The Kitchen Docs

This Vegetarian Mushroom and Croissant Bake with kale and fresh herbs is savory, buttery, and completely delicious.  Bite size pieces of buttery croissants, earthy mushrooms, warm herbs, vegetable broth and cheese make this recipe hard to pass on at the dinner table.

Thanksgiving is in T minus 2 days. A week full of food prep, getting the house in order and preparing for hosting a gathering over everything happy. Does that sound familiar? If it does, then I am sure so do the nerves that come with it. I read somewhere that if you have not attempted to cook much do not host a thanksgiving meal. Which is sadly true, there are expectations attached with this meal and I would say rightfully so. We can definitely make it easier by making recipes that are tried and tested, and pack a major flavor punch. So forget about that stuffing out of a box, this recipe of Vegetarian Mushroom and Croissant Bake.

Stuffing or not?

I am intentionally not calling this a stuffing though in all reality, it is! I tend to ignore a recipe all year round if its labeled to be made around a festival. Does that happen to you? Pull out your stuffing recipe only around thanksgiving? Na ah! This is a vegetarian mushroom and croissant bake. SO, you can make it all year long. For your Sunday brunch (hello Easter), a lazy rainy day side dish, and hell yeah – a snack casserole for a football party!

I made this for our Friendsgiving party (along with this) and I have already gotten requests for the recipe from friends who ate it that day. Please excuse me while I do a happy dance. Nothing makes me happier than feeding people and when the food that I cook makes them happy, my life is made, people!

This vegetarian mushroom and croissant recipe was meant to be. I was looking for a vegetarian stuffing without using any kind of lentils (this was on the menu) or soy products. I opted for the next best “meaty” option – mushrooms! The idea came from some notes I had jotted down about a similar recipe from a book that I got from my local library.

Recipe run down:

This “bake” recipe does not have a lot going on unlike a traditional stuffing that usually has pork sausage, carrots, onions, celery, apples, parsley, and dried herbs etc. Croissants are pretty much as fancy as this recipe gets, rich, toasted and buttery croissants. Rest is just onions, garlic, celery, mushrooms and kale and a good, wide bottomed skillet. Some broth, eggs and cheese and that’s it!! Use store bought croissants from the bakery section and baby bellas (my favorite mushrooms, more recipes here and here). The only thing I would recommend not compromising on is fresh herbs. The herbs add a ton of flavor but if you cannot find fresh herbs, don’t fret and use dried herbs (see notes). I prepped this casserole ahead of time and put it in the refrigerator. Baked it when the guests were about come. Feel free to do that if you need to.

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Vegetarian Mushroom and Croissant Bake

This Vegetarian Mushroom and Croissant Bake with kale and fresh herbs is savory, buttery, and completely delicious. Bite size pieces of buttery croissants, earthy mushrooms, warm herbs, vegetable broth and cheese make this recipe hard to pass on at the dinner table.

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American

Keyword Bake, Mushroom, Stuffing, Thanksgiving, Vegetarian

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes

Servings 6

Author Vaishali Sharda

Ingredients

• 12 regular size croissants torn little bit bigger than bite sized pieces
• 4 tablespoons salted butter divided (2+2)
• 1 small onion chopped
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 2 celery stalks chopped
• 8 oz baby bella mushrooms chopped into large chunks
• Salt and black pepper to taste
• 3 stalks of kale stalks removed and leaves roughly chopped
• 2 tablespoons fresh chopped thyme
• 1 tablespoon fresh chopped rosemary
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 2 eggs beaten
• 1 cup shredded cheese I used Gouda, see notes

Instructions

1. Start by preheating the oven to 350 degrees F/177 degrees C. Grease a casserole dish (I used a 9X13 inch).
2. Set a heavy bottomed large skillet on medium high heat and add 2 tablespoon butter. When the butter is melted, add the onions, garlic, mushrooms and celery. Season with salt and pepper and cook until the the moisture has evaporated and the mushrooms have caramelized, 8-10 minutes.
3. While the mushrooms are cooking, add the torn croissants in the greased baking dish, transfer to the oven and bake for 5-8 minutes, until the croissants are golden and lightly toasted.

4. Lower the heat under the skillet to medium, add rest of the butter, kale, thyme, and rosemary. Cook, stirring occasionally until the kale has wilted, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.

5. Take the croissants out of the oven and add the mushroom and kale mixture to the baking dish with croissants. Gently mix.
6. In a glass measuring cup or a bowl, whisk together broth and the eggs. Add a little bit of salt and lots of fresh ground black pepper.
7. Add the liquid to the baking dish and top evenly with shredded cheese. (See notes)
8. Cover the dish with foil and bake for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, remove the foil and bake for another 5-7 or until golden on top. Serve warm.

Recipe Notes

Use 1.5 teaspoon dried thyme and 1 teaspoon dried rosemary if you do not have fresh herbs

After adding the wet ingredients to the croissant and veggie mix, feel free to add a little more broth (1/4 cup at a time) until the mixture looks “wet”.

You can prep the dish ahead and store in the refrigerator for up to a day. Bring to room temperature and then proceed to bake.

If you cannot find baby bella mushrooms, you can use other wild mushrooms.

We love Gouda cheese but if you have another favorite, feel free to use it. Gruyere or Provolone will work really well.

If you make this recipe, be sure to tag your photo #thekitchendocs.