Southern Cornbread Dressing (Our Thanksgiving Tradition)

This southern cornbread dressing has been enjoyed in our family every Thanksgiving since I can remember. It is so simple and delicious, and perfect alongside oven roasted turkey breast!

This is my mom’s recipe. She adapted it from her mother and her Aunt Laura, so there’s no telling how many generations this goes back! It is true old fashioned cornbread dressing.

Here in the southeastern USA, it is tradition to make authentic southern cornbread dressing to go with our turkey on Thanksgiving.

And y’all, side note: Don’t miss my mom’s oven roasted turkey breast! These two dishes go together SO well. Our family counts down to Thanksgiving every year when we get to enjoy them!

My mouth is literally watering as I look at these pictures…LOL!

But back to the southern cornbread dressing! We do not stuff ours inside the turkey, but we prepare it in it’s own casserole dish on the side. I prefer it this way. It is just simpler, and I cannot imagine it tasting any better.

How to make southern cornbread dressing

You can use my skillet corn bread as a base for this recipe. I have also made a pan from the White Lily cornbread mix, and it works great! But the cast iron skillet is a must. That crispy crust makes the dressing taste amazing.

Once your cornbread is baked and cooled, you just rip it up into chunks with your hands.

You will also need some sliced white bread. Sometimes my mom will use biscuits instead of the white bread. You can totally do this too! She has used sliced white bread in the last few years, though, because it is just simpler. And it still tastes great!

Just mix your ripped up bread, celery, onions.

Then pour over the melted butter next, and stir it into the bread mixture. Next, pour over the egg and broth mixture, and stir until well-combined.

Then transfer to a casserole dish, and bake it until it is golden on top.

It’s funny, as I was talking to my mom, I realized that she rarely follows a recipe exactly. A lot of her instructions are “just add more until it looks right.” Or “cook it until it’s done.” LOL!

So I tried to put some structure for y’all, with actual measurements and times. 🙂

Can I make ahead and freeze it?

Yes! My mom does this almost every year. To freeze it, just perform all recipe steps, right up until you pour the uncooked mixture into the casserole dish. From there, just cover it well, and stick it in the freezer.

When it comes time to prepare it, you will want to take it out of the freezer a day or more ahead of time. You want to fully thaw it prior to cooking.

The best way to do this is to let it sit in a refrigerator for three days or so. However! We have also let it sit on the kitchen counter to thaw quicker than that. It can thaw in about 12 hours, give or take, depending on the temperature inside your house.

How to make it vegetarian

This recipe is easy to make vegetarian. Simply substitute the chicken broth with vegetable broth/ stock instead.

Southern Cornbread Dressing Recipe

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Southern Cornbread Dressing

This southern cornbread dressing has been enjoyed in our family every Thanksgiving since I can remember. It is so simple and delicious, and perfect alongside oven roasted turkey breast!

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American

Keyword southern cornbread dressing recipe, thanksgiving dressing recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 50 minutes

Total Time 1 hour

Servings 10

Calories 262 kcal

Author Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy

Ingredients

• 14 ounces corn bread crumbles (weighed on a food scale, or 4 cups)
• 4 slices white bread, torn (I used Sunbeam)
• 2 celery stalks very finely minced
• 1/2 cup yellow onion very finely minced
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter melted
• 3 eggs
• 3.5 cups chicken stock
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• cooking spray, oil or butter to grease the casserole dish

Instructions

1. Tear the white bread and cornbread into chunks.

2. In a large bowl, combine the bread chunks, onions, celery.

3. Pour the melted butter over the bread, onions, celery, and stir.

4. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs, and stir in the chicken broth, salt and pepper.

5. Pour the egg and broth mixture over the bread/ celery/ onion mixture, and stir to combine.

6. Transfer to casserole dish that has been greased or sprayed with cooking spray.

7. Bake at 375 for about 45 to 50 minutes minutes.

Recipe Notes

Nutritional information is approximate and was calculated using a recipe nutrition label generator.

To freeze it, just perform all recipe steps, right up until you pour the uncooked mixture into the casserole dish. From there, just cover it well, and stick it in the freezer. 

When it comes time to prepare it, you will want to take it out of the freezer a day or more ahead of time. You want to fully thaw it prior to cooking.

The best way to do this is to let it sit in a refrigerator for three days or so. However! We have also let it sit on the kitchen counter to thaw quicker than that. It can thaw in about 12 hours, give or take, depending on the temperature inside your house.

Nutrition Facts

Southern Cornbread Dressing

Amount Per Serving

Calories 262 Calories from Fat 126

% Daily Value*

Fat 14g22%

Saturated Fat 7g44%

Cholesterol 96mg32%

Sodium 546mg24%

Potassium 114mg3%

Carbohydrates 27g9%

Fiber 1g4%

Sugar 7g8%

Protein 5g10%

Vitamin A 455IU9%

Vitamin C 0.8mg1%

Calcium 94mg9%

Iron 1.3mg7%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

This post originally appeared on A Pinch of Healthy on November 7, 2017.