Crock Pot Stuffing
by Sommer Collier — on Nov 5, 2025 This easy crock pot stuffing recipe makes everyone’s favorite Thanksgiving dressing in a convenient crockpot to free up oven space for holiday dinners. The slow cooker stuffing features wholesome seasonal ingredients, offering impressive, festive scratch-made appeal with minimal effort!
Sommer’s Recipe Notes
Other than my sausage mushroom stuffing, this is my absolute favorite stuffing recipe of all those that I’ve made. I make this recipe every year. It’s great to be made in the slow cooker because often on Thanksgiving, you’ve got so many other things to put in the oven, you can just mix it in the crock right on the countertop and let it do its thing while you’re busy braising your turkey and mashing potatoes. My daughter always picks our pomegranate cranberry relish, Dan always picks classic pumpkin pie, and my son always picks baked ham alongside the turkey, and he’s a huge fan of this stuffing as well… great minds think alike!
Why You’ll Love This Slow Cooker Stuffing Recipe
- Amazing seasonal flavors – This recipe includes fresh sage, rosemary, and thyme, plus dried cranberries. It literally tastes like that cozy, magical time between fall and winter!
- Versatile side dish – Serve the crock pot dressing as a side with any classic American main dishes for Thanksgiving and Christmas, like baked turkey and ham!.
- Set it and forget it – There’s just a bit of prep needed before everything gets loaded into the crock pot and left to cook for 2-6 hours (depending on whether you are cooking on HIGH or LOW) while you tend to other dishes.
Once you give this convenient crock pot recipe a try, you’ll wonder why you have been bothering to make stuffing any other way!
Ingredients and Tips
- Butter – I suggest using unsalted butter so you have total control over the amount of salt in the dish.
- Onions and celery – Use yellow onions for a sweet mild flavor.
- Bread cubes – The recipe calls for store-bought dried bread cubes. I often find these in the bakery section around the holidays but Pepperidge Farm also has them. You can use any type of bread cubes you like. The Pepperidge Farm variety usually comes with a mix of breads.
- Fresh herbs – A combination of fresh parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme are the ultimate Thanksgiving flavor.
- Dried cranberries – You can leave these out if you wish, but they add a delightful bit of sweetness to balance the other savory ingredients.
- Broth – Use your choice of chicken broth or vegetable broth for a vegetarian recipe.
- Eggs – Use large eggs at room temperature.
- Spices – You need just salt and crushed red pepper (for a kick of spicy flavor) or ground black pepper.
Recipe Variations
- Cornbread stuffing – You can also find cornbread cubes that will work as well.
- Homemade bread cubes – If you need/want to make your own dried bread cubes, simply take day-old bread, cut it into half-inch cubes, lay it out on a baking sheet, and let it dry out for the day. This is a great way to use up leftovers.
- Dried herbs – No fresh herbs? No problem! Use 1/3 dried herbs to fresh herbs, so 1 tablespoon of fresh herbs equals roughly 1 teaspoon dried.
- Sausage – You can add ground pork or chicken sausage to the recipe. Just brown the meat in a skillet first and drain before adding it to the slow cooker with other ingredients.
How to Make Crock Pot Stuffing
Tips for Success – Because this crockpot stuffing recipe uses only fresh ingredients, it’s important to season it well with salt. It makes the butter-soaked bread cubes taste butterier. It makes the herbs taste even fresher and greener. It even makes the cranberries taste sweeter. Good salt is the magic ingredient in any recipe!
Find the full Slow Cooker Stuffing recipe with detailed instructions, storage tips, and a video tutorial in the printable form at the bottom of the post.
Storage Notes
- Storing Leftovers – Crock pot dressing leftovers can last in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 or 4 days.
- Freezing – Store in an airtight container in the freezer for up to one month.
- Reheating – Reheat in the oven at 350°F by first sprinkling a little water or broth and covering tightly with foil. Bake for 20-30 minutes. You can also reheat it in the microwave by putting it in a microwave-safe bowl, adding a spoonful of broth or water, then covering with a damp paper towel. Microwave in 30-second bursts, stirring occasionally, until heated through.
Serving Suggestions
You already know this slow cooker stuffing recipe is a winning side dish for Thanksgiving and all of your favorite holiday dinners that call for some seriously cozy foods.
Make this easy recipe to serve alongside a moist and flavorful spiral ham and/or spatchcock turkey or deep fried turkey. Or try our easy smoked turkey breast recipe for big flavors with fewer leftovers!
As far as other holiday favorite side dishes go, you can’t go wrong with classics. Serve the stuffing with mashed potatoes and turkey gravy, green bean casserole (bring out that second crock pot I know you’ve got somewhere!), sweet potato casserole, and candied carrots.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can, but it’s best to use day-old or toasted bread cubes as fresh bread will make the stuffing mushy. If using fresh bread cubes, dry them in the oven at 300°F for 10-15 minutes first.
Absolutely, you can double this recipe for crock pot stuffing! Just watch the edges… If they start to get too crispy while the center is cooking, gently stir the stuffing, then continue cooking.
Crock Pot Stuffing
Video
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 2 cup chopped sweet onions
- 1 1/2 cup thinly sliced celery
- 12 ounces unseasoned dried bread cubes store-bought or homemade (about 8 cups)
- 1/2 cup chopped parsley
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary leaves
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
- 1 cup dried cranberries
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper (or black pepper)
Instructions
- Place the butter in a large skillet and set it over medium heat. Once melted, add the chopped onions and celery. Sauté for 3-5 minutes to soften.
- Meanwhile, chop all the herbs and whisk the chicken broth and eggs together. Pour the dried bread cubes into a large slow cooker.
- Once the onions and celery are soft and sweet, scoop them over the top of the dried bread cubes. Add the chopped herbs, dried cranberries, 2 teaspoons of salt, and 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper. Pour the broth and egg mixture over the top. Gently mix to coat.
- Cover the slow cooker and turn on high for 2-4 hours, or low for 4-6 hours. If you leave the stuffing on too long, and it starts to dry out, add a little more chicken broth to soften.
Notes
- Storing Leftovers – Slow cooker stuffing leftovers can last in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 or 4 days.
- Freezing: Store in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 1 month.
- Reheating – Reheat in the oven at 350°F by first sprinkling a little water or broth and covering tightly with foil. Bake for 20-30 minutes. You can also reheat it in the microwave by putting it in a microwave-safe bowl, adding a spoonful of broth or water, then covering with a damp paper towel. Microwave in 30-second bursts, stirring occasionally, until heated through.
