Using Dry Bread for Stuffing
The key to any recipe that involves bread, eggs, and baking them together is to use dry bread. This allows the bread to fully soak up the egg and the other liquid in the dish making for a much better result. This year, I decided to take my amazing Homemade Stuffing recipe and make it for you in the slow cooker for some Crockpot Stuffing. The beauty of this is that you can make it the night before and pop the base of the slow cooker right in the refrigerator. Additionally, it will free up oven space for all the other great sides you have going on once that bird is done. There are a few ways you can make this happen:
Cut up your bread the night before you are making stuffing and leave it sit out on the counter.After cutting the bread, place it on a baking sheet and bake it at 250 degrees for 45 to 60 minutes or until it has dried out, flipping it at least once during baking.
Do not worry about over drying your bread. I’ve made this with completely dry bread and it still turned out perfect. Alternatively, you can make this dish the night before with fresh bread. The bread will have lots of time to soak up the flavors even if it isn’t dried out.
Stuffing vs. Dressing
In my house growing up, we always called this recipe stuffing, and thus I have named it so. That being said, you wouldn’t be the first person to tell me this is actually dressing, as stuffing is something you stuff in a turkey. More on that below.
Making Stuffing in the Crockpot vs. The Turkey
While it is possible to cook your stuffing inside of the turkey safely, for optimal safety, I recommend cooking your stuffing separate from the turkey in a casserole dish or a slow cooker. There are just so many steps in stuffing a turkey where things can go wrong. I always opt for erring on the side of food safety. In addition to food safety issues, adding stuffing to a turkey can really impact cooking time. A turkey that is stuffed full will take a lot longer to cook and the center of it might be rare when the outside is over done. You can see my perfect roast turkey recipe here and it comes with a detailed video explaining how to make it. The bottom line is that no matter how you decide to cook your stuffing, it should reach a temperature of 165 degrees before you serve it. I highly recommend investing in an instant read thermometer for this recipe and so many others on Simple Joy.
What Slow Cooker to Use
I made this stuffing in a 6 quart slow cooker. You can see the exact model below. I love it so much that I actually own three. As you can see from the photos, it fills this slow cooker up about half way. In theory you can double this recipe, but I definitely suggest you test it before hand so you know exactly how long it will take to cook in your slow cooker.
Other Amazing Thanksgiving Side Dishes
My Cornbread Sausage Stuffing could also be made in the slow cooker.I make my Green Bean Casserole from scratch and it will blow your mind. If you are feeling like maybe some vegetables are needed, how about my Honey Glazed Carrots.
If you make this sausage stuffing or any of my other recipes, please leave me a comment and let me know what you think!
