When it comes to small kitchen appliances, who can argue that the slow cooker is one of the best inventions ever? There’s nothing like coming home on a winter day to a hot meal. In recent years, I’ve started to use my slow cooker to simplify holiday meal preparation. Today, I’m sharing my easy and delicious slow cooker stuffing recipe. My family loves this recipe. You’ll want to give it a try!

This post was originally published in December 2020 and updated in November 2023.

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Stuffing – the best part of the meal

Stuffing, or dressing as some people call it, is my favourite part of a turkey dinner. In fact, I’d be happy to skip the turkey and just load up on a plate of stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy. That’s true comfort food to me.

So, when I cook a roast turkey dinner, I like to make lots of stuffing. For years, I used to stuff the bird and then make extra stuffing in my slow cooker. Then, I had an a-ha moment! Why couldn’t I skip stuffing the bird and just make all the stuffing in the slow cooker?

Don’t put weird stuff in my stuffing

I searched online and found a bunch of slow cooker stuffing recipes. But, a lot of them included what my family would consider “weird stuff”.

It would be an understatement to say that certain members of my family aren’t exactly adventurous when it comes to food. To them, putting things like sausage and nuts in stuffing is something no rational individual would ever do. I don’t normally agree with them on this kind of thing but, when it comes to stuffing, I think plain is better.

So, if sausage, chestnuts and <insert other odd ingredients here> stuffing is your thing, this isn’t the recipe for you. But, if you’re looking for an easy and delicious old-fashioned seasoned bread stuffing recipe, read on!

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Simple old-fashioned slow cooker bread stuffing

Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons poultry seasoning
• 1 small onion (diced) or 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 clove minced garlic
• 2 cups celery (chopped) or 1 tablespoon dried celery root
• 6 cups cubed and dried white bread
• 6 cups cubed and dried brown bread
• ¼ cup chopped parsley
• Fresh herbs to taste (thyme, sage, rosemary) – optional
• 3-4 cups chicken broth (1 900 ml container)

Variations:

I admit, I’m a bit (or maybe a lot) lazy when it comes to cooking. So, I have found ways to make this recipe even easier.

• Substitute onion powder, or dried onion flakes, for onions.
• Use dried celery root instead of chopped celery.
• Buy bags of dried bread cubes, instead of cubing and drying your own bread. If you use pre-seasoned bread cubes, I suggest skipping the extra salt.  

If you’re vegetarian, you can make this with vegetable broth instead of chicken broth.

And, to save more time, you can make this ahead of time and store covered in the fridge overnight before cooking.

Directions:

• Heat butter in a skillet over low to medium heat until melted.
• Stir in salt pepper, poultry seasoning, onion, celery and garlic.
• Cook until onions and celery are softened – Don’t brown them.
• Put bread cubes in a large bowl.
• Add the melted butter mixture, parsley and fresh herbs.
• Stir.
• Add the broth, a little at a time, and stir until moistened.  
  Note: If you’re using homemade dried bread cubes, you’ll need 2-3 cups of broth. If you’re using store-bought bread cubes, you’ll need 3-4 cups of broth. Use your judgment and add just enough to soften and moisten the bread.
• Grease a large slow cooker.
• Place stuffing in the slow cooker.
• Cook on high for 30 minutes.
• Reduce temperature to low and cook 3 to 4 hours until hot.
• If the stuffing is ready before the rest of the meal, leave it on warm until you’re ready to serve.  

Enjoy!

If you’re looking for a simple sweet treat to top off your Christmas meal, check out Simple and delicious Breton Brittle.

What’s your favourite part of the Christmas or Thanksgiving meal? Do you use your slow cooker to simplify meal preparation? Tell us below.