Vegan Cauliflower Stuffing Recipe

My favorite thing about Thanksgiving is walking by the holiday table and seeing the full Thanksgiving dinner spread. So many well thought out recipes for one meal – sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole with caramelized onions, a side of cranberry sauce, and my all time favorite Thanksgiving side dish, stuffing. This stuffing has a healthy twist to it though.

I love the flavors of traditional Thanksgiving stuffing, however I wanted a low-carb stuffing with simple ingredients. After much recipe testing in the kitchen, I am thrilled to report back the end result – I have created a low-carb cauliflower stuffing packed with fresh vegetables and flavor.

The best part: Our Vegan Cauliflower Stuffing recipe is vegan, vegetarian, gluten free, dairy free, egg free, and low carb!

I love adding this amazing stuffing to my plate (next to traditional stuffing, of course!) as a way to keep the delicious traditional flavors but add in some vegetables. It’s a simple recipe that always impresses our guests.

Why do we only eat stuffing during the holiday time of the year? I dare you to serve this recipe outside of the traditional Thanksgiving meal and enjoy it year round.

Where’s the recipe?

Here at My Crazy Good Life, I have readers from all levels of comfort in the kitchen. Whether this is your first recipe or your 500th, you’ll find exactly what you need right here.

If you’re a new cook, you’ll want to read through the post below before you jump to the printable recipe. You’ll find ingredient information, detailed instructions, recipe tips, and even calculations for several different healthy eating plans.

Ingredients in Cauliflower Stuffing

• Minimally processed cooking oil
• Traditional seasonings: Garlic, rosemary, thyme, sage, black pepper, celery salt, and parsley. If I can find them, I like to use fresh herbs purchased in grocery stores. I find them more flavorful – fresh rosemary is always more noticeable than crushed rosemary.
• Onion Any color will do. Red onions are least inflammatory, so I often use them.
• Vegetable broth or stock: If you’re not on a vegan or vegetarian eating plan, you can use chicken broth to really get that poultry seasoning. If you’d like to make your own, this is my homemade version of chicken bone broth.
• Celery Is a great addition to the recipe and gives a big crunch!
• Carrots I love how filling these are, and they add color to your plate.
• Cauliflower The most versatile veggie there is, in my opinion! Be sure to wash your head of cauliflower before you cut into cauliflower florets and cook.

How to make this recipe in the Instant Pot:

Instructions for making this recipe other ways are below.

Time needed: 30 minutes

1. Prepare your pot – Turn the Instant Pot or other electric pressure cooker to Sauté. Add the oil to your pot and allow it to get hot.
2. Add flavor – Add your garlic, onions, and seasonings to the pot and sauté until the onions begin to caramelize, about 3 minutes.
3. Add broth and deglaze – Add the vegetable broth or stock to the pot. Stir the stock in with the onions to deglaze the pot (loosen the brown flavorful bits, called fond, from the bottom of the pot).
4. Add vegetables – Turn the Instant Pot off and add your vegetables–celery, carrots, and cauliflower. Mix the veggies and the seasoning well.
5. Cook the stuffing – Close the lid to your pot, lock it, and set your valve to Sealing. Set your cook time to 0 (yes, zero) minutes using the “steam” function.
6. Your pot will cook as it comes to pressure. When the timer goes off, immediately release the pressure (called Manual or Quick Release) by moving the valve from Sealing to Venting.
7. Stir and Enjoy – Stir the stuffing and transfer to a serving dish. Enjoy!

Make this cauliflower stuffing recipe using the stove and oven:

1. Preheat the oven to 425ºF.
2. Heat the oil (I use avocado or olive oil) in a large skillet over medium heat.
3. When the oil is warm, sauté the garlic, onions, and other seasonings until the onions begin to caramelize. This should take 3-5 minutes or so.
4. Add the vegetable stock to the skillet–just enough to deglaze the pan, or remove the dark brown pieces from the bottom of the pan.
5. Add the contents of the skillet and the celery, carrots, and cauliflower to a baking dish and stir well.
6. Cover the dish with foil and cook for 20-25 minutes or until the cauliflower is tender.

Crock Pot Instructions:

1. Heat the oil in a skillet on the stove.
2. When the oil is hot, sauté the garlic, onions, and all seasonings until the onions begin to caramelize, about 3-5 minutes.
3. Add the vegetable stock to the skillet. Stir the stock in with the onions to deglaze the pan, and be sure to scrape the bottom to loosen all the good flavorful parts.
4. Add the celery, carrots, and chopped cauliflower to the skillet. Mix the vegetables well so all the cauliflower is coated in seasonings.
5. Transfer the recipe to your slow cooker.
6. Cover with the lid and cook on low for 2-3 hours, or high for 1-2 hours. The bigger your cauliflower pieces are, the longer they will take to cook. (I advise checking in on your stuffing halfway through the cook time to make sure it’s not going to overcook).

Recipe tips

• If you’d like to use cauliflower rice for your stuffing, feel free to do so! I’d add the riced cauliflower after cooking and releasing pressure. After adding the riced cauliflower, stir well and close the lid for 1 minute to allow the cauliflower to warm.
• If in a hurry and making this in the oven, use a baking sheet to roast the veggies for a bit before adding them to a baking dish for the last 5-10 minutes.
• If you’d rather rice your cauliflower and other vegetables, use a food processor to process your veggies to the size you’d like.
• Wanting to add something sweet? Try adding dried cranberries to this dish just after you add the vegetables.
• If you have any remaining stuffing store it in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator. In my family, all stuffing is easily gone by the next day.

Healthy eating plans

21 Day Fix/Ultimate Portion Fix: For the entire recipe, the count is 9 green containers and 1 teaspoon. Each serving is 1.5 green containers.

This is a popular Weight Watchers Cauliflower Stuffing! It counts as a zero point food on blue, green, and purple plans. For the new 2023 plan, it’s still zero points.

For 2B Mindset, this is a perfect lunch or dinner. For lunch you’ll want to cover 50% of your plate with this or a mixture of other vegetables, add 25% protein, and 25% full fiber carbs. For dinner, you’re aiming for 75% vegetables and 25% protein.

More delicious cauliflower recipes

• 21 Day Fix Spanish Rice Recipe
• Weight Watchers Instant Pot Cauliflower Potato Salad
• Creamy Instant Pot Mashed Cauliflower Recipe
• 21 Day Fix Cauliflower Pizza

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Cauliflower Stuffing

Created by: Becca Ludlum

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 30 minutes mins

Servings 6 Servings

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This vegan cauliflower stuffing is going to help you stay on track with your healthy eating goals while still enjoying those traditional holiday flavors.

Equipment

• Instant Pot 6 qt
• Sealing Rings
• Kitchen Knife

Ingredients 

• ▢ 1 tsp avocado oil or olive
• ▢ 8 cloves garlic minced
• ▢ 4 tbsp rosemary fresh, chopped. 1 tsp dried
• ▢ 2 tbsp thyme fresh, 1/2 tsp dried
• ▢ 2 tsp sage ground
• ▢ 1 tsp pepper
• ▢ 2 tsp celery salt
• ▢ 2 tsp parsley
• ▢ 1 onion yellow, diced
• ▢ 1/2 cup vegetable broth low sodium
• ▢ 2 stalks celery diced
• ▢ 2 carrots peeled and diced
• ▢ 1 head cauliflower washed and chopped

Instructions

Instant Pot:

• Turn the Instant Pot to sauté mode. Add the oil and allow it to get hot.
• Sauté the garlic, onions, and seasoning until the onions start caramelizing, about 3-5 minutes.
• Add the vegetable broth or stock to the Instant Pot. Stir the stock in with the onions to deglaze the pot, and be sure to scrape the bottom to loosen all the good flavorful parts (called fond) that are stuck on.
• Next, turn off the Instant Pot and add the celery, carrots, and cauliflower. Mix the vegetables well so that all the cauliflower is coated with seasoning.
• Close the lid and turn the pressure valve to sealing. Cook the "stuffing" for 0 (zero) minutes using the "Steam" function. Release the pressure by opening the pressure valve and doing a quick release.
• Give the "stuffing" another quick stir then transfer to a serving dish.

Oven:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Heat the oil in a skillet on the stove.
• When the oil is hot, sauté the garlic, onions, and seasoning until the onions start caramelizing. This will take about 3-5 minutes.
• Add the vegetable stock to the skillet. Stir the stock in with the onions to deglaze the pan, and be sure to scrape the bottom to loosen all the good flavorful parts.
• Next add the celery, carrots, and cauliflower. Mix the vegetables well so that all the cauliflower is coated with seasoning.
• Transfer the "stuffing" to a baking pan. Cover with foil and cook for 20-25 minutes until the cauliflower is tender but not mushy.
• Remove the foil. Garnish and serve.

Slow cooker:

• Heat the oil in a skillet on the stove.
• When the oil is hot, sauté the garlic, onions, and seasoning until the onions start caramelizing. This will take about 3-5 minutes.
• Add the vegetable stock to the skillet. Stir the stock in with the onions to deglaze the pan, and be sure to scrape the bottom to loosen all the good flavorful parts.
• Next, add the celery, carrots, and cauliflower. Mix the vegetables well so that all the cauliflower is coated with seasoning.
• Transfer the "stuffing" to your slow cooker.
• Cover with the lid. Cook on low for 2-3 hours or high for 1-2 hours. The bigger the cauliflower pieces, the longer it will take to cook.

Video

Notes

 

21 Day Fix: Container Counts for 1 serving: 1 1/2 green containers

2B Mindset: Perfect vegetable option for any meal

Weight Watchers: Free on all plans

Nutrition

Calories: 60kcal | Carbohydrates: 11g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 444mg | Potassium: 456mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 3547IU | Vitamin C: 52mg | Calcium: 62mg | Iron: 1mg

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