Once only considered a side dish for the holidays, cornbread dressing is now a standard part of Sunday dinner and Thanksgiving menus! Learn how to make this delicious Southern Cornbread Dressing recipe here.
Since you are here for this, be sure to check out this Loaded Mashed Potato dish and this Southern Collard Greens recipe.
Jump to:
- Gather your ingredients for cornbread dressing:
- How to make this southern cornbread dressing recipe:
- The difference between dressing and stuffing:
- Where cornbread dressing comes from:
- Is stove top stuffing made with cornbread?
- How to prepare the cornbread dressing recipe ahead of time:
- Various additions to dressing:
- Make the dressing vegetarian:
- Why is my cornbread dressing dry?
- Why is my dressing so mushy?
- 📖 Recipe
- 💬 Comments
This is a tried and true southern cornbread dressing recipe! It is one of the first side dishes that gets gobbled up every Thanksgiving!
Gather your ingredients for cornbread dressing:
You will start by making some buttermilk cornbread- which is the base for this dressing. Next you will need:
- Celery: dice the celery up
- Onions: diced up
- Seasonings: one of the key seasonings is sage, you must have the sage!
- Chicken: boiling the chicken will give us the rich chicken broth that we need.
- Cream of chicken: cream of celery and cream of mushroom are other options that you can use.
- Chicken broth: you want your dressing to be moist.
- Egg: this is the binder for the dressing.
How to make this southern cornbread dressing recipe:
You want to start by making the base, which is buttermilk cornbread. It is best to cook the cornbread ahead of time, and use it when it is a day old.
Once you dice up your veggies, you will sauté them in some butter until they are softened up. You will break up your cornbread into a large bowl.
Cook and shred your chicken. Then add the chicken, the softened veggies, the chicken stock, cream of chicken, and your seasonings and eggs.
Mix the dressing mixture up until everything is fully combined. The mixture should be very moist, and almost soupy. Pour the cornbread dressing into a pre-greased baking dish.
Place it uncovered, into a 325 degree oven for 30 minutes. Check on it and rotate it and bake for an additional 20 minutes. Let the dressing sit for at least 10 minutes before serving.
The difference between dressing and stuffing:
The biggest difference between dressing and stuffing is the method in which they are cooked. Traditionally speaking, stuffing is a mixture used to literally stuff something.
This can be seen when people add the stuffing into the cavity of a turkey during Thanksgiving. Or even stuffing Cornish hens.
Dressing however, is a mixture that is cooked all by itself in a baking dish. Both dressing and stuffing may have similar ingredients and texture.
Where cornbread dressing comes from:
Cornbread dressing is most ubiquitously tied to southern cooking. Originating as a meal that was put together from "scraps" and leftovers, it was once referred to as Kush.
Is stove top stuffing made with cornbread?
The famous red box brand of stove top stuffing does have a version that is made with cornbread. However, when you take the mix out of the box, you will realize that it has a crouton like texture versus a soft fluffy cornbread.
How to prepare the cornbread dressing recipe ahead of time:
Make your cornbread and chicken, dice and sauté the vegetables and mix everything together. Then pour the seasoned cornbread dressing mixture into a baking dish.
Cover the dish with plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator. When you are ready to bake it, remove it from the refrigerator and let it sit for at least 20 minutes to come to room temperature.
Remove the plastic wrap and bake the dressing according to the instructions.
Various additions to dressing:
This southern dressing recipe has pre cooked chicken breast in it. You can add seafood to make a seafood dressing. Shrimp, lobster, crab meat, and crawfish are great options.
You can also add turkey, or smoked meats into the dressing for a different variation. Even more, switch out or add any vegetables you would like.
Related: Checkout this delicious Spatchcock Turkey Recipe from Good Food Baddie!
Make the dressing vegetarian:
If you do not want to add meat into your dressing, you can simply omit it. Follow the same exact steps with making it but swap out a few of the ingredients.
Instead of cream of chicken, use cream of mushroom. Like wise with the chicken broth, use vegetable broth instead.
Why is my cornbread dressing dry?
If you do not add enough liquid prior to baking, the dressing may dry up. Even more, it you bake it too long- it can get very dry.
Be sure to check on the dish periodically, about every 20 minutes, to ensure it is not getting too dry. Once the top starts to brown, it is cooking internally too.
Why is my dressing so mushy?
Adding too much liquid can cause the cornbread to be mushy. Try baking it longer, or adding more cornbread to the mixture.
Also, over mixing the cornbread with the other ingredients may cause the cornbread to crumble too much and become mushy. So be careful not to over mix prior to baking!
Be sure to check out these Southern Candied Yams for another great side dish idea!
📖 Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 cups Buttermilk cornbread already prepared and cooled (cornbread recipe from scratch)
- 3 cups Chicken broth plus another ½ cup if needed
- 1 cup Cream of chicken soup mix
- 1 cup Chicken cooked and shredded (chicken breast or thighs will work)
- ½ Red bell pepper diced
- ½ Green bell pepper diced
- 1 medium Onion diced
- 2 stalks Celery diced
- 1 tablespoon Butter to sauté vegetables
- 1 large Egg beaten
Seasoning
- 1 ½ teaspoons Poultry seasoning
- 1 ½ teaspoons Ground Sage
- 1 teaspoon Seasoned salt
- 1 teaspoon Black pepper
Instructions
- Pre heat your oven to 325 degrees. Grease a 9x13 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
- Pre cook your chicken by boiling it in chicken broth or water. Season the water with some salt and pepper (about 1 tablespoon of each). Also, try to make the cornbread ahead of time so that it can cool down completely.
- Dice up all of the vegetables, add the butter to a skillet over medium high heat, add the vegetables to the skillet and sauté them for about 7 minutes, until they begin to get tender. Turn off the heat and set them aside.
- Add the pre cooked and cooled cornbread to a large mixing bowl. Break it up with your hands into small pieces. Add the pre cooked and shredded chicken into the bowl with the cornbread.
- Add the sautéed vegetables into the bowl.
- In a separate bowl, combine the cream of chicken and the chicken broth that you boiled the chicken in, or store bought broth. Mix this up until it is smooth.
- Pour the chicken broth mixture over the cornbread, and sprinkle in all of the seasonings including the: poultry seasoning, sage, seasoned salt, and black pepper. Taste it at this point to adjust seasonings if needed.
- Add in the beaten egg. Use a large spoon to mix everything together until it is fully combined. The mixture should be super moist but not completely soupy (reference the photo in the above post to see the desired texture).
- Pour the cornbread dressing into the pre greased baking dish and place it in the pre heated oven.
- Bake it uncovered at 325° for 30 minutes, check it at this point to make sure the top is not burning. If it is getting too brown, cover with foil. If it is still a golden brown color, turn it around and bake for an additional 20 minutes.
- Remove the dressing from the oven and allow it to sit for at least 10 minutes before cutting into it.
Video
Marie says
This recipe is the closet one that I can find to the one my grandmother use to make. I sort of remember her recipe but after she died I couldn't find her hand written recipes, sadly. But when I made this one for my Sunday dinner I knew it was a great recipe when my brother and my husband said the dressing tasted just like how my grandmother use to make it. Thank You so much.
Tamara J. says
That makes my heart smile Marie! I’m glad you enjoyed it.
gina says
absolutely delicious
Gina says
So delicious
Tonya says
I’ve been making my dressing for so long and never added the bell peppers and onions sautéed like you did. It turned out absolutely delicious. My husband said that this dressing was better than the one I’ve been making all these years! Thanks for my new go-to recipe.
Tamara J. says
I'm so happy you guys enjoyed it!
Gina says
So good!
Dawn Giles says
Oh my goodness this dressing is beyond delicious! I’ve been trying to perfect my grannies cornbread dressing for so long, and this is identical to how hers use to taste. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe.
Tamara J. says
Aww that makes my heart happy! I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Dawn says
The best!