Easy Cornbread Dressing - Flavor Mosaic (2024)

ThisEasy Cornbread Dressing recipe, or stuffing if you prefer, is a must for a family’sThanksgiving dinner table. At our house, it would not be Thanksgiving without it.Hopefully, it will become your favorite too.

Our family recipe is an easy shortcut version of a traditional Southern cornbread dressing recipe. Instead of making my homemade cornbread recipe from scratch, we use the store-bought Pepperidge Farm Cornbread Stuffing, which contains the dried cornbread cubes or cornbread crumbles as some call them.

Cornbread Dressing – A Favorite Thanksgiving Side Dish

Thanksgiving would not be Thanksgiving if there were no cornbread dressing on our holiday table alongside theturkey,green bean casserole,sweet potato casserole,mashed potatoes,cranberry fluff,or cranberry sauce,or if you preferInstant Pot Cranberry Sauce.

When I was a kid the food I looked forward to the most at Thanksgiving was the cornbread dressing. The only time we had it was at Thanksgiving. So it became extra special.

It was one of the few times of year that the entire family was together around one table. My Dad had time off work and did the cooking, which was another reason to look forward to Thanksgiving time because he was an outstanding cook. This is my favorite recipe because it was my Dad’s recipe that he served for our family Thanksgiving dinners.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

It has a wonderful cornbread flavor with celery, onions, parsley, poultry seasoning, and sage!

It is a quick and easy shortcut recipe for cornbread stuffing for when you don’t have the time to make cornbread from scratch and let it dry for a couple of days.

It is not a new recipe. This is a tried and true family recipe that has been made and served at Thanksgiving dinners for decades.

The Pepperidge Farm Cornbread Stuffing gives it just the right texture. It has golden-brown toasted cornbread cubes or crumbles and is not too soggy and not too firm. So you will be proud to have it on your Thanksgiving table.

There is no cream of chicken soup or cream of anything soup in this recipe.

HOMEMADE CORNBREAD OR CORNBREAD STUFFING MIX?

This recipe is a shortcut recipe for those who may not have time to makethe cornbreada day or two ahead of time, andlet itdry out.

This recipe uses a prepackaged dry cornbread stuffing mix to save time, yet it is still delicious. Be sure to buy the cornbread stuffing mix (I like Pepperidge Farm) and NOT the cornbread mix.

However,if you want to make the cornbread dressing/stuffing from scratch, just substitute myEasy Homemade Buttermilk Cornbreadrecipe for the prepackaged cornbread stuffing mix and let the cornbread dry out for at least 24 hours. Some people like to combine white bread crumbs with the crumbled cornbread

For me, the deciding factor about whether to use cornbread or cornbread stuffing mix is the amount of time I have before I have to serve it. If I have two days available before Thanksgiving to prepare for the holiday dinner, then I will make cornbread. However, if I’m working up until Thanksgiving, then I will use the cornbread stuffing mix instead of making cornbread.

WHAT YOU’LL NEED TO MAKE EASY CORNBREAD DRESSING

Equipment:

• Mixing Bowl Set – This set includes a Large mixing bowl, Medium Bowl, and Small bowl, and will be used often for many recipes.
• Slotted spoon –This spoon is perfect when trying to separate out the solid food from the liquid, like lifting vegetables out of the broth.
• Wooden spoon –I like to use a wooden spoon for sauteing vegetables.
• Large skillet, saute pan, Large Dutch Oven, large 12-inch cast-iron skillet– for sauteing the vegetables.
• Large baking dish– You’ll need this for baking the stuffing in the oven. I use a baking dish all the time. It is good to have a nice one on hand.

Ingredients:

• Butter – I highly recommend using real butter and not margarine. It makes a difference in the flavor.
• Onion – I used a white onion. However, you could use yellow onions or Vidalia onions, or even green onions.
• Celery – Chop up some fresh celery. This adds a nice crunch to the stuffing.
• Fresh Parsley – In my opinion, it is not stuffing without the chopped parsley. Fresh is best for this cornbread recipe.
• Cornbread Stuffing Mix – I like to use Pepperidge Farm stuffing. However, if you are a Stovetop Stuffing fan, then you could use that.
• Sage – I like to add dried sage to the stuffing because it adds so much flavor.
• Poultry Seasoning – This is a seasoning mix called poultry seasoning that, when combined with sage, really gives it that “stuffing” flavor.
• Black Pepper – I like to use freshly cracked black pepper.
• Chicken Broth or Chicken stock – I recommend using a reduced-sodium or no salt added broth because that allows you to have better control over the amount of salt in the recipe.

Optional Ingredients:

• Sausages like Andouille Sausage or Italian Sausage
• Hard-boiled eggs

Start out bysautéing fresh celery and onions in butter. If you want you can add minced garlic as well.

Empty the bag of cornbread stuffing mix into a large bowl and add the sautéed vegetables on top. Then pour the chicken broth over the top. Then add the sage, black pepper, and poultry seasoning.

Spoon the cornbread dressing into a casserole dish and bake for about 30 minutes.

TIPS FOR PERFECT EASY CORNBREAD DRESSING

I like to add additional seasoning to the cornbread stuffing mix, including poultry seasoning and sage, which is delicious but strong.

If you are not used to the taste of sage, for the first time you make the recipe, you may want to add half the amount of sage to start out with and see how you like it.You can always add more.

I would also recommend using the amount of chicken broth as a guide. Add it slowly to get the stuffing just moist enough.The chopped celery and onions give the stuffing great flavor and texture.

That is all there is to making this Easy Cornbread Dressing. Give it a try before Thanksgiving so you can tweak the amounts of seasoning to your taste.

Serve it with the traditional Thanksgiving side dishes, such as green bean casserole, and sweet potato casserole. Enjoy!

What other recipes will you be serving with this Easy Cornbread Dressing?

Now that you have learned to make this cornbread dressing, will you be making it for your Thanksgiving feast? What other recipes will you be serving with thisEasy Cornbread Dressing?

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For more Thanksgiving Recipes check out Flavor Mosaic’s Thanksgiving Recipe Collection.

Here is a recipe for an easy and excellent Sweet Potato Casserole.

How about adding this Homemade Green Bean Casserole to your Thanksgiving table.

How about this Pumpkin Praline Bread Pudding for dessert!