Crockpot Stuffing with Sausage
No oven space needed! This crockpot stuffing slow-cooks into buttery, savory comfort packed with sausage, veggies, cranberries, and herbs — filling your kitchen with Thanksgiving magic and ready right when the turkey’s carved.
Servings 12
Ingredients
- 1 loaf cubed bread about 10 cups, please see notes
- 1 pound ground sausage pork or turkey
- 1 small onion finely chopped
- 3 stalks celery finely chopped
- 2 carrots finely chopped
- 2 apples peeled and diced
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 1 stick butter melted (this is 1/2 cup butter)
- 1 tablespoon fresh sage chopped
- 1 teaspoon thyme chopped
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a skillet, cook sausage until browned. Add onion, celery, and carrots into the skillet, stirring to combine with the sausage. Cook for 5 minutes or until the veggies soften.
- Add sausage mixture to the crockpot along with bread cubes, apples, cranberries, broth, butter, sage, thyme, salt and pepper. Stir to combine.
- Cover and cook on LOW for 4–5 hours, stirring once about halfway through to keep the edges from drying out. When it’s hot and tender with crispy bits around the sides it’s done.
- Serve warm right from the crockpot. Enjoy!
Notes
The bread makes or breaks your stuffing. I use sourdough or Italian bread — something crusty, hearty, and a little stale. Basic white sandwich bread tends to get mushy, and nobody wants soggy stuffing. If you want to use sandwich bread please make sure to dry it out first! There's 2 ways to do this:
Day-old method (air dry): Cut the bread into cubes and spread them out on a baking sheet. Leave uncovered on the counter for at least 24 hours, tossing occasionally so they dry evenly.
Oven-dry: Short on time? Preheat the oven to 300°F. Spread the cubes in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake for about 25 minutes, stirring halfway through, until they’re dry but not toasted or browned.