Slow Cooker Thanksgiving Stuffing
Thanksgiving stuffing is my favorite part of the meal and it always seems to be the first dish to disappear. So this recipe makes a ton of stuffing in a slow cooker, leaving your oven available for all the other dishes needed on the day. Plus you can prep this part of the meal a day ahead of time and then let it cook unattended in your slow cooker while your turkey roasts in the oven.
I think I’ve always loved Thanksgiving stuffing because it has so many different qualities. (Yes, I know it is called “stuffing” when it’s stuffed inside a turkey, and called “dressing” when it comes on the side, but I’m going to call it stuffing just because it’s easier and then can’t be confused with the sauce you might put on your salad!) A good stuffing is moist and tender, but it has crunchy or crispy toasted edges; it has a well-seasoned savory flavor, but also a sweet component that contrasts nicely. A great stuffing has everything to do with the ingredients you put in it.
How to Make Stuffing in a Slow Cooker
This slow cooker Thanksgiving stuffing includes salty sage sausage, two types of bread crumbs, the usual vegetables like onion and celery, and also mushrooms and sweet roasted chestnuts. It’s seasoned with salt and pepper (of course), but also has grated Parmesan cheese and fresh parsley too. All these delicious ingredients are bound together with eggs and some really good quality chicken stock. The sausage is browned and the vegetables are sautéed before mixing all the ingredients together. Once combined the stuffing comes together so nicely in a slow cooker.
Making Slow Cooker Stuffing In Advance
It’s true that you do need to cook some of these ingredients on the stovetop first before you can put it all in the slow cooker, but there’s no reason why you can’t do this a day ahead of time. All of the ingredients in the stuffing can be prepped and assembled a day in advance, except for the eggs and chicken stock. Then all you need to do on the day is stir in the eggs and chicken stock before “stuffing” everything into your pre-heated slow cooker. Yes, that’s what I said – “pre-heated slow cooker”. By letting your slow cooker warm for 30 minutes, you give the cooker a real head start. It’s much easier for the cooker to warm up when it’s empty than when it has to heat the stuffing ingredients too.
How Long to Cook Stuffing in a Slow Cooker or Crock-Pot®
After you pre-heat your slow cooker, it will only take 3 to 4 hours to cook on the High setting. As you have been preparing the roast turkey, cranberry sauce, gravy, mashed potatoes, Brussels sprouts and everything else your family loves, this delicious slow cooker Thanksgiving stuffing is finished. You might even have forgotten that you made it!
More Thanksgiving Side Dishes
If you are looking to fill out your holiday table with more delicious dishes, check out these side dish recipes:
- Balsamic Glazed Roasted Carrots
- Green Beans with Pearl Onions and Bacon
- Creamed Spinach Casserole
- Asparagus with Crispy Breadcrumbs
- Cheddar Garlic Smashed Potatoes
- Sheet Pan Dinner Rolls
- Brussels Sprouts with Horseradish Cream, Crispy Shallots and Bacon
Slow Cooker Thanksgiving Stuffing
- Prep Time: 35 m
- Cook Time: 3 h
- Roasting Chestnuts: 20 m
- Total Time: 3 h 55 m
- Servings:
Ingredients
- 1 pound large loaf white bread (about 12 cups cubed)
- ½ pound whole chestnuts (or 5 ounces cooked and peeled)
- ½ pound pork sausage with sage
- ¼ cup unsalted butter
- 3 cups chopped celery about 6 ribs
- 1½ cup chopped onion (about 2 small)
- ¾ pound mushrooms chopped
- 1 14 ounce package dried herb seasoned stuffing mix
- ½ cup chopped fresh parsley
- 2 eggs
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 to 3 cups chicken stock
- 1 teaspoon salt
- freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 350°F.
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Cut the loaf of bread into ½-inch cubes. Spread them out in one layer on a baking sheet and toast at 350ºF for 5 to 15 minutes, until lightly colored. Set aside.
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If using whole chestnuts, increase the oven temperature to 400°F. Using a sharp paring knife, place the flat end of the chestnut on a cutting board and carefully cut an “X” on the top of each one, just cutting through the shell. Place on a baking sheet and roast at 400ºF for 25 minutes until the skin curls up away from the nut. (Alternatively, you can air-fry the chestnuts at 370°F for 12 to 15 minutes.) When the shells of the chestnuts are darker in color and the cut skin has peeled away from the center, remove them from the oven. The shell should peel away easily at this point. If it doesn’t, continue to roast for a few more minutes. Allow the chestnuts to cool so that you can handle them and then peel away the shells and chop the nuts into small pieces.
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If you are using cooked and peeled chestnuts, chop into small pieces and set aside.
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Pre-heat your slow cooker using the SAUTE setting or pre-heat a large skillet on the stovetop. Brown the sausage until it is no longer pink. Remove the sausage from the cooker with a slotted spoon and set it aside. Melt the butter in the cooker along with any leftover fat from the sausage. Add the onions and celery and sauté for a few minutes, until they start to soften. Add the mushrooms and sauté for another 5 minutes, until the vegetables have cooked through.
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Add the cooked sausage, chopped chestnuts and parsley to the cooker and toss everything to evenly combine the ingredients. Add the stuffing mix and combine well. Stir the toasted bread cubes into the cooker batches, combining them with the other ingredients carefully.
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Mix the eggs and the Parmesan cheese together in a small bowl and stir into the stuffing mixture. Gradually add 2 cups of the chicken stock, stirring to evenly combine. Add more of the remaining stock as needed – the stuffing should look and feel moist. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
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*If you are making this stuffing ahead or time, hold this mixture in the refrigerator until you are ready to cook. Remove the stuffing mixture from the refrigerator 30 minutes before you want to start slow cooker to bring the ingredients to room temperature. In the meantime, pre-heat the slow cooker on HIGH for 30 minutes. Pour another ½ cup of chicken stock evenly over top the stuffing in the cooker and proceed with the recipe.
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Slow-cook on HIGH for 3 to 4 hours. Check the stuffing after 2½ hours and if it starts to dry out, add a little more chicken stock. Keep on KEEP WARM until you are ready to serve.
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