Cornbread Dressing
- Total Time
- 1½ hours
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:8 to 10 servings
- 3tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus more for the pan
- 1tablespoon neutral oil, such as grapeseed or canola, plus more if needed
- 1pound loose pork sausage
- 1large yellow onion, very finely chopped (2 cups)
- 4celery ribs, very finely chopped (2 cups)
- 4garlic cloves, minced
- 1teaspoon dried thyme
- ½teaspoon dried oregano
- ½teaspoon fennel seeds
- 2tablespoons chopped fresh sage (from 10 large leaves)
- Salt and pepper
- 1recipe cornbread for dressing, broken into 1-inch pieces, or 10 cups loosely packed cornbread
- 1½cups chicken, turkey or vegetable stock
- 1cup buttermilk, preferably full-fat
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (10 servings)
227 calories; 17 grams fat; 6 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 7 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 10 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 4 grams sugars; 9 grams protein; 437 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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- Step 1
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking dish.
- Step 2
Heat a large skillet over medium and pour in the oil. Add the sausage and cook, using a wooden spoon to break it into small pieces, until the meat is cooked through and no longer pink, about 8 minutes. Transfer the cooked sausage to a plate, keeping any fat in the skillet. Add a few additional tablespoons oil if needed to evenly coat the bottom.
- Step 3
Add the onion and celery to the skillet. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 6 minutes. Add the garlic, thyme, oregano, fennel seeds and sage, and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Return the cooked sausage to the skillet and stir to incorporate. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl, add the cornbread pieces and toss to combine. Pour in the stock and buttermilk, and stir until well mixed. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper if necessary.
- Step 4
Transfer the cornbread mixture to your prepared dish and spread evenly. Drizzle the melted butter over the top. Cover the dish with foil and bake until heated through, 30 to 35 minutes. Raise the oven temperature to 400 degrees, remove the foil and bake until the surface is golden brown in spots, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool for at least 10 minutes before serving warm.
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
RJC
I have made this similar recipe before but added a fennel bulb chopped up and sautéed with the celery. I would cut the amount of celery if you choose to add the fennel. It was an excellent addition. Subtle flavor but just enough that it takes the dish up a notch. It’s now a thanksgiving staple in my family.
Mary from Terry, MS
Make the cornbread one or two days before you make the dressing and let it sit on the counter to dry out, not in the refrigerator. It needs to be stale and hard so chunks will remain after you add broth. I prefer to use a savory, spicy sausage. Italian sausage and fennel are too weird for this old Southerner. My mother added the cooked turkey giblets to both the dressing and the gravy.
JenBeee
This is pretty authentic. We leave out the fennel and include half a loaf of day-old white bread, crumbled up.
Min.
I've never seen a mixture of buttermilk and broth used to moisten the cornbread mixture. Everyone in cornbread dressing country I know uses only broth and an egg or two to help bind it all together. Has anyone seen that before? Just curious. So it must be a little creamier? And we usually blend in some regular bread or leftover biscuits so it's not so crumbly. Brown rice and no-flour cornbread = gluten-free. Yes, make a skillet of cornbread. So easy. Blank canvas to flavor as you like.
Smufty
I prefer day-old cast iron skillet cornbread made with buttermilk (Frank Stitt's recipe). Use broth +/- an egg. In addition to the sausage (which can be andouille sausage removed from casing) add raw, shelled oysters.
Ellie
Delicious and I will make again. My advice is regarding the cornbread - in case anyone had the same confusion I had. I made the linked cornbread recipe and it yielded more than 10 cups. I was unsure whether to add all of it to the dressing, or only 10 cups, and decided to only add 10 cups. I think it would have been better to add the entirety of the cornbread and will do so next time.
J Phillips
Yes, Always egg and broth. And cornbread cooked in a cast iron skillet.
aynabelle
How about Italian sausage with this recipe?
MaryFrances
I’m highly dubious of sugar in cornbread, but especially in cornbread that is destined for cornbread dressing. I would definitely substitute savory cornbread.
Alice Kaiser
It's not clear from the notes as to anyone actually added the buttermilk to the dressing. I prefer a more crumbly, less custardy dressing, the way my mother made it, so no buttermilk or egg. The herbs and aromatics are excellent, and I did add chopped fennel bulb too. Did not add sausage this time but it would be good. Added chopped toasted walnuts.
SML
Cooked as designed Yewande. very tasteful and enjoyed heartily. Dont care for what others say about sugar. dont bother cooking it if you dont like it. its not a mandate to cook as written or even cook at all.
kz
This turned out awesome! I followed the attached cornbread recipe but accidentally doubled the sugar - so yummy with the sausage and herbs.
Emily
Made this dressing for Thanksgiving- added some fresh thyme and butter-fried sage leaves on top. Delicious! The best part was the wedge that I put aside to eat, toasted, with butter and peach preserves on Friday morning.
susan
I too would like to know if I can make this a day in advance? Anybody?
Mark
Can this be cooked the day before and reheated? Trying to reduce the number of cooking activities on “the day of”.
Deedub-sf
I've always cooked some dried herbs, peppers, etc. in the cornbread, but no one here seems to be doing that. Am I wrong?
olive from atl
From a southerner, it's not typical (unless you're making sw-style jalapeño cornbread). But if it's delicious, how could it be wrong? However, if you are a sweet cornbread type of person, that would be a different conversation! :)
nihiliad
This dressing was delicious, but just a little bit dry. Maybe it was because I made half the amount. I'll try adding more stock and/or buttermilk next time.
Maddy
I have made a simpler cornbread/sausage stuffing recipe from cotton country cookbook for years but decided to change it up this year and omg so so glad i did. The additional herbs, hint of fennel seeds and the buttermilk made for such a delicious flavorful stuffing. I used grocery store bakery cornbread bc they ran out of cornmeal (2 days before thanksgiving in texas, duh). And it was still great, albeit maybe a bit sweeter that i would normally do
Barb from Ohio
Vegetarian and Gluten free option: I made this for Thanksgiving which included some vegetarian guests. Substituted Beyond Meat breakfast sausage links (drain well after cooking) and vegetable brother. Used Krusteaz Gluten Free corn bread mix (baked 3 days in advance and air dried the cubed bread). Used buttermilk in both cornbread and the dressing. Omnivores and vegetarians both raved.
Lauren
This is very close to our Texas family recipe passed down to me from my mother and grandmother (and her mother). We use Jimmy Dean regular sausage, cornbread made with stone ground cornmeal and No Sugar!, an egg or two, a couple of white hamburger or hot dog buns….all dried for a day or two. The buttermilk is interesting but I don’t think I’ll try it this year..oh, yes…lots of chopped parsley…and sauté half of the onion and celery, adding the raw onion and celery to give a bit of texture.
Julie
My own cornbread/sausage stuffing is similar to this -- but it incorporates some sage/poultry seasoning-infused bread cubes for structure, as well as homemade cornbread (which can tend to fall apart and become mealy and a bit mushy). I like old-school Jones bulk sausage -- it also really rings the sage/pepper chimes, since that's the main seasoning in that brand. In addition to onions and celery, I like to add a couple of chopped apples in there, which balance the sausage flavor beautifully.
George Simmons
I add pine nuts.
MaryFrances
I’m highly dubious of sugar in cornbread, but especially in cornbread that is destined for cornbread dressing. I would definitely substitute savory cornbread.
Kristina B.
This recipe differs from the recipe I use usually, in that it uses buttermilk instead of eggs to bind it. I made one with buttermilk and broth per the recipe and one with the same quantity of only broth. The buttermilk one was very loosely held together, kind of crumbled when you took a piece. The flavor was amazing! Next time I would use 3 eggs and broth, without buttermilk. I added l fennel and kale which was tasty. Italian sausage was good but will try a maple pork next time.
olive from atl
I would try smoked sausage or fresh pan sausage too if you can get it! That would be very typically southern. Conecuh brand (from AL) is great, and Stripling's (from GA) ships.
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