Cornbread Stuffing
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Add a little Southern flair to your Thanksgiving feast with this golden, savory cornbread stuffing that’s loaded with rich sausage and fragrant herbs.
This Southern-style cornbread dressing has a rich, almost spoon bread-like consistency with a perfectly toasty, golden top. It’s a bit more time-intensive than my traditional stuffing recipe since it starts with homemade cornbread (no shortcuts here—store-bought cornbread is too sweet and just doesn’t work). But the good news is that you can spread the prep over a few days. The cornbread itself is intentionally dry and plain, so don’t worry if it tastes a little bland—once combined with sausage, eggs, and butter, it transforms into something wonderfully flavorful and rich. For Thanksgiving, I recommend baking the stuffing in a separate dish from the turkey for the best results.
What You’ll Need To Make Cornbread Stuffing
- Eggs – Used in both the cornbread recipe and stuffing to bind and give structure.
- Whole milk – Adds moisture and richness to both the cornbread and the stuffing.
- All-purpose flour – Provides structure and a tender crumb in the cornbread.
- Yellow cornmeal – The key ingredient that gives the cornbread its signature texture and flavor.
- Sugar – Adds a touch of sweetness to the cornbread to balance the savory stuffing.
- Baking powder – Leavens the cornbread, making it light and fluffy.
- Salt – Enhances the flavors in both the cornbread and the stuffing.
- Unsalted butter – Adds richness to the cornbread, used to sauté the vegetables, and keeps the stuffing moist.
- Pork sausage (hot or mild/sweet) – Adds savory richness and, if using hot sausage, a bit of spice to the stuffing. You could also use chicken or turkey sausage.
- Yellow onions – Adds sweetness and depth of flavor to the stuffing.
- Celery – Provides crunch and flavor to the stuffing.Garlic cloves – Adds aromatic, savory flavor to the stuffing.
- Fresh herbs (thyme, rosemary, and sage) – Infuses the stuffing with fragrant, earthy flavor.
- Low-sodium chicken broth – Keeps the stuffing moist and adds a savory, rich flavor.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-by-Step Instructions
Begin by making the cornbread. In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs.
Add the milk and whisk until evenly combined. Set aside.
In a large bowl, combine the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
Whisk well.
Add the milk mixture and the melted butter to the dry ingredients.
Whisk until smooth.
Transfer the batter into the prepared baking pan and smooth the top.
Bake in a 350°F-oven until lightly golden around the edges and set, about 30 minutes. Cool in the pan on a wire rack until cool enough to handle, 20 to 30 minutes. (Cornbread can be prepared up to 2 days in advance.)
Cut the cornbread into 1-inch squares. Place the cut cornbread on a rimmed baking sheet and bake in a 250°F-oven until lightly toasted, about 1 hour.
Cool the cornbread on the baking sheet, about 15 minutes.
To make the stuffing: Place the sausage in a large nonstick pan over medium-high heat.
Cook, stirring and breaking it apart with a wooden spoon, until no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the sausage to the largest bowl you have (it needs to fit all the cornbread), leaving the fat in the pan.
Reduce the heat to medium and add the onions, celery, and 3 tablespoons of the butter to the pan.
Cook until the vegetables are softened, 6 to 8 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute more.
Off the heat, mix in the herbs then add the vegetable mixture to the bowl with the sausage and mix to combine.
In another bowl, whisk the eggs. Add the milk, broth, and salt.
Add the dried cornbread cubes to the sausage and vegetable mixture and pour the egg mixture over top. Fold the mixture a few times with a large rubber spatula, being careful not to break up the cornbread too much. Let the mixture sit, folding carefully a few times, until the cornbread is saturated, about 10 minutes.
Transfer the soaked cornbread mixture to a greased baking dish, and make sure that the sausage and vegetables are evenly distributed. Try to arrange some of the larger pieces of cornbread on top; it looks prettier. Dot the top of the stuffing with the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter.
Bake until golden brown and crisp, about 35 minutes. Serve warm.
Make-Ahead Instructions
The cornbread can be prepared up to two days ahead of time. Cut it into cubes and let it dry out on the countertop overnight instead of toasting it in the oven. If you’d like the assemble the stuffing in advance, prepare it up until the point of baking, cover it with plastic wrap, and refrigerate up to a day ahead of time. When ready to serve, bake as directed, allowing a few extra minutes in the oven.
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Ingredients
For the Cornbread
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1¾ cups all-purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled-off
- 1¼ cups yellow cornmeal
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 1½ tablespoons baking powder
- 1½ teaspoons salt
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
For the Stuffing
- 1 lb bulk hot or sweet pork sausage
- 2 medium yellow onions, diced
- 3 ribs celery, diced
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
- 5 cloves garlic, chopped
- ¼ cup finely chopped fresh herb blend (I use equal parts thyme, rosemary and sage)
- 4 large eggs
- 1 cup whole milk
- 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
For the Cornbread
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and set an oven rack in the middle position. Butter and flour a 9 x 13-in (23 x 33-cm) baking pan or spray with a nonstick cooking spray with flour, such as Baker's Joy.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs. Add the milk and whisk until evenly combined. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add the milk mixture and the melted butter to the dry ingredients and whisk until smooth. Transfer the batter to the prepared baking pan and smooth the top. Bake until lightly golden around the edges and set, about 30 minutes. Cool in the pan on a wire rack until cool enough to handle, 20 to 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 250°F (120°C) and set the oven rack in the middle position. Cut the cornbread into 1-in (2.5-cm) squares. Place the cut cornbread on a rimmed baking sheet and bake until lightly toasted, about 1 hour. Cool the cornbread on the baking sheet, about 15 minutes.
For the Stuffing
- Place the sausage in a large nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring and breaking it apart with a wooden spoon, until no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the sausage to the largest bowl you have (it needs to fit all the cornbread), leaving the fat in the pan. Reduce the heat to medium and add the onions, celery, and 3 tablespoons of the butter to the pan. Cook until the vegetables are softened, 6 to 8 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute more. Off the heat, mix in the herbs. Add the vegetable mixture to the bowl with the sausage and mix to combine.
- In another bowl, whisk the eggs. Add the milk, broth, and salt.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and set an oven rack in the middle position. Grease a 9 x 13-in (23 x 33-cm) baking pan with butter or nonstick cooking spray.
- Add the dried cornbread cubes to the sausage and vegetable mixture. Pour the egg mixture over top. Fold the mixture a few times with a large rubber spatula, being careful not to break up the cornbread too much. Let the mixture sit, folding carefully a few times, until the cornbread is saturated, about 10 minutes.
- Transfer the soaked cornbread mixture to the prepared pan, making sure the sausage and vegetables are evenly distributed. Try to arrange some of the larger pieces of cornbread on top; it looks prettier. Dot the top of the stuffing with the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter. Bake until golden brown and crisp, about 35 minutes. Serve warm.
Notes
Nutrition Information
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Comments
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I made this for Thanksgiving yesterday , it was AMAZING! My husband raved about it and said was the best ever! Thank you for your incredible recipes!
Delicious- tastes just like my Grandmother used to make. Bittersweet as I miss her so much – it in a way she’s here with us today. Thank you.
Hi Happy Thanksgiving. Want to make tomorrow so can I use White cornmeal and buttermilk instead of reg milk?
Hi Denise, White cornmeal is fine, but I’d stick with regular milk. Hope you enjoy!
Looked at recipe again what size pan do you use and do you butter it before corn bread mixture goes in? Thanks.
Hi Denise, Scroll down beneath the photo tutorial or click on the “jump to recipe” button at the top of the page, and you’ll find more detailed instructions. But yes you do grease a 9×13 pan. 🙂
Can I substitute turkey sausage? If so, what kind?
Hi Denise, Turkey sausage would work here and I’d get whatever brand bulk turkey sausage your meat case carries. Hope you enjoy!
Thank you for taking the time to reply. Happy Holidays and be safe!
Is baking powder really tablespoons? I have never seee that before, but commmenters seem ok with it…. here goes….
Yes, you’ll need 1-1/2 tablespoons. 🙂
Hi Jen,
I understand the cornbread is an integral part of the recipe but I am pressed for time and already bought packaged cornbread cubes.. do you think I could use them instead? If so how much should I use? Thank you!
Hi Lorraine, I think it would work as long as the cornbread cubes aren’t too sweet, and you would need 8 to 9 cups.
Hi Jen:
Happy Thanksgiving. I cannot find any stone ground or wholegrain corn meal in the stores. Is it ok to substitute regular yellow corn meal? If yes, do I buy fine or coarse grind? Or do you think it is better to buy Pepperridge Farm Corn Bread Classic Stuffing and use your Easy Sausage and Herb Stuffing recipe instead?
Thank you very much for the best food blog site. After trying many recipes from your site, I have learned that your recipes always turn out better than the other recipes with thousands of positive reviews from famous chefs.
Hi Cecilia, thanks for your nice words about the recipes – – so glad you like them! Regular yellow cornmeal is fine and I’d go for either the fine or medium ground. Hope you enjoy!
Jen, Happy Thanksgiving 🍁
Sweet Italian sausage will work ?
Thank you .
Yep 🙂
The recipe calls for 1/4 C fresh herbs. If I use dried herbs, how much would you recommend I use of each?
Hi Jessica, I’d use a healthy tablespoon total and you can break it down into whatever herbs you want. Hope you enjoy!
So a tbls of each spice?
Hi Missy, I’m sorry I’m weighing in too late to help, but it would be a heaping tablespoon total (not of each spice). Hope it came out well if you made it!
Hi Jenn, can I sub olive oil for the butter? We have a dairy allergy in the family. I know there’s no sub for the flavor of butter though!
Sure, I think olive oil will work. Hope you enjoy!
Hi Jen,
I am wondering if I could sub bacon for the sausage and if so, how much would I use? My family loves cornbread and bacon stuffing and I have been on the hunt for the perfect recipe for years. Since everything I’ve made from your your book and website comes out fabulous I am thinking maybe this might be it! Looking forward to hearing from you!
Hi Denise, I haven’t tried this with bacon but I think it would work. I’d recommend 3/4 lb. Please LMK how it turns out if you try it with this tweak!
Excellent, flavorful stuffing! This recipe’s a keeper.