Slow Cooker Thanksgiving Casserole: Favorite Fall Dinner
Slow Cooker Thanksgiving Casserole
It’s officially fall, which apparently means my brain has immediately moved on to Thanksgiving. 😂 I had a serious hankering for Thanksgiving food, so I took my viral Thanksgiving casserole and turned it into a slow cooker dinner.
And honestly? I think I might love this version even more.
It has the creamy chicken, green beans, vegetables and stuffing that make the original so good, but now the whole thing comes together in the slow cooker. Basically, Thanksgiving casserole without having to act like I have my life together enough to make an entire Thanksgiving dinner.
And yes, I put it in my little pumpkin bowl because it’s fall and I simply cannot be stopped.
The little step I wouldn’t skip
Technically, you can throw the vegetables straight into the slow cooker, but I like to sauté the onion, celery, mushrooms and garlic first. It only takes a few minutes, but I think it gives the casserole so much more of that classic Thanksgiving flavor.
It also cooks some of the moisture out of the mushrooms before they go into the slow cooker, which is especially helpful here.
Then the chicken goes into the bottom of the slow cooker, followed by the sautéed vegetables and creamy mixture. No broth gets added at this point because the chicken releases plenty of liquid as it cooks.
Once the chicken is tender, shred it and stir it back into all that creamy goodness along with the green beans.
The stuffing trick
Now for my very strong opinion: I hate soggy stuffing.
So instead of adding the stuffing at the beginning, I wait until the casserole is basically finished.
I lightly moisten the dry stuffing mix with chicken broth and melted butter, then spread it over the top of the chicken mixture and let it cook just long enough to become tender.
The key word here is lightly. You don’t want to saturate the stuffing because the slow cooker is already going to give it plenty of moisture. And once the stuffing goes on, don’t stir it in. You want to keep that little stuffing layer on top so you can scoop through it when you serve.
It sounds like a small thing, but it makes a huge difference.
Thanksgiving dinner, but make it easy
I love this recipe for those nights when you want something that tastes like a full-on holiday dinner without actually making a full-on holiday dinner.
Creamy chicken, green beans, savory vegetables and buttery stuffing all in one dish? Yeah. Fall has officially arrived at my house.
And if you already love my original Thanksgiving casserole, you absolutely need to try the slow cooker version. It might just become your new fall dinner obsession.
Slow Cooker Thanksgiving Casserole
Ingredients
- 1½-2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- ½ medium onion finely diced
- 2 celery ribs finely diced
- ½-1 cup mushrooms finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 can cream of chicken soup (10.5 oz)
- ½ cup sour cream room temp if possible, if not ok
- 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp dried thyme
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 1 can green beans
Stuffing Topping
- 1 6 oz package stuffing mix
- ½ cup low-sodium chicken broth
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter melted
Instructions
- Sauté the vegetables. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, and mushrooms and cook for 5–7 minutes, until softened and most of the moisture from the mushrooms has cooked away. Add the garlic and cook for another 30 seconds, until fragrant.
- Add the chicken. Arrange the chicken breasts in the bottom of a slow cooker.
- Make the creamy filling. Stir together the cream of chicken soup, sour cream, Worcestershire sauce, and seasonings. Spread sautéed vegetables evenly over the chicken. Then add creamy filling on top. Do not add any broth at this point—the chicken will release liquid as it cooks.
- Slow cook. Cover and cook on LOW for 3–4 hours, beginning to check the chicken around the 3-hour mark. (my slow cooker runs hot so I did one hour on high and one hour on low and it was nice and tender.) Cook until the thickest part of the chicken reaches 165°F.
- Shred the chicken. Remove the cooked chicken and shred or chop it into bite-sized pieces. Return it to the slow cooker and stir it into the creamy sauce along with the canned grean beans
- Prepare the stuffing. In a bowl, toss the dry stuffing mix with ½ cup low-sodium chicken broth and 2 tablespoons melted butter. The stuffing should be evenly but lightly moistened, not saturated.
- Add the stuffing. Spread the stuffing loosely and evenly over the chicken mixture. Don’t stir it into the filling.
- Finish cooking. Cover and cook on HIGH for 20–30 minutes, or until the stuffing is tender and the mixed vegetables are heated through.
- Serve. Let the casserole sit uncovered for about 5 minutes before serving to allow the creamy filling to thicken slightly.
Notes
- Don’t prepare the stuffing according to the package directions. The slow cooker provides plenty of additional moisture, so we’re intentionally using only ½ cup broth.
- If the chicken releases an unusual amount of liquid, leave the slow cooker uncovered on HIGH for 10–15 minutesafter shredding the chicken and before adding the stuffing.
- Using unsalted butter, low-sodium broth, plain chicken breasts, and only 2 teaspoons Worcestershire helps tone down the saltiness of the original casserole without sacrificing flavor.
- Slow cookers vary quite a bit. Start checking the chicken around 3 hours rather than automatically leaving chicken breasts in for 5–6 hours.
- For a more distinct stuffing layer, don’t stir the casserole after adding the stuffing. Scoop down through the stuffing and creamy chicken layers when serving.
