{Slow Cooker} Cranberry Apple Stuffing

Slow Cooker Cranberry Apple Stuffing. This sweet and savory stuffing recipe is made easy in the slow cooker! Free up some space in the oven with this slow cooker stuffing recipe. Loaded with sweet chunks of apple and dried cranberries, plus tons of fresh herbs!

 

This stuffing is easy to make and made using real ingredients! No store bought premade stuffing here! The end result is a flavorful, buttery, sweet and savory side dish perfect for gracing any holiday table, or just a weeknight meal. This is such an easy side dish to make, you can make it on the stove top, or in a baking dish in the oven.

Ingredients needed for Cranberry Apple Stuffing:

• Dried Bread Crumbs: you can use a store bought plain stuffing. But I find most store bought versions come with some type of seasoning. It’s been challenging to find an unseasoned version lately. I recommend making your own. Instructions are below. 
• Onion and Celery: the veggies give wonderful flavor to the stuffing. 
• Fresh herbs: thyme, sage and parsley go wonderfully in this stuffing recipe. You can also add some rosemary if you would like and have some on hand. 
• Apple: diced apple adds a sweetness to this dish. Gala apples are one of my favorites to use. Other options would be Fuji or Honeycrisp. 
• Dried Cranberries: the bit of fruity sweetness is a happy contrast to the fresh herbs in this stuffing. 
• Chicken stock: since we’re not cooking the stuffing inside of a turkey, we’re using the chicken stock to add some depth of flavor. 
• Butter: this adds a delightful butter flavor to the bread. 
• Eggs: this acts as a binder and keeps our stuffing moist and prevents it from being crumbly. 

How to make your own Dried Breadcrumbs:

• Dry out the bread overnight: cut the bread and spread it out into a single layer.  I find that letting the bread dry out for several hours, then shuffle it around with your hands to help turn the bread cubes around to ensure they are drying out on all sides. If the bread doesn’t feel super dry the next morning, keep letting it dry out, or bake the bread to ensure it’s as dry as possible. Otherwise you will end up with mush instead of stuffing. 
• Bake the bread: Spread the cubed bread out on a large baking sheet. Bake in the oven at 300 degrees, using a spatula toss the bread crumbs at 20 minutes, to ensure they dry out on all sides equally. Bake for another 15-20 minutes until completely dried out.
• Best Bread to use: the best bread is going to be a thick, hearty bread. I have great luck with white bread. It’s sturdy. You’ll know it’s good when it doesn’t squish when you cut it, it holds it’s shape. If the bread is really soft, even when it dries out completely it tends to mush easily when cooked with the liquids. 

How to make Cranberry Apple Stuffing in the Slow Cooker:

My favorite method of making this stuffing is to use the slow cooker.

1. Combine the chicken stock, eggs and melted butter in the slow cooker. Add the bread cubes, apples, celery and onion. Stir to combine.
2. Stir in the dried cranberries and the fresh herbs.
3. Slice the additional tablespoon of butter thinly and place over the top of the stuffing. This helps keep the top from drying out while it cooks.
4. Cook on HIGH for 1 hour, fluff with a fork, then continue cooking on LOW for another 2 hours.

How to adapt this recipe for the oven:

This recipe can easily be made in the oven instead if that works better for you.

1. Saute the onion, celery and apples in a small amount of olive oil or butter over medium heat until softened.
2. Remove from heat, let cool for 2-3 minutes. In a medium size bowl whisk together the eggs, chicken stock and melted butter. Add the sautéed veggies and apples to the egg mixture. Stir together. Add in the bread cubes, dried cranberries and fresh herbs.
3. Spoon the stuffing mixture into a baking dish.
4. Bake at 400 degrees covered for 25 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for an additional 15-20 minutes until golden on the top.

If you are wanting to add sausage to this recipe you can easily do that, you will need to cook the sausage completely and then add that to the ingredients either in the slow cooker or in the baking dish.

Other Side Dish Recipes:

• Mashed Potatoes
• Corn Casserole
• Creamy Brussels sprouts
• Autumn Apple Salad

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