Southern Cornbread Dressing is deliciously moist and wonderfully seasoned with sage, onions, and celery. It’s a classic that makes it to the Thanksgiving table year after year.
Thanksgiving is quickly approaching and it’s time to start planning that Thanksgiving menu. This year I want the food to be extra good and special since this is the first year my son has been away at college. I miss him dearly and I know he misses my home cooking. (Note: This post was originally published November 10, 2015. But my son is still coming home for Thanksgiving 😊)
You cook for your boys mamas, and they’ll always want to come home to see you. 🙂
The Thanksgiving side dish that my kids look forward to the most is the dressing.
What Is Dressing?
Dressing is what southerners call stuffing. Typically dressing is made with cornbread. Variations on cornbread dressing are many and varied. Depending on the region of the south, ingredients like pecans, sausage, crawfish, or oysters can be added.
Thanksgiving Dressing Recipe
Probably the most looked forward to part of Thanksgiving dinner, besides dessert, is the dressing and it’s not uncommon for us to have more than one kind. I personally really love this Andouille Sausage and Cornbread Stuffing.
This Southern Cornbread Dressing is a more traditional southern dressing made with crumbled cornbread along with lots of onion, celery, and sage. It’s savory, moist, and delicious.
How Far In Advance To Make The Cornbread
You should make the cornbread a day or two in advance. You want the conrbread to be somewhat dry and stale. This will allow it to absorb more liquid and flavor.
Recipe Tip
Since we typically fry our Thanksgiving turkey, I solely use canned broth to make dressing, but if you have turkey drippings, you could add them to the dressing and it will taste even better.
Along with cornbread dressing we love to have Cheesy Green Bean Casserole, mashed potatoes, and Broccoli Casserole for Thanksgiving dinner. And this year I think I’ll add Savory Sweet Potato Casserole to the list. You can never have too many casseroles! I also always make these Yeast Rolls and Southern Sweet Potato Pie.
Equipment Needed
- Cast Iron Pan– You will need a 9 to 10-inch cast iron pan for baking the cornbread. A 9-inch cake pan or baking dish can be used instead.
- Baking Dish– a 9×13-inch baking dish is a good size.
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Watch the video below to see how easy it is to make Southern Cornbread Dressing.
Southern Cornbread Dressing
Equipment
- 9 to 10-inch cast iron pan
Ingredients
Cornbread
- 1 cup self-rising cornmeal, I use Martha White
- 1/2 cup self-rising flour, I use White Lily
- 3/4 cup buttermilk
- 2 eggs
- 2 tablespoons Vegetable oil
Dressing
- 8 tablespoons butter, (1 stick)
- 3 medium onion, chopped
- 4 stalks celery, chopped
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dried sage
- 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 3 pieces toast, crumbled
- 1/2 cup milk
- 3 eggs, lightly beaten
- 2 to 2 1/2 cups chicken stock or broth
- 2 tablespoons butter
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- In a medium bowl, stir together all ingredients for cornbread. Pour into a lightly greased 9-inch cast iron pan or a 9-inch baking pan. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Before using, crumble into small pieces.
- Heat butter over medium heat in a large pan. Add celery and onion and cook until soft.
- Add sage, poultry seasoning, salt, and pepper to onion mixture.
- In a large bowl combine crumbled cornbread and toast.
- Whisk together milk and eggs and add to bowl. Stir in 2 cups of chicken broth.
- Stir in onion mixture. Mixture should be very moist. Add more broth if necessary.
- Transfer to a greased baking dish. Cut butter into small slivers and scatter on top of dressing.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, or until it turns light brown on top.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Nearly the same family recipe besides some of my family uses oil instead of butter. It’s so good. However I couldn’t remember the amount they used. I seem to think a few taste. Don’t measure. Also some use toast and some use day old cornbread. My father is law is 82 and he made some fantastic dressing last week. It had walnuts, something normally would be icky in dressing but it was fantastic. My SO also makes good dressing. He uses the gizzards, etc. It’s a little too firm for my liking (not because of the gizzard but he uses little liquids. He likes it that way. Thin too. He also just uses bagged seasoned bread crumbs. Blah. But it actually tastes good… Wayyyy better then stove top just a tad less appetizing then mom’s 100% homade. Teresa prefers hers soft and no sage. Lol. My mom said it’s good too but missing sage 100% kills it. Mom loooved sage. Everyone had mom make the dressing every year and potato salad. She made the best fried chicken too. Omg. I now make it and mike thinks it’s insane how good it is. I never knew others used the gizzards and things too in there dressing. Learn something new. Haha. Happy Thanksgiving. The first year without mama.
What size pan should I cook this in
A 9×13-inch or slightly smaller works best.
Can I use cultured butter milk?
Question I am doubling this recipe. Should I double the cook time as well or will that dry it out?
I have to work until 430 Thanksgiving Day, and was planning on making this before work (around 7am). Would it be ok that way? Should I make it all without baking, then bake when I get home? Or do it all before work, then reheat?
It is ok to make your corn bread befor going to work. Sit in refrig,until you return.
My family recipe is really similar to this. We have so much cooking to do the day of. That we cook what we can the day before. This includes the cornbread for the dressing.
Hello Amanda. I make the cornbread 2 days in advance and mix everything the day before Thanksgiving and put it the fridge. This is the 3rd year I’m using this recipe. All the flavors blend overnight, it is awesome! Happy Thanksgiving!
Thanks, ladies! Happy Thanksgiving!!
I’m wondering if I make a pkg cornbread instead of the homemade recipe, how many cups of cornbread is necessary for this dressing?
Ever heard of pkg cornbread only JIFFY and that will NOT work. If making a large pan use 2 cornbread like cake pans 1 if making a small pan but homemade day old is the best.
Jiffy works BEST!!!
I’ve never put milk in my dressing. What part does the milk play? Thanks!
I use the milk only in my cornbread. Once my cornbread is done I crumble I mix everything else together
so is the milk needed for the dressing mixture after the cornbread is done or is that a typo?
No milk is definitely only for the cornbread. DON’T add it to the wet dressing. HAPPY THANKSGIVING 2018.
So when using the self rising cornmeal,do I still use the buttermilk or the amount of milk it asks for on the self rising corn meal package or do I use both, because when I used just buttermilk flour and eggs it was just like a thick blob of dough
You have to use corn meal just not flour add more milk till it looks like cake batter.
Will any type of milk do or is buttermilk the best for the recipe.
Do I have to change anything to be able to stuff the turkey with it?
Hey! This recipe looks awesome but I cannot get past the egg part–my mom never added eggs. I’m used to a moist yet crumbly dressing, not dense and compact. Is there a reason I have to add the eggs or can that be eliminated? I hate to jack with a recipe if it truly needs to be in there… The pic looks moist, crumbly and yummy!
I believe the egg is used if your baking it. I like it without the egg or baked
I don’t usually use egg in mine though I have had it both ways. Just make sure you have a proper wetness ratio. Long as it’s not too wet of dry, it will set just fine without the egg.
Hey! This recipe looks awesome but I cannot get past the egg part. I’m used to a moist yet crumbly dressing, not dense and compact. Is there a reason I have to add the eggs or can that be eliminated? I hate to jack with a recipe if it truly needs to be in there… The pic looks moist, crumbly and yummy!
In a medium bowl, stir together all ingredients for cornbread. Pour into a lightly greased 9-inch cast iron pan or a 9-inch baking pan. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Before using, crumble into small pieces.
Heat butter over medium heat in a large pan. Add celery and onion and cook until soft.
Add sage, poultry seasoning, salt, and pepper to onion mixture.
In a large bowl combine crumbled cornbread and toast? TOAST? What’s that about?
YES!!! I always add toast ritz crackers to my dressing. And if I need to make it stretch, cook up some frozen biscuits and crumble them up and put in there.
It literally means toast (toasted slices of bread) it helps hold everything together.
Some people use toast. Others use pepperidge farm croutons. Your choice.
I’ve always used Pepperidge Farm Herb seasoned instead of toast or biscuits. Enhances the flavor, texture and stretching.
Do you have to soften the onion and celery?
Some people use crumbled up white toast in with crumbled up cornbread. Are family recipe calls for biscuits instead of toast. But I suppose either works.