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Free up oven space when preparing your Holiday dinner with this delicious Slow Cooker Stuffing. Making stuffing in your crock pot will delight every stuffing lover sitting at your table with its tender and fragrant flavors.
Featured Comment
Made this the other day and it turned out perfectly! Will be perfect for Thanksgiving when there is no room in the oven.
– Crystal
If you are only going to make one side in the slow cooker for the holidays, making the stuffing in the slow cooker should be the top priority. The slow cooker keeps the stuffing very moist – no more dry stuffing. The flavors merry well and you can keep it warm while you prepare the other last minute items.
If you are looking for a short cut recipe see my easy recipe for slow cooker stove top stuffing.
Key Ingredients
Bread — You’ll need a loaf of both white and wheat bread turned into dried bread cubes.
Broth — Low sodium turkey or chicken broth (or chicken stock) is best, but vegetable broth could be used as well. Homemade chicken broth is also a wonderful option. You can use leftover slow cooker chicken stock.
Eggs — Two large eggs, beaten, will act as a binder.
Butter — To control the salt content and taste, we used unsalted butter.
Produce — fresh celery, onions, and garlic provide the aromatic base of flavor.
Herbs and seasonings — Fresh rosemary, sage, thyme, and parsley along with salt, black pepper, and poultry seasoning are what will bring the recipe together giving this homemade stuffing the rich, comforting taste everyone loves.
How to Make Slow Cooker Stuffing
- Dry the bread cubes ahead so they soak up flavor.
- Sauté onion, celery, butter, garlic, herbs, and spices, then combine with eggs and broth.
- Cook until steamy and tender, adding a little extra broth if you want it moister.
Sarah’s Tips & Variations
Add Meat: You can add one cup of cooked sausage (mild Italian or Jimmy Dean). Or add 3 cups of cubed chicken or turkey, a rotisserie chicken works well.
Store Bought Bread Cubes: You’ll want approximately 14 cups of dry bread cubes. Look for a bread cube mixture containing both wheat and white bread.
Bouillon Cubes: If you don’t have enough broth, bouillon cubes could be used, but you may need to adjust the amount of salt in the recipe.
Other additions: You can add sauteed leeks or mushrooms. Chestnuts or dried cranberries, make this as you like!
Watch the Pot: Check the edges hourly if your slow cooker runs hot; scrape down if browning.
Can I brown my Stuffing?
The slow cooker itself will not brown the stuffing, though the edges may get toasty. If you want to put the slow cooker insert in the oven (without the lid), you can do so. BUT, most inserts are only safe in the oven up to 400°F (Do Not Broil). You can toast up the topping in the oven for about 10 minutes (400°F), though be sure to check with your manual on your slow cooker for the warmest temperature allowed.
What to Serve with Stuffing
For mains, pair stuffing with a Ham Dinner or Slow Cooker Turkey Breast.
Round out the plate with Slow Cooker Green Bean Casserole or Slow Cooker Brussels Sprouts, plus a bright Slow Cooker Cranberry Sauce.
For a sweet-savory touch, add Slow Cooker Pineapple Casserole or Slow Cooker Candied Yams.
How to store and reheat:
Cool completely, then pack into airtight containers—refrigerate up to 4 days or freeze up to 3 months.
Place any leftovers in a baking dish (or casserole dish) and drizzle with a bit of melted butter or a few tablespoons of broth. Cover and bake in the a 325°F oven for 20 minutes or until heated through. Or microwave in short bursts, don’t over heat.
Slow Cooker Stuffing Recipe (From Scratch)
Ingredients
- 14 cups cubed bread , (see recipe notes below on kind of bread)
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 3 cups diced onion, approximately 2 large onions
- 2 cups diced celery
- 4 cloves of garlic, minced or pressed through a garlic press
- 1 ½ tsp. salt, plus more to taste
- 1 tsp. black pepper
- 1 Tbsp. poultry seasoning
- 2 tsp. fresh rosemary (finely minced), (or 1½ tsp. dried)
- 2 tsp. fresh sage (finely minced, (or 1 tsp. dried)
- 1 Tbsp. fresh thyme, remove woody any woody stems (or 1 tsp. dried)
- ¼ cup fresh parsley, (or 1 Tbsp. dried)
- 2 ½ – 3 ½ cups of chicken or turkey broth
- 2 large eggs, beaten
Instructions
Prepare cubed Bread:
- Start the day before by cutting the bread into cubes. You can do either of the following methods to dry them out:
- Method One: Lay them on sheet pans and let them dry overnight. Be sure not to overcrowd the pans so that the bread gets dry. You want the bread to dry out for a full 24 hours.
- Method Two: Heat oven to 275 degrees F. Place the bread on sheet pans in a single layer and cook for 25 – 30 minutes. Mix the bread around on the sheet pans to ensure everything dries evenly. Check the bread oven to ensure it does not toast and is just drying out. Remove from the oven. You can either use this right away or do it the day before and allow them to cool and store in an airtight container.
Make the stuffing:
- Heat 4 tablespoons of butter over medium heat until melted.
- Add the celery and onions to the pan and cook on medium-high heat until they are softened.
- Next add the rest of the butter, garlic, salt, pepper, poultry seasoning, fresh herbs, and parsley to the pan and cook for 1 minute.
- To a 6-quart slow cooker, add all the bread cubes (14 cups, reserve any extra just in case things get too moist). Add two cups of broth, beaten eggs, and the celery/onion mixture to the slow cooker. With a large spatula carefully combine everything in the slow cooker.
- Cook on high for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes switch to the low setting and cook for another 3 -4 hours. I recommend checking on the mixture after about 2 hours to see if it needs additional broth. Add more broth as needed if you want a moister texture. Try only adding ½ cup at a time.
- Once cooked you can leave the stuffing on warm until you are ready to serve. Check seasonings and add additional salt and pepper if needed
Sarah’s Notes
recommend reserving the extra just in case you add too much broth, then you mix in the extra cubed-up bread to help create the texture you are looking for in your
stuffing. Stuffing too dry? Melt more butter and drizzle over the stuffing. Stir gently. Stuffing too wet? Cube up a few slices of sandwich bread and stir gently into stuffing mixture. Let the extra bread soak up the extra moisture.
Nutrition
Nutrition info is auto-generated. This information is an estimate; if you are on a special diet, please use your own calculations.
More Slow Cooker Recipes with Stuffing
Try Whole Chicken with Stuffing, Slow Cooker Chicken and Stuffing, and Turkey Meatloaf with Stove-top Stuffing for classic, cozy flavors.
For a creamy or savory spin, make Chicken Cordon Blue Casserole or Lipton Onion Meatloaf.
I need to make double this amount. I have a 10-qt slow cooker. Do I just double all the ingredients? How do I adjust the time? Thank you
The time will most likey be the same. Just need the liquid to be very hot before adding the stuffing.
Made this the other day and it turned out perfectly! Will be perfect for Thanksgiving when there is no room in the oven.
Can I make this the day before?
I’m unsure if the results would be as good if you did that, I apologize.
I am enjoying your website both for content and how smoothly it responds.
I usually make a cornbread dressing (we Southerns usually call it dressing if it is not inside the bird) or I make a mixture of both. Will your recipe work well if I replace the bread with all or part cornbread? Should I change anything else in the ingredients or method?
I think it would do fine with corn bread as long as you dried out the cubes first.
When I jumped to the recipe to print it out, the recipe does not show how much bread is needed like it does in the step by step instructions.
I fixed it, thank you!
Can I double this recipe
It’s hard to say without testing it. I’m unsure if the egg would cook in the middle.
I usually put 4 oz of bulk pork sausage. Could you use that in this recipe and maybe cut back on butter?
Yeah, I think that would work great.