This old fashioned Southern cornbread dressing recipe is a classic that’s a must-have for every Thanksgiving table. It’s made with celery, onions, homemade cornbread, white bread and plenty of herbs. You’ll never look at cornbread stuffing the same way again!
Looking for the perfect cornbread stuffing recipe for your holiday meal? This cornbread dressing is a staple in many Southern households for good reason – it’s absolutely delicious! Serve it alongside other side dish recipes such as slow cooker creamed corn and bacon roasted brussels sprouts.
Today we’re talking about stuffing, because Thanksgiving is almost here! There are about ten million ways to do stuffing, but this Southern cornbread dressing is my favorite. It’s moist and delicious with a light and fluffy texture and the perfect blend of sweet and savory. Not gonna lie, my husband and I both made this our dinner after I took these photos, it’s just that good.
Table of Contents
Southern Cornbread Dressing Ingredients
To make this recipe, you will need cornbread, white bread, butter, onion, celery, chicken broth or turkey broth, eggs, sage, parsley, salt and black pepper.
How Do You Make cornbread Dressing?
Prepare my honey cornbread recipe, or use store bought cornbread if you’re short on time. Place the cornbread and cubes of white bread in a large bowl. Preheat the oven and grease a baking dish. Melt some of the butter in a pan or large skillet, then add the onion and celery. Cook until the vegetables are soft, then add salt and pepper to taste. Transfer the vegetables to the bowl with the cornbread mixture. Melt the rest of the butter and pour it into a bowl. Add the broth, eggs, salt, pepper and sage, then whisk it all together. Pour the butter mixture into the bowl with the bread and vegetables, then toss to combine. Place everything into the casserole dish, and bake until golden brown. Sprinkle with parsley, then serve and enjoy.
Tips For The Perfect Dish
- You can make your homemade cornbread up to a month in advance and freeze it until you’re ready to make stuffing.
- I prefer to crumble my cornbread into larger pieces as it will break down some more when you mix everything together.
- This recipe is really best when baked as directed in a dish, rather than using it to stuff a turkey. If you use this to stuff a bird you won’t get that same great crispy texture on top!
- I recommend to use fresh herbs here as they have a lot more flavor than dried herbs. If you need to use dried herbs in a pinch, cut the amounts by 2/3.
- Serve your stuffing alongside Thanksgiving main course favorites such as spatchcock turkey, honey glazed ham, smoked turkey breast and baked ham.
Quick Tip
While I typically use plain old white bread in this recipe, you could also use wheat bread, or an artisan bread like a baguette.
Recipe FAQs
It is mostly a regional preference as to whether you call it stuffing or dressing.
Dressing tends to be baked almost exclusively outside the bird, while stuffing can either be inside the turkey or in a separate dish. I actually tend to mostly refer to it as stuffing because that’s what it is called in my geographic area, although I never stuff my bird. In the South people tend to call it dressing, and this is a Southern style recipe which is why I’ve labeled it as dressing.
I find that stuffing is always better with some eggs in the mix. The eggs add moisture, a rich flavor, and also help bind all the ingredients together. I would not recommend omitting the eggs in this recipe unless there is an allergy. In the case of an allergy, you’d want to use an egg alternative to make sure everything holds together.
The best way to prevent dry stuffing is to be careful not to overcook it! You want the dressing top to be crispy and golden brown, with a soft and tender interior. It’s important to keep an eye on your dish as it bakes to make sure the top is not getting overly browned. If you feel like the top is brown before the inside is done, simply cover the dish with foil. In a situation where the stuffing bakes for too long and is dry, mix 2 tablespoons of melted butter with 1/3 cup warm chicken or turkey broth. Drizzle this mixture over the stuffing and let it soak in for a few minutes, and that should help to fix the problem.
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Flavor Variations
This recipe is great as-is, but you can add other ingredients to customize the flavors to your tastes.
- Protein: Feel free to add some cooked breakfast sausage, bacon, prosciutto or smoked chicken apple sausage to your stuffing. It’s also common to add oysters to stuffing!
- Vegetables: Stir in some extra sauteed veggies such as mushrooms, carrots, fennel, parsnips, or even butternut squash.
- Fruit: Cooked apples are a popular addition to dressing, as are dried cranberries, apricots, figs or cherries.
- Herbs: Amp up the flavor with extra herbs such as thyme, rosemary or marjoram.
Make Ahead Instructions
You can assemble your dressing up to 8 hours before the big meal. Simply cover your baking dish with foil and store it in the fridge until you’re ready to bake it. You may need to increase the cooking time a bit since you’ll be starting with a cold dish. You can also prepare the dish, bake as directed, then seal tightly and store in the freezer for up to 2 months. Bake the covered dish from frozen at 350 degrees F until it’s warmed through, about 45-60 minutes.
I have a lot of people in my family that are stuffing haters, I can’t wait to unveil this Southern cornbread dressing to them this year to see if they change their minds! In my opinion this is the best stuffing recipe I’ve tried, and I try a different recipe almost every year trying to find one my family will like. The combination of the veggies, two types of bread and fresh herbs is simply the best. It’s buttery and delicious just like any good Thanksgiving recipe should be!
More Thanksgiving Side Dishes
Bacon Green Bean Bundles
25 mins
Slow Cooker Glazed Carrots
3 hrs 5 mins
Sweet Potato Casserole with Marshmallows
1 hr 50 mins
Cranberry Jello Salad
6 hrs 10 mins
Cornbread Dressing Video
Southern Cornbread Dressing
Ingredients
- 1 recipe honey cornbread or any 9″ square cornbread that’s homemade or store bought
- 5 slices stale white bread cut into cubes
- 10 tablespoons butter divided use
- 1 large onion finely chopped
- 1 cup celery finely chopped
- 3 1/2 cups chicken or turkey broth
- 5 eggs
- 1 tablespoon fresh sage leaves finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
- salt and pepper to taste
- cooking spray
- optional: sage leaves for garnish
Instructions
- Prepare the honey cornbread according to post instructions.
- Cool the cornbread and crumble. Place the cornbread in a large bowl with the bread cubes and toss to combine.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 9″x13″ pan with cooking spray.
- Melt 4 tablespoons of butter in a large pan over medium heat. Add the onion and celery and cook for 6-8 minutes or until softened. Season the vegetables with salt and pepper to taste. Place the vegetables in the bowl with the cornbread mixture.
- Melt the remaining 6 tablespoons of butter and pour into a large bowl. Add the chicken broth, eggs, salt and pepper to taste, and sage and whisk to combine.
- Pour the butter mixture into the bowl with the cornbread mixture and stir to combine.
- Transfer the stuffing mixture to the prepared pan. Bake for 45 minutes or until dressing is browned and cooked through.
- Sprinkle with parsley and garnish with sage leaves if desired. Serve.
Notes
- You can make your homemade cornbread up to a month in advance and freeze it until you’re ready to make stuffing.
- I prefer to crumble my cornbread into larger pieces as it will break down some more when you mix everything together.
- This recipe is really best when baked as directed in a dish, rather than using it to stuff a turkey. If you use this to stuff a bird you won’t get that same great crispy texture on top!
This is almost my recipe. I liquefy my onion and celery instead of saute. Just use half cornbread to half white stale bread….there are no chunks of anything…I smash everything together with my hands. Comes out like a cake.
This has pretty much been my recipe forever, only thing different from your’s is that I also use chopped garlic when sautéing the vegetables and use home made cornbread without sugar! The best dressing ever!
My grandmother’s recipe which I use now myself is pretty similar. We don’t use fresh white bread, we use the seasoned cubes they only sell during the holidays. Also I boil a small chicken which gives me my broth and i use the chicken in the dressing too. I boil a few eggs and add just the whites in it too. It’s absolutely the best dressing ever.
I don’t like sweet cornbread for dressing, I make mine homemade in a cast iron.
It wouldn’t be the holidays without this dressing for me.
I am making This stuffing for about 40 people. Should I 4 times all the ingredients, especially the eggs. That would be 20 eggs and 4 times every thing else.
Are you making this in really large pans or in multiple regular sized pans?
The stuffing looks delicious and combinations awesome. Love this Happy Meal option too.
This stuffing sounds delicious! You really can’t beat homemade stuffing.
I love cornbread and this recipe looks delicious!
Thanks for this wonderful recipe. I can’t wait to make it for my Thanksgiving table!
First of all, I had no idea stuffing and dressing were the same thing! Oh dear. But when I tested this recipe out, I knew it had to be on our Thanksgiving table. The cornbread makes it so special. Can’t wait to make it again!
How many bags of cornbread stuffing should I use for this recipe? 1 or 2 14 oz bags?
You’ll need about 8-9 cups of bread cubes total. I’m not sure how many cups are in a 14 ounce bag but it should say how many servings and the serving size on the nutritional label which will help you figure out how much to buy.
Hi there! I’ve been on the hunt for a dressing recipe and I think this is the one. Could you please tell me (overall) how much salt and pepper you use. Thank you!
I start with about 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. It does depend on what kind of cornbread you use though, whether you use a bread that’s more on the sweet side or more on the savory side. It also depends on whether you use low sodium or regular broth. So I’d suggest starting with that seasoning level, give it a little taste before you add the eggs, then add more seasoning if needed.
A little variation, I bake the dressing in muffin tins; it’s just the right size for a serving and easy to split with butter and gravy.
You can’t have dressing without gravy!!
Sounds like a great idea I need to try that next time!
I’ve never used the white bread in my stuffing. It’s all cornbread. It holds up better when you add things like sausage to it.
My husband got creative once when I turned my back on him while making T’giving dinner. He layered in leftover zucchini and yellow squash into the standard stuffing I gave him to make, then topped it all with Parmesan.
It was amazing. I might let him stick around for a while.
Actually adding the white bread makes it ALOT firmer. I use the store bought seasoned kind. I also boil a chicken and add the meat and I boil eggs and add the whites. It’s amazing. Way better than cornbread dressing. Also I’d never use a sweet cornbread that sounds like it’d ruin it for me.
Oh my ….mI just made this Southern dressing and let me tell you that is some good. for my first try and adding all of my spices that thing came out good! thank you so much for sharing. I may want to hide some of this dressing because it is really good!!
Happy Thanksging!!
Thanks Victoria, Happy Thanksgiving to you too!!
Can you add a 1/2 can of cranberry sauce to it.
I’ve never tried this before, but I have added 1/2 cup of dried cranberries with good results!
Do you cube your bread and then let it go stale? I have a recipe I’ve used for several years that’s similar and I love the flavor. But it calls for the bread toasted and it never seems to stay in chunks like yours once I start adding in broth. Making cornbread tonight and using stale sourdough!
Yes, cube it then put it in a single layer on a sheet pan to dry for 8-24 hours. Mix it at least once so that both sides of the bread get dry!
If I am going to assemble ahead of time should I still add in the eggs or should I wait before I put in the eggs?
Yes you can add the eggs when you assemble it!
Planning on making this recipe for Thanksgiving! Will it be OK to substitute vegetable broth for the chicken broth as I have a couple of relatives who are vegetarian?
Yes that’s totally fine!
Hi Sara,
I’m going to try your recipe this Thanksgiving. It’s looks delicious, I love cornbread stuffing.
One question: Can I use dried sage instead of the fresh or does the fresh tastes better?
Thank you,
Oh! by the way you have three of the most beautiful little girls. God bless!
Thank you so much Teresa! I really prefer the flavor of fresh sage, but if you’d like to substitute dried sage, you can use 1 teaspoon. Happy Thanksgiving!
Do you think that I could add sausage to this? That is the only ingredient I’m craving to add to it!
Looks absolutely delicious -thanks for sharing!
Yes you can definitely add cooked sausage!
Oh yum! This looks amazing. I never would have thought there’d be a difference between stuffing and dressing!
When I was young, we always made our stuffing from scratch. As an adult, I primarily make it from a box. I think I would like to go back to homemade with this recipe.