Southern Cornbread Dressing

A delicious southern Cornbread Dressing Recipe made with homemade cornbread, French bread, ground sausage, and dried cranberries with fresh herbs like rosemary, thyme, and sage.

Course side dish/Thanksgiving

Cuisine American

Keyword cornbread sausage stuffing, cornbread stuffing recipe, how to make cornbread dressing

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 1 25

Servings servings

Calories 1014kcal

Author Beth Pierce

Ingredients

Cornbread Dressing
8 x8 cornbread cut into 1-inch cubes and dried see recipe below
6 cups crusty French bread cut into 1-inch cubes and dried
8 ounces pork or turkey sausage preferably sage flavored
3/4 cup unsalted butter 12 tablespoons
1 medium yellow onion finely chopped
4 ribs celery chopped
1 cup dried cranberries
1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
1 tablespoon chopped fresh Italian parsley
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
½ teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
2-3 cups low sodium chicken broth or chicken stock see notes
2 large eggs beaten
Cornbread Recipe
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 cup all-purpose flour
¼ cup sugar
½ teaspoon salt
3 ½ teaspoon baking powder
1 cup milk
1 large egg
⅓ cup vegetable oil

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease a 10-inch cast iron skillet or an 8x8-inch baking dish.
Whisk together the cornmeal, flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder in a large bowl. Add the milk, egg, and vegetable oil and stir well to combine with a spoon. Pour into the prepared pan. Bake for 20-23 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the cornbread cool for 30 minutes before slicing it into 1-inch pieces.
Place the cornbread chunks and French bread chunks on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Place in a 275 degrees oven for about 30-45 minutes tossing every 10 minutes until the bread is dry and stale.
Meanwhile, brown the pork sausage in a large skillet over medium heat. When is about halfway through the browning process add the butter, onions, and celery. Continue cooking until the onions and celery are soft. Remove from the heat and let it cool a bit.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x13-inch baking dish.
Add the dried cubed bread to a large bowl. Top the cubed bread with the sausage mixture, dried cranberries, fresh herbs, kosher salt, and fresh ground black pepper.
Add about 1/2 cup of chicken broth at a time and the beaten eggs alternating between the two and tossing to coat. The key to good stuffing is to lightly moisten it. You do not want it soggy or dry.
Spoon the stuffing into a greased 9x13-inch casserole. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 15-20 minutes or until golden brown on top.

Notes

If at all possible, make the cornbread up to several days in advance to get that step out of the way and to let the cornbread start to naturally dry out.
Saute the onions and celery until they are soft.
If you have plans to use prepackaged seasoned bread cubes, omit any salt. They usually have a high sodium content, and salt can quickly take over the dish.
Add the right amount of broth. Use low-sodium chicken broth because of its salt content. The key here is to lightly moisten the bread. It should not be soggy or dry. Add about 1/2 cup at a time until lightly moistened. You can always add more, but you can not take it back.
Other add-ins for this stuffing include pinenuts, mushrooms, bacon, carrots, or parsnips.
ProTip – reserve a couple of pinches of each herb and sprinkle over the top of the dressing after baking. It adds so much flavor.
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days
Freeze for up to 3 months in an airtight container or freezer bag.

Nutrition