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Home » Recipes » Side Dishes

Crockpot Stuffing

Nov 3, 2022 · 24 Comments

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Free up your oven for the Thanksgiving turkey with this simple and classic Crockpot Stuffing! I changed up my grandma's homemade traditional stuffing recipe into an easy slow cooker version wiht onions, celery, and herbs, cooked to perfection! This is seriously the BEST!

Free up your oven with this simple and classic Crockpot Stuffing! A traditional recipe with onions, celery, and herbs, cooked to perfection in the slow cooker!

Wooden spoon in a black crock filled with stuffing and a rosemary sprig.

Crockpot Stuffing

My grandma makes the best stuffing.  Seriously, like, ever.  I normally don't care for stuffing, but hers... I could eat it for days (and frequently do after holidays!)

But my grandma's stuffing recipe wasn't written down! So I've watched her do it about a dozen times, and finally I've been able to replicate it. I shared her original traditional stuffing recipe here. This Crockpot Stuffing is her famous, amazing, loved recipe turned slow cooker!

Crockpot stuffing is amazing for the holidays because it tastes just like your favorite traditional stuffing, but it also frees up your oven for the turkey!

This Crockpot Stuffing recipe includes classic ingredients such as celery and onion for fresh pops of crunchy flavor, butter, and herbs, coming together to make the best stuffing you've ever tasted.

What's the Difference Between Stuffing and Dressing?

Is there even a real difference between stuffing and dressing at all?!

One difference between stuffing and dressing is geographical region. If you're from south of the Mason-Dixie line, you probably call it dressing. Whereas, it's typically referred to as stuffing in the more northern states.

There is also one major technical difference.

Stuffing is cooked inside the turkey (i.e. stuffed in the bird! Get it?!). On the other hand, dressing is cooked outside the turkey, typically in some sort of baking or casserole dish.

So long story short, there is technically a difference in cooking methods for stuffing and dressing. But generally, you can use the words interchangeably, and we'll all still know what you're talking about.

Large oval slow cooker crock filled with crockpot stuffing topped with fresh parsley and a sprig of rosemary with a wooden and silicone spoon in the middle on a rustic wood background.

How to Dry Bread for Stuffing

In my experience the best method of making dried bread cubes is tearing the bread into bite-sized bits, laying it out on a baking sheet or large casserole dish, and letting it sit there for 2-3 days, tossing it or stirring it every once in a while to make sure all the pieces get air time.

You can also use store-bought bread cubes.

If you're like me and you often forget to do either of those things, and now you have to make the stuffing, like TODAY, you can also use the oven method.

To quickly dry out your bread, tear it in bite-sized pieces, and lay it out on a baking sheet (you may need to do this in batches!). Then toast it in a 275°F oven for about 40-50 minutes, stirring halfway through, until bread is hard and dry (but not burnt).

To Convert Any Stuffing Recipe into Crockpot Stuffing

You can actually convert any recipe into a slow cooker version. You just need to make a few simple tweaks. So if you have a favorite stuffing recipe that you don't want to let go of, but you still want to free up your oven, try this:

  • Up the amount of eggs to at least 1 egg per one pound loaf of bread
  • Use about 25% less liquid (so if your recipe calls for 1 cup liquid, use ¾ cup)
  • Butter the inside of the slow cooker to prevent sticking
  • Slow cook on HIGH for 30 minutes, then LOW for an additional 3-4 hours.

More Holiday Recipes You'll Love:

  • Homemade Cranberry Sauce - a holiday tradition with added maple flavors that makes it the best you'll ever have.
  • Butter Herb Roasted Turkey - juicy, tender turkey with just the right seasonings.
  • Southern Corn Pudding - one of our all-time family favorites! You'll find it at all our holidays!
  • Crockpot Mac and Cheese - best ever, easy, cheesy mac and cheese in the slow cooker!
  • Sweet Potato Casserole - a classic side that's so good you'll think it's dessert!
  • See ALL Thanksgiving Recipes
Crockpot Stuffing in a slow cooker with a wooden spoon in the middle topped with fresh parsley and rosemary.

Crockpot Stuffing

Free up your oven for the turkey with this moist, tender, crispy, and cozy Crockpot Stuffing recipe. An instant sanity-saving holiday classic.
5 from 15 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Crock Pot Stuffing, Crockpot Dressing, Crockpot Stuffing, Slow Cooker Dressing, Slow Cooker Stuffing
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 4 hours
Total Time: 4 hours 20 minutes
Servings: 8
Calories: 301kcal
Author: Michelle

Ingredients

  • 12 cups dried bread cubes
  • ½ cup chopped onion
  • 1 cup chopped celery
  • 1¾ cup chicken or turkey stock
  • 4 tablespoons butter softened
  • 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
  • ½ teaspoon sage
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper
  • 2 eggs beaten

Instructions

  • In a large baking dish, toss together bread cubes, celery, and onions.
  • Add stock to the bread mixture and gently squeeze the mixture together with your hands to wet all of the bread.
  • Place the softened butter in small pats on top of the wet bread mixture and gently work in with your hands.
  • Add poultry seasoning, sage, salt, and pepper and work into the mixture until incorporated. Taste to test seasoning, and adjust if necessary.
  • Add beaten eggs and mix in until incorporated.
  • Transfer stuffing mixture to a buttered slow cooker.
  • Cook on HIGH for 30-45 minutes. Then switch to LOW and cook for an additional 3-4 hours.
  • Serve when done, or switch slow cooker to warm until ready to serve.

Video

Notes

  • Customize your stuffing! We almost always add finely chopped gizzards to our stuffing, added at the same time as the eggs. You can add different meats, cheeses, and herbs to make it your own. Check out these yummy stuffing variations.
  • Do NOT lift the lid while cooking, as tempting as it may be! It will make it take longer to cook as the heat will escape, and it doesn't need stirring anyway!
  • A large (6 quart or more!) slow cooker is best with this amount of stuffing. Consider opting for a programmable Crock Pot like this one since holidays get chaotic. Then you won't have to think about it, and it won't be overcooked.
  • Bread needs to be damp but not soaking. See my video for my grandma's "squeezing out" technique.
  • Keep slow cooker on warm until ready to serve.
  • Make Ahead: Prepare the stuffing from steps 1-5 up to 24 hours before. Then cover and refrigerate until ready to cook. Don't transfer to the slow cooker until ready to cook (a cold slow cooker will increase the cook time by a lot). Increase cooking on HIGH to about 1 hour, then reduce to low and continue with the recipe.
  • If you'd like to try my grandma's original stuffing recipe, find it here.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 301kcal | Carbohydrates: 43g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0g | Trans Fat: 0g | Cholesterol: 56mg | Sodium: 991mg | Potassium: 215mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 298IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 134mg | Iron: 3mg
Did you make this recipe?I love seeing your creations. Snap a quick photo and mention @TheGraciousWife or tag #thegraciouswife on Instagram! Leave a STAR rating below!

UPDATE INFO: This recipe was originally published in October 2015. It has been updated with new pictures, video, and detailed instructions in October 2019.

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Breads & Grains, Christmas, Crockpot, Recipes, Side Dishes, Special Days, Thanksgiving Crockpot Recipe, Side Dishes Recipe, Slow Cooker Recipe, Stuffing Recipe, Thanksgiving Recipe

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Stefaney says

    November 23, 2015 at 11:20 pm

    I'm so excited to try this! I'd like to double the recipe but am curious about the cooking. Do you think it would be sufficient to just add a couple hours to the cooking time, or would you recommend using 2 separate slow cookers?

    Reply
    • Michelle says

      November 24, 2015 at 7:29 am

      You can use just one slow cooker, as long as it all fits! I know my slow cooker can probably handle a triple or quadruple recipe (and probably will in a couple days!). I'm not even sure that you would need to add on that much time. I'd just check it at 4 hours, and know that you might have to cook it for the full 6.

      Reply
    • Kate says

      October 26, 2019 at 11:39 am

      What a great idea!! Saving this for the big day!

      Reply
  2. serena says

    October 26, 2019 at 9:51 am

    My hubby is a stuffing lover and he always takes up the entire oven making it. I hadn't thought about putting it in a crockpot! Going to give this a try

    Reply
  3. Aimee Mars says

    October 26, 2019 at 10:39 am

    I love that this is a crockpot stuffing recipe. It's perfect for when you're preparing so many recipes for the big Thanksgiving day to have one going in the crockpot. I can't wait to try it!

    Reply
  4. Beth says

    October 26, 2019 at 12:24 pm

    Thank you for this recipe! I love finding recipes, like this one, that help me prepare a delicious Thanksgiving meal without being stuck in the kitchen all day! I'm excited to be able to visit with my friends and family while dinner cooks on it's own!

    Reply
  5. Candice says

    October 26, 2019 at 1:34 pm

    I never thought to make stuffing in a crockpot. And since I love it so much, I decided to make a batch to test it out for Thanksgiving this year.. Will DEFINITELY be making it this year... yum!

    Reply
  6. Alisa Infanti says

    November 05, 2019 at 9:18 am

    I always try and make my dressing this way. This way I know the stuffing is cooked and the turkey cooking time is much easier and safer to manage. Delicious!

    Reply
  7. Sapana says

    November 05, 2019 at 10:10 am

    This is going to make it so much easier to prepare so many recipes for Thanksgiving day and have one already going in the slow cooker - thank you!

    Reply
  8. Valerie says

    November 05, 2019 at 10:13 am

    Stuffing is one of my favorite parts of Thanksgiving dinner. You simply cannot beat homemade stuffing, boxed is no comparison!

    Reply
  9. Adrianne says

    October 24, 2020 at 8:53 pm

    I love the sound of the little bit of sage in this recipe, yum!! Slow cooking is the best and your stuffing recipe is so good as you are right, you can free up the oven for the turkey! Great stuff, can't wait to try it, cheers!

    Reply
  10. Andrea Metlika says

    October 24, 2020 at 9:41 pm

    I love that this is made in the crockpot. It frees up the oven for other things. It also looks marvelous!

    Reply
  11. Dannii says

    October 25, 2020 at 2:16 am

    We love doing stuffing in the slow cooker at Christmas. It saves us space in the oven for the giant turkey.

    Reply
  12. Kate says

    October 25, 2020 at 4:43 am

    Hadn't ever thought of making stuffing in a crockpot until I saw your recipe - thanks so much, delicious and great idea!

    Reply
  13. Kylie says

    October 25, 2020 at 4:52 am

    This is entirely genius and such a timesaver!

    Reply
  14. Chris Collins says

    November 03, 2020 at 12:46 pm

    I'll definitely be making this for Thanksgiving!! Thanks so much for sharing 🙂

    Reply
  15. Chrissie Baker says

    November 03, 2020 at 1:25 pm

    This recipe is definitely one I will try soon. Love all of these ingredients! Your photos are always so bright and inviting too. Thanks for the recipe!

    Reply
  16. Luci says

    November 03, 2020 at 1:46 pm

    I'm so excited to try your crockpot stuffing recipe! I love that it will free up some room while cooking other dishes! Plus, it makes for a fun time trying to make stuffing in a crockpot - I've never done it before!

    Reply
  17. Jess says

    November 03, 2020 at 1:58 pm

    I love that this is made in the crockpot so I can use my stovetop for all the other things I am making!

    Reply
  18. Priya Lakshminarayan says

    November 03, 2020 at 2:03 pm

    I tried this recipe and it turned out great! Thank you for this easy recipe

    Reply
  19. Sue says

    November 11, 2020 at 7:42 am

    How many loves of bread does it take? I see 12 cups of cubes but I don’t know what that is in terms of loaves. Thank you!

    Reply
    • Michelle says

      November 11, 2020 at 8:05 am

      Usually about 2

      Reply
  20. Rosalee Davis says

    November 03, 2022 at 4:09 pm

    I don't put eggs in my stuffing will my recipe still work in the crockpot? Thanks

    Reply
    • Michelle says

      November 04, 2022 at 11:51 am

      I would up the amount of eggs to at least 1 egg per one pound loaf of bread because eggs will help it to set a bit and not turn too watery. I've not tried it without eggs, so I can't say for sure whether it would work. If you try it, I'd love to hear how it goes!

      Reply

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Hello! I'm Michelle!
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