Slow Cooker Stuffing with Sausage, Cranberry & Pecans

There is no need to wait until Thanksgiving or to stuff a turkey in order to have your favorite stuffing anymore!  The condensation inside the slow cooker creates the perfect atmosphere for the moistest stuffing you’ve ever had!

Winner Winner! Stuffing in the crockpot !!!

Friends, family, colleagues, readers and followers…. I am OVER THE MOON with this recipe!  I don’t say that often and I am going to gloat with all I’ve got over this recipe because it’s worth it!

I will be honest here when I say there is a debate in our house to which stuffing is better, which says a lot considering one is made with minimal effort in a slow cooker and the other is stuffed inside a turkey and roasted for hours.

I didn’t think it was possible to recreate the texture, feel, taste and smell of Thanksgiving stuffing without actually stuffing it and making a whole production.   Well I was wrong.

Dead wrong!

This stuffing blew me away, as it did to everyone who tried it!

Here is a little secret ~ in the event you are making this on Thanksgiving, suck up some of the juice from the turkey with a baster and use that to moisten the stuffing instead of broth.  You will get the most incredible flavor that will make this stuffing taste like it just came out of the bird itself !

GATHER THE INGREDIENTS:

• Bread ~ Approximately 10-12 cups bread torn apart ( I used a combination of white and whole wheat)
• Meat ~ Sausage (you don’t have to use pork ~ you can use turkey)
• Binders ~ Eggs, Butter, Broth
• Veggies ~ Celery, Onions, Mushrooms (omit if you don’t like)
• Extras ~ Dried Cranberries & Chopped Pecans
• Aromatics ~ Garlic, Parsley, Poultry seasoning, Dried Rosemary, dried Sage, dried Thyme, Salt & Pepper

HOW TO MAKE THE BEST SLOW COOKER STUFFING

1. All stuffing recipes require stale bread.  Bread has moisture in it which gives it that nice chewy bite.  However, for a stuffing recipe we want the opposite.  If there is too much moisture in the bread the liquid that is added will make nothing but mush.  So drying the bread out is a necessary step.
2. You can either break the bread down in a large roasting pan, aluminum pan or baking sheet and let it air dry for a few days.  I put mine on top of the fridge, out of the way.  Or if you don’t have time, you can bake it at a very low temperature (170°F) for 30 minute intervals, taking it out and letting it cool down in between.  Either way, we need the bread to be stale on the INSIDE not just the outside.
3. Once the bread is stale and broken down into small breadcrumbs the next step is to cook the sausage and sauté the onions, celery and spices in some butter.  The cranberries and pecans are added to the mix.  You can choose to chop these ingredients very finely or coarsely depending on your families preference.

4. All of this gets added to the slow cooker with eggs and chicken stock.  I will give you some warning ~ if you add ALL the chicken stock at one time you can end up with mush.  In other words if you add too much liquid it will absorb it all and it won’t recover.  Adding it a little at a time gives the bread time to plump up, dry out and reabsorb.   You can always add MORE, you can never add LESS.

5. The stuffing cooks on low for anywhere from 2-3 hours.  The overall cooking time will have many variables … the type of bread used, how dried out it is, how much liquid is used, the age/size of crockpot, etc.  So my suggestion is to check on it every 30 minutes and give it a stir to see if more liquid is needed.

If you like a crispier top or sides, just take the lid off 30-45 minutes before it’s done and the top and sides should dry out a bit for a crispier bite.

A lot of moisture is lost through the seal of slow cookers.
Placing a kitchen towel over the slow cooker as the stuffing is cooking will help keep the moisture in resulting in a moister stuffing.

Please let us know if you tried this incredible stuffing this holiday season in the comments below, on Facebook or Pinterest.  We’d love to hear from you!

Happy Holidays!

CLICK TO VIEW OUR VIDEO ON HOW TO MAKE THIS STUFFING RECIPE:

Slow Cooker Sausage, Cranberry and Pecan Stuffing

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Description

There is no need to wait until Thanksgiving or to stuff a turkey in order to have your favorite stuffing anymore! The condensation inside the slow cooker creates the perfect atmosphere for the moistest stuffing you’ve ever had!

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

6 Cups White Bread
5 Cups Whole Wheat Bread
8 oz. Sausage
6 Tablespoons Butter
3 Stalks Celery (approx. 1 1/2 cups), diced
1 Medium Onion (approx. 1 cup), diced
1 Cup Mushrooms, diced
1/2 Cup Dried Cranberries
1/2 Cup Chopped Pecans
1 Clove Garlic, minced
1 Tablespoon Dried Parsley
1 teaspoon Poultry seasoning
1 teaspoon Dried Rosemary
1 teaspoon Dried Sage (optional since it is in the poultry seasoning)
1 teaspoon Dried Thyme
1/2 teaspoon Sea Salt
1/4 teaspoon Black Pepper
2 Eggs, beaten
2–3 Cups Chicken Broth

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Instructions

NOTE: The bread for this recipe must be completely stale. Break the bread into bite sized pieces and place on a baking sheet to dry out. How long this will take will depend on the type of bread used. It is recommended to plan for at least 2 days. This can be expedited by placing the bread in the oven at 170°F for 30 minutes, remove to cool and repeat until the bread is completely dried out.

1. Cook the sausage in a large skillet over medium/high heat. This may require a teaspoon of oil to prevent burning or sticking. Try not to move the sausage until it begins to brown and caramelize, then break up into small bits. Remove the sausage from the skillet.
2. Add the butter to the skillet. When melted, add the onions and celery and cook for 2 minutes on medium heat, stirring often. Add the spices and garlic. Stir. Add the mushrooms and cook approximately 2 minutes longer or until soft. Return the sausage to the pan. Stir to combine all ingredients.
3. Add the dried cranberries and pecans. Taste for seasoning and adjust if necessary.
4. Add the mixture to the slow cooker along with the bread. Add the eggs. Stir to combine and add 1 – 1/2 cups of the chicken stock. The stuffing should be moist but not wet. If all the liquid is added at once the stuffing can become soggy. Cook on low for anywhere between 2 and 3 hours, checking every 30 minutes or so and adding chicken broth until most of it is used. This will depend on your stuffing and the type of bread used.

TIP: Place a kitchen towel over the crockpot. This will help keep the moisture inside. Taking the lid off the last 20-30 minutes will crisp up the top layer if desired.

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