One thing I’ve learned in my cooking career is that you can never ever have too many casseroles at Thanksgiving. 😉 Actually, I got that from my sister, who loves gracing her Thanksgiving table with traditional casseroles like sweet potato casserole and green bean casserole. Since we won’t be traveling down South to celebrate Thanksgiving with them, I’ll post one of her most-raved casserole dishes – Southern Cornbread Dressing. It’s effortless and a sure winner for a stress-free holiday. Crumbled pieces of day-old bread and cornbread (the drier, the better) flavored with celery, sausage, sage, herbs and spices, milk, and a good stock make a spectacular holiday or any-day recipe. Savory, moist, and DELICIOUS!
Recipe Ingredients
Prep Your Ingredients
Prepare Casserole. Spray or generously butter a 9×13 baking or oven-proof dish with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.Brown the Sausage. Heat a large skillet over medium, and let it heat up. Then add breakfast sausage, and break it into chunks with a wooden spoon. Let it cook while stirring for 3 -5 minutes. (Photo 1)Saute the Veggies. Add about a tablespoon of butter to the pan with the sausage, followed by onions, celery, garlic, Italian herbs, sage, and thyme. Then cook until onions are soft or wilted, 3-5 minutes. Remove from heat. (Photo 2-3)
Assembly
Mix the Breads. In a large bowl, combine day-old cornbread and bread cubes. (Photo 4)Add the Dairy. In a medium bowl, mix together half-and-half and eggs. Pour the egg mixture evenly over the cornbread mixture. (Photo 5 -6)Combine. Carefully add the sausage and veggie mix with all its juice to the dairy and bread mixture. Gently fold it into the cornbread mixture so it’s well combined without mashing the cornbread. (Photo 7)Add Chicken Stock. Add chicken stock and continue folding until your dressing is moistened. Taste test and season with salt if needed. (Photo 8)
Bake the Cornbread Dressing
Final Stretch. Transfer your casserole mixture to the greased baking dish. Cut butter into tiny slivers and scatter on top of the dressing. (Photo 9)Bake. Put your casserole in a 350℉ oven until it is hot all the way through and crusty on top, 35-40 minutes. Start checking for doneness at around 30 minutes. (Photo 10)
Recipe Variations
Tips and Tricks
Make-Ahead and Storage Instructions
You can assemble this Southern cornbread dressing recipe a day or two ahead, cover it, and store it in the fridge. Bake it when you’re ready. Or you can assemble it and freeze it a month ahead. Thaw it overnight in the fridge and bake it the next day. Refrigerate your leftover cornbread dressing in an airtight container for up to four days. Then reheat it in the microwave or 350℉/177℃ oven until heated through, 10-20 minutes.
What to Serve With Southern Cornbread Dressing
More Fabulous Holiday Add-On Recipes
Conclusion
Easy, stress-free Southern cornbread dressing for a memorable holiday is here. Would you like more fabulicious holiday recipes? Then sign up for my newsletter, and stay up to date.
Watch How To Make It
[adthrive-in-post-video-player video-id=”MLlPt6d6″ upload-date=”2021-11-04T15:31:17.000Z” name=”Cornbread Dressing” description=”Cornbread Dressing is a Southern classic Thanksgiving dish made from cubed bread and cornbread, butter, sausage, eggs, and a handful of easy-to-find ingredients. Moist, well-seasoned, and truly comforting side dish!” player-type=”collapse” override-embed=”false”] This blog post was originally published in November 2018 and has been updated with additional tips, new photos, and a video.
