Cooked low and slow this Slow Cooker Sausage Stuffing is combined with herbs, sausage, bread and more to create one of the best Holiday side dishes ever!
When it comes to holiday meals, I’m all about the side dishes. I much prefer the sides over anything to be honest. I mean I like a good ham or turkey but the choices on sides are amazing.
My favorite of all time has always been stuffing. I like to save oven space during high cooking times and so we make this Slow Cooker Sausage Stuffing that is amazing.
If you have never added meat to your stuffing, you are 100% missing out. I have had some people say that this was the best stuffing they have ever had and even converted non-stuffing lovers to stuffing lovers.
Yes I do take joy in that. I think that we should all take joy in the little things, even if it is the littlest thing as someone loving your recipe. It really means a lot to a person.
Especially if you are one who loves to cook, a new cook or even a novice cook. The compliments on your dishes that you get will always make you happy and feel warm inside.
Well this Slow Cooker Stuffing will also make you happy and warm inside. The flavors in this recipe are off the wall! I’m not being biased either, it has such a great balance of flavors that you cannot go wrong with.
If you are looking for that perfect side dish to bring to your next holiday gathering then I do highly recommend that you make this Sausage Stuffing!
Some of our other favorite holiday side dishes include: Crockpot Mashed Potatoes, Corn Casserole and Candied Sweet Potatoes!
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
- The flavors mix together perfectly and balance nicely.
- Slow Cooking saves oven space for more cooking.
- This can be kept on warm while serving for up to 3 hours.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED (FULL RECIPE AT BOTTOM):
Dried bread cubes
Unsalted butter
Breakfast sausage
Onion
Celery
Garlic
Fresh thyme
Fresh rosemary
Kosher salt
Pepper
Chicken stock
Eggs
Parsley for garnish, optional
HOW TO MAKE SLOW COOKER SAUSAGE STUFFING, STEP BY STEP:
- If making your own bread cubes, dice a loaf of French bread into ½ inch cubes. Lay the cubes out on a sheet tray and let it sit out overnight. The bread will shrink overnight while it dries out, make sure you have about 14 cups of fresh cubed bread to make 12 cups of dried bread cubes.
- In a large skillet over medium heat melt the butter, add the sausage, onion, celery, and garlic. Break up the sausage. Stirring occasionally, cook the mixture until the sausage is no longer pink and the veggies are soft, about 10 minutes.
- Add the thyme, rosemary, salt, and pepper,
- Stir to combine.
- Spray your slow cooker with cooking spray. Measure out 12 cups of the bread cubes and add it to the slow cooker.
- Add the sausage mixture on top. Whisk 2 cups of the stock with the eggs and pour it into the slow cooker.
- Mix it well until combined. If the mixture looks dry, add a little more stock at a time until moistened, up to 1 more cup. You don’t want it very wet, just moistened. Stir well until combined.
- Place a clean kitchen towel over the cooker and place the lid on top, this will help prevent excess moisture from getting into the stuffing.
- Cook on low for 4 hours, stirring every 30 minutes, make sure to get the corners well to prevent sticking and burning.
- If after 4 hours the stuffing seems a little wet, take the lid off and cook for an additional 30 minutes. Garnish with optional parsley and serve.
WHAT KIND OF SAUSAGE SHOULD I USE?
We use Jimmy Dean breakfast sausage for this recipe. You can choose between regular or for some more added flavor the sage is amazing.
If you are looking for a sweet aspect you can use maple, or if you want it spicy you can use hot. There is a variety of choices, we either use regular or sage.
I would say that you can choose based on your personal preference and flavor profile on what kind of sausage you would want to use!
CAN I BUY DRIED BREAD CUBES?
Yes, prepackaged bread cubes should be available a at your local grocery store packaged just to make homemade. Some come in flavors and some come plain, we use plain.
Make sure that you are getting at least 12 cups of the dried bread crumbs because that is how much we would use if we were making homemade after they have dried and shrunk overnight.
CAN I BAKE THIS?
You can bake this in the oven, follow all the same steps but place everything in a large bowl. You will want to cut your bread down to about 8 cups and liquid to 2 3/4 cups to 3 cups to be able to fit into a dish.
If you want to decrease your other ingredients as well, but they should all work the way that they are if you were to bake.
Place everything in a 9×13-inch baking dish and bake at 350 for about 1 hour 5 minutes to 1 hour 15 mites.
HOW TO STORE:
This can be stored refrigerated in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2-3 days. You can rewarm in the microwave or in the oven at 350 degrees F until warm.
This can also be frozen, store leftovers in an freezer container or bag and it should keep for up to 3 months. Defrost in the refrigerator overnight and reheat again in the microwave or in the oven as above.
TIPS AND TRICKS:
- You can make your own homemade dried bread crumbs, or purchase from the store.
- Any of your favorite breakfast sausage flavors can be used we use either sage or regular.
- Dried herbs can replace fresh. To do this for 1 Tablespoon of fresh herbs substitute 1 teaspoon dried.
- This should only be cooked on low or it has the risk to burn.
- Make sure that you place a dish cloth or paper towel under the lid of the slow cooker to prevent extra moisture.
- This can be frozen, see my tips above.
- If you want to bake this, I have included the recipe and substitutions to do this above.
- You can double this recipe if you have a large family, I recommend using 2 8 quart slow cookers.
If you are wanting that perfectly delicious side dish for the upcoming holiday season then this Slow Cooker Sausage Stuffing is exactly the way to go!
If you like this recipe you might also like:
If you’ve tried this SLOW COOKER SAUSAGE STUFFING or any other recipe on my site, let me know in the comment section how it turned out, we love hearing from our readers! You can also follow along with me on PINTEREST, FACEBOOK and INSTAGRAM to see more amazing recipes and what shenanigans I’m getting into!
Slow Cooker Sausage Stuffing
Ingredients
- 12 cups dried bread cubes
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- 1 pound breakfast sausage sage flavored or original
- 1 small onion small diced
- 4 stalks celery small diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 teaspoons fresh thyme fine chopped
- 2 teaspoons fresh rosemary fine chopped
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 2-3 cups chicken stock
- 2 large eggs beaten
- fresh chopped parsley for garnish optional
Instructions
- If making your own bread cubes, dice a loaf of French bread into ½ inch cubes. Lay the cubes out on a sheet tray and let it sit out overnight. The bread will shrink overnight while it dries out, make sure you have about 14 cups of fresh cubed bread to make 12 cups of dried bread cubes.
- In a large skillet over medium heat melt the butter, add the sausage, onion, celery, and garlic. Break up the sausage. Stirring occasionally, cook the mixture until the sausage is no longer pink and the veggies are soft, about 10 minutes.
- Add the thyme, rosemary, salt, and pepper,
- Stir to combine.
- Spray your slow cooker with cooking spray. Measure out 12 cups of the bread cubes and add it to the slow cooker.
- Add the sausage mixture on top. Whisk 2 cups of the stock with the eggs and pour it into the slow cooker.
- Mix it well until combined. If the mixture looks dry, add a little more stock at a time until moistened, up to 1 more cup. You don’t want it very wet, just moistened. Stir well until combined.
- Place a clean kitchen towel over the cooker and place the lid on top, this will help prevent excess moisture from getting into the stuffing.
- Cook on low for 4 hours, stirring every 30 minutes, make sure to get the corners well to prevent sticking and burning.
- If after 4 hours the stuffing seems a little wet, take the lid off and cook for an additional 30 minutes. Garnish with optional parsley and serve.
Notes
- You can make your own homemade dried bread crumbs, or purchase from the store.
- Any of your favorite breakfast sausage flavors can be used we use either sage or regular.
- Dried herbs can replace fresh. To do this for 1 Tablespoon of fresh herbs substitute 1 teaspoon dried.
- This should only be cooked on low or it has the risk to burn.
- Make sure that you place a dish cloth or paper towel under the lid of the slow cooker to prevent extra moisture.
- This can be frozen, see my tips above.
- If you want to bake this, I have included the recipe and substitutions to do this above.
- You can double this recipe if you have a large family, I recommend using 2 8 quart slow cookers.
Nutrition
Tornadough Alli is not a nutritionist or dietitian, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and nutritional value is important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and values can vary depending on which brands were used.
karie roe
I made this for my first attempt at crock pot stuffing and it was delicious! I think it will be my go to from now on! It was perfect. Thank you for sharing!