Free up valuable oven space this Thanksgiving with this Slow Cooker Sausage Cornbread Dressing. It’s loaded with Italian sausage and lots of flavor from onion, celery, and sage.
Stuffing, or dressing as it’s frequently called in the south, is the ultimate comfort food and the part of the Thanksgiving meal I look forward to most. But something this good shouldn’t just be eaten once a year. I find it makes a delicious side for just about any fall or winter meal.
A cornbread dressing with lots of Italian sausage is one of my favorite ways to make stuffing. And I especially love this slow cooker version. It’s super convenient for Thanksgiving when oven space is hard to come by.
To make Slow Cooker Sausage Cornbread Dressing, I like to use Johnsonville Italian Ground Hot Sausage. It also comes in mild and sweet flavors but I really like the taste of the hot sausage with cornbread.
All three flavors are so versatile in the kitchen. I love the flavor Italian sausage has and find it so convenient that Johnsonville sells Italian sausage in ground form so you don’t have to mess with removing it from the casings.
For this recipe you’ll want to use cornbread that is a day or two old. Either make your own or buy some at the store. Make sure not to use sweet cornbread.
Try These Other Thanksgiving Sides:
- Super Creamy Mac and Cheese
- The BEST Yeast Rolls
- Cheesy Green Bean Casserole
- Southern Cornbread Dressing
- Crock Pot Sweet Potato Casserole
- Savannah Seafood Stuffing
- Maple Bacon Brussels Sprouts
Slow Cooker Sausage Cornbread Dressing
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 pound Johnsonville Italian ground sausage, (hot, mild, or sweet)
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 3 celery stalks, finely chopped
- 2 medium sweet onions, chopped
- 1 tablespoon dried sage
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- 1 (9-inch) cornbread, (1 to 2 days old), crumbled
- 3 slices toast from white bread, torn into small pieces
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- 2 1/2 to 3 cups chicken broth
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1 1/2 tablespoons butter, cut into slivers
Instructions
- Brown sausage in a large skillet over medium-high heat, breaking it into pieces as it cooks. once no longer pink, remove sausage from skillet with a slotted spoon and place in a large bowl.
- Add butter to grease in skillet and cook celery and onion until soft, about 5 minutes.
- Add sage, thyme, and parsley to skillet and season onion/celery mixture with salt and pepper. Add mixture to bowl with sausage.
- Add toast pieces and crumbled cornbread to bowl. Stir to combine.
- Add eggs, 2 cups broth, salt and pepper and stir well. Add up to 1 cup more chicken broth to get mixture very moist.
- Transfer mixture to a greased 6-quart slow cooker.
- Scatter butter pieces on top.
- Cover and cook on LOW for 3 to 4 hours.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Disclosure: This is a sponsored post. I appreciate the opportunity to share products I love and use in my own kitchen.
This post contains affiliate links.
I have a guest that hates celery….could I omit and add apples? Would apricots added be ok? Thx
Yes, that will work.