Southern Style Cornbread Dressing – Cookies and Cups

How To Make Cornbread Dressing With Homemade Cornbread?

Making Cornbread dressing from scratch is the ultimate holiday casserole! I mentioned my recipe for Homemade Sour Cream Cornbread earlier, but that is definitely the recipe that I prefer when making this from scratch! OR you can use a boxed cornbread mix if you prefer to do it that was as well. We have done it both ways and when I’m using a boxed mix we LOVE the Krusteaz Honey Cornbread. It’s our favorite boxed cornbread. Here’s the easy steps using fresh cornbread instead or cornbread stuffing mix:

1. Bake the cornbread according to the recipe instructions.
2. Allow the cornbread to get stale overnight by crumbling the cornbread onto a large baking sheet and let it sit out (at room temperature for 24 hours.
3. To dry out the cornbread more quickly, crumble the cornbread onto a large baking sheet and bake it for 15 – 20 minutes in a 350°F oven. 

Can Dressing Be Prepared Ahead Of Time?

Absolutely! That’s the beauty of this recipe. You can prep the recipe completely right up until you bake it. Cover it and refrigerate for up to 2 days! When you’re ready to serve, remove it from the fridge and allow it to sit at  room temperature for 30 minutes to take the chill off. Then bake according to the directions. You might need to add a little time to make sure it’s warmed through. You can also use a meat thermometer to check warmness. You want it to be about 160°F. Don’t bake it for too long uncovered, as it will dry out.

Easy Add-Ins For Cornbread Dressing

You can really play around with what you add into dressing or stuffing recipes. Here are a few variations that change things up:

• Sausage. Cook up a pound of ground sausage (like Jimmy Dean), or Italian sausage, crumble it and use it in place of the bacon! Really any protein you prefer could be added!
• Omit the nuts entirely if you don’t love nuts in you dressing.
• Add some diced apples into your dressing, or you could do dried cranberries too!
• Dice up some red or green bell peppers and cook those with the onions and celery! 
• Mushrooms! I LOVE mushrooms in dressing, and they are an easy addition. Sauté them with the onions and celery!
• Cheese! In cornbread dressing I  prefer cheddar cheese the most! Grate it up and add it into the mixture before baking!
• Switch up the seasonings! Rosemary or Oregano are great additions to dressing, but the sky is the limit!

Tips:

1. If you notice your dressing is a little dry, add more chicken stock!
2. Don’t over-bake this uncovered. The time you bake it uncovered is simply to brown the top, not to heat it through. Too long in the oven uncovered will dry it out.
3. T keep stuffing warm after it is browned, recover the dish and place in a warm oven. You can also turn the oven off when it is done baking and recover it with foil and let it sit in the oven until ready to serve!
4. If you notice that the stuffing is drying out, drizzle a little more chicken stock and melted butter on top!

Other Thanksgiving Side Dish Recipes You Might Like:

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Southern Style Cornbread Dressing

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Description:

This Southern style cornbread dressing is a family favorite. I’ve taken a classic and added some fun ingredients like bacon and pecans that really make it unique!

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Scale
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Ingredients:

• 1 pound thick cut bacon
• 1 large yellow onion, diced
• 4 ribs celery, diced
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 ground pepper
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage
• 1 1/2 cups chopped pecans
• 2 (12- ounce) bags dried cornbread stuffing mix
• 4 cups chicken stock
• 1/4 cup butter, sliced

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Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Coat a 9×13 baking dish with nonstick spray. Set aside.
2. Chop the bacon into small pieces and place in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Cook the bacon until crisp. Drain almost all the bacon grease from the pan, leaving about 2 tablespoons. Add the onions and celery to the skillet, turn the heat up to medium and cook the vegetables for 6 – 7 minutes, or until soft. Season with salt, pepper, thyme, sage, and pecans and cook for 2 additional minutes. Remove the pan from the heat.
3. In a very large bowl combine the dry cornbread stuffing and the vegetable mixture. Add in the chicken broth and stir until incorporated evenly.
4. Transfer the stuffing mix into the prepared pan. Top evenly with the butter slices and cover with aluminum foil. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil from the pan and bake for 15 – 20 more minutes until golden.

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Notes:

Serve warm.

To make ahead prep the stuffing as stated, cover with foil and refrigerate until  ready to bake. Take the stuffing out of the fridge for 20 – 30 minutes before baking to take the chill off. You will need to add 10 – 15 more minutes to the covered bake time.

Keywords: cookies and cups, stuffing, dressing, cornbread dressing, cornbread stuffing, thanksgiving

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