There’s nothing like stuffing to go alongside a roasted turkey or chicken. And you know what? It’s easy to make from scratch! There’s no box required for this cornbread dressing recipe (aka cornbread stuffing).
Be sure to make up a batch of this easy homemade cranberry sauce to go with it!
Ingredients for this cornbread dressing recipe
My mom talks about her mom making the holiday stuffing from a whole loaf of bread torn into pieces. This was, of course, long before Stove Top and packaged bread cubes.
This cornbread dressing recipe starts much like my grandma’s — with actual loaves of bread.
It uses a combination of cornbread and French bread. Stale cornbread and French bread. This is one recipe where fresh isn’t the best choice! If you don’t have stale bread, simply measure and cut cubes of fresh bread then toast them lightly in the oven to dry out the cubes a bit.
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You’ll add chicken broth to the stale or dried bread to hold the stuffing together. Now, this can be a little bit variable. I recommend adding the broth in increments. Once all of the ingredients are combined, assess. Is the mixture still a bit dry? Go ahead and add a bit more broth. If it’s quite moist already, don’t.
Just how dry your bread is determines how much moisture to add. And then there’s the part where some people prefer a dry stuffing (hello gravy!) and others like it very moist.
This cornbread sausage stuffing is perfect for Thanksgiving dinner. It’s also a great way to use up stale bread all year long! Make it with this southern cornbread recipe and you won’t be disappointed!
Is it dressing or is it stuffing?
This depends entirely upon how you cook it. Or more precisely, where. If you cook it in a casserole dish it’s a sausage and cornbread dressing recipe. If a person were to put the mixture inside the cavity of a turkey, you might call it cornbread sausage stuffing.
Food safety experts suggest stuffing the cavity of the bird loosely or cooking it in a separate dish. If you do opt to stuff the bird, it’s essential that you use a food thermometer to assure it reaches a minimum internal temperature of 165ºF.
★ Did you make this cornbread dressing? Don’t forget to give it a star rating below! ★
Cornbread and Sausage Dressing
This cornbread dressing (aka stuffing) is perfect for Thanksgiving dinner. It's also a great way to use up stale bread all year long!
Ingredients
- 2 cups sausage, browned and drained
- 4 cups day-old cornbread, cubed
- 4 cups day-old or toasted French bread, cubed
- ½ cup onion, diced
- ½ cup celery, diced
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon ground sage
- ¼ teaspoon ground thyme
- 2 cups chicken stock
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x13 casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray.
- Brown sausage in a medium skillet. Remove sausage to drain.
- Add the onion and celery to the skillet. Cook over medium heat, stirring as needed to avoid burning, until softened.
- In a large bowl, stir together sausage, vegetables, cornbread, French bread, and seasonings. Stir until evenly combined.
- Add up to 2 cups of chicken stock half cup at a time to moisten the bread and bring the ingredients together.
- Transfer to casserole dish and distribute evenly.
- Bake for 30 minutes until browned.
. Notes
I recommend adding the broth in increments. Once all of the ingredients are combined, assess. Is the mixture still a bit dry? Go ahead and add the rest of the broth. If it's quite moist already, don't.
Just how dry your bread is determines how much moisture to add. It's a little bit variable and depends on if you prefer a more dry or moist stuffing.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1 gramsAmount Per Serving: Calories: 237Total Fat: 10gSaturated Fat: 3gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 34mgSodium: 488mgCarbohydrates: 29gFiber: 1gSugar: 7gProtein: 9g
Originally published September 2019; this post has been updated.
Thank you for the inspiration! Made this last night with leftover jalapeño cheddar cornbread and sourdough bread. Doubled the spices since it was a bit more than 4 cups of each bread (added fresh sage and rosemary). Used sweet Italian sausage. Also made a little white gravy to drizzle on top. It was the most delicious dressing I’ve ever tasted and my first homemade!
I’m so glad!
Plan trying this recipe for our Thanksgiving. Hoping the sausage will give it extra moisture I need—I don’t like giblet gravy. Thanks for sharing.
Of you like smoked oysters, you can substitute them and their oil for the sausage, # of cans depending on size of bird and your taste for them
Make 2 gravies! It’s your spread, make what you like 🙂