Southern Cornbread Dressing
Southern Cornbread Dressing is a must during the holidays. But it is easy enough to have anytime. A traditional southern recipe that until now has been intimidating.
We show you how easy and delicious it is. Savory notes of onion, sage and celery will satisfy any preference and help win folks over from the stuffing team.
What is the difference between Dressing and Stuffing?
Ah, the great debate. Almost as heated as the one between Butter Beans and Lima Beans. Well I am here to settle it for you. It is DRESSING, ALL. THE. WAY. Seriously though, all kidding aside, the truth is really in how it is prepared.
Stuffing is really for what goes IN the bird. You can totally use a good dressing recipe and STUFF your bird. But really, WHY would you? This stuff is so delicious on its own, don’t waste it in the cavity of your T-Bird. That is short for Thanksgiving Turkey.
Instead, fill that T-bird with aromatics like onions, rosemary, thyme, lemon or orange, just to name a few. Prepare this Cornbread Dressing and serve it proudly next to that T-bird like the rockstar it is!
How to make Cornbread Dressing
Y’all know I love dump and cook recipes right? Here is the King of all of them. AND I love recipes that can be conformed to fit your own particular tastes. Southern Cornbread Dressing can be modified to be as dry as you like it or as soupy as you like it. Here at The Buttered Home, we like it Juuuuuust Right so this recipe gets it firm but moist. feel free to lessen your liquid for a dryer dressing or add a little more to make it soupier.
~ Ingredients ~
For the Cornbread:
2 cups self rising cornmeal
- 1 & 3/4 cups buttermilk
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup canola oil, divided in half
For the Dressing:
Pre made cornbread crumbled or zipped in a food processor until finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon of pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon of salt
- 1 teaspoon ground sage – optional
- 3 eggs, beaten
- 1 medium yellow or white onion, chopped
- 2 stalks of celery, chopped
- 1/2 cup Butter, cubed
- 2 cups chicken broth
~ Method ~
For the Cornbread. Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Use half of the canola oil to grease a heavy, 10 inch, cast iron skillet and place in the oven while preheating. Mix all ingredients together. Mixing well, but some lumps are ok. Remove skillet from oven and pour in batter. Return to preheated oven and bake for 20-25 minutes. Cool and save for dressing. I like to do this the day before.
For the Dressing. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Crumble the pre made cornbread to your liking. I like mine finely crumbled so I zip it in the food processor for just a bit. Melt butter in a skillet and sauté onions and celery and salt in the butter until softened and translucent.
In a large bowl, combine crumbled cornbread, onions, celery and their pan drippings. Mix well. Add in beaten eggs and pepper and mix well. Next, add the broth, one cup at a time until desired consistency is reached. *Keep in mind a lot of the liquid will evaporate during cooking so 2 cups is a good rule for a firm yet moist dressing. You can add less but it will be dry. You can also add more but it will be soupy.
Bake for 30-40 minutes until firm and slightly browned. * May require more broth when reheating after cooked and refrigerated. Enjoy!
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Common Questions and Answers about Dressing
In my humble opinion, YESSIRREE! Everyone knows the side dishes for the Thanksgiving T-Bird are JUST as important as the T-bird himself! If the turkey is the star, this is the best supporting actor, right here!
Sage is optional. Feel free to leave it out if you want to have the other ingredients to shine in the recipe. Sage can sometimes overpower everything else, but it is sooo good too so I also challenge you to make it with and without to see the difference.
It is really better if it is made a day or two in advance. Having it a bit stale allows it to more efficiently absorb the broth and other seasonings.
You certainly can. This comes together quickly and only has about a 30-45 minute cook time so it is perfect to use strained drippings and broth from the turkey. Cook it while it rests
The answer is cooking liquid. I always add what looks like too much broth, so much that it wells up a bit when pressed. This results in the perfect cooked consistency. If you wanted yours drier, use less! So if yours is dry, add more broth, if its too soupy for your tastes, add less!
Why Brooke loves this recipe!
Recipes are like antiques. They are meant to be handed down from one generation to another. Each one holding a special memory or nostalgic memory. Here is why we love this one!
Dressing has a taste that just screams HOME. If you haven’t had it, I challenge you to try it and see for yourself. After all, Dressing is something that can also be made on a Sunday or any day for that matter. Not just for Thanksgiving!
Southern Cornbread Dressing for Thanksgiving
We hope you will see that Dressing, like many old fashioned recipes, is really not as intimidating as you may think.
Once you fix yourself on how firm or how soupy you want it, there will be no stopping you! You will become a legend in kitchens everywhere with this recipe! And don’t forget the HOMEMADE CRANBERRY SAUCE!
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Southern Cornbread Dressing
Ingredients
For the Cornbread:
- 2 cups self rising cornmeal
- 1 & 3/4 cups buttermilk
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup canola oil divided in half
For the Dressing:
- Pre made cornbread crumbled or zipped in a food processor until finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground sage – optional
- 3 eggs beaten
- 1 medium yellow or white onion chopped
- 2 stalks of celery chopped
- 1/2 cup Butter cubed
- 2 cups chicken broth
Instructions
- For the Cornbread. Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Use half of the canola oil to grease a heavy, 10 inch, cast iron skillet and place in the oven while preheating. Mix all ingredients together. Mixing well, but some lumps are ok. Remove skillet from oven and pour in batter. Return to preheated oven and bake for 20-25 minutes. Cool and save for dressing. I like to do this the day before.2 cups self rising cornmeal, 1 & 3/4 cups buttermilk, 1/4 cup canola oil, 1 egg
- For the Dressing. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Crumble the pre made cornbread to your liking. I like mine finely crumbled so I zip it in the food processor for just a bit. Melt butter in a skillet and sauté onions and celery and salt in the butter until softened and translucent.Pre made cornbread crumbled or zipped in a food processor until finely chopped, 2 stalks of celery, 1/2 cup Butter, 1 medium yellow or white onion
- In a large bowl, combine crumbled cornbread, onions, celery and their pan drippings. Mix well. Add in beaten eggs and pepper and mix well. Next, add the broth, one cup at a time until desired consistency is reached. *Keep in mind a lot of the liquid will evaporate during cooking so 2 cups is a good rule for a firm yet moist dressing. You can add less but it will be dry. You can also add more but it will be soupy.1 teaspoon pepper, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon ground sage – optional, 2 cups chicken broth, 3 eggs
- Bake for 30-40 minutes until firm and slightly browned. * May require more broth when re-heating after cooked and refrigerated. Enjoy!
Looks yummy!!😀
Thanks so much!
This is the first time that I have found a good recipe for REAL cornbread dressing. I tried to learn to make my mother’s, but she always said to combine the ingredients until “they looked right!” That didn’t help me learn to make it. I needed a recipe. People that stats that they love cornbread dressing and then put bread into the recipe don’t know what real cornbread dressing is!
You have no idea what this means to me! Thank you and Happy Thanksgiving!
This is one of my favorite, classic sides! It is truly paired great with any main course dish or by itself. It’s so comforting. My family has made it for my whole life and we all still make it today.i made it the other evening with bbq chicken as the main dishes,, it was so delicious and the entire dish was gone in no time.
I haven’t tried it yet but it looks like the same way my mom made hers. If I use jiffy cornbread, how many boxes should I make ?
If one box of the jiffy bread does a 10 inch skillet size you should be good. If not, I would use two boxes.
Thank you!!