This Cornbread Dressing Recipe is a delicious cozy side dish perfect served alongside turkey dinner!
Savory herbs, celery, onion, and both bread and cornbread come together to create a flavorful twist on a classic stuffing recipe.
What is Cornbread Dressing?
- This recipe is similar to stuffing but it’s a dressing, which means that it’s cooked in a pan outside of the turkey. The difference is that stuffing is, well…stuffed into the cavity of the bird! (Although we use both terms interchangeably in our house).
TIP: This dressing can be completely cooled and cooked inside the bird. If adding stuffing to the bird, I usually skip the eggs. If you’d like to use eggs and this will be stuffed into the bird, use pasteurized eggs. - This recipe combines bread cubes with cornbread. It is moistened with broth (either turkey or chicken) and mixed with egg. For extra flavor, celery and poultry seasoning are added.
- We bake this in the oven (and love the little crispy bits) but you could also use a crock pot to turn it into slow cooker stuffing.
Ingredients & Variations
BREAD: This recipe calls for white bread and cornbread cut into cubes/crumbled. Try using standard white bread or crusty French bread. Make sure they are dry. Tip: You can dry them in the oven at 352°F for about 10 minutes or leave them out on a tray overnight.
SEASONING: We used poultry seasoning and dried sage, try our poultry seasoning recipe for a homemade version of this flavoring!
VARIATIONS: Make this recipe into a sausage stuffing or add diced ham. It would also go great with some nuts for added texture and flavor.
How to Make Cornbread Dressing
Cornbread dressing is a great way to use up any leftover Jiffy corn muffins or cornbread that might have gone a bit stale.
- Cook the onion and celery in butter (per recipe below).
- Combine with bread cubes, chicken broth, & eggs.
- Cover & bake in a casserole dish until firm & heated through.
How Much Broth To Add
The amount of broth needed will vary based on a few things, including how dry the bread is and how moist the dressing is preferred.
If using very dry cubes of bread, this recipe might need closer to 4 cups of broth, if the bread has just been dried in the oven, closer to 3 cups may be needed.
Add 2 cups of broth mixed with the eggs and stir it into the dressing. Add enough broth to moisten it and allow it to sit for a few minutes, the bread will soak up the broth. Add more broth allowing it to sit a few minutes after each addition to reach desired consistency.
Leftovers?
Leftovers can easily be stored in the fridge or freezer to enjoy for months to come. Just place them in an airtight container or zippered bag before storing!
Fridge: Store for up to 4 days.
Freezer: Store for up to 4 months.
Delicious Thanksgiving Sides
- Make-Ahead Turkey Stuffing – perfect individual scoops
- Corn Casserole – simple, sweet side
- The BEST Mashed Potatoes – simply buttery perfection.
- Sweet Potato Casserole – easy comforting dish
- Green Bean Casserole – baked until hot & bubbly
- Crock Pot Corn Casserole – everyone’s favorite
Did your family love this Cornbread Dressing? Be sure to leave a rating and a comment below!
Cornbread Dressing Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter
- 1 onion diced
- 1 cup chopped celery
- 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
- ½ teaspoon ground sage
- 5 cups crumbled cornbread dry* see note
- 5 cups dry white bread cubes *see note
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- salt and black pepper to taste
- 2 to 3 cups chicken broth or as needed
- 3 eggs beaten
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Melt butter in a large skillet. Add onion, celery, poultry seasoning, and sage. Cook over medium heat until tender (do not brown). Cool.
- Place cornbread and bread in a large bowl with celery & onion mixture, parsley, and salt & pepper.
- Combine eggs and 2 cups chicken broth, whisking until smooth.
- Drizzle bread cubes with egg mixture, gently tossing just until moistened. Add more broth if needed to moisten the mixture, allowing the mixture to stand a few minutes between each addition to soak up the moisture.
- Place in a greased 2qt baking dish. Bake uncovered for 35-40 minutes or until heated through.
Notes
- If you'd like to use eggs and this will be stuffed into the bird, use pasteurized eggs. The eggs can be left out if you are stuffing a turkey.
- Prepare the recipe as directed and cool completely before stuffing the turkey.
- The turkey should be loosely stuffed (don't pack the stuffing in) and extras can be baked on the side.
- Ensure the stuffing reaches a safe 165°F in the center.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Casserole, Side Dish
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Ditto, Irene! Some recipes add a bunch of extras like cream of chicken soup, fruit or nuts. I’m sure that way is very tasty, but your recipe is so Southern! I don’t use parsley, and in my extended family, eggs are optional, but this is classic South Texas stuffing and delish. I learned this from my mother-in-law many years ago. p.s. This doubles, even triples well.
Would love recipe
Hi Theresa, for the full recipe you can scroll to the bottom of the post or use the jump to recipe button at the top! Enjoy!
This recipe is just like mine. I thought nobody but my family made it with this mixture of cornbread and white bread with these seasonings. I have to be careful with the sage. I love it but too much can tear up the stomachs of the family, while I seem to have a cast-iron stomach. I make dressing several times throughout year and then freeze. Also, I make dressing in crockpot which frees up the oven. Sometimes I add sausage, sometimes I add chicken. Love dressing…don’t care for turkey.
That is awesome Irene, so happy you love it! We love storing any leftovers in the freezer so we can enjoy them for months to come!