All of your favorite Thanksgiving side dishes cook together in this easy & time-saving Thanksgiving Casserole! Made in dump & bake style, this vegetarian dish is versatile, rich, savory, and topped with gravy and cranberry sauce.
Have you ever wanted to enjoy the flavors and ingredients of a Thanksgiving meal, just without all the effort? I definitely have, and that's why I set out to make a casserole that encompasses the best that Thanksgiving has to offer.
I'm calling it simply: Thanksgiving Casserole. This is a sort of dump & bake casserole because the sweet potatoes bake in the casserole instead of pre-boiling.
Looking for more traditional vegetarian casseroles? Try my vegetarian corn casserole, cheesy baked orzo, or vegan tater tot green bean casserole instead.
I polled my readers on Instagram about ingredients that a vegetarian Thanksgiving should always have, then considered my personal favorites. Here's the result:
- Green beans
- Sweet potato
- Stuffing
- Herbs
- Sausage (vegetarian, in this instance)
- French fried onions
- Nuts (almonds, walnuts, or pecans)
- Parmesan (for that cheesy savory factor)
- Vegetarian brown gravy (for topping)
- Cranberry sauce (also for topping, but entirely optional)
I wavered between tossing everything in a cream sauce like a classic casserole (think green bean casserole) and letting everything meld together with cheese. I opted for the second option, because the ingredients are already very rich and savory on their own.
Jump to:
Why this recipe works
- Thanksgiving flavors: Rich, herby, savory, salty, carb-heavy. All the things you expect from a Thanksgiving meal, but in one casserole!
- Versatile: Not a fan of sweet potatoes? Use Russets instead. Want a vegan casserole? I have swaps for that!
- Relatively low effort: This recipe is perfect if you don't have Thanksgiving plans but still want to make a Thanksgiving meal without making 10 different casseroles. It is ready from start to finish in about 1 hour.
Ingredients and swaps
- Sweet potato: I use one large red/orange sweet potato or two small. I leave the skin on but you can peel it if you prefer. An equal amount of regular potato also works, as does butternut squash.
- Green beans: Trim into 1-inch pieces.
- Bread: I buy a "fancy" loaf of bread from the bakery section. Slice into 1-inch cubes. While baking, the bread softens in some places and becomes crispy in others, just like stuffing.
- Sausage: I use either my homemade Italian-Seasoned Tofu Crumbles or Impossible sausage, but Beyond or even Tofurky works well.
- Herbs: Poultry seasoning, sage, rosemary, and thyme are what give this casserole that true Thanksgiving vibe. I use dry herbs out of convenience, but dry herbs can be replaced with 3 times the amount of fresh herbs. For example, replace ½ teaspoon dry sage with 1 ½ teaspoons freshly chopped sage.
- Parmesan: Traditional Parmesan is not vegetarian, so if this matters to you make sure to check for "vegetarian rennet" in the ingredients list. Asiago is also a good option, and vegan Parmesan is another swap.
- Almonds: I also think pecans and walnuts work well here. This can be omitted, if needed.
- Shallot: Like a more compact onion. This can be replaced with ½ of a yellow onion, if needed.
- French Fried onions: A true Thanksgiving classic, thanks to green bean casserole.
Step-by-step instructions
- Add the diced sweet potato, cubed bread, green beans, seasonings, and butter to a 9x13-inch baking dish. Add ¾ cup of vegetable broth. Cover tightly with foil, an oven-safe lid, or an upside-down baking sheet.
- Bake at 375F for 25 minutes. Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add butter or a drizzle of olive oil.
- Once melted, add the shallot, almonds, garlic, and vegetarian sausage. Saute until the sausage is cooked through, about 4-6 minutes.
- Remove the casserole from the oven. The sweet potatoes should be softened. If not, return to the oven for 5 minutes (covered). Otherwise, stir in the sausage mix. Top with the French fried onions and shredded Parmesan. Bake for an additional 5-10 minutes, or until the cheese is golden.
Make it your own
One of the best parts of Thanksgiving cooking is that we all have our favorite Thanksgiving dishes. I want you to make this casserole your own, so here are a few easy swaps:
- Make it vegan: Use vegan Parmesan in place of vegetarian Parmesan.
- Add different vegetables: Try out sliced Brussel sprouts or broccoli florets in place of or in addition to green beans, or add sliced carrots.
- Make it gluten-free: Use your favorite gluten-free bread in place of the loaf of bread. The fried onions will need to be omitted or replaced.
- Swap out the proteins: There are plenty of delicious vegetarian protein options these days. Try sliced meatless turkey cutlets (cook according to package instructions) or even sliced Tofurky roast (also cook based on package instructions.) And if you're not vegetarian, you can add any type of protein you like.
- Switch up the sauce: I make both cranberry sauce and gravy because Thanksgiving is all about going overboard, but you can do either/or.
- Homemade tofu sausage: Use my recipe for Italian-seasoned tofu crumbles in place of Impossible sausage for a more cost-effective and even more flavorful option. I add the mushrooms to the pan at the same time as the tofu, and add the almonds at the same time as the Italian seasonings.
Storage notes
- Leftovers: Best within 3-4 days. Keep covered and refrigerated.
- Reheating: Reheats well in the microwave. To reheat the entire baking dish, cover tightly with foil and bake at 350F for 15-20 minutes, or until hot throughout.
More Thanksgiving favorites
Did you try this recipe? You can leave a star rating in the recipe card or a review in the comments below. Or check out my cookbook and keep up to date with my YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, or newsletter!
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Thanksgiving Casserole (Dump & Bake)
Make this Thanksgiving casserole next time you're craving Thanksgiving dinner but don't want to make a lot of different recipes. This dish has it all and is very versatile, so you can make it your own.
Equipment
- 9x13 inch baking dish with lid, foil, or upside-down sheet pan
Ingredients
For the Casserole
- ¾ cup vegetable broth
- 12 ounces green beans trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
- 4 cups one-inch cubes of bread from a nice loaf of bread
- 1 large sweet potato ½-inch cubes
- 3 tablespoons butter divided
- ½ teaspoon each thyme, sage, poultry seasoning, onion powder, garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 8 ounces baby bella mushrooms roughly chopped
- 7 ounces meatless sausage see notes for options
- 1 medium shallot roughly chopped
- 3 cloves garlic roughly chopped
- ⅓ cup sliced almonds pecans or walnuts also work
- ½-1 cup shredded Parmesan
- 1 cup French fried onions
For the Gravy
- 1 tablespoon corn starch
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1 cup vegetable broth
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 1 tablespoon tamari or soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 teaspon dry thyme
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
For the Cranberry Sauce
- 2 cups fresh cranberries
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup water
- pinch of cinnamon and nutmeg
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375F. Add ¾ cup vegetable broth to a kettle or pot on the stove. Bring to a boil, then remove from heat.
- Add the green beans, cubed bread, diced sweet potato, 2 tablespoons of butter, thyme, sage, poultry seasoning, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper to a 9x13-inch baking dish. Carefully add the vegetable broth. Stir to combine.
- Cover tightly with foil, an oven-safe lid, or an upside-down baking sheet. Bake at 375F for 25 minutes.
- Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter or a drizzle of olive oil. Once melted, add the mushrooms, sausage, and shallot. Saute until the sausage is browned, about 4-6 minutes.
- Add in the garlic and almonds, sauteing until toasted, just a few minutes.
- Remove the casserole from the oven and stir. The sweet potato should be fork tender. If not, return the lid and bake for an additional 5 minutes.
- Stir in the ingredients from the skillet. Top with Parmesan then fried onions. Bake for an additional 5-10 minutes, or until the cheese is golden.
- Meanwhile, make the gravy. Start by whisking together 1 tablespoon water with 1 tablespoon corn starch in a small pot, then add the remaining gravy ingredients. Simmer over medium-low heat until thickened, about 10 minutes.
- Make the cranberry sauce by adding the cranberries, sugar, water, cinnamon, and nutmeg to a medium pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a gentle simmer. Simmer until the cranberries have burst, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat.
- Serve the Thanksgiving Casserole with gravy and cranberry sauce. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Sausage: I use spicy Impossible sausage, Beyond hot Italian style, or homemade Italian-seasoned tofu crumbles. If using the tofu recipe, start cooking it at step 4 at the same time as the mushrooms. It will take 15-20 minutes. The sausage recipe includes shallot, so you do not need to add the extra shallot from this recipe.
- Parmesan: Traditional Parmesan is not vegetarian, so if this matters to you make sure to check for "vegetarian rennet" in the ingredients list. Asiago is also a good option, and vegan Parmesan is another swap.
- Swap out the proteins: There are plenty of delicious vegetarian protein options these days. Try sliced meatless turkey cutlets (cook according to package instructions) or even sliced Tofurky roast (also cook based on package instructions.
- The gravy and cranberry sauce are optional. The gravy and cranberry sauce recipes make about 1 cup each. The recipes can be cut in half, as needed.
- Leftovers: Best within 3-4 days. Keep covered and refrigerated.
- Reheating: Reheats well in the microwave. To reheat the entire baking dish, cover tightly with foil and bake at 350F for 15-20 minutes, or until hot throughout.
Did you make this?I love hearing how it went! Leave a review or tag me on Instagram @cozypeachkitchen so I can see your creations!
Ingrid says
THE BEST DISH OF ALL TIME! This is the second year making this dish and it’s delicious. It wraps up all the favorite Thanksgiving flavors. It is an easy dish to make and doesn’t take long at all. Beautifully crafted! This will be part of Thanksgiving forever!
Cassidy Reeser, MS, RD says
Woohooo! That is the best compliment you could give one of my recipes, thank you Ingrid!! 🙂
Stephanie says
Can you prepare the recipe and cook it the next day and if so, how many days before would you suggest?
Really looking forward to making this! I'm a nurse and my daughter is working so we are going to have are own little dinner 🥧🦃
Cassidy Reeser, MS, RD says
Most of the components can be prepared in advance, then just combined and baked day of. Here’s what I would do: Cube the bread, and trim green beans up to 2 days in advance. I don’t recommend doing the sweet potato in advance as it can dry out in the fridge. The mushrooms, sausage, and almonds can be sautéed 2-3 days in advance. Just keep this separate and add it to the other ingredients (bread, green beans, sweet potatoes) when it’s called for in the recipe.
The cranberry sauce can be made 2-3 days in advance. The gravy should be fine to make in advance, it’ll just thicken up in the fridge so may need to add some broth. With all of this you should be able to just dump & bake! I hope then helps! Happy Thanksgiving.
Victoria Hall says
What would be a good swap out for mushrooms?
Cassidy Reeser, MS, RD says
The mushrooms are added for their flavor, so you can omit them entirely, but I think sliced leek would go well in the dish instead!
Deborah Wright says
This receipe is delicious! I've made it 3xs. Made the following changes the 2nd time: used canned green beans; sauted the chopped sweet potato in olive oil to soften; used a box of prepared stuffing mix instead of bread so only used half the herbs; and, added less than half of the broth. Thinking of using this receipe for Thanksgiving instead of the traditional way.
Cassidy Reeser says
Those are great modifications and I love that you are enjoying it year round. Good to know that it works with prepared stuffing mix because I'm sure someone will want to try that shortcut on a busy Thanksgiving day!
N says
Turned out nicely. I didn’t add mushrooms because I don’t really like them, and it still turned out well.
Cassidy Reeser says
Happy to hear it! Thanks for the review!
Peggy Dean says
I can't wait to try this! Do you think I could assemble the casserole (minus the sausage) earlier in the day and bake it later? I wonder if you would need to add extra time in the oven since it will have to be refrigerated after assembling it.
Cassidy Reeser says
I do think it could be assembled in advance with everything except for the vegetable broth, fried onions, and Parmesan. I think you could get away with adding the mushrooms & sausage part at the same time as the uncooked sweet potatoes. If you're wary about the sausage you can add it later (I'm not 100% with how the texture will be affected if it's added that early)
Because the recipe uses boiling broth, I would just add that before you put it in the oven. Maybe add an extra 2-3 minutes. Then you can stir in the sausage at the same time as the cheese and fried onions. Enjoy! Would love to hear if you end up trying it this way!
Peggy says
I opted to assemble and bake per the recipe (I used vegetarian turkey cutlets). This recipe is on our repeat list now! It is so delicious! I think I will substitute broccoli or brussel sprouts for the green beans next time. Thanks for all the great recipes you post!
Cassidy Reeser says
Wonderful! I bet it was so good with the veg turkey. Happy Thanksgiving!