary, minced (or ½ tsp dried rosemary)
- 2 cups vegetable broth
For the bread:
- 10 cups ciabatta bread, cut to about ¾ inch cubes
- ½ tsp sea salt
- 3 Tbsp butter, cubed
Instructions
Cook the veggies
- In a large skillet, heat 2 Tbsp olive oil or butter for 30 seconds. Add the carrots and ½ tsp salt. Cook over medium heat for 2 min, then turn the heat down to low and cook for 3 more minutes.
- Now add the celery and leek to the skillet, followed by an additional ½ tsp salt, ¼ tsp pepper, and the last 1 Tbsp of olive oil. Toss it all together, turn the heat up to medium, and cook for 10 minutes, flipping the veggies occasionally.
- Now add the rosemary and thyme to the skillet, and cook for an additional 5 minutes over low heat. Veggies are done.
Prepare the bread
- While the veggies cook, cube the bread. Once cubed, spread the bread cubes on a cookie sheet, and bake for 10 minutes. (This will lightly toast the bread so it can stand up to the vegetable broth and veggie juices when we mix everything together.)
Mix together the bread and veggies
- To a large mixing bowl, add half of the bread cubes, followed by half of the cooked veggies and ½ cup of the frozen peas. Toss a few times with your hands.
- Now add the remaining half of the bread cubes, followed by the remaining cooked veggies and peas. Sprinkle the butter cubes and the last ½ tsp salt over the top, and toss again.
Add the vegetable broth
- Now slowly pour 1 cup vegetable broth over the bread/veggie mixture. With your hands and/or a spatula, carefully toss everything in the bowl together.
- Once the bread has soaked up the vegetable broth, pour the second cup of vegetable broth over the stuffing mixture. Toss again so the bread can soak up the second cup of vegetable broth.
- Once the bread has soaked up the majority of the vegetable broth, transfer the dressing mixture to an oiled 9x13 inch glass baking dish.
Bake the dressing
- Bake the dressing at 375 degrees for 22 minutes.
- Now take the baking dish out of the oven. With your spatula, toss the dressing so that the bread cubes that were on the bottom of the baking dish are now on the top. Don’t be too much of a perfectionist, just do your best to give some other bread cubes a chance to be at the top of the baking dish.
- Place the dressing back in the oven, and bake for another 10 minutes.
- Take the dressing out of the oven, toss the bread cubes, and bake for another 12 minutes.
The Final Toss (or two)
- Take the dressing out of the oven, and flip the bread cubes. Bake for an additional 10 minutes.
- The dressing is done at this point. Or, if you prefer a crispier dressing, toss once more, and bake for a final 5 minutes.
Serve and enjoy!
- Serve this vegetarian dressing with your other favorite Thanksgiving sides. I love to pair this dressing with my baked mashed potatoes (link in the notes below.)
Notes
This dressing is vegan if you substitute Earth Balance for the butter.
My Mashed Potato Bake with Mozzarella pairs perfectly with this dressing.
Disclaimer: if you prefer dressing/stuffing to be more on the coagulated bread side of the spectrum, this may not be the recipe for you. If you prefer your dressing/stuffing to have a bit more texture and separation between the bread and other dressing components, you've come to the right place.