The Best Crock Pot Stuffing – Quick Facts
- Ready in: 2 hours, 5 minutes
- Serves: 14
- Key Ingredients: Butter, mushrooms, sourdough bread, and dried herbs
- Origin: There are a lot of dishes being made on Thanksgiving. So I developed this recipe in an effort to free up some oven space while still getting a family favorite on the table.
I’m usually cooking for a crowd on Thanksgiving, so enlisting the help of my trusty 8 Quart Slow Cooker is one of the helpful tools I use to get it all done.
Key Ingredients & Substitutions
Be sure to see the recipe card below for a full listing of ingredients, instructions, and estimated nutritional information.
- Butter: Make this dairy-free by swapping this for a plant-based butter like MiYoko’s.
- Bread: We used day-old sourdough bread. Save time by buying pre-dried bread or use a gluten-free bread to make gluten-free crock pot stuffing.
- Mushrooms: These little guys soak up all the savory flavors in this dish and add the best texture. But feel free to omit if they’re not your thing.
- Broth: Chicken stock, turkey broth, or vegetable broth will all work great.
How To Make Crock Pot Stuffing
Step 1: Cook mushrooms for 3-5 minutes.
Step 2: Add bread cubes, celery, onion, mushrooms, and seasonings in slow cooker.
Step 3: Pour in 1/2 a cup of broth at a time followed by melted butter. Mixture should be damp, but not soggy.
Step 4: Secure lid and let cook on high for 45 minutes, dropping the temp to low for 1 hour.
The best bread for stuffing
Cube your bread a day in advanced and let it sit out overnight. This creates more structure in the bread to help it keep its shape while still absorbing all of the stuffing flavors.
Crock Pot Stuffing Variations
- crock pot stuffing with sausage – After you sauté the mushrooms, sauté the sausage and add it in during step 2. If using seasoned sausage, adjust the other seasoning amounts as needed and reduce the amount of salt added to 1 tsp.
- Crock pot stuffing with boxed mix – Follow the directions listed on the boxed mix and add in the prepared stuffing into the crock pot, adding mushrooms, celery, and onion. Use the seasoning packet included or swap it out for the seasonings listed.
- Gluten free crock pot stuffing – Use gluten-free bread.
- Vegetarian crock pot stuffing – Use vegetable broth instead of turkey or chicken broth.
- Crock pot stuffing no eggs – This is a naturally egg-free recipe!
Recipe FAQs
Cook stuffing cooks on high for 45 minutes and on low for 1 hour.
What is the difference between stuffing and dressing?
Stuffing is traditionally cooked in the cavity of the turkey while dressing is cooked in it’s own dish. Both result in delicious tasting stuffing, just with different cooking methods.
Is it better to make crock pot stuffing the night before?
You can make stuffing in advance and then reheat it in the crock pot if needed.
No. This is a looser stuffing that doesn’t require the binding effects of eggs.
Because the crock pot captures moister, crock pot stuffing is usually more moist than other stuffing recipes. But to avoid any dryness, stir the stuffing half way through cooking so that the outer edges don’t dry out and add more broth as needed.
Other Thanksgiving Stuffing Recipes
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Ingredients
- 5 tablespoons butter, divided (regular or vegan)
- 1 teaspoon garlic, minced
- 2 cups baby bella mushrooms, sliced (OPTIONAL)
- 1 cup oyster mushrooms, sliced (OPTIONAL)
- 13-14 cups sourdough bread, cubed (dried and left out the night before to dry)*
- 1 cup celery, minced (about 3 stalks)
- 2/3 cup yellow onion, minced
- 1 1/2 teaspoons celery salt
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 3 tablespoons ground sage
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley leaves
- 2 tablespoons dried rosemary, crush in hands
- 2 teaspoons dried thyme leaves
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried tarragon
- 1 teaspoon dried marjoram
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
- 1 1/4 cup chicken broth, or turkey broth
Instructions
- Cook Mushrooms (if using): Bring a large cast iron skillet to medium-high heat and add 2 tablespoons of butter; let melt and swirl to coat the pan. Add garlic and move around pan until it becomes fragrant, approx. 30 seconds. Add mushrooms and sauté until they soften, approx. 3-5 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Crock Pot: Spray inside of the slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray. Place dry sourdough bread cubes, celery, onion, mushrooms, celery salt, garlic powder, ground sage, parsley, rosemary, thyme, salt, pepper, tarragon, marjoram and oregano inside. Toss to combine.
- Broth: Pour 1/2 cup of broth at a time over the mixture, stirring it in well. Continue adding broth until bread is moist (but not super soggy). You may not need to use ALL the broth. Taste and adjust any seasoning, as desired.
- Butter: Melt the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter and pour evenly over top.
- Cook: Secure the lid on top and cook on the high setting for 45 minutes. Drop to low setting for 1 hour. Keep on warm setting for 2-3 hours.
- Serve: Enjoy with our Turkey Giblet Gravy at your holiday table!
Notes
- Mushrooms: these are completely optional. If you aren’t using, simply add the garlic right to the slow cooker along with all the other ingredients.
- *Bread Type: we love the flavor of sourdough here, but feel free to use any types of bread you want.
- Drying out bread: If you forgot to leave your bread out overnight, you can also dry it out in the oven. Place cubed bread on baking sheets and place in oven at 250 degrees. Let dry out for approx. 1 hour or so or so of cook time, stirring occasionally.
- Dairy Free: simply use a plant-based butter.
- Prep Time: I only included active prep time in the listed prep time. I didn’t include the time necessary to dry out the cubed bread.
- Texture: since this is cooked in the slow cooker and water doesn’t have a chance to really cook off, the resulting texture of this stuffing is very moist and soft (think: stuffing that cooks inside a turkey). If you are looking for stuffing with that crispier top you might want to try our Best Ever Stuffing (baked in the oven). That being said, I know lots of people who LOVE a soft, moist stuffing – then this is for you!
Liz says
This recipe was a lifesaver! I desperately needed more space in the oven and this was the perfect way to do it while still getting great tasting stuffing on the table.