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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I am not sure what the purpose is of adding the eggs, I have never made stuffing with eggs. Could you please send be back an e-mail with your answer, the recipe sounds delicious & would like to try it. Thanks so much.
It binds is just a little bit so it’s not quite so crumbly. It doesn’t make it sticky or eggy though. :)
What if you forget to pre-cook the onions and celery?
They may come out a little crunchy. :)
Can you use vegetable broth? Thanks
Sure you can!
Hands down the BEST stuffing I’ve ever put on our Thanksgiving dinner table!! Everyone raved about it. I share the link to the recipe on my FB page. I hope it makes the rounds a few hundred thousand times. It was that delicious. Thanks so much for creating it. 10 Stars; 5 doesn’t do it justice!!
Thank you so much Sandra! I’m glad the stuffing was such a hit at your Thanksgiving dinner. (Stuffing is my FAVORITE part of Thanksgiving dinner!)
Good afternoon,
I didn’t see a response to if the crock pot stuffing could be converted to use gluten free breads. If so, would the measurements remain the same?
Alternately, could a mixture of gluten free bread and gluten free corn bread be used?
Thanks,
I have only tried the recipe as written and don’t live a gluten free lifestyle so can’t say for sure. Maybe some other readers have some ideas to share.
I oven toasted 2 loaves of GF bread this morning to make the croutons for this, & it’s in the fridge now looking great. I personally wouldn’t have a mix of corn bread with other bread as I feel the cornbread would turn to mush if too wet or crumble if too dry
How do I convert this to cooking in the oven if I’m crunched on time?
Hi Jennifer, I cover and bake it about 30-35 minutes at 350°F or until heated through.
This sounds almost identical to my grandmother’s dressing but she added cornbread to hers. Can I omit the brown bread and use cornbread instead?
Cornbread would be delicious too Kathi!
This is exactly what I was thinking too! I may use cornbread and sourdough mixed instead of the sandwich bread. Thanks!!
Can I add a boneless turkey breast on top of the stuffing and cook together? Thanks
I haven’t tried it that way but it sounds delicious! I’d use a thermometer to ensure both your turkey and your stuffing reach 165°F. Let us know how it goes!
Can this be frozen
Yes, stuffing freezes well.
Thanks for sharing this!
I am going to try with this receipt with a bit my own twist! Love Turkey!
I am going to try making half of this. Anyone tried that? I think this recipe is brilliant
1
My whole family asked for this recipe after having made it for our Christmas celebration dinner. So good I won’t make any other stuffing. The mushrooms make this have an earthy flavor.
I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe!
I made this forThanksgiving this year…I used the same recipe and stuffed a 22 lb Turkey in addition to the crock pot! Only difference… I added abit more seasoning and I added dried cranberries. It was delicious… and we had stuffing left over for sandwiches! I’ll do it again and again! Actually doing it again for Christmas! PS… my turkey is always moist cuz I Roast it breast side down. The juices from the dark meat and the stuffing drip into the white meat and keep it moist. Not the best if you want a pretty presentation though!!!
Sounds delicious to cook it upside down… I’ll definitely have to give it a try one of these days!
Years ago mom mom told me to always cook “Tom” breast side down for far moister results AND she never stuffed the bird. Always baked it separate with a few slices of bacon on top. I’m trying your recipe for our Christmas Dinner. Thank you so much! From all the reviews I know it will be wonderful
The recipe looks great and I can’t wait to try it! I’ve been looking at various crock pot stuffing recipes and they all seem to call for egg, but my granddaughter has an egg allergy. Any thoughts on how it might turn out without the egg?
I think it would work just fine without egg! It’s very similar to baking it in the oven. Enjoy Carol!
Hello, this looks wonderful. Does this recipe fill a regular sized crockpot?
Yes, this fills a 6 qt slow cooker (a regular oval shaped slow cooker).
Made this for thanksgiving last night and everyone loved it! I used 2 bags of the big brand stuffing with the herb flavor and it was fantastic. Thank you for the recipe and happy holidays!
I’m so glad you loved it!! Happy Holidays to you and your family too!
I want to try this recipe and ended up getting the herb flavored cubes. If you use those does that mean the poultry herbs won’t be necessary?
hi there, it’s thanksgiving eve. i’ll make this close to midnight so it can go into the fridge before i go to sleep. i can hardly wait to try this recipe. i love collecting recipes, and storing them on my computer for future use. thanks for sharing your recipes.
i love collecting recipes and storing them on my desktop. i found this recipe and i can hardly wait to try it.
i make surer that i put in place the people who posted their recipes. thanks for posting this recipe.
yours truly, collette
Help! I am all geared up to make this dish and was planning to cook it fully before our thanksgiving feast tmw. I thought the recipe was to be made in the crock pot the night before- can I still do that or will the dish come out soggy? Thanks for your help, happy thanksgiving!
It should be fine if you refrigerate it overnight and cook tomorrow. Happy Thanksgiving!
Hi Holly! Happy,Thanksgiving! I wanted to give it a try tomorrow with stuffing in the crockpot. I was hoping to make it today though but have a question. My mom’s recipe has only water chestnuts and golden delicious apples, bread and butter and stock in it…. lol….sooooo yummers….can I cut my apples up today or are they going to get weird overnight?
I had to add a lot more broth, maybe 6 cups. But I bought seasoned dried bread.