Slow cooker stuffing is easy to make using sausage and leftover bread plus it’s ready in an hour!
Homemade stuffing is just as easy to make as the boxed stuffing mixes. Cooking it in your slow cooker makes it even easier and keeps your oven open for other yummy dishes like Easy Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars.
This is a basic stuffing recipe. You can doctor it up by using cornbread, apples, cranberries, or whatever else is in your favorite stuffing. You can also use this basic stuffing recipe and then bake it in apples like these Savory Baked Apples with Sausage Stuffing Recipe. Make 1 apple for every guest.
Use up leftover stuffing in a Stuffing Chicken Casserole for dinner the next week.
Slow Cooker Sausage Stuffing Recipe
Slow Cooker Stuffing Ingredients:
- Cubed bread – Save up old bits and pieces of bread, bagels, buns, etc, and use them all.
- Ground sausage – you can use breakfast sausage (we love sage) or Italian sausage.
- Celery
- Onion
- Chicken broth or stock – store bought or Slow Cooker Chicken Broth Recipe
- Celery seed
- Other herbs – you can add rosemary, thyme, or a poultry seasoning mix
- Salt and pepper to taste
Slow Cooker Stuffing Cooking Directions:
Gather your bread selection together. You can start collecting bread ends, leftover dinner rolls, hamburger buns, or any other odds and ends. Keep them in the freezer until ready to make the stuffing. Don’t be afraid to mix and match white, rye, wheat, etc. Cut the bread into cubes. You don’t need to dry it out, but can throw it in the oven, if you like.
Grease the crock of your slow cooker with butter, oil or nonstick cooking spray. Choose a slow cooker that is about 3-4 quarts. The stuffing will shrink as it cooks. Add the bread cubes to the slow cooker and set aside.
Heat a skillet on the stove over medium-high heat. Once it is hot, add the sausage, celery and onion to a skillet. Stir frequently and break apart the sausage as it cooks. You want it to be finely chopped.
Cook until the sausage is no longer pink and the celery and onions are tender.
Remove from heat and stir in celery seed and any other herbs or spices you are using. Celery seed adds a great flavor to this stuffing. If you don’t have celery seed, you will definitely want to add some more herbs. Rosemary, thyme, or a poultry seasoning work well. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Remove the sausage mixture from the skillet onto the bread in the slow cooker. Very gently toss it all together without breaking up the bread too much.
Next, pour chicken broth over bread. Do this slowly in an attempt to evenly distribute broth. Only use as much broth as it takes to make the bread damp – not soggy!
Put the lid on the slow cooker. Cook the stuffing on low for 3 hours or high for 1 hour. It will turn out moist and like the stuffing inside the turkey. If you want a crispy top, put the stuffing in a baking dish, and cook under a broiler for a few minutes. You can also set the slow cooker to warm to keep the stuffing warm before serving.
Slow Cooker Sausage Stuffing Recipe
Ingredients
- 10 cups cubed bread cut into 1/2" pieces (no dry, just old, cut up bread)
- 1 roll 16 oz, ground sausage, sage flavored
- 3 stalks celery diced
- 1 small onion diced
- 2 cups chicken broth or stock
- 1/2 teaspoon celery seed
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Grease a slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray and add bread to a slow cooker. Set aside.
- Add sausage, celery, and onion to a skillet and heat over medium-high heat, stirring frequently and breaking apart sausage until no longer pink. Stir in celery seed and other herbs. Place sausage on top of bread and gently toss.
- Pour chicken broth over bread. Do this slowly in an attempt to evenly distribute broth.
- Cover and heat on low for 3 hours or high for 1 hour.
- Remove from slow cooker and serve immediately.