Cornbread stuffing – or cornbread dressing, is a classic southern turkey dinner side dish made with dried cornbread, celery, onions, tossed with broth and baked until golden.
Browning the butter while the onions and celery cook add depth of flavor like no other. The poultry seasoning, hints of sage, it all comes together for an unforgettable side dish that will be the star of your turkey dinner spread!
Serve cornbread stuffing during Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner next to turkey, corn casserole, and green beans almondine.
All About The Cornbread
The best cornbread stuffing recipe starts with cornbread.
We like to make our quick skillet cornbread, or whip up some quick cornbread with mix for this cornbread stuffing recipe.
To save time during turkey dinner we have used jiffy corn muffin mix to whip up some cornbread as well!
If you have a favorite homemade cornbread recipe already, feel free to use that too!
How To Dry Cornbread For Cornbread Stuffing
If you don’t have time to let the cornbread dry on the counter for a couple days, the oven will do the trick perfectly.
- Slice up the cornbread into 1″ chunks, and arrange on a baking sheet.
- Place in the oven at 250°F for a few hours, turning every 30 minutes or so until completely dried out. Turning the cornbread will prevent it from toasting, which we want to avoid.
Stale cornbread is super important, because it allows the broth to be absorbed properly, avoiding a soggy stuffing, and keeping it as flavorful as possible.
How To Make Cornbread Stuffing
To make cornbread stuffing:
- Dry the cornbread – dry the cornbread as above. Add to a large mixing bowl.
- Melt butter over medium heat. Add onions and celery, cook for 5-7 minutes or until mostly cooked and onions are translucent but not browned.
- Add poultry seasoning to the onion mixture, then pour it over the cornbread, including any drippings.
- Add chicken or turkey broth, a little bit at a time, until bread is moistened but not soggy. Work with 1/4 cup of broth at a time to ensure stuffing doesn’t feel too wet. Once bread is moist, pour stuffing mixture into a baking dish.
- Bake at 350°F covered with foil for 45-50 minutes or until top is golden and stuffing is cooked through.
Cornbread Stuffing Tips and Substitutions
Tips:
- When adding broth, be careful not to overdo it. A little goes a long way! Work with about ¼ cup at a time.
- Make sure to use a spatula to scrape all of the browned butter out of the pan. It adds SO much flavor.
- If there are a few pieces of cornbread that aren’t completely soaked through, that’s perfectly fine. They add some delicious texture to stuffing, and will steam while it cooks.
- Keep the stuffing covered while cooking so it doesn’t dry out. If you’d like a super golden topping, remove the foil during the last 10 minutes of cooking.
- Garnish cornbread stuffing with fresh rosemary, sage, or parsley for presentation.
Substitutions:
- To make this cornbread stuffing vegetarian, use vegetable broth rather than chicken broth.
- If you’d like cornbread stuffing to be less intense, substitute half of the cornbread pieces for dried french bread pieces.
- For sausage and cornbread stuffing, cook some ground sausage in the pan before adding butter, onions, and celery. Add the cooked sausage to cornbread mixture.
- For added flavor, place the turkey giblets directly on the stuffing while cooking, and remove them before serving.
What To Do With Leftover Cornbread Stuffing
If stuffing is prepared ahead of time, you should either cook it right away or freeze it. The broth will soak into the cornbread, quickly getting soggy and ruining the dish.
Cooked cornbread stuffing will last in the fridge for 3-4 days. Once cooled, place it in an air tight container.
To freeze cornbread stuffing, place cooled cornbread stuffing into an air tight container in the freezer for up to 6 months. To reheat, place in the oven at 350°F covered with foil until heated through, about 1 hour – 1 hour 15 minutes.
More Delicious Thanksgiving Recipes
- Instant Pot Turkey Stock
- Twice Baked Potatoes
- Oven Roasted Sweet Potatoes
- Leftover Turkey Noodle Soup
- Bacon Deviled Eggs
- Roasted Root Vegetable Soup
Cornbread Stuffing
Ingredients
For The Cornbread
- 1 cup corn meal
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 egg
- 1 cup milk
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
Cornbread Stuffing
- 6 cups cornbread cut into 1" pieces, dried
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1 yellow onion diced
- 1 1/2 cups celery sliced, about 4 stalks
- 2 tablespoons poultry seasoning
- 2 cups chicken broth approximately
Instructions
For The Cornbread
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Combine cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a medium mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, combine milk, egg, and vegetable oil. Pour dry ingredients into wet, and mix until just combined, without overmixing. Pour into a 9x9" baking dish and bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool.
- Once cooled, cut cornbread into 1" chunks. Arrange in a single layer on baking sheet and leave on counter to dry for up to 2 days. Alternatively, dry in oven set to 250°F for a couple hours.
For Cornbread Stuffing
- Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and celery. Cook for 7 minutes or until onions and celery are soft. Add poultry seasoning.
- Place dried cornbread in a large bowl. Top with onion/celery mixture, scraping remaining butter out of pan.
- Add chicken broth, a little at a time, until bread cubes are moistened, stirring between each addition. You will need more or less depending on how dried cornbread cubes are. Once cornbread cubes are moist but not soaked, pour mixture into a 9x9" baking dish and wrap tightly with foil.
- Bake at 350°F for 45-60 minutes or until top is golden and celery and onions are cooked through. If desired, remove foil during last 10 minutes of cooking to brown the topping.
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