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Stuff Yourself With Cornbread Stuffing

Tonight I’ve been busy making my vegan cornbread recipe. I’ll be using this recipe to make cornbread stuffing next week on Wednesday. I didn’t want to wait until then to share the recipe – in case you’d like to make this for your family for Thanksgiving like I am planning to do with mine!

The cornbread went perfect with a chili I made for my husband tonight. I’m not sure if there is anything more comforting on a cold night other than dipping fresh warm cornbread in hot chili over the stove… I pretty much ate my dinner standing up. Terrible I know…

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One thing, I’d like to share is what I won’t be making this year. Growing up, I remember stuffing from Pepperidge Farm all over every grocery store, sometimes even sold out days before Thanksgiving. This stuff is still around and you should stay far, far away from it! The name is so misleading – Just cause it says “farm” on the package and has a fancy label doesn’t make it more gourmet or natural than anything else. These are the ingredients –

Unbromated Unbleached Enriched Wheat Flour [Flour, Malted Barley Flour, Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamin Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Folic Acid], Vegetable Oils (Canola, Sunflower and/Or Soybean), Nonfat Milk, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Salt, Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Contain 2% Or Less of: Yeast, Spices, Calcium Propionate ( to Retard Spoilage), Onion Powder and Parsley

The cornbread I made tonight and the stuffing I am planning to make has ZERO of these ingredients. It’s amazing how processed this stuffing mix is, they contain all sorts of health sabotaging ingredients – High Fructose Corn Syrup (GMO REFINED SUGAR), Partially Hydrogenated Oil (TRANSFAT) and Preservatives (INFLAMMATORIES)! Yuck!

Choosing to use a pre-packaged stuffing mix like this is basically like saying to your family and friends “I give thanks to you – here’s to having a shorter disease filled life!”

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Why anyone would knowingly feed their family this stuff is beyond me. I guess that’s part of the problem, most people think this is just dried bread and spices assuming the best. You know what assuming does…Whenever you buy something prepackaged ALWAYS look at the ingredients so you know what you are buying.

It doesn’t take a chef to make stuffing from scratch, you just need to have the right ingredients and you are good to go. If you are short on time next week and need to cut out a step, you can get cornbread from your local natural food store or bakery in advance. There are options even for the time crunched and no excuse to feed processed garbage to your family and friends!

Ok onto the recipes…

The first thing you need to do is make the cornbread. You can make this a few days ahead. Apple cider vinegar mixed with the almond milk act as the buttermilk replacement (a wonderful vegan substitute!). Remember how awesome apple cider vinegar is for you from this post? Two powerhouse ingredients replacing traditional acidic dairy!  Yeah!  I also used spelt flour instead of traditional white flour, upping the nutrient content and fiber. Maple syrup instead of refined sugar and coconut oil instead of butter, too.

Food Babe's Vegan Cornbread
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Author:
Cuisine: Vegan
Serves: 10 - 12
Ingredients
  • 2 cups of yellow corn meal
  • 1 cup of spelt flour
  • 2 cups of unsweetened almond milk
  • 2 tsp of apple cider vinegar
  • 2 tsp of maple syrup
  • ⅓ cup of melted coconut oil
  • ½ tsp of sea salt
  • 2 tsp aluminum free baking powder
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, line a large (9×13) baking dish with parchment paper or coat bottom of pan with a small amount of coconut oil.
  2. In a bowl, whisk together the almond milk and vinegar
  3. Meanwhile, mix all dry ingredients in a large bowl
  4. Add melted coconut oil and maple syrup to almond milk mixture and stir rapidly for 2 minutes until a foam and bubbles start to develop (approximately 2 mins)
  5. Slowly combine dry and wet ingredients together and until mixed in large bowl
  6. Pour batter into baking dish and bake for 30-35 mins
Notes
Stays fresh in an air tight container for up to 3 days. Eat served warm right out of the oven or toasted again later. ***Please buy all organic ingredients if possible***

 

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And then when you have the cornbread done….you can make the stuffing. I plan on making this on Wednesday the day before Thanksgiving…

Food Babe's Vegan Cornbread Stuffing
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Author:
Recipe type: Vegan
Serves: 10
Ingredients
  • Food Babe’s Vegan Cornbread (recipe above) crumbled
  • 2 tbsp coconut oil
  • 1 large onion chopped
  • 2 tsp sea salt
  • 4 celery stalks diced
  • 4 garlic cloves minced
  • 2 tbsp fresh sage minced
  • 1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
  • ½ cup fresh parsley chopped
  • ½ cup unsweetened almond milk
  • ¼ cup dried apple juice sweetened cranberries (optional)
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, coat a large (9×13) baking dish with a small amount of coconut oil.
  2. Heat a skillet on the stove on medium heat with the 1 tbsp coconut oil
  3. Sautee onion for 5 mins or until tender, then add salt and celery for 3 mins, and then garlic for another 2 mins
  4. Add onion mixture to large baking dish and all other ingredients and stir to combine, brush the top with 1 tbsp melted coconut oil
  5. Bake stuffing for 30 – 40 mins until crispy on top
  6. Makes approximately 10-15 servings – Eat warm straight out of the oven or reheat later at 300 degrees for 15 mins.
Notes
***Please buy all organic ingredients if possible***

 

I’d love to hear about the recipes you plan on making for Thanksgiving!  Share them with me and the other Food Babe readers here or on my Facebook Wall.

Simply can’t wait to hear from you.

Happy Eating!

Food Babe

P.S. Next up – a “RAW” vegan stuffing recipe …  oh yeah… and it will knock your socks off!

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50 responses to “Stuff Yourself With Cornbread Stuffing

  1. I think the onion is missing from the list of ingredients. Is it just one whole onion? Thanks for the recipe!

    1. Good Catch!!!! Thank you! I think everyone would have totally figured it out looking at the directions!

      Thanks for stopping by and being my editor 🙂

  2. I would love to try this, but do you think I can use olive oil instead of cocounut oil and whole wheat flower instead of spelt?

    1. Yes of course – both substitutions work great! Enjoy! If you don’t care if it is Vegan or not – you could even use organic butter…. mmmmmm.

      Thanks for stopping by – Let me know how it turns out!

      1. Hi,, Just want to know if the corn bread is organic. if corn is not organic its GMO product.

      2. Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Cornmeal

        Bob’s participates in the NON-GMO project. He is slowing turning all his to Non-GMO

  3. I just made this to go with some veggie chili. I had no idea that vegan baked goods were so delicious! I will definitely be making this one again!

  4. I love that you give us so many great recipes, but I often struggle with how to “un-veganize” them? traditional cornbread has eggs. I get how to trade out the almond milk for regular and the oils could be butter but where are the eggs? I run into this problem on a lot of your wonderful recipes and since I’m not a great recipe converter it make me sad! LOL

  5. can you please tell us a recipe for stuffing? I don’t like corn bread…but I would like to make my own “good for you” stuffing, thank you!

  6. Was wondering what gluten free flour would work in the cornbread? I have celiac disease & I haven’t found a gluten free cornbread recipe that tastes as good as the original. Thanks so much for all you do!!!

    1. So, I realize that I am almost 8 years later replying, but just in case you haven’t found a really good certified GF cornbread mix or flour, you have to try Gluten Free Jules ! It is so good. I have used it every year to make GF cornbread for cornbread dressing at Thanksgiving. My husband has no idea it is gluten free, and I’m not telling 🙂 You can just google, GF Jules, and her website will pop up. I hope this helps.

  7. Can you confirm the size of the baking dish? The one in your picture looks like a square (like an 8 x 8 or 9 x9 ), but the recipe calls for the rectangular 9 x 13.

  8. I have a question about “aluminum free baking powder”– I read somewhere that it doesn’t have aluminum naturally and is misleading by putting that on the label. Can you dig more into that? Thanks! Love your site and have tried several things.

    1. I am not sure exactly how it works in relation to your exact question, but I have done several different experiments to determine the percentage of sodium bicarbonate (the chemical name for baking soda) that is actually in a typical box of baking soda using three different techniques (titration, gravimetric analysis, and spectrophotometry), and found that the kind that I used was composed of approximately 90% sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) and 10% aluminum. So, based off of this experiment and no other research or particular knowledge of how companies sell their baking soda, while pure baking soda contains no aluminum, boxes of baking soda sold in stores can contain it as an additive I suppose.

  9. You are awesome ! You’ve got guts ! I just recently discovered you and look forward everyday to reading your posts, recipes etc. I make a great stuffing with organic pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, garlic and other yummy stuff but, I recently decided to try eating gluten free. This cornbread will be the perfect substitute for the sourdough wheat bread I usually use ! I am a dog trainer / behaviorist and apply a similar “healthy eating” philosophy, such as yours to the feeding of my dogs (and myself of course). Thanks for your motivation and passion !! If you ever think about getting a dog, call me ! Dogheart

  10. Anything in moderation is great, however, over 80% of corn in the US is GMO and we naturally can not fully digest any corn non gmo or not, so is it worth it?

    FACT: http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20551987_9,00.html
    14 of the Best and Worst foods for digestion:
    WORST: CORN
    Fiber-rich corn is good for you, but it also contains cellulose, a type of fiber that humans can’t break down easily because we lack a necessary enzyme.

    Our evolutionary ancestors were probably able to break it down with bigger, stronger teeth, Anderson says. If you chew corn longer, you can probably digest it just fine, she says. But wolf it down and it may pass through you undigested, and cause gas and abdominal pain.

  11. Food Babe,
    I’ve heard that it is best to avoid corn of almost any kind – even organic and non-GMO – because of the mold that tends to be in corn. And, some say it is not 100% GF – that there are gluten like components to corn as well. What say you? So, consequently, I am no longer eating corn either – the list is getting slimmer and slimmer of what I can eat! This leaves out tacos and tortilla’s…..
    So sad.
    Martie

  12. I made the cornbread last night and I’m making the cornbread stuffing tonight. So far the cornbread tastes very coconut-y. I’m hoping my stuffing won’t!

  13. I just made the cornbread. I made it into muffins as I was looking for a substitute for ‘Jiffy’ cuz my hubby loves those. These muffins came out so dry and crumbly! They didn’t rise or get brown at all! I hate to throw them all out. What if I mash them all up and add a couple of eggs? This is so frustrating.

    1. Please don’t throw out food – 40% of all food grown, harvested, distributed, bought, prepared and served is thrown away. Crumbly cornbread can be toasted in the oven and used for a cereal with chosen milk. Cornbread can be made into stuffing, or give it to your dog or the neighbors’ dog. As a last resort put it in the dirt in your yard to feed the good bacteria in the soil. Corn Gluten Meal is being sold as fertilizer and weed seed sprouting preventer by the organic nurseries and suppliers.

      1. Please Do NOT give corn of any type to dogs it’s an intestinal disrupter and it irritates their gut and makes them sick, gassy and uncomfortable. This may sound gross but look at your dogs stool after eating corn, you may even see the blood and excess mucous that is caused by corn. My holistic vet said NO to corn. Dogs are not food dumpsters, they suffer too.
        Remember this, in general, never feed your animal what you couldn’t eat yourself…..always check first what food type animals can eat. Thank you.

  14. I tried this stuffing for Thanksgiving this year and it didn’t turn out that well. One bite would be flavorful and the next would be plain cornbread. Are you not supposed to use the entire batch of cornbread? I think it would have been better with less cornbread. Hoping my husband will let me try it again, but he was not impressed. 🙁

  15. I’m pretty sure most corn is GMO. Is that right? If so, it would be really important to use organic corn meal. Thanks for all you do to create a delicious and healthy world.

  16. If you want to read more true warnings about food (including corn) rather than false alarms, read Tomorrow’s Table by Pamela Ronald and Raoul Adamchak. This is an excellent resource written by an organic farmer and a professor of plant pathology is written “for those who wish to know about how the food they eat is grown.” What an eye-opener! An excellent exploration of organic farming and GE plants and the concerns expressed by critics and consumers.

      1. Sarah, Tomorrow’s Table is a book. It is available online through some universities, depending on whether or not you have a university password. (My son had to read it for a Sociology & Technology class. He then showed it to me because of my interest in healthy eating and informed opinions.) It is also available at Barnes & Noble for about $14. It is published by Oxford University Press.

  17. Check out Anson Mills for your corn meal/flours/rice/etc. You can find some of their products at the 7th Street Public Market in Charlotte (Uptown), or order their products online. They are milled from organic, heirloom grains. They are just down the road in Columbia. http://www.ansonmills.com

  18. I’m making the cornbread right now (Tuesday night) and will make the stuffing on Thursday. Should I leave it out so it gets “stale” for the cornbread or keep it all sealed up in a ziplock or container?

      1. It is really dense but good. I’ll be making the stuffing tomorrow! Hope it is good!

  19. I just made this cornbread with the addition of chopped mushrooms, otherwise, everything was exactly as written. It is delicious and moist! I had always been a fan of Pepperidge Farm Stuffing but since I have cleaned up my eating, it is a definite no. Thank you so much for this post and all of the other information you provide. No matter what anyone says, a clean diet is important, no matter what your genetics, environment, etc. We need to improve what we can and if we do it most of the time, eating fast food once in a while will not have as much of an impact. Eating clean, whole food, properly prepared goes a long way toward good/better health.

  20. The cornbread looks good but I don’t eat oil, flour, or any added salt or sugar. Otherwise, your book looks great. And I really appreciate all your hard work. I do have your book “Feeding You Lies”. Hope you and your cute family enjoy your holidays. LindaW

  21. I’ve made this stuffing for Thanksgiving the past 3 years, and unfortunately it’s dry as a bone. Every. Single. Time. The flavor is okay, but 1/2 cup of liquid just isn’t enough to make this moist and somewhat fluffy. I’m a big fan of stuffing, but even dousing it with gravy doesn’t help.

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