Crock Pot Stuffing takes my favorite classic stuffing recipe and turns it into an easy make ahead side dish. This stuffing is perfect to serve along side turkey dinner!
Once I started cooking my stuffing in my slow cooker, it’s the only way I make it now! Not only is it easy and delicious, it can be prepared up to 24 hours in advance making it the perfect side during a busy meal! Turkey dinner is a big undertaking so I try to plan ahead as much as I can both before the meal and on turkey day (I use this turkey dinner planner to keep everything in order).
When you walk into my kitchen a few hours before that golden turkey is out of the oven, you’ll see slow cookers and vegetable steamers all lined up on one side of the kitchen. I try to have all of the sides and accompaniments prepared ahead of time. I no longer boil my mashed potatoes, I make slow cooker mashed potatoes and I often have veggies like carrots and broccoli washed and sitting in the veggie steamer ready to go (and of course this Crock Pot stuffing)! When the turkey is ready, it comes out of the oven and literally the only thing I have to do is cook up the gravy while it rests.
I do have to make a confession… while I always make a ton of dishes for any turkey dinner including rolls, veggies, salads and all that other jazz that goes along with turkey the only thing I care about is the stuffing (and gravy). Truly, if I just had a big ol’ plate of stuffing, I’d be a happy camper (and I always ALWAYS take seconds of the stuffing).
The Best Bread for Stuffing
You can make delicious stuffing with ANY kind of bread from hot dog buns to leftover bagels or crusts of bread. To make perfect stuffing, you’ll need to ensure your bread cubes or crumbs are dry before beginning.
My personal favorite bread for stuffing is using half white sandwich bread and half brown sandwich bread and drying it myself. It gives the best texture and flavor allowing for the seasonings and celery/onion mixture flavor to really shine through.
My second choice is dried unseasoned bread cubes from the store. I prefer to add my own seasonings and control the sodium. (I use a homemade poultry seasoning).
How to Dry Bread for Stuffing
There are two ways I dry bread for stuffing:
1. Make day old bread: Cut your bread into cubes and leave it on the counter uncovered at least 24 hours (stirring occasionally).
2. Dry Bread Crumbs in the oven: Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Lay fresh bread cubes in a single layer and cook 25 minutes stirring half way or until dried. Ensure your bread doesn’t toast or brown.
An important note about adding the broth! You are going to add just enough broth to the cubes to moisten them. Depending on the type of bread you use your broth amount could vary by up to a cup or more! You want enough broth so that the cubes are moist but not mushy as the onions/celery and other add ins will also add a bit of moisture to the stuffing.
Cooks Tip: If you accidentally add too much liquid and your stuffing is too wet, don’t despair! Add in a couple of handfuls of dry bread cubes or store bought croutons. They’ll soak up any extra moisture creating the perfect consistency.
While I like a simple classic stuffing, if you’re more adventurous, you can most certainly add in whatever you’d like such as fresh or dried cranberries, fried mushrooms or even cooked sausage. Once you make this easy Crock Pot stuffing, it’ll definitely become your go to!
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon salt or to taste
- 2 teaspoons poultry seasoning store bought or homemade
- 2 medium yellow onions diced
- 2 cups sliced celery
- 6 cups dry white bread cubes *see note
- 6 cups dry brown bread cubes *see note
- ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
- 1 tablespoon fresh herbs or to taste, thyme, sage, rosemary ,optional
- 3 cups chicken broth plus an additional 1 cup if needed
- 2 eggs
Instructions
- Heat butter over medium heat until melted. Stir in poultry seasoning, black pepper and salt. Add celery & onions and cook until softened (do not brown). Cool completely.
- Place bread cubes in a large bowl. Add cooled celery and onion mixture, parsley and fresh herbs if using.
- Add chicken broth a little bit at a time just to moisten and gently stir. You may not need all of the broth (see note below). Stir in eggs.
- Cover and refrigerate overnight if making ahead of time.
- Grease a 5-6 qt slow cooker well. Place stuffing in the slow cooker and turn onto high for 30 minutes. Reduce temperature to low and cook an additional 3-4 hours or until hot and cooked through. If stuffing is done before your meal is ready it can remain on warm.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Side Dish
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excited to try this recipie this year, just curious if it would taste alright to add raisins to it? I love raisins in my stuffing!
Sure you can! Let us know how it goes!
Excited to try out this recipe! Just one question, what would be best to grease the crockpot with?
I use butter but oil or cooking spray will work too.
IF I add italian sausage would I brown it first or just put it into the crockpot raw?
I would cook it first Kris. Enjoy!
I have fresh sage, but couldn’t find any fresh parsley. Do I use 1 T fresh sage
and 1 T dried parsley? Help. I’m making it tomorrow.
Hi Donna, yes you will want to use 1 Tablespoon of sage (or thyme or rosemary) and 4 teaspoons of dried parsley. Enjoy!
Thanks for the quick response. Happy Thanksgiving!
What is the serving size i.e. one cup/1/2 cup?
It can vary based on the type of bread but approximately ½ to ¾ cup.
Hello, could I put together the day before and bake it the next day in the oven? What temp and how long? Thanks
I use this recipe for baked stuffing, either recipe can be prepared the day before.
Mama can I use the pre seasoned bagged bread crumbs? I live in the middle of nowhere and this is what I have available. Do I reduce the amount of herbs/spices you suggested?
Yes, the pre-seasoned will work just fine. Since they are seasoned with salt, you can mix all of the ingredients in this recipe except the salt and egg and have a taste and decide if you’d like to add more salt. Once it’s seasoned to your liking, stir in the eggs and cook as directed. Bagged cubes will absorb a little but more broth so you may need more than 3 cups, add a bit at a time until moist but not wet.
There is no need to reduce the herbs. Enjoy!
Is a regular size loaf of bread enough for 6 cups?
Yes, you’ll need approximately 1 slice per cup (or just slightly more).
I’m serving 17 people. How many loaves of bread do I need? Drying bread cubes myself.
I would suggest 1.5x the recipe (click print on the recipe and change the servings to 18 servings). You would need 9 cups of each type of bread for a total of 18 cups of bread. I generally account for about 1.25 slices of bread per cup as the cubes do shrink once they’ve dried.
Thanks for recipe.
I have a small old time crock pot that has no temperature selection. Will it take longer to cook then?
I think it should cook around the same time but to be safe you could start it to give a cook time of around 4-5 hours. If stuffing is done before your meal is ready it can remain on warm.
Hi, can I make this a few days ahead and freeze or would that be a bad idea?
This freezes great so that should work just fine!
Hi! I love your recipes! Do I use salted or unsalted butter for the crockpot stuffing recipe?
I use salted butter.
I have been making this for several years and we LOVE it. I’ve use homemade bread cubes and use store bought, it works great either way.
I’ve made this recipe in past years and it’s turned out amazing. This year I would like to make stuffing muffins for a potluck. What baking temps and time would you recommend?
Hi Mai, so glad you enjoyed this recipe. We have these delicious make ahead stuffing muffins that sounds perfect for the potluck!
Pleas disregard my previous question, I just saw your crockpot link for stuffing. Thank you!
Glad you found it! Happy cooking!
Is the broth low sodium or regular? Also, can I use dried herbs instead, and would it still be a tablespoon? Thank you!
I use regular broth. And absolutely you can use dried herbs. I would use 1 teaspoon total of dried herbs. Enjoy!
good recipes and ideas
I made this last year for my family and added sausage and it was a hit! Best stuffing I’ve ever had! We did have some of the sides and bottom pieces burn last year. Any idea how to avoid that for this year? They’ve already asked if I’d make it again (which is a miracle because my family hates every stuffing anyone has ever made previously)!
So glad you enjoyed it, Meagan! You can give it a little stir half way through to help prevent the side pieces from burning.
Two questions.
1 – Is it recommended to make ahead and just cook the day of? Or is it recommended to make same day as cooking, ideally?
2 – Should you stir several times it as it cooks or would that not give the crispy edges?
Thanks!
I love to make this on the day I am serving but you can prepare the day ahead and cook on the day of serving or you can reheat it in the crockpot, either will work just fine. If it’s chilled from the fridge, it may need a little bit of extra cooking time. I don’t stir it because then you get the nice crispy bits on the edges which are my favorite part.