Stuffing the Slow Cooker Way--Not!

About author / Christine Gable

Culinary enthusiast; kids cuisine and slow cooking; magazine recipe developer; professional writer. Her simple recipes are great for family dinners.

When I set out to begin experimenting with different recipes I was excited at the possibility of finding a new and interesting way to make stuffing in the slow cooker. Surely there would be a way to come home after a long day and open the crockpot to one of the most comforting of all aromas: home-cooked stuffing.

Then again, maybe not. After batch upon batch of slow cooker stuffing I have yet to hit upon a combo that I felt was good enough to replicate for y’all here.

It was one such day, after one-too-many run-throughs of one of my favorite recipes, Pineapple-Rum Bread Filling, I sighed with disgust. Here we were sitting down to a dinner with too-wet, too-mushy, too-yucko stuffing. All because I was trying to make it in the slow cooker instead.

“Mom, some things just aren’t meant to be made in the crockpot.”

Yes indeed. Smart kid to point out the necessary (and possibly not obvious?) facts.

But did I, persistent recipe developer, give up? No indeed! I was sure that I could make it work. Hmmm, what about trying ciabatta instead of regular bread? Now there’s an idea, eh? Ciabatta is so wonderfully chewy with a texture that was sure not turn into a pile of mush.

So off to the store to hunt out a few real Italian ciabattas: white and multi-grain. Then I left them set on top of the fridge for a couple days to get nice and dry and hard. Then I sawed them into 1/2-inch chunks and let them sit another day.

It was time. Mix up the milk, rum, crushed pineapple. Stir in the bread, cover and slow cook for 3 hours.

What do you think I found when I lifted the lid for dinner?

Sigh. This was not turning out the way I had planned. At all.

So now I’ve got a question for all of you: have you ever made successful home cooked stuffing in the crockpot? Stuffing that you would be happy to serve company?

If you have, I’d love to hear from you. I’m at the point that the only stuffing that I’ll put in the crockpot is the kind that’s already been baked in the oven, already been stuffed and cooked in the turkey, and is needing only a low, slow cooker heat to stay warm enough until everyone sits down to dinner. Because the slow cooker does do a wonderful job of keeping Thanksgiving stuffing warm and ready-to-serve for a crowd. Done that, for sure.

However, as lovely as the slow cooker is, it’s just not doing the number on my favorite Pineapple-Rum Stuffing recipe. There’s no way I’m going to be able to share that with you here without you thinking that I like sticky, mushy, what-is-that-glop filling.

Son was spot on: there are just some things (like that Pineapple-Rum Filling recipe) that just need the warm, dry heat of a conventional oven. It needs to be enveloped by the heat that will create toasty bits at the edges. It needs to have the opportunity to get golden and toasty on the bottom. It needs to have a crunchy top that begs one to pick just another piece from the dish.

In other words, good ol' traditional stuffing needs the hot, dry heat of an oven to work its magic on this comfort food. So, what say you … have you figured out a way to make traditional stuffing in the crockpot palatable AND worth the effort? Or if you’ve had a similar experience with less-than-ideal slow cooker stuffing results, give a shout-out. Would luv to hear what’s been happening in your kitchens regarding stuffing in the slow cooker!